The Holy Qur’an -The Final Testament - Introduction

This text is the introduction to the translation and commentary of the Holy Qur’an by Mir Ahmad Ali and Ayatullah Agha Hajj Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi.

It offers an exploration of the Holy Qur'an, presenting its core themes and the principles of Islam with clarity and simplicity. It aims to elucidate the religious, historical, and cultural significance of Islam's sacred scripture and its impact on believers' lives.
Through concise explanations, the introduction navigates the reader through the foundational beliefs and practices of Islam, the role of prophecy, and the significance of the Qur'an's preservation over time.

It addresses key concepts and terms, providing a straightforward and accessible entry point for those seeking to understand the essence of this religious text.

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Miscellaneous information: 

The Holy Qur’an -The Final Testament - Introduction Arabic Text, With English Translation And Commentary With Special Notes From Ayatullah Agha Haji Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi Translated By S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali Published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc. Publishers and Distributors of Holy Qur’an 80’08 51st Avenue Elmhurst, NY 11373’4141 Tel: 718’446’6472 Fax: 718’446’4370 email: read@koranusa.org http://www.koranusa.org Eighth U.S Edition, 2019 Library of Congress Catalogue Number: British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data ISBN: (paperbound) 978’0’940368’85’9 ISBN: (casebound) 978’0’940368’84’2 ISBN: (Vinyl) 978’0’940368’524 ISBN: (eBook) 978’0’940368’54’5 The World Federation of KSIMC - Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities - helped us pay for part of the project

Dedication

‘He is the one who dieth not’

The first edition of this humble service

to

The Holy Book of God

is

Dedicated

To the memory of the Goodness, devotion to God and

Service above self for the welfare of the public in

General and the poor in particular

Of

Marhoom wa Maghfoor

Hajj Dawood Habib Ismail

Who in the forty ninth year of his life

on

23rd September 1950

Submitted his soul to the Lord at the Holy place of

Mina

In the pilgrim garb of

Ihram

While performing Hajj (Pilgrimage) to the house of the Lord

and was laid to the rest in the holy cemetery of

Jannahul Mo’alla

In the

Holy City of Mecca

Whose unexpected departure has been a loss irreparable.

A Sincere Request

Every Muslim brother or sister who uses this Holy Book, is humbly

requested to present the noble soul to whom this work is dedicated, with a

recital of the Sura al-Fatiha and earn the return for it, from the Lord.

S. V. Mir Ahmad Ali

The Holy Qur’an

The Regular Recital of the Holy Qur’an

The following is the Complaint that will be made to God on the

Day of the Final Judgment.

يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا

“‘O’ my Lord! Verily my people had taken this Qur’an as a forsaken thing” (Holy Qur’an 25:30).

Let us not be of those convicted of the above charge.

What The Recital Of The Holy Quran Would Bring To You

An intelligent Recital of this Holy Book will create, re-affirm and

re-enforce faith in the All-Merciful and the All-Mighty Lord and turn your life on earth

holy and heavenly and will not only earn the divine blessings for you

but will turn yourself, a blessing to the world.

By reciting regularly even three or four pages daily, you will complete

the whole Book and know at least the external meaning of the contents and thus

have at least the minimum blessings it offers to

humanity for all times until the Day of Judgment.

Be It Known

that the Holy Prophet Muhammad is the Apostle and the

Holy Qur’an is the All Truth which all the Ancient Apostles of God particularly the

Holy Prophet Jesus prophesied, saying:

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away the ‘Comforter’(a) will not come” John 16/7

“But for the Comforter’(a) which is the Holy Ghost(a)” John 14/26

“I have many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now”

“Howbeit when the Spirit of Truths is come for, He will guide

you into All Truths(b) for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever

he shall hear and will shew you things to come” John 16/12-13

****

(a) The Holy Prophet Muhammad

(b) the Holy Qur’an

The Holy Qur’an

can be had only from

the

Holy Ahl Al-Bayt

for

said the Holy Prophet who spoke nothing

but the revelation from God

first know, remember and keep in view the declaration of the Holy Prophet:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: إني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي فإنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض.

‘Verily I leave amidst you the Two Weighty (important) things, the Book of God (the Qur’an) and my Itrat, Ahl Al-Bayt. If ye hold fast to these Two, never will ye get astray’, never will these Two be separated from each other, until they both return unto me at the Cistern (of’ Kawthar’)’ 1

Why

After

The Holy Prophet Muhammad

for correct knowledge of the external

and the internal meaning of the Final

Word of God, the Holy Qur’an,

one should turn only

To

Amir al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib

For

The Holy Prophet has Declared:

“Innal Qur’an Onzila Ala Sab’atu Ahrofin Ma Minha

Harfon Illa Walahu Zaahiron Wa Batanon

Wa Inna Ali Ibn Abi Talib,

Indahu Minho Zaahiro Wal Batin”

i.e. Verily the Holy Qur’an has been revealed on Seven Letters of which there is no letter2 which has not a manifest and a latent meaning - And Verily Ali Ibn Abi Talib, with him is the Manifest and the Latent (of it)3.

Therefore

If one sincerely desires to know the true, external as well as the internal

meaning

of

The Final Word Of God,

One Must

Accept only that which one can get from

Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib

Besides,

To have anything of the knowledge from the Holy Prophet - The only Medium, is Ali Ibn Abi Talib - for has declared the Holy Prophet:

أنا مدينة العلم و عليّ بابها

‘Ana Madinat ul-‘Ilm, wa Aliyun Babuha’

I am the City of knowledge, and Ali is its Gate.4

1. Tafsir al-Kabir, Tafsir Durr al-Manthur and many others.

2. Seven phases, or aspects.

3. Ref. Sahih Bukhari, At-Tabari, Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur’an by Suyuti and others.

4. Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala as-Sahihayn, Vol.3, p. 126; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Isti’ab, Vol.3, p. 1102.

Preface

We would like to thank Allah that He has enabled us to publish this fourth edition of the Holy Qur’an.

Due to the inherent nature of publishing, there may be some typographical errors present in this edition. We ask Allah to forgive us for any such oversight.

Constantly improving the translation of the Qur’an is one of Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an’s utmost priorities. In order to correct any mistakes however, we will need the input and cooperation of all the readers. We request that you bring to our attention any error(s) that you may notice.

Many improvements have been made in this edition from the previous translations. We would especially like to thank Sr. Sukaina Dewjee and Br. Muhammad Ali Juma, and the inmates and others for their valuable time and service in making the improvements.

May Allah forgive our mistakes.

Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc.

New York

June, 2019

Few Words

The Holy Qur’an

Translated By

Agha Pooya Yazdi

and

S.V Mir Ahmad Ali

The most authentic and unsurpassable English translation and commentary of the Arabic text which was revealed by God to His Messenger Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel. As Prophet Muhammad (S) recited the revelation it was recorded in writing, and has been preserved in its exact form, even after thirteen centuries. This translation and commentary are an outstanding effort and comes at a time when uncertainty and terror has gripped our nation and our world. The verses from the Qur’an have been explained in an unbiased manner and have been linked beautifully to the messages of monotheistic scriptures. The commentators have integrated God’s message in a very spiritually inspiring way, just as it was revealed to Abraham, David, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad (Peace be upon Them) and other messengers and prophets who believed in the oneness of God.

An outstanding feature unique to this version of the Qur’an is its 170-page introduction. This enlightens the reader on the most concerning and current issue of terrorism, condemns violence and social injustice, explains the spirit of a peaceful jihad, and mandates respect for women in an Islamic society. It outlines an economic structure fair both to rich and poor, and demands an enlightened system of jurisprudence, which recognizes the rights of freedom and liberty. The introduction also provides the opportunity to learn about daily Islamic prayers, traditions, and observances such as pilgrimage known as Hajj, the spiritual significance of fasting in the month of Ramadan, the mandatory charity known as Zakat, the celebration of Eid, as well as several other Islamic events. This edition of the Qur’an carries in its unique way, the message of God’s mercy, and comes at a very opportune moment in our history, which requires of us to come together as one nation under God, living in a world at peace.

*********

It is humbly requested that you recite the

Sura al-Fatiha and earn its return from Allah for

Hujjatul-Islam Ayatullah Hajj

Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi

and

S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali

and all those who are involved in the publication

of the final revelation

Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc.

New York

Introduction

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Alhamdo lillahe Rabbil Aalameen Was-salaato was-salaamo ala Khaire Khalqihi ma Khaatimul Anbiya wal-Mursaleen, Sayyedil awirulcena wal-aakhireen, Shafeeyil Muznibeen Ramalun III aalameen Muhammadin ma aalehit Tayyibeenat-Taahireen al Ma’soomeen.

All Praise is God’s the Lord of the worlds and peace and blessings be on the Best of His creation, the Last of His prophets and apostles, the Chief of the foremost and the later ones, the Redeemer of the sinners, the Mercy unto the Worlds Muhammad, and his Progeny, the Clean, the Pure and the Infallible ones.

The Background of This Endeavour

Everyone To His Post - The Order Of Providence

Thanks to the All-Merciful Almighty Lord, I am today able to present to the lovers of the Truth in general and my brethren in faith in particular, the fruit of my humble labour of ten long years, a pioneer service of the kind, a translation of the Final Word of the Lord, the Holy Qur’an, in the simple English language, with brief notes of commentary as per the version of the Last Apostle of the Lord through whom it was conveyed to mankind and as explained further by the holy ones, the Ahl Al-Bayt with whom it has been secured and who have been appointed and commissioned by the Lord as the authentic exponents of the external as well as the internal meanings of it.

It Is Only His Will That Is Done

It is the Omnipotent Lord, when He wills to guide mankind, sends down the angels from the ‘Arsh’, the Throne of His Authority, and to sustain His creation on the earth, He raises the water duly filtered up into the sky and sends it down re-distributing it to the various parts of the earth, at His independent will and according to His own design. Everything in the universe, exists and acts implementing the plan of the Omnipotent Providence, and the plan is mysterious and none in the world knows what is there in store for him. The secrecy of the divine design, makes man exert to the utmost limits of his ability with the maximum use of the native endowments in him, working out, good and evil, both at his individual discretion. Had man been informed of his future, the earth would never have been as it is adorned today with the marvels of the human effort on it.

The Creator Lord Himself Guides His Creation

Man left to himself would have been one among the beasts, not different from the life in the wilderness, save in his physical form and some instinctive habits. The All-Merciful Lord created everything and Himself guided it:

رَبُّنَا الَّذِي أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ

“Our Lord is He Who gave everything its creation and then He Himself guided it” (20:50).

Every atom in the universe, is given its respective properties necessary for the part it has to play and is driven to its respective assignment in its, practical life, and man distinguished with the special endowment of ‘Conscience’ and armed with the tool of discretion, is charged with the responsibility of the correct use of the exclusive gifts in his nature, to work out good or evil for his own future, both for this life and for the hereafter. Thus, the divine plan, is implemented by the automatic drive of each part and particle of the universe, to its respective post.

With the life as it started with me, I could never imagine at any time here before that the All-Merciful Almighty Lord will, one day help my insignificant and humble self, to take up this great venture in spite of all my personal limitations and the want of the equipment necessary to execute it. My life, to me in particular, is a proof positive that every atom has been created with an assignment and is trained for its respective allotment and is automatically driven to its post. The plan of the Lord is never unfolded to anyone beforehand, save to those whom He sends into the world duly conditioned and fully informed by Himself.

I was drifted like a bit of straw in the current of a flowing stream, to its predestined destination. Time and space are problems for the creatures and not for the Omnipotent Creator. Time and space are His creation and manipulated at His independent will.

How Providence Paves The Way

A few words given here in this regard are not to be misunderstood for the vanity of the display of any peculiar distinction, for there is none. It is purely to bring home to the readers a living instance of the providential implementation of the divine plan and how man is drifted to his assignment and how matters get automatically manipulated though they seem only to be circumstantial.

As already said, my life, to me is a mystery with regard to the drifting of my ancestors from Hejaz to Iran, from Iran to India and in India to Madras.

My paternal ancestors descending from the fourth Holy Imam Ali Ibn al- Husayn Zayn Al-’Abidin (Sayyid Sajjad) called themselves the Sajjadies who had settled in Mazandaran (Iran) moved to India during the Moghal Rule and settled at Bijapur. Mr. Mir Abdul Ali Sajjadi distinguished himself as one of the commanders of the Moghal army and earned the distinction with the title ‘Vafakhari for his meritorious loyalty to the crown. The members of the progeny of this illustrious head of the family, distinguished themselves with the suffix to their names as ‘‘Sajjadi Vafakhani.’

The Vafakhanies were granted states in Dodbalapur, Tumkur and this family flourished and spread to Alipur and the other parts in the Mysore State. A branch of this family was granted estates in Sillur near Vellore (North Arcot Dist.) and the habitation was named by them ‘Angoor Bagh’ From Sillur, a branch of it got the grant of another estate which they named Madeena- pet (which later on got known as Mudinampet) near Virinchipuram about twelve miles from Vellor, (N.A. Dist. Madras Province) and my grandfather S. V. Mir Raza Ali was one of those who settled here. He died in Vellore and the maternal uncle of my father, S.V. Mir Taqi Ali became the hereditary Patel or the Munsif of the area. My paternal uncles S. V. Mir Zulfiqar Ali and S. V. Mir Abbas Ali managed the estate in the village and my father joined the Army services in the 73rd Carnatic Regiment under the British Rule. This lineage of the Sajjadies from Mazandaran was joined to the other Sayyids in Madras from Kirman, through my mother who belonged to the line of the Tenth Holy Imam Ali an-Naqi. Thus, my maternal ancestors were Naqavies who had migrated to India from Kirman (Iran) and settled down in Madras Via Nawalpak (N.A. Dist.) Madras (Province).

After his return from the Burma War, my father received his share of the estate from my uncles and came down to Madras City with the determination to educate me and my younger brother Mr. S. V. Mir Haider Ali and Mr. S. V. Mir Raza Ali. Thus, my ancestors drifted from Hejaz to Iran and then to India and ultimately my parents came and permanently settled down in Madras City and my education was started.

Conditioning Of The Labour

I was first taught the recital of the Holy Qur’an and in the 9th year of my age, I completed the recital under the saintly personage of my maternal uncle Janab Mir Ja’far Husayn Sahib who was popularly called ‘Peer’ and who had devoted his life to the recital of the Holy Book. Then I was admitted to the Harris High School, Madras, for my English Education. This institution was run by the Christian Mission of the Church of England, where the study of the Bible was compulsory. Since my getting into this institution, till I left it after the matriculation course, I monopolised the Bible Prize and the Bible Scholarship, every year. I had a special aptitude for the study of religion and very often had discussions with Rev. Canon Goldsmith, the Manager (or the Principal) of the institution, and Mr. Hanuman Singh the Bible Teacher. By the time I completed my course in the School, I had a thorough knowledge of the Bible, having learnt by heart, most of its passages.

Soon after completing my school course, I joined clerical service in the Government Mahammadan College, Madras. Very soon I obtained the Oriental Title of Munshi Fazil, the degree of B.O.L. (Bachelor of Oriental Learning) and later qualified myself with M.A., in Arabic and Persian. I was awarded the Asst. Lecturership in the same College and later obtained the B.T., degree in Teaching. I got interested in the deeper study of Psychology and with a view to carry out research in it, I took up the Madras University Diploma Course in German and then taking a year’s leave, joined the Research Course of M.Ed. degree (Master of Education) with Psychology as my special subject and carried out research, under Dr. G. D. Boaz, the Chief Professor, and the Head of the Department of Psychology (Madras University), and submitted my thesis which was accepted. At the instance of Dr. M. A. Huq, the then Principal of the College, I obtained the diplomas of Higher Proficiency in Arabic and Persian.

The Start Of The Practical Training

The inclination towards higher studies in religion and the zeal to serve the faith had already been actuated. After joining the service in the College, I simultaneously started a small monthly magazine called the ‘Peace Maker’ and also began publishing simple Islamic literature. This small journal had its own circulation in India and abroad. My friend Mr. G. A. Musa al-Raza B.A., was my active comrade in this venture, helping me in editing and publishing the magazine. The cost, of the publication as a whole, was met by my own earning without any financial help from anyone. Even in this earliest venture of mine, I will ever remember that the only donation in kind I received from anyone, was the Ellams Rotary Duplicator Machine from M/s. Ismail Elabib Co., Samuel Street, Bombay, and the late Mir Baqir Husayn Sahib Razavi (may his soul rest in peace) the Proprietor of the Standard Press, Madras, was the one who helped the service, by printing the matter at an especially concessional, rather at a nominal rate, even below the actual cost.

Once I reported to the Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah al-Hajj Allama Agha Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi, then in Rampur, about the financial difficulty that was confronting me in bringing out the publication and I can never forget the reply I received from the sage which became the inspiration for my life, saying:

Man na gooyam to samanilar baash ya parwaana baash

Chun bafikre sookhtan oftaadayi mardaana baash.

I say not unto thee to be a Fire-Worm or a Firefly

Since thou thyself fell in love of getting burnt - behave thou manly.

This was the journal which answered Dr. Zewmer’s mischievous article published in his journal ‘The Muslim World,’ under the title ‘The Word of God or Word of Man’ in which he had presented the Bible as the Word of God and the Qur’an as the Word of Man. The silencing answer to Dr. Zewmer through this Magazine, earned a special popularity and attraction from the Christian world. The Magazine had a considerable demand from Ceylon and some important libraries in America and many scholars started contributing their articles on religious philosophy. When the long-standing Christian missionary publication ‘The Catholic Register’ from San Thone, Madras, found this Islamic publication getting stronger every day and attracting the Christian public more and more, its editor complained to the then (British) Government of Madras, saying that myself being a government official should not be allowed to indulge in the publication of any matter from the press, and consequently, I had to helplessly stop the publication. The story of this small publication guiding some educated Christians to Islam, is long and has its own details (I was glad to see a few old copies of the ‘Peace-Maker’ in the personal library of Hajj Dawood Nasser, at his residence, in Clayton Road, Karachi).

An instance of the success of this small Magazine could be found in the small booklet ‘Truth Revealed’ brought out by me in reply to the mischievous pamphlet published by the Christian Information Centre, Vepery, Madras, in which a false story’ against a Muslim family, had been brought out to attract the Muslims to the Christian creed.

Since the cessation of the publication of the ‘Peace-Maker’, I have come across not a few but an enormous number of anti-Islamic publications which vomit venom against Islam and its Holy Founder and spread all sorts of lies and slander to poison the mind of mankind against the faith and its Holy Leaders. But, for want of a publication or any other means at my own disposal, and my inability to give out the truth and remove the doubts created by the misrepresentation, the misinterpretations and the distortions of the facts, I had to remain quiet bearing the mental torture against the miserable situation.

Then came the demand for the information about the World’s Greatest Tragedy of Karbala, particularly from the new enlistments to Islam. I could not do more than bringing out a booklet ‘The King of Martyrs’, in some thousands and republished it every year, and distributed it freely, to everyone, particularly to my non-Muslim brethren. The publication has gradually developed into a full book-form and is under print.

The Husayny Trust, Madras, publishes every year, brief notes on the Tragedy and distributes it freely on the Husayn Day which they commemorate every year.

I cannot enumerate here the number of the most damaging publications against Islam I came across, against which I could do nothing.

At last, after a serious pondering over the genetic factors of the problem, I came to the conclusion that the cause of all these misunderstandings against the faith, is the lack of the proper literature in English and particularly about the Holy Qur’an. A translation of the Holy Qur’an with the necessary notes of correct explanation of its verses, will cover the whole field of the hostile camp and will not leave any room for any hostile critics to take shelter under any misgiving about the basic doctrines of the original Qur’anic faith. If this is done, it will not only be the source of the correct knowledge of the Holy Qur’an for our non-Muslim brethren who might sincerely seek the truth but also serve our own ranks which know the English language better than their own mother tongue and thus we could fortify our own personnel to get themselves properly informed of their own faith and defend it duly armed with the truth at their disposal, as and when necessary, and also be a source of guidance to their own family and friends. But this is not an easy job for one and all, particularly the one like my humble self. It is the work of sustained interest of scholars of very high order with the knowledge of the Holy Qur’an as well as of the English language. But somehow the work had to be taken up and done as best as one could do it, depending upon God Whose promise of help to every sincere effort is always there and never fails. It must be done, and someone should start it, for further progress or improvement by better hands later.

The Providential Means To The Service

Madras, since ages, had been the home of very great Shi’a scholars and divines. As for my knowledge of these illustrious men of God, I can confidently give the names of a few great ones who were the guardians of the school of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt in South India. The greatest name among the scholars which Madras produced, as far as my knowledge goes, is that of Hujjat ul-Islam Maulvi Ghulam Nibiul Ahmad Khan Sahib who was followed by the Shi’as in South India, as the Mujtahid of his age and whose work, the ‘Paya al-Deen’, (i.e., The Foundation of the Religion) in Urdu, until late, was the religious guide in the daily use of the people. He was succeeded by his son Hujjat ul-Islam Maulvi Amjad Ali Khan Sahib, who was also a great scholar and a spiritual magnet and was acknowledged as a Sage and revered by the scholars of the various schools and the leading Christian authorities in the city regarded him as the greatest defender of the Islamic Faith. He was the one who saved many a “Muslim from falling into the trap of the powerful Christian missionary forces which were then, as they are now, very active in the City.

I proudly say that it was under this great celebrated Scholar Sage that I started the study of the Arabic language. This great Scholar Sage has been succeeded by his son Hujjat ul-Islam Al-Hajj Maulvi Ghulam Muhammad Mahdi Khan Sahib, the present Chief Shi’a Qazi of the Government of Madras, whose profuse knowledge, and pious personality is known even outside India. When he visited the great Centre of learning at Qum, he was specially honoured by Ayatullah al-Ozma Akha al-Broojardi, and at Lebanon the great Shi’a divine Ayatullah Akha Sayyid Sharfuddin Jabal’aamoli, conferred on him the honour of being his Deputy or Naib. He is now the backbone of the Shi’a faith in South India, and a unique personality with the knowledge of the English language and modern sciences. His approach to religious problems is highly scientific and rational with arguments ever convincing for which he is revered by scholars of all schools of thought, in South India.

Besides, there was Hujjat ul-Islam Shamsul Ulema Sayyid Hasan Raza Sahib, another senior scholar who was known not only for the high standard of his scholarship but also for his ideal piety. This was also a saintly personality. He was another man of God with which Madras was blessed. This great godly soul was the source of spreading the knowledge of the Ja’fari Fiqha among the Shi’a public of Madras. His simplicity and strict piety are even today remembered with highest regard and reverence to his name. I had the good fortune of sitting at his feet for about three years for Arabic syntax and the study of the Ja’fari theology.

Madras had the good fortune to receive a very great scholar from Iran (Shutar) Shamsul Mutakallimeen Agha Sayyid Hidayatullah Shustari al-Jazaa’iri, a nephew of Agha Sayyid Ali Shustari of Hyderabad (Deccan). He accepted the Professorship of Persian Literature in the Government Muhammadan College, Madras, and was an acknowledged scholar of the Arabic, and the Persian languages as well as of the Shi’a Ithna ‘Ashari faith. When the Shamsul Ulema fell seriously ill, I sat at the feet of this great scholar to have whatever my limited capacity could receive from this great store. The whole of the educated public of Madras acknowledged the versatility of the knowledge of this celebrated scholar.

Besides these there is Al-Hajj Maulvi Ghulam Abbas Ali Sahib ‘Abbas’ - a highly revered scholar and a seasoned educationist and the pride of Urdu scholars and poets in the South. His work the ‘Life of Husayn the Saviour’, is one of the pioneers works in the field of Shi’a literature in English. Though advanced in age yet by God’s grace he is ever busy in service to the faith and the faithful.

Besides these, there were the other scholars who are not very much known to the world outside Madras. One of these unknown learned men, was Tahsildar Hajj Mir Abbas Ali Sahib (of Triplicane) who has left a very good work in Urdu, in two volumes - Israare al-Haq’ which richly deserves a reprint.

In about 1925, arrived the greatest Scholar, and one of the greatest divines of the age Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Al-Hajj Allama Agha Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi from Najaf al-Ashraf, after his Ha). This great Scholar Sage is a wonderful Treasury of the Qur’anic Knowledge particularly of the School of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt with a thorough study of the comparative philosophy of the religions of the world. He was born in 1307 A.H. at Yazd (Iran) son of Hujjat ul-Islam Agha Mirza Hasan who was the great sage and scholar at Yazd, one of whose students was the great celebrated Scholar and Divine Sayyid Kazim Tabatabaa’ya. The grandfather of this great divine was Hujjat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimeen Agha Mirza Ja’far Yezdi, a student of the celebrated Shi’a Divine Shaikh Murtaza Ansari (D. 1281 A.H.) who was one of the greatest Shi’a authorities on the Ja’fari Fiqh. Agha Sayyid Hidayatullah Shustari Al-Jazaa’iri who was known for his high Scholarship, once told me am at a loss to know how many books did this man of God (Agha Pooya) study that he quotes so many authorities verbatim in support of his arguments on anything in Islam and on the various schools of religious philosophy. He quotes so many authorities that a man is only amazed!’

By God’s grace I had the good fortune and the unique opportunity of visiting many Islamic centres of learning in India and in the Muslim countries abroad and have met many great intellectual magnets and divines. I sincerely affirm that I have yet to come across a second one like this great Scholar Sage with the divine gift of knowledge and insight. The sublime height of his knowledge of the Holy Qur’an and his deep study of the philosophic aspects of each and every verse of the Final Word of God, has been unanimously acknowledged by the Scholars of all Schools, as inapproachable. He is one of the greatest and the most fearless exponents of the Islamic truth I have come across in my life. He knows no fear or favour or any regard for any worldly power or possession, in exposing the truth. His door is ever open for any seeker of the Qur’anic knowledge. He is equally disposed towards every visitor be he rich or poor. People having finished their studies at the great centres of learning at Qum and Najaf, come to him to receive whatever they could have, from this waveless deep ocean. He abhors show and publicity, and his humility, and modesty is known to all those who have come in contact with him. His knowledge of the various religions and the different schools of philosophy, ancient as well as modern, is only amazing and his approach to religious problems, are ever convincing to his audience.

In short, I sincerely declare that this godly soul, is such a wonderful and inimitable personality that it has roused the wonder in my mind, that if this is what a sincere follower of the Ahl Al-Bayt is blessed with, by God, what were the holy Imams and what a treasury of knowledge was the one about whom the Apostle of God who uttered nothing but the revelation of the Lord said “I am the City of Knowledge and Ali is its Gate” 1 and what was the City of Knowledge itself. The sublimity of his Qur’anic knowledge can be easily gauged by the quality of the notes he has given about the Qur’anic topics which are accommodated in this work with the indication of A.P. at the end of each note, which indicates his name (i.e., Agha Pooya). For me, his advent in Madras, was providential for, all the time he was there, I had the good fortune to sit at his feet and gathered only a few shells from the shore of the unfathomable ocean of his knowledge.

The notes by this Sage, do not comprise of all that he could give about the verses. They are the shortest possible hints that could be had for the present edition of this work which had to be unavoidably hurried up for want of time. God alone knows how, at every step I had to most reluctantly stop the flow of the explanations from this Sage and cut short the notes to suit the exigency of the time at my disposal.

What Forced Me To Take Up This Venture - The Need Became Imperative

In 1954 I was invited by the great scholar Dr. T. M. P. Mahadevan, the Chief Professor of Philosophy of the Madras University and the General Secretary (For India) of the World Organisation, the Society for the Study of the Great Religions, to represent Islam in the World Religious Conference or the Seminar which was to be held in Mysore for a week, under the presidentship of the world renowned Philosopher Dr. Radha Krishnan, then the Vice-President and now the President of the Indian Union. A whole day was allotted to each of the leading world religions, viz. Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam and all the other Schools were given a few hours to read their prepared papers on the respective scriptural standpoints. The speakers on Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam had to give two talks and also to offer a discourse for the exchange of views in a question hour. I quite remember the good-hearted counsel of the late Dr. Md. Abdul Huq, M.A., D. Phil., (Oxon.), at whose advice I accepted the invitation and attended the conference at Bangalore.

The conference was with a very elaborate arrangement under the Royal patronage of His Highness the Maharajah Sahib of Mysore. It was an assembly of the pick of the scholars of the various religions of the world. Here I came across some of the leading scholars of the various schools of thought and having stayed with them in the special camp for about a week, I was further pained at heart, to find how even the scholars of the non-Muslim world, miserably labour under gross misunderstandings against Islam and lack the correct knowledge of the true Qur’anic faith. My attending the conference seemed to me to be providential, as to encourage me for the great venture about which I had not yet decided.

At the end my talks on the Holy Qur’an on the Day for Islam, the gist of which has been published, I was surprised by the sincere demand from some very good scholars in the audience, for copies of the Holy Book. About 114 copies of the ‘Glorious Qur’an,’ (the translation by Mr. M. Pickthall), were purchased that very day, by those Scholars. My feelings of regret for not having a version of our own, in the English language, i.e., the correct translation with the commentary on it, according to the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, knew no bounds. In short, I decided to depend upon God’s help, and to take up the venture. My attending the conference, was practically to inform me of the need of this work. I returned to Madras with the decision to start the work. I was fully conscious of my limitations and the handicaps in my way. However, I had determined to do the best possible for me and leave the rest to God’s will.

As per my own belief, I thought that I must proceed to the Holy City of Najaf and visiting the Holy Shrine of the Gate of the City of Knowledge, Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib, take his permission and invoke the help of God through his blessings. I proceeded to Najaf and today I gladly disclose, that it was ‘Shabe Juma’’, a Thursday night in Najaf al-Ashraf when after my supplication to God in the holy Shrine, I returned to my room, and that very night I dreamt, which I have justification to believe that it was nothing but the permission from the Great Holy Soul, to go ahead with the determined venture with the assurance of his godly help in the task.

With the clear sign of the promise of the divine help in the task, I returned to Bombay enroute to Madras, where I stayed with Hajj Rajab Ali P. Ebrahim who, in my very first meeting with him, threw a surprise on me by asking me, if I would take up the translation of the Holy Qur’an with the commentary according to the version of the Ahl Al-Bayt and he would render every help which he could possibly do, to execute the work. I was struck with surprise for the coincidence of the enquiry from the godly man, about a task which I was myself returning home with the determination to undertake. The one condition from Hajj Rajab Ali was that the first edition of the work should be dedicated to the late Hajj Dawood Ismail Habib. I also knew the late Hajj Dawood Habib as a charitable noble member of the Habib family which is known for its services to religion and humanity. I readily accepted the offer and started the work.

I took the offer of the gentleman as providential and Mr. Rajab Ali, as per his promise provided me for all these years with the cost of a full-time steno-typist to assist me in preparing the copy of my work.

The venture demanded a whole-time attention as the first concern of my life. Hence, I had to retire before time from the service in the Government Arts College, Madras.

Having come to know of my venture, some of my good friends appreciated it and acknowledged its need but some of them also discouraged me regarding the high-class English in which they would like the work to be. But I could confidently assure the matter to be in an understandable English, though it might be void of the high standard and would lack the beauties and the eloquence of it, which I did not deem essential for my purpose. I was going to present the Qur’anic matter in an understandable English and not a thesis on the English language and literature. I sincerely declare that it would not be a surprise to me if my language is found wanting in the eloquence and the beauties of it. With this declared confession from me, I am sure that the great scholars of the English language will graciously bestow their attention not on the linguistic standard of this humble work, but the matter accommodated in it. I felt the need of it as imperative and had to helplessly come forward with what little I could do to serve the purpose as best as I could, paving the way for further improvement on it by better heads and abler hands in the future.

I had finished the 1st Chapter of the Holy Book, when to my good fortune, my master and guide in the Islamic knowledge, Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Agha Hajj Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi visited Bangalore and this great godly scholar saw my work and commanded me to go ahead with it and promised to go through my work before it goes to the Press. It took nine long years for me to complete the work. The task before me was not of the labour but of providing myself with the various basic authorities on the subject. With a strenuous effort I could collect most of the works (given in the list of my sources) and for the rest I had to visit the various libraries in Madras and in Hyderabad.

After finishing the work, I went to Bombay to consult Hajj Rajab Ali P. Ebrahim about the publication of the work, who promised to do the best possible in the matter. I cannot forget how spontaneously his elder brother Ramzanali P. Ebrahim came forward with a very great encouragement on his own behalf which gave the momentum to the efforts to get the work- published, for the cost of the publication was estimated to be very high.

Before sending the matter to the press I wanted to get it revised by my Master and Guide Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Allama Hajj Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi, for I confidently assert that besides him there is none in the Shi’a world today who can scrutinise any work on the Holy Qur’an as he does it.

I went over to Karachi where he now stays and here, I had to stay for about 24 months to get my translation perused by him. I am glad to say that the Great Holy Soul, gave all the time fie could spare, every day with full attention, and sometimes till late in the nights, I was reading out the translation and he was giving his own notes on the Topics of special importance. In 1963 this great sage suddenly became seriously ill and was admitted into the Naval Hospital, Karachi, and the revision of my work had to be suspended for some time, and this interval I availed of, to visit the great centres of Islamic learning at Mashhad and Qum (Iran) and Najaf Al-’Ashraf (Iraq).

I am indebted to Dr. Hajj Muhammad Taqi Muqtadari of the Iranian Imperial Embassy, Karachi, who wrote to the leading scholars in Iraq introducing me to them and also recommended to the Authorities of the great Astana Library in Mash’had, to give me all facilities to have free access to the authorities concerning the Qur’anic knowledge.

At Mash’had I stayed for a month, and I have no words to express my gratitude to Ayatullah Agha Hajj Sayyid Hadi Milani who gave great encouragement in my venture and enriched me with his directions and honoured me with the bestowal of his ‘Niabat’ (Representative or Deputy’) which I hardly deserve. The photo copy of his gracious award is hereunder displayed. This I accepted as an honour from the great Divine.

From Mash’had I proceeded to Teheran and was benefited a great deal by my contact with some of the great scholars of the Teheran University.

I visited the great centres of Islamic learning at Qum and during my short stay there, of a few days, I could only have the benefit of some discourse about Qur’an, with the authorities in the great centre of Islamic learning.

From Qum I proceeded to the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf. At Najaf I had the honour and privilege of meeting the great Mujtahids: (The Shi’a Divines).

Ayatullah Hajj Sayyid Mohsin al-Al-Hakim.

Ayatullah Agha Hajj Sayyid Mahmud Shahroodi.

Ayatullah Hajj Sayyid Abul-Qasim Al-Moosavi Khoei.

In my meeting with the above Divines, Ayatullah Hajj Sayyid Mohsin Al-Hakim appreciated the venture to the extent of his readiness of getting it published at his own cost in Iraq itself, a proposition not practical for me.

Ayatullah Hajj Sayyid Abdul Qasim Al-Moosavi Al-Khoei welcomed the venture and as a token of his appreciation and encouragement presented me with a complete set of the valuable work ‘Tafsir al-Burhan’ with his own autograph and expressed his readiness to lend any help I may need in the venture.

I am indebted to Ayatullah Agha Hajj Sayyid Mahmood Shahroodi for the ideal hospitality and the great encouragement assuring all the help I would need in bringing out the work. In addition to it, like Ayatullah Agha Hajj Sayyid Hadi Milani, he honoured me with a credential of his ‘Niabat’ (Representative or Deputy). I accepted it as an honour from the great divine.

I hereby record my sincerest indebtedness and gratitude for the hospitality and the help I received from the members of the Habib family in Karachi, of them particularly from Hajj Ahmad- Habib Ismail, Hajj Hamid Dawood Habib and Hajj Rashid Dawood Habib and the members of the Chandu family particularly Mr. Abbas Chandu and his brothers. To tell the truth, but for the hospitality and the helpful treatment I received from these good-hearted ones, I would not have had the facility to complete my work.

I cannot spare mentioning the names of the two of the senior veterans Hajj Hasan Alt P. Ebrahim and Hajj Dawood Hajj Naser Mawji for their sincere blessings to the endeavour.

I sincerely express and record my heartfelt obligation and thanks to one and all my other brethren in India and abroad for their assistance, encouragement and kindness rendered to me in this venture of mine. I wish, it were possible for me to name them all but the work, with all the possible restraint, has already become too voluminous and I can only tell them all, ‘Ajrokom ‘ala Allah’, Your reward lies with your Lord.

I am indebted to the authorities of The Sterling Printing and Publishing Company Ltd., Karachi, for the facilities they gave me and for the keen interest they evinced in bringing out this work. I thankfully acknowledge the fact, and the Press authorities are unanimously with me, that without the untiring efforts, the sustained interest, and the personal sacrifices of one of the partners of the Press Mr. Khaleel Shirazi, the printing could not have been so successfully completed. This young partner of the Press did not spare any pain in making this undertaking by the Press, a grand success.

I must inform the readers, that this edition of my work, was brought out under unavoidable difficulties and insurmountable handicaps. Hence the mistakes which might have slipped my own notice and that of the Press, may kindly be bypassed and I may kindly be informed of them if they find any, for my guidance InshaAllah Ta’ala for the revised edition.

The Niabat Nameh

Justification For This Endeavour - The Age Of Rapid Changes

We are in an age of endeavour for the conquest of space and time. The faster means of communications have set in motion such rapid conveyances for men and material which were far beyond the imagination of the former generations of the human race. The speed in the movement has brought forth revolutionary changes in ideology and the mode of living and has created the economic interdependence of nations. No nation in the world, can now remain aloof from the other and yet progress or advance in any aspect of its economic or social life. Consequently, problems relating to human life on earth, and its progress, have also ceased to be local. Every problem, be it of any single nation, or of the human race as a whole, has its causes and effects interconnected, and thus become the concern of international import of universal interest.

The rapid motion of the conveyance of men and material did not affect revolution only in the economic structure of the world, but it carried with it a more vital change and exchange of thoughts and religious ideology. The two forces, the economic and cultural, always go hand in hand. The exchange of goods in trade is often mutual, as no nation can always be only a buyer or only a seller. Each nation has to play both the roles simultaneously, and must be giving to, and taking from, each other. But in the cultural field, this rule need not necessarily be always the same. The conveyance of men and matter is visible, whereas the change and the exchange of views and the revolution in the ideology, is latent and visible only in its effects. The law active in this field, is not of ‘Give and Take.’ The stronger and the more powerful one in the political and the economic position, exerts a stronger and more fascinating influence on the weaker and the poorer groups, and effects a revolution in their intellectual and social spheres which is irresistible for the weaker in discretion and reasoning.

The West, with its economic superiority and its political position, has gained a sway over most of the Eastern countries. Particularly the general Muslim public, has been incessantly getting strongly influenced by the materialist thoughts and the irreligious life of the West. This influence on the intellect, has gradually progressed from being irreligious to anti- religious. The necessity’ to learn the English language, which emanated from what the knowledge of the language promises towards the welfare and progress of the people in their economic and political life, made the Muslims neglect and even forget the necessity’ and the importance of learning even their own mother tongue and the languages viz., Arabic and Persian in which are treasured the original and the basic knowledge of their faith.

Formerly the knowledge of the Holy Qur’an and the Islamic theology was acquired directly through Arabic and Persian, but now a Muslim, with the modern education he gets through the medium of English, can only read and understand things better than in his own mother tongue, if the matter is presented in English, and the works even on his Holy Book and his faith, have the appeal to him only when they are in the English language. Such people care more for the beauties of the language rather than the correctness of the matter accommodated therein. The Western translators of the Holy Qur’an and most of the producers of the literature on Islam in the English language, are the anti-Muslim elements which are busy distorting the facts about the faith to create disruption in the Islamic ideology.

These hostile minds have done the worst possible for them to blackmail the Holy Prophet and the religion Islam, through their purposeful mistranslations, misinterpretations, misrepresentation, and the distortion of facts. The distortions and the misinterpretations are so strongly plastered with such attractive paints of the linguistic excellence and the delusive logic that the blind lovers of the English language who are hardly or even totally unaware of the actual Qur’anic factors of their faith, get drifted in the falsehood tempered with the eloquence and such of our friends readily swallow the sugar-coated poisonous pills and get themselves duly conditioned to serve the purpose of the publications of the hostile camps.

Thus, our own men become the enchanted agents of the crafty enemies. But for this crafty move mostly on the part of the Christian writers against Islam and its Holy Founder, God alone knows how much of the human world by today, would have embraced the truth. Thus, the western writers are not only’ creating disruption in the Muslim ideology’ and ranks, but also obstructing the sincere seekers of the truth, from getting even a glimpse of the factual position of the inimitable Islamic excellence. When the antagonistic elements have successfully’ extended their active influence upon our own religious ideology and social traditions, we are also bound in our own duty to God, His Final Word, the Holy Qur’an, and the faith Islam, to present the truth to make it clear to every sincere seeker of it. We have to present the facts in their sublime purity’ to display the truth and dispel the doubt created by the anti-Islamic forces.

The Worth Of A Work

The worth or the value of a work depends upon the need or the demand for it and the need or the demand is judged by the extent to which the human family will be profited by it and the amount of the loss or the disadvantage the absence of it might be causing.

When there are several other similar works already in the field a repetition of it must have some acceptable reasons justifying the endeavour. Every work should, as a necessity, establish its originality and usefulness or its distinction with its special features distinguishing it from the other works of similar nature.

The Holy Qur’an has already been translated into the English language by several scholars of repute and some of them have also given sufficiently detailed notes of commentary on the contents of the Holy Book. A work of the same kind will be an unnecessary repetition for repetition’s sake unless it serves any new purpose. There are the well-known translations of the Text by George Sale, J. N. Rodwell, E. H. Palmer, M. Pickthall, Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar and A. K. Dawood and M. H. Shakir.

Firstly, mere translation of the Text without the correct background of the actual context of each revelation will not serve the purpose of a useful study and understanding the matter correctly. The latest of the translations of the Text is by Mr Shakir which, no doubt, contains some very brief useful notes on some selected verses. The notes are correct hints but too brief and very few, not sufficient to meet the demand for the Qur’anic knowledge in its fullness. If he had lived, perhaps, he would have met the demand.

Earlier to this, Mr. Badsha Husayn of Lucknow, had attempted at a detailed work on the Qur’an and has brought out in two volumes, his work on some chapters, but death did not spare him to complete the work. Besides the learned scholar had adopted the translation of Mr. Rodwell and not his own and as regards the notes of his explanations are based mostly on the sermons of some Maulvi (Scholar) without any approach to the modern problems and without any answers to the various criticisms from the anti-Islamic front. This fact Mr. B. H. has himself openly acknowledged in his introduction to whatever he could bring out.

Secondly, the translations by aforesaid Christian scholars viz., Rod well, G. Sale and Palmer etc., are obviously prejudicial. Any student of the comparative study of the Qur’an would certainly declare that these scholars either have betrayed their ignorance of the classical as well as the modern Arabic language, or had the knowledge, and purposefully abused it to serve their own selfish purpose of misrepresenting the sublime beauty of the contents of the Holy Book by misinterpreting its matter. The purpose behind the distortions, is quite obvious that the identical mission of all these prejudiced minds was to make the readers of their works, form a detestable opinion about the basic book of Islam, thus instead of helping them to understand it correctly, obstruct them from doing it.

To expose the factors in the other translations, particularly by the Christian scholars, which justify the endeavour for this work, needs a detailed review of each of the works which I have already prepared but could not give here for want of space and the shortness of the time, at my disposal at present. Instead of dealing with each one of the distorting works of the anti- Islamic minds, I give a few quotations from the introduction to Mr. Sale’s translation, by the celebrated Christian Scholar Sir. E. Dennison Ross, and the other learned ones, which will give the readers a view of the factual position of the Holy Qur’an in the opinion of the impartial minds and the unjust hostile attitude of the wilful distorters of the Holy Book.

The following remarks by the great Scholar, gives a very clear proof to all sensible readers of the works of the Christian authors on Islam, to what ingenuity, meanness, lies, and impostures they resort to, when dealing with subjects opposed to their own personal prejudicial views:

Sir E. Dennison Ross, says:

“It must, however, be borne in mind that the Koran plays a far greater role among the Muhammadans than does the Bible in Christianity, in that it provides not only the canon of their faith, but also the textbook of their ritual and the principles of their Civil Law.

“For many centuries the acquaintance which the majority of Europeans possessed of Muhammadanism was based almost entirely on distorted reports of fanatical Christians which led to the dissemination of a multitude of gross calumnies. What was good in Muhammadanism was entirely ignored, and what was not good, in the eyes of Europe, was exaggerated or misinterpreted.

“It must not, however, be forgotten that the central doctrine preached by Muhammad to his contemporaries in Arabia, who worshipped the star; to the Persians, who acknowledged Ormuz and Ahriman; the Indians who worshipped idols; and the Turks; who had no particular worship, was the unity of God and that the simplicity of his creed was probably a more potent factor in the spread of Islam than the sword of the Ghazis.

“It is difficult to decide to what extent Mr. Sale’s citations in the notes represent first-hand use of the Arabic commentators, but I fear that the result of a close inquiry only points to very little original research on his part.

“His refutations, which swell the work to a large volume, are of little (use) or none at all, being often unsatisfactory, and sometimes impertinent.

“I do not wish to imply that Sale did not know Arabic, but I do maintain that his work as it stands gives a misleading estimate of his original research, and that his tribute to Marracci falls far short of his actual indebtedness”2

The translation of the Holy Qur’an by Mr. Sale is held by its publishers to be the best and the most accurate which claim has been proved to be false by another great Christian Scholar viz., Mr. Palmer:

“From the large amount of exegetical matter which has been incorporated in his (Mr. Sale’s) text and from the style of language employed, which differs widely from nervous energy and the rugged simplicity of the original, his (Mr. Sale’s) work can scarcely be regarded as a fair representation of the Qur’an”

Mr. Sale with all his endeavour to distort the meaning of the Holy Qur’an, to help the Christian missionaries, in diverting the attention of the world from the Holy Book, had to, in the ultimate, helplessly confess about the Glory of the Holy Qur’an as an Inimitable and Permanent Miracle:

“The Koran is universally allowed to be written with utmost elegance and purity of language. It is confessedly the standard of the Arabic tongue, inimitable by any human pen and therefore insisted on as a permanent miracle”3

Every sincere seeker of Truth, would like to listen to what the great Western scholar Goethe says about the Holy Qur’an:

“However often we turn to Qur’an, it soon attracts, astounds and in the end enforces reverence. Thus, This Book will go on exercising through all ages its most potent influence”

The great scholar and the famous poetess leader of the people of India, Sarojini Naidu, in her lecture in Madras in 1918 declared:

“As I read the Qur’an, I find those Dynamic Principles of Life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world”4

Dr. A. Bertherand declares to the intellectuals of the world:

“To seek knowledge is the duty of every Muslim man and woman. Seek knowledge even though it be in China. The Savants are the heirs of the Prophets. These profound words of the Great Reformer are indisputable contradiction to those who seek and exert themselves in putting the responsibility of the intellectual degradation of Muslims upon the spirit of the Qur’an. Let them read and meditate upon this great book and they will find it, at every passage, a constant attack upon idolatry and materialism; they will read that The Prophet incessantly called the attention and the meditation of his people to the splendid marvels, to the mysterious phenomenon of creation. The incredulous, sceptical, and unbelieving may convince themselves that the importance of This Book and its doctrine was not to throw back, eventually, the intellectual and moral faculties of a whole people. On the contrary, those who have followed its counsels, have been, as we have described in the course of this study, the creators of a civilisation which is abounding unto this day”

Just to create hatred against Islam in the minds of the peace-loving mankind, the fable of Islam having been spread by the sword was fabricated. What aggression could the lonely one, the Holy Prophet, commit and what a sword in the hand of the one single soul who was himself persecuted and whose followers were heartlessly tortured and mercilessly killed, could have done, anyone with mere common sense can easily judge. The truth about this vicious fabrication has been exposed by many great scholars of the West and the following is one of the impartial declarations of the Truth.

De Lacy O’Leary writes:

“History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races, is one of the most fantastical absurd myths that historians have ever repeated”5

About the perfection of the Islamic law, citing the verdict of the Great British parliamentarian will suffice.

Edmund Burke writes:

“The Muhammadan law which is binding on all from the crowned head to the meanest subject, is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world”6

There are the detailed works by two Muslim scholars viz., Maulvi Muhammad Ali of the Ahmadia school and Allama Yousuf Ali, whose translations of the text are with a detailed commentary’.

Firstly, these two Muslim scholars have not been impartial and have consistently avoided not only’ any resort to the source of the Ahl Al-Bayt but also seem to hate even a reference to the holy ones even at the places where these godly souls are the direct concern of the revelations. There is also an obvious betrayal of the conscience in the distortion of the facts sparing no possible endeavour to misinterpret them. This fact will be proved if a student of Qur’an keeps Mr. Muhammad Ali’s work besides that of the great Commentary ‘Majma’ ul-Bayan’ of great Shi’a authority Shaikh al-Tabarsi and then find out what amount of borrowing has been done from the ‘Majma’ and yet not even at a single place, it has been acknowledged. Besides the basic Shi’a sources have been deliberately avoided. Mr. Yousuf Ali’s work is totally void of any reference to the Ahl Al-Bayt which attitude proves that the learned translator either has wilfully’ avoided any recourse to this most accredited, exclusive and the only authentic source of the Qur’anic knowledge or was totally ignorant of the holy ones and their position in Islam, although the Holy Prophet had openly declared that the Qur’an is with the Ahl Al-Bayt, and to avoid getting astray the Muslims should be attached to these two7

Besides the other factors, which to be fully enumerated, will need a lengthy statement which cannot be accommodated here at present, there are some peculiar interpretations of the verses suiting the bias of the Scholars of their own respective schools. These intentional or unintentional misgivings are helpful to form a wrong opinion about the Qur’anic factors as well as the Holy Ones concerned with the matter.

A glance of the sources of the data collected by these Scholars for their works, discloses the deliberate alienation of the authorities giving the view point of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.

The one conspicuous peculiarity of the Ahmadi commentator is practically the denial of the miracles by interpreting or ascribing the miraculous events presented by the Apostles of God, as non-spiritual events having no spiritual force behind them, as the usual happenings circumstanced by some natural phenomena. This denies the apostles of God the special spiritual powers which they were endowed with.

The trend of presentation of the Qur’anic facts, is not to recast the modern rebellious minds into Qur’anic moulds but to recast the Qur’anic knowledge to suit the trend of modern corrupt ideology.

Thus, I undertook this venture to present as best as I can, the translation of the Holy Qur’an as well as the interpretations of its matter according to the Ahl Al-Bayt with whom the Holy Prophet left it, saying that these Two will never be separated, and to be safe from getting astray, the Muslims have to hold fast to these Two. I have based all my statements on the basic authorities of the School of the Ahl Al-Bayt, having in view both the friendly as well as inimical works given in the list of my references.

The Genetic Factor Of The Misunderstandings

The question is, wherefrom does the anti-Islamic element gets the venom to vomit it against Islam and its Holy Founder? How could some of the non-Muslim scholars misunderstand while some others understand it better to the extent of appreciating it? It is this problem which is to be properly understood and duly attacked with the necessary solution for it.

The genetic cause behind all the misunderstandings, not only by our non-Muslim brethren but by a considerable number in our own ranks whose source of knowledge is only the literature in the English language which is the grossly adulterated stuff of the information about Islam and its Holy Founder, readily available to them in the market. The inquisitive minds however sincere they may be in seeking the Islamic truth, the matter available to them, turns them hostile or makes them doubtful of the bonafide of the claim of Islam being God’s revealed religion and its holy Founder being in fact the Apostle of God. Take for instance:

The fabricated story of the Holy Prophet’s getting frightened at the Messenger Angel’s appearing to him - his getting consoled by Lady Khadija - and being informed of the heavenly office of the apostleship having been conferred on him by Waraqa Ibn Nawfil.

The false stories of the disgraceful acts of sexual lust on the part of the Apostle of God.

Describing all the defensive resistance which Islam was forced to exercise, as wielding of the sword for territorial ambitions.

The fabricated story of the Holy Prophet, seating one of his wives on his shoulders, to show her the slave dance.

The denial of the miracles wrought by the apostles of God and the Holy Prophet.

The wishful and the malicious imagination of the Holy Virgin Mary having contact with Joseph in the Sanctuary, assigning a human father to the Holy Prophet Jesus, and thus denying his miraculous birth.

Creating doubts, by all sorts of wishful conjectures against the bodily Ascension (Mi’raj), of the Holy Prophet.

Aligning the sinful ones with those Purified by God Himself.

Misinterpreting the Qur’anic laws of heritage, relating to the apostles of God.

The coinage of false traditions in the name of the Holy Prophet.

Hiding the defects, drawbacks, and the natural deficiencies of some pet heroes and praising them against their historic misgivings and misconduct and presenting the wicked ones and even the tyrants as the leaders of the faith.

Lowering the actual position of the holy ones, in favour of those who can never reasonably be aligned with the godly souls.

Misinterpreting the verses of the Holy Qur’an to suit personal wishful conjectures.

Misinterpreting the actual significance of the most important historic event of Ghadir Khumm.

Denial of the appointment of the successor to him which the Holy Prophet, during his lifetime had done, thus bringing the blame on him to have left the world without doing it.

Presenting the illegal and the unwarranted acts of some political leaders after the departure of the Holy Prophet, as legal and warranted, as the heroic deeds for the faith.

And many such other factors.

The hatred that such publications create in the raw minds, is naturally transferred from the factors to the faith and its Founder. Thus, the elements responsible for the hatred and the hostility of the non-Muslim writers are the various wishful translations of the Qur’an and the unauthentic commentaries on it. Those who hold the correct guidance from the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, about these matters, also cannot escape their own responsibility of presenting the truth to the world, when it is so imperatively needed and the absence of which is playing such intolerable havoc against Islam and misleading innumerable men and women in guest of the truth.

Over and above all the aforesaid handicaps in the way of people understanding the Qur’an correctly, there is also the mischievous Anti-Qur’anic propaganda against the genuineness of the Holy Qur’an, creating doubts against the completeness of the Holy Book and the correctness of the arrangement of the matter in it.

Whereas the truth sublime of Islam and the actual Qur’anic facts are quite different and, in some places, diametrically opposed to what is made available in the market by the purposefully established hostile agencies and the unnecessary and unwarranted misgivings by our ill- informed friends, the only source of correct information about the faith and its details, is the verdict of the Ahl Al-Bayt, the authorities divinely set up by the Lord through the Holy Prophet. The pity is that the thing which is the panacea of all the evils, and which is the demand of the time, has not been made available by us for the information and the guidance of the seekers of the truth and to counter the subversive move by the hostile forces.

Thus, instead of attempting at the impracticable and the impossible task of answering to every individual mischievous publication and individually to every mischief-monger who might be appearing on the scene every day in a different garb, the first and the foremost concern of the sincere advocates and the well-wishers of Islam and the faithful devotees of its Holy Founder, is to put a stop to the genetic source which is incessantly supplying venom against the faith, by bringing out an authentic version of the Holy Qur’an in the English language so that there remains no room for any misunderstanding of the Qur’anic factors by any uninformed friend or any misinformed foe. With such a reliable source of our own, duly established, we can call an emphatic halt to all antagonistic moves against the teachings of Islam or the Holy Prophet, by inviting the misguided ones to the correct and the authentic source placed at their disposal. Unless this is done, the trouble will be ever recurring and to do this is the responsibility of those who call themselves the devotees of the Ahl Al-Bayt, i.e., the Shi’as.

I deemed it as my first concern to clarify the actual position of the Holy Qur’an, which is the Greatest and the Ever-Current Miracle of the Holy Prophet Muhammad the Last Apostle of God, until the Day of the Final Judgment. In view of the importance of the subject and its direct concern with the faith, I have taken detailed notes from Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Al-Hajj Allama Agha Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi, one of the well-known greatest authorities on the Qur’anic knowledge and Islam. The notes were prepared with great strain and special care using the authentic sources, with the maximum possible brevity.

There is the clearest historic evidence to the facts:

The Qur’an as a whole as a complete Book, was already revealed to the Holy Prophet on the Night of ‘Qadr’.8

In the course of its ‘Tanzeel’ or the gradual revelation, as and when the verses were revealed, the Holy Prophet then and there, used to get the verses duly placed in the respective places in the order he was divinely directed to do.

The Holy Qur’an was recorded in writing at least by the following:

Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib, whose collection contained not only the text but also the notes, ordinary as well as the exclusive or the special ones, from the Holy Prophet.

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood.

Ma’aaz Ibn Jabal.

Obai Ibn Ka’b.

The Holy Prophet before his departure from the world, issued the well-known historic announcement which is universally acknowledged by the Muslim World as a whole that he was leaving behind, among the people and not with any particular person, for the words are clear ‘Feekom’, i.e., ‘among you,’ the ‘Saqalain’ or (Thaqalain), i.e., the Two Weighty or the Important things the ‘Kitab Allah’ the Book of God, which means that by that time, the Qur’an was duly collected and had been given the form to be called a complete Book.

If there was no collection of the Qur’anic verses in the form of a complete Book, what was the Book that ‘Umar referred to when he in reply to the demand from the Holy Prophet for pen and paper, said ‘Hasbona Kitab Allah’, i.e., Sufficient is for us the Book of God.

With all this unchallengeable evidence of History, if yet any fuss is made about its collection by anyone else or about its ‘Tahrif’ it will be betraying either the determination not to know the truth or the inability to understand the matter in its true perspective. Readers may go through the notes by (AP) on ‘Tahrif’ for it is then that they will find the truth about the compilation of the Qur’an and the genuineness of its version in our hands.

To add to the detailed notes from (A.P.), I wrote to the greatest living Scholar-divines, the Mujtahids in Iran and Iraq and have obtained their respective verdicts about the ‘Tahrif’ in Qur’an to display in original the decisive verdict of the Shi’a world. (Vide the Fatwahs).

Thus, be it known that any talk against the genuineness, and the completeness, of the Qur’an and its originality or the correctness of the arrangement of the matter therein, is an anti-Shi’a, i.e., an anti-Islamic move.

As regards the other doctrines of Islam, against which grossly slanderous allegations are made and the mind of the general public is poisoned, I have given short explanatory notes under each topic and have also quoted one or two of the many verses of the Qur’an on which the doctrine and their practice is based. This has been given just for the information of the seekers of truth, and for the general public to know what actually means the Original Islam which just to be identified or distinguished from the other sectarian groups, is termed as Shi’ism.

1. Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala as-Sahihayn, Vol.3, p. 126; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Isti’ab, Vol.3, p. 1102.

2. Vide the Introduction to Sale’s Qur’an, by Sir E. Dennison Ross, C.I.E., Ph.D. etc., published by Ms. Frederick Warne Co., London.

3. Sale’s Preliminary discourse to his translation of the Holy Qur’an.

4. Lecture on the Ideals of Islam, Madras, 1918.

5. De Lacy O’Leary, Islam at the Cross-roads, London 1923, p. 8.

6. The English statesman and orator, Edmund Burke, in his “Impeachment of Warren Hastings.

7. Vide the Hadith ath-Thaqalain given on one of the title pages.

8. Vide 2:185; 44:3; 97:1.

Originality And The Genuineness Of The Holy Qur’an In Its Text And Its Arrangement

By Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Atlanta Hajj Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi

The overwhelming majority of scholars of all schools of thought in Islam, agrees to the fact that the Holy Qur’an as it is now in our hands was rendered in writing under the command and the personal supervision of the Holy Prophet himself, and no addition, omission or alteration whatsoever ever took place in it. But there are a few traditionists of the Sunni as well as the Shi’a schools who influenced by the letter of the traditions more than reason and the historical facts, on account of some narrations, have held a different view that some omissions and alterations have taken place after the Holy Prophet before the official assent was given to the present version by the Third Caliph. The advocates of this view, never succeeded in establishing any doctrine to this effect. Their views remain as individual opinions with no following from anyone save the advocates themselves. Our attempt here is:

To point out the causes of the doubts.

To value the traditions forwarded in support of the doubts.

The Internal and the External evidence of historical value, for and against the views.

What the Muslims are demanded to believe about the Holy Qur’an from the religious point of view.

Before dealing with the subjects in detail under the above headings the following points have necessarily to be kept in view:

Qur’an - What It Means

By Qur’an we mean the verses, phrases, sentences and the chapters uttered by the Holy Prophet of Islam, not as his own wording but as the Word and the Book of God, revealed to him and which he proclaimed as his Everlasting Miracle which bears the testimony of his Prophethood and with which he challenged not only those who doubted its origin and not only mankind alone but even the Jinns saying that even if the Jinns and men join hands with each other to produce the like of it, they will never be able to do it even in a part of it. This challenge he threw not to any particular age but for all times. By this definition we exclude all the utterances of the Holy Prophet which he did not claim that the wording is of God (though the idea or the subject-matter was nothing but a revelation from God).

The definition also excludes the utterances of the Holy Prophet which he presented to the people as the Word of God but not as a miracle or a part of it with which he challenged the world (viz. the various Ahadith al-Qudsi). These Ahadith al-Qudsi are so numerous and abundant that if they are collected together, they will not be less than the size of the Holy Qur’an if not more, but their value in no respect or aspect, is more than the other genuine traditions of the Holy Prophet. This definition needs to be kept in view throughout the discussion about the Holy Qur’an.

Of the religious records of historical value, pre-Islamic or post-Islamic, in our hands, no document can ever compete with the Holy Qur’an in authenticity and genuineness. The historical records which the Muslims claim to be the most authentic and genuine of the Sunni school viz., the ‘‘Sihah al-Sitta” and of the Shi’a school viz., the Kutub al-Arba’a, none can claim of having the popularity and of being within the reach of every Muslim from his earliest age to his death in any degree as was the Holy Qur’an and no tradition was considered so important as to make every Muslim child, learn, recite and memorise it, word by word with utmost grammatical correctness and. phonetic perfection, as the Holy Qur’an.

This importance and care attached to the Holy Qur’an by every Muslim, was not the event of any later period. The Muslims were attracted to the Holy Qur’an, as the Word of God from the time of its revelation to the Holy Prophet and its recitation to the people. The Holy Qur’an itself from the time of its revelation encouraged the people in various ways to learn, read, recite and to memorise it and to ponder over every word of it and to mindfully listen to it when it is recited. When one recites it, one should first get ready to do it by disassociating oneself from anything and everything which would cause the least diversion of thought or the distraction of attention1.

The Holy Prophet was commanded by God not to be in a hurry in the recitation or in the arrangement of the Holy Qur’an but to follow the divine order in both respects (This indicates that the arrangement is not to be according to the date of the revelation). In short, the student of the Holy Qur’an will realise the amount of importance and care which has been attached to the Holy Qur’an by its Author and as a natural consequence of it, the Muslims who rightly believe that God is the Author of the Holy Qur’an, paid the utmost devotion to the Holy Book and carried out the orders as required of them. They learn and make their children learn it and put it into writing. In short, the Muslims in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet were taught and educated that to learn the Holy Qur’an is ‘Ibadat’ (Devotion); to recite it is ‘Ibadat’; to write it down is ‘Ibadat’; to teach others and make them read and learn it by heart and understand it is ‘Ibadat’; and to use the verses of the Holy Qur’an in the daily life to the extent that history records people never having used any other verse or phrase or sentence in their life but the Holy Qur’an.

The Holy Qur’an declares the teachings of the Book (the Divine Book) and the art of writing as one of the main objects of the advent of the Holy Prophet and considers the pen as the means of educating man even if the teacher is gone. The Holy Qur’an commands the people in their business transactions to write down their agreement and keep witnesses over it to avoid doubts and disputes later on. Is it possible that the Author of the Holy Qur’an who attaches so much importance to our writing down the affairs of our business, did not care for His own work, Himself attaching so much importance to it, which He produced as the Book containing the fundamental principles of the true, the divine, the universal and the Final message, not for any section of humanity or for any limited time but for the human race as a whole, for all times in all parts of the earth?

The authenticity and the genuineness of the version of the Holy Qur’an now in our hands and its being the same as the Qur’an uttered by the Holy Prophet, is so evident and obvious in certitude that no Muslim scholar of any standard has ever doubted the genuineness of this version that it includes any letter, word, sentence, verse, or chapter which was not uttered by the Holy Prophet as the part of the Qur’an. In other words, whatever we have in our hands, is Qur’an. The dispute is about omissions and alterations in the arrangement and some lettering and not about any additions at all (the alterations or the alternatives given by some commentators regarding some lettering, pronunciation and some words of the Holy Book which do not affect any substantial change either in the meaning or the significance of the phrases or the sentences). This will be dealt with under the variety of the recitations of the same words: viz., ‘Malika’ - ’Maalika.’ In short, the Muslim World throughout the ages has been unanimous that nothing has been added to the Holy Qur’an which is now in our hands.

All religious records other than the Holy Qur’an, Islamic or non-Islamic are suspected of containing passages, paras and even chapters to have been added to the Original Work.

Having in view this incompatible authenticity and the genuineness of the Holy Qur’an, in part as well as in whole, the Holy Prophet of Islam and his companions, the scholars in the subsequent generations are unanimous that the Holy Qur’an is to be taken as the standard and the criterion for the verification of all the other religious records be they Islamic or non- Islamic. Any narration, attributing any utterance, action, or endorsement, to the Holy Prophet or the Holy Imams of his House, which disagrees with the Holy Qur’an is to be considered as spurious and be rejected. This has been declared by the Holy Prophet, Ali, Hasan, and Husayn and the succeeding nine Imams of the Holy House, which means that Qur’an as the standard and the criterion for the verification of falsehood and truth in other statements and narrations did exist within the reach of the public throughout the ages down to 260 A.H.

There is no doubt that the Qur’an in our hands is the same as the version which received the official assent of the Third Caliph. All that has been said about the omission or any substantial alteration to have taken place in the Qur’an, is in the arrangement or the wording of the verses or the chapters which concerns the period after the departure of the Holy Prophet before the official assent of the Third Caliph given to the present version.

As already pointed out, the Holy Qur’an was current, in use during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet among the Muslims in the whole of the Muslim World with a vehement desire on the part of both the men and the women believers and even children who were anxious to own it by all means possible, in writing and mostly by heart. There were also the chosen scholars among the early Muslims whom the Holy Prophet had entrusted the duty of recording the Qur’an as it was revealed and recited by him then and there. The foremost of them was Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Ja’far Ibn Abi Talib and besides Ali were Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Mas’ab Ibn Omair of the earliest Muslims in Mecca and Obai Ibn Ka’b among the earliest adherents in Madina, (i.e., Ansars) Ma’az Ibn Jabal, Salim Maula Hazaifa and also the others. Ja’far Ibn Abi Talib was the head of the early Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia, and he was the master of the Qur’an revealed up to date - and Mas’ab Ibn Omair was sent to Madina to teach Qur’an to the people before the migration of the Holy Prophet to the place.

These people used to record the Qur’an in writing under the direct command and the personal supervision of the Holy Prophet, in his very presence, then and there as it was revealed, putting each part of it in its relevant place as commanded by the Holy Prophet, and recite their manuscripts to him then and there and earn his approval, and also many times afterwards, and these scribes were considered to be in charge of teaching the Qur’an to the others. They were considered as the masters and the teachers of the Holy Book from whom the Muslims directly or indirectly learnt the Qur’an during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet and thereafter. These people and thousands of the prominent companions (Sahabas) who were interested in learning the Holy Qur’an and its commentary, and their disciples like Abdullah Ibn Abbas and the others, all lived throughout the intermediary period between the departure of the Holy Prophet from this world and the award of the official assent by the Third Caliph to the present version and taught the Muslims throughout the length and breadth of the fast-expanding Muslim Empire. And the people of the various races, creeds and different shades of opinion had learnt it by heart and taken it down in writing for their own use. It is enough to estimate the popularity of the Qur’an among the Muslims that it is said that in the one single battle of ‘Yamama’ which took place only about six months after the departure of the Holy Prophet, seven hundred ‘Huffaz’ (those who know by heart) were killed in a single day’s fight.

Qur’an was existing during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet in the form of an arranged Book as approved by the Holy Prophet himself. From the saying of the Holy Prophet that “Gabriel would place before me, Qur’an for review once a year but this year he did it Twice which indicates that the time of my departure is close at hand” It is quite evident that the divine Author and the Holy Prophet both have guarded the Qur’an so much that no adulteration of any kind whatsoever shall take place thereafter by any profane hand and that the Qur’an received its complete arrangement and order not later than about three months before the departure of the Holy Prophet. It is with reference to this revealed Book which existed in the complete form, within the reach of the people that the Holy Prophet addressing his followers declared: “I leave amongst you Two Great Things, the Book of God and my Ahl Al-Bayt”

And it was with reference to the Complete Book of God, in the hands of the Muslims at the time of the departure of the Holy Prophet that ‘Umar dared to reply against the demand from the Holy Prophet for paper and ink, ‘Hasbona Kitab Allah’, i.e., sufficient is for us the Book of God. This clearly and doubtlessly proves that a version of the Qur’an in its complete and duly arranged form, was existing among the people, within the reach of the common man, as were the Ahl Al-Bayt who were left by the Holy Prophet with the Qur’an, as otherwise all these references to the Book of God become meaningless.

The Holy Qur’an claims for itself a pre-arranged existence with God (in the ‘Lauhe Mahfooz’, the Secured Tablet) and the ‘Kitab al-Maknoon’, i.e., the Hidden Book for the believer or at least in the mind of the Holy Prophet for the disbelievers. The arrangement of the revealed form should be in accordance with the pre-revealed arrangement and not in accordance with the order or the date of its revelation, because circumstances may necessitate an earlier recitation of a portion or a verse or a chapter which might be the next in the order of the pre-revealed arrangement. In this case the post-revealed arrangement should be in accordance with the pre-revealed order and not in accordance with the date of the revelation. For instance, a well- versed poet or a prose writer who has arranged his lyrics or articles in his mind but circumstances force him to recite certain portions from two lyrics of different metres, but when he wants to put it in writing, the line of each lyric will go to the respective lyrics of the metres, irrespective of the date of the recitation.

Although there is no problem of any theological value, theoretical or practical which Qur’an has not dealt with and it surpasses all scriptural records of pre-Islamic or post-Islamic ages, in the abundant variety of it contents, yet its method of approach, presentation and solution is exclusively unique to itself. It never deals with any topic in a systematic way used by ordinary authors of theology or even by any apostolic writers, on the contrary it expressively says that it has adopted a special method of its own, of changing the topics and shifting from one subject to another or reverting to the previous one and repeating deliberately and purposefully one and the same subject to facilitate understanding, learning, and remembering it vide:

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِي هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ كُلِّ مَثَلٍ فَأَبَىٰ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورًا

“And certainly, We have used various arguments for men in this Qur’an, every kind of description, but most men consent not to aught but denying” (17:89).

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَاهُ بَيْنَهُمْ لِيَذَّكَّرُوا فَأَبَىٰ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورًا

“And certainly, We have repeated (the verses) to them that they may be mindful, but the greater number of men consent not to aught but denying” (25:50).

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ سَمْعَكُمْ وَأَبْصَارَكُمْ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِكُمْ مَنْ إِلَٰهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِهِ انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الْآيَاتِ ثُمَّ هُمْ يَصْدِفُونَ

“Say! Have ye considered that if God taketh away your hearing and your sight and setteth a seal on your heart, who is the god besides God that can bring it to you? See how We repeat the verses, yet they turn away” (6:46).

قُلْ هُوَ الْقَادِرُ عَلَىٰ أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ أَوْ مِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِكُمْ أَوْ يَلْبِسَكُمْ شِيَعًا وَيُذِيقَ بَعْضَكُمْ بَأْسَ بَعْضٍ انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ

“Say! He hath the power that He should send on you chastisement from above you or from beneath your feet, or that He should throw you into confusion (making you) of different parties and make some of you taste the fighting of others. See how We repeat the verses that they may understand” (6:65).

The repetition is to variously show forth the signs (of the Unity of God).

From the following verse of the Holy Qur’an, it is quite obvious that the Holy Qur’an was already alive to the fact that this changing attitude will make some opponent of it, accuse its Author of getting its subject-matter from here and there. It is for this reason; it is said in this verse as in the other passages that it gives the reasons for its special or unique way or system of presentation:

وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُصَرِّفُ الْآيَاتِ وَلِيَقُولُوا دَرَسْتَ وَلِنُبَيِّنَهُ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ

“And thus, do We (variously) repeat the verses and that they may say Thou hast learnt (them from others) and that We may make it clear to a people who know” (6:105).

However, it is a fact that the Holy Qur’an deals in each chapter of particular rhythm with various topics in various ways and this variety adds only to its unique beauty and matchess eloquence. Any attentive reciter or an intelligent audience of the Holy Qur’an, while passing through these varieties in one rhythmical pitch, will enjoy to the extent which the Holy Qur’an itself declares:

اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ

“God hath the best announcement, a Book comfortable in its various parts, repeating whereat do shudder the skins of those who fear their Lord, then their skins and their hearts become pliant to the remembrance of God; This is God’s guidance. He guideth with it whomsoever He willeth; and (as for) him whom God alloweth to err, there shall be no guide for him” (39:23).

أَفَمَنْ يَتَّقِي بِوَجْهِهِ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَقِيلَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ ذُوقُوا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ

“Is he then who has to guard himself with his own person against the evil chastisement on the Resurrection Day? And it will be said to the unjust: ‘‘Taste ye what ye earned”“ (39:24).

كَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَأَتَاهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“Those before them rejected (the apostles) therefore there came unto them the chastisement from whence they perceived not” (39:25).

فَأَذَاقَهُمُ اللَّهُ الْخِزْيَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“So, God made them taste the disgrace in this world’s life, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater; if they only know (it)!” (39:26).

وَلَقَدْ ضَرَبْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِي هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ كُلِّ مَثَلٍ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ

“And certainly, We have set forth for men in this Qur’an similitudes of every sort that they may mind” (39:27).

قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

“An Arabic Qur’an without any crookedness that they may (guard) against evil” (39:28).

ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَجُلًا فِيهِ شُرَكَاءُ مُتَشَاكِسُونَ وَرَجُلًا سَلَمًا لِرَجُلٍ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“God setteth forth a parable; there is a man in whom are (several) partners differing with one another, and there is another man (devoted) wholly to a man. Are they two alike in condition? (All) praise is God’s; nay! most of them know not” (39:29).

Even those who doubted the genuineness of the arrangement of the present version did not claim that the whole arrangement of the verses, in all the chapters have been affected. There are chapters which were undoubtedly revealed in complete form viz., Chapter 54, 55, 56 and the chapters immediately preceding and succeeding them. One will find the same variation of subject, is manifested in those chapters. This variety of expression in rhythmical way, is found not only in the chapters but even in the verses of the Holy Book. These are the facts an intelligent and a sincere student of the Holy Qur’an, will realise more and more in going through this Holy Book repeatedly.

The Causes Of The Doubts

There is no doubt that the irresistible fascinating force and the challenging power of the Holy Qur’an were the main, if not the sole means of conversion ever since the start of the Holy Prophet’s mission. Irrefutably the recital of the Qur’an, the opponents did not spare any effort to prevent the Holy Prophet and his disciples reciting the Qur’an before the public, and to obstruct people, particularly the youth among them, from listening to it. There is abundant historical evidence vouching this fact. Besides this preventive measure the opponents tried also to overcome the irresistible force and the wonderful effect of the recital of the Holy Qur’an by’ trying to disturb its recital by adulterating it by interjections:

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ

“And those who disbelieve say: ‘Listen ye not to this Qur’an and make noise therein’” (41:26).

As one of the consequences of this effort is the story of ‘‘Tilkal Ghurani ol ola inna shafaatahunna laturja’ to the effect that when the Holy Prophet while reciting Sura 53 (Wan-Najm - the Star) reached the verse 20, one of the infidels among the audience uttered this passage of his own as the continuation of the verse recited by the Holy Prophet, adulterating the language and disturbing the sequence of the succeeding verses. The result was that the infidels immediately fell into prostration as the token of their approval and satisfaction. This shows that there was a pre-arranged plan among the infidels to disturb the recital of the Qur’an by the Holy Prophet which incident was condemned by the Qur’an as an unsuccessful satanic attempt which was made against all the preceding prophets also when they used to deliver God’s message to the people2.

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ وَلَا نَبِيٍّ إِلَّا إِذَا تَمَنَّىٰ أَلْقَى الشَّيْطَانُ فِي أُمْنِيَّتِهِ فَيَنْسَخُ اللَّهُ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ ثُمَّ يُحْكِمُ اللَّهُ آيَاتِهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ

“And We sent not before thee any apostle or prophet but when he recited (Our message) reading of the devil made his (interrupting) desire in (between) the recital; but God annulleth that which the devil casteth; then God doth establish his signs and God is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (22:52)

لِيَجْعَلَ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ فِتْنَةً لِلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ وَالْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَفِي شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ

“So that He may make what the devil casteth a trial for those in whose hearts is disease and those whose hearts are hard, and verily the unjust are in a great opposition” (22:53)

وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَيُؤْمِنُوا بِهِ فَتُخْبِتَ لَهُ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهَادِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“And that those who have been given the knowledge may know that it is the truth from thy Lord, so they may believe in it and their hearts may be lowly before it; and verily God is the Guide, of those who believe, towards the right path” (22:54)

It is surprising that some critics3 and some ignorant commentators of the Holy Qur’an accepting the rumours spread by the infidels and the hypocrites of the later period attribute the satanic utterance of the infidels to the Holy Prophet himself, while the internal evidence of Sura. 53 itself, i.e., the preceding and succeeding verses to verse 20, makes such an utterance by the Holy’ Prophet as impossible. However, this hostile attitude towards the Holy’ Qur’an though unsuccessful, continued by the external and the internal enemies and the critics of Islam. The hypocrites during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet as well as afterwards, did not hesitate to divert the attention of the Muslims from the Qur’an or weaken its influence on the minds of the people by all possible means.

With the above background, the unnecessary, the unwarranted and the unauthorised attempt of the immediate ruling party to make a collection of the Qur’an of their own, apart from the then current collection already prepared under the supervision and instructions of the Holy Prophet by the scribes who were put in charge of recording in writing the Qur’an then and there as it was revealed, with the commentary from the Holy Prophet. The First Caliph on the advice of the Second, entrusted Zaid Ibn Sabit with the task, who was a youth of no experience or standing in comparison to the official scribes appointed by the Holy Prophet viz., Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Obai Ibn Ka’b besides Ali Ibn Abi Talib who was the foremost and topmost of all in all aspects of knowledge of the letter as well as the significance and the implications of the Holy Qur’an.

The incompetency of Zaid Ibn Sabit concerning Qur’an in comparison to the other scribes is evident from the remarks of Obai Ibn Ka’b when a dispute arose between the two, about the recital of a certain passage of the Qur’an:

“Thou teacheth me Qur’an? While I was reading the Qur’an with the Holy Prophet while thou were yet a child playing in the streets”

A similar remark was passed by the same Obai Ibn Ka’b against the Second Caliph when they disputed on another point concerning the Qur’an. Obai told the Second Caliph:

“I used to read Qur’an with the Holy Prophet while you were yet busy in your transactions in the Bazaar”

Neither Zaid nor ‘Umar dared to refute the claim of Obai. In this attempt Zaid Ibn Sabit had to refer to the ordinary people who possessed some scattered portions of the Qur’an either in writing or in memory, and not to the acknowledged authorities mentioned above. Unfortunately, neither the First nor the Second Caliph was, in any degree, an authority on Qur’an for there are authentic evidence of their ignorance of it, in the matters of the administration of the State4.

Not only Zaid had no academic qualifications for the task of compiling the Qur’an but the dispute between him and the Second Caliph during his reign, proves the lack of regard of the Two for the revelation: Tn this dispute the Second Caliph wanted something from Zaid who declined to comply with the order. The Second Caliph said:

“Look! It is my command and not the revelation with which you could play”

It shows that none of the two bothered much in playing with the revelation if his desire was to be served.

However, as history says, they attempted the collection of Qur’an in this manner, and something was collected but was not published and remained as a bundle with Ayesha or Hafsa under their beds. Of the Muslims, none had any approach to it, but it is also said that a goat devoured a portion of the collection. The anecdote is a further testimony to the lack of regard for their collection, on the part of those who patronised it. The reign of the first two Caliphs passed away and the bundle of the collection remained where it was left years ago. But Qur’an was being written, taught, learnt, memorised, recited, discussed, and applied in the daily life of the Muslims throughout the fast-expanding vast Muslim Empire.

It has been vouched by the Second Caliph that even the ladies had a knowledge of the Qur’an more than those at the helm of the administration of the Muslim Empire. No Muslim complained against the lack of approach to the collection by Zaid, nor did anyone ask the State to publish the bundle. The teachers of the Qur’an were performing their duties directly and through their disciples throughout the Muslim World independent of the bundle in the possession of the State. The first half of the reign of the Third Caliph also passed away when a variety in the recitation of Qur’an was noticed among the Muslim soldiers who were fighting with the infidels on the remote borders of the Empire. This worried Hudhayfa al-Yamani one of the most trusted confidants and a prominent disciple of the Holy Prophet who had a complete list of the hypocrites. He advised the Third Caliph as a precaution to unify Muslims under the current recitation of the Qur’an as that of the Holy Prophet himself and stop people using the recitations of their own choice, so that later it may not lead to any diversities.

The Third Caliph again entrusted the job to the same Zaid and Zaid did nothing but what Hudhayfa had suggested and got it adopted as the official version to which the Third Caliph gave his assent, and several copies of that official version were made and despatched to the different parts of the empire so that the people may revise their versions accordingly. No complaint of any omission, addition or alteration was made by anyone either to the Caliph or to his party, nor even the opponent party who were framing charge after charge of the deviation from the right path, against the Third Caliph, ever complained regarding this. The Third Caliph was blamed for ordering the other versions, differing from the official version in recitation, to be burnt or destroyed as an act of desecration of the Word of God. But none charged him with the adulteration of the matter of the Qur’an. In spite of the utmost care taken by the ruling party for publication of the official version and the obliteration of the other versions, they did not succeed, and all the ether current recitations have come down to us in the terms of the seven or the ten recitations. The Omayyid rulers could not stop the publication of the other recitations, how could they or any other power on earth have stopped the publication or the narration of the verses or the chapters left out of the Qur’an if there were any or stop recording the objections to the additions or the disarrangement if there had been any.

The presence of the seven or the ten varieties of the recitation and the absence of any copy, record, or narration of a different version of the Holy Book after the publication of the received version, is the best and the greatest proof of the genuineness of the received version. We shall deal with this subject in further detail in the text when the occasion demands it. But this attempt along with the unwarranted utterances attributed to the members of the ruling party before the official assent was given to the received version, gave the chance to the opponents of the Qur’an whether in the garb of Muslims or otherwise who could not disturb the miraculous force of the eloquence of the Qur’an, by throwing some vain in it to spread the rumours about the incompleteness and the disarrangement of the received version. And these rumours gained currency along with the development of the later religious and political diversities. And in spite of the efforts of the Holy Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet and the faithful thinkers of the scholarly academic accomplishment, these rumours got somehow their way into the books of traditions first of the Sunni School and consequently the Shi’a books of tradition also are not exempted from the taint of such sceptic rumours. The result was that some of the traditionists of both the schools who lack the strictness of the scrutiny of the authenticity and the proper examining of the external and the internal evidence for and against the text or the wording of the traditions, accepted these rumours in the face of the indisputably established genuineness of the Holy Qur’an.

Another reason for the rise of these doubts was the traditions which assert that the collection of Qur’an by Ali being in a particular form and the same is said about the copies of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Obai Ibn Ka’b. There are different versions about the collection of Ali; whether he refused to place his collection at the disposal of the ruling party and the public or the ruling party refrained to accept it when it was offered, and whether this happened in the reign of the First or the Second Caliph is also a matter of doubt for ‘‘Al-Majlisi’ narrates that it was during the reign of the Second Caliph, while the others say it was during the time of the First Caliph. In any case the collection, if any, remained with him and his successors in the office of ‘Imamah’, beyond the reach of the public and nobody has claimed to have seen that collection thoroughly or copied it except one or two traditionists who claim that the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad showed them the collection and allowed them to have a glimpse of it, and in one small Sura were found seventy names of ‘Munafiqa? (hypocrites) and this is contradictory to what Ali had declared about his collection that none will see it before the Last Imam appears and the tradition itself says that the Sixth Imam gave the collection to the narrator concerned and told him not to look at it, but the traditionist disobeyed the Imam and opened it and had a glimpse of the Sura, the story looks to be absurd why the Imam handed over a thing to one, and how he could entrust it to a person who would disobey him. And it is said that Ali’s Qur’an contained all that was revealed and as it was revealed, with its exertic...and assertic.... interpretations.

Apart from the question of the authenticity of these traditions and the contradictions in their texts with each other, a thorough examination of them will prove beyond doubt that the collection in question was a sort of a fully detailed commentary on Qur’an which contained the revelations and their interpretations besides the text. It was not only the miraculous text which was placed within the reach of mankind as a challenge. The same is the case with the other collections of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Obai Ibn Ka’b and the others, who, being the acknowledged and the authorised earliest students of the Qur’an, they must have had their own special collection of the interpretation and their own notes for their own information and guidance, in which case they might have also a different arrangement of the verses and the chapters for their commentary purposes, as the later commentators have done it (chronological and subject wise etc.). These collections cannot have anything to do with the current received version placed as an open challenge within the reach of the common man.

The commentary nature of the collection of the imminent companions of the Holy Prophet is obvious from such traditions which say that Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood would recite with the verse of ‘Mut’a’ (temporary marriage) the phrase ‘ila ajalin’ (until a term) after 8 ‘Famastamta tumbihi minhunna’... (when you commit ‘Mut’a’ (temporary marriage) with them). It is obvious that this phrase was used by him as an explanatory note of guidance and of protest when ‘Mut’a’ (temporary marriage) was prohibited by the Second Caliph; or the narration which says that Ibn Abbas used to recite ‘Fi Aliyin’ (about Ali) after ‘Maonzila ilaik’ (that which has already been sent unto thee) in verse 5:67 just as an explanatory note to the occasion and the implicative significance of the revelation when the people were neglecting it; or in the verse ‘Inna Allaha astafa Aadama wa Noohan…’(3:33) according to some traditions Ibn Abbas had added ‘Aala Muhammad’ (the descendants of Muhammad) after ‘Aala Imran’ or had replaced ‘Aala Imran’ by ‘Aala Muhammad’. If this tradition is true, Abdullah Ibn Abbas might have said that ‘‘Aula Muhammad’ are meant here but not as the wording of the Qur’an because if it is taken as the wording of Qur’an ‘Dhurriyatun Ba’zuhu min Ba’z’ Ali will be out of ‘Aale Muhammad’ and if it is said without ‘Dhurriyatun Ba’zuhu..’ people other than the House of the Holy Prophet would be included in the ‘Aal” (descendants) in the same way as all the followers of Pharaoh are included in ‘Aale Fir’awn.’

In short, the existence of the different collections of the Qur’an by different companions of the Holy Prophet which were never published or gained any currency among the Muslims, in part or in whole, cannot have any value more than that of a tradition serving as a commentary on the text. And this is the reason that none of those of the acknowledged and authorised students of the Holy Book, raised any voice of dissent at all against the received version though all of them were alive and had their own complaints and grievances of other religious importance against the ruling party. They complained against the Third Caliph only because of the burning of some copies of the Qur’an as an act of desecration of the Holy Book.

Thus, the causes of the doubts were:

The unwarranted, unauthorised, and unnecessary attempt of the First Caliph and his party for the collection of a Qur’an of their own.

The unwarranted and irresponsible utterances of some members of the ruling party about the incompleteness of their own collection.

The said existence of a special collection of Qur’an by AU, complete in all aspects and respects.

The unsuccessful attempt of the Third Caliph to stop the other seven or ten recitations of the Qur’an except that of the official version by burning and destroying some copies of the Qur’an with the other recitations.

The system of dotting and the introducing of the vowel signs and the other marks for the correct pronunciation of the wording of the Qur’an by Hajjaj Ibn Yousuf about the close of the first century A.H. the purpose of which was to guard the recitation of the Qur’an against its mispronunciation by the non-Arabs.

The above five causes gave room and opportunity to the enemies of Islam, external as well as internal, to criticise the genuineness and the authenticity of the Qur’an, when they failed to resist the miraculous force and the wonderful effect of its recital, by adulterating its text by their own interceptions and they got the opportunity also to make false narrations about the omission and the alteration of certain verses of the Qur’an here and there.

Though all the above questions have been dealt with in brief, let us examine a few references given by the traditionists which have somehow found their way into the books of traditions of both the Sunni and the Shi’a Schools.

Regarding the first attempt of the ruling party for having a collection of their own, Bokhari narrates from Zaid Ibn Thabit that after the battle of Yamama the First Caliph sent for Zaid and told him in the presence of ‘Umar that he (‘Umar) had come to him, telling that many reciters of Qur’an have been killed in the battle of Yamama and he was afraid of the other reciters also being killed in the other battles resulting in the loss of a great portion of the Qur’an. He (‘Umar) had told the First Caliph ‘I see that you should order the collection of Qur’an’. I told ‘Umar ‘How could I do what the Holy Prophet did not’; to which ‘Umar replied, ‘By God I swear, this is good to be done,’ and ‘Umar continued demanding of this from me till God opened my heart for it (a claim for a sort of inspiration). Zaid says that the first Caliph told me ‘You are an intelligent young man whom we do not suspect, and you used to write the revelations for the Holy Prophet. You search for the Qur’an and collect it.’

Zaid says ‘I swear on my God, if they had ordered me to carry out the task of shifting a mountain from its place, I would not have felt it so heavy a task as what they had asked me to undertake (i.e., the collection of the Qur’an). I said, ‘How dare you do a thing which the Holy Prophet did not?’ The First Caliph said: ‘By God I swear! it is good to be done.’ ‘Thereafter the first Caliph continued asking me to undertake the task till God opened my heart for what He had opened the heart of the First Caliph and ‘Umar.’ ‘Therefore, I carried the search for the Qur’an, collecting it from the pieces of wood, bones and from the memory of the people till I found the last verse or the Sura al-Tauba with Abi Khozaima al-Ansari and with no one else.’ This collection remained with the First Caliph till he passed away, then with ‘Umar and then with his daughter Hafsa.

Bokhari tells us that Hudhayfa Ibn al-Yaman on his return from the expedition to Armenia and Azerbaijan, expressed his anxiety about the variation among the members of the expedition in the recitation of the Qur’an and asked the Third Caliph to take the necessary steps to unite the Muslims in this regard before it leads to a controversy about the Book of God in the manner of the controversies of the jews and the Christians about their Holy Scripture (as there even today exist the various versions of the Old and New Testaments termed as the apocryphal ones against the Bible termed as authentic). Then the Third Caliph asked ‘Umar’s daughter Hafsa to hand over the bundle of the collection of the Qur’an left with her so that copies of it may be made. The Third Caliph ordered Zaid, Abdullah Ibn Zobair, Sayeed Ibn al-Aas and Abdur-Rahman Ibn Harith Ibn Hisham to prepare copies of it. The Third Caliph told the three Qurayshites that whatever you and Zaid differ in the recitation of Qur’an and in its pronunciation, write it in accordance with the dialect of the Quraish as it was revealed in their dialect. They did as they were bidden and prepared copies of the collection and returned the original to Hafsa and sent the copies to all corners of the empire, and the Third Caliph ordered Qur’an in any other booklet form or in the form of any collection to be burnt and destroyed. In continuation of these statements Bokhari narrates from the son of Zaid that he had heard his father telling ‘When we were copying the collection, we missed a verse from Sura al-Ahzab which I used to hear the Holy Prophet reciting it and then we searched for it and we found it with Khozaimat Ibn Thabith Ansari, then we put it in the same Sura in the collection.’

These two traditions of Bokhari regarding the collection of the reign of the First Caliph and the copying of it during the reign of the Third Caliph contains a slight contradiction regarding the missing verse of Qur’an which could not be found with anybody except one Abu Khozaimat Ibn Thabith Ansari.

Now besides these Two, there are twenty more traditions regarding this collection of Qur’an, each contradicting the other in some way or other. Eleven of them are mentioned in the ‘Muntakhab al-Kanz ul-Ummal’ and the rest have been taken from Itqan of Suyooti etc. The following is the brief account of them:

In one tradition Ibn Abi Shaiba narrates from Ali that he said that Abu Bakr is the greatest person regarding the collection of the Qur’an. He is the first person who collected the Qur’an which is between the pads.

Another narration also says that Abu Bakr collected the Qur’an on paper and asked Zaid Ibn Thabit to review it which Zaid declined to do, and Abu Bakr sought the help of ‘Umar to persuade Zaid and he did it and that reviewed copy remained with Abu Bakr, then with ‘Umar and then with Hafsa.

A third tradition from Hisam Ibn Orwa asserts that after the battle of Yamama wherein some of the companions of the Holy Prophet who had collected the Qur’an were killed, Abu Bakr ordered ‘Umar and Zaid Ibn Thabit to sit at the gate of the Mosque and collect Qur’an from the people.

Another tradition from Muhammad Ibn Seereen tells us that ‘Umar was killed, and Qur’an was not yet then collected.

A fifth tradition says that once ‘Umar asked for some verse of the Holy Qur’an, and he was told that it was with some person who was killed in the battle of Yamama. ‘Umar got much worried and ordered Qur’an to be collected and he was the first person to collect the Qur’an in a book form.

A sixth tradition tells us that ‘Umar decided to collect Qur’an and ordered that ‘whosoever has received from the Holy Prophet any portion of the Holy Qur’an, should bring it to us’ and the people had the Qur’an on bits of wood, stones, skin, leaves of trees and bones and he would not accept anything from anyone unless it was certified by two witnesses, and he (‘Umar) was killed while the collection was yet going on. Then Othman succeeding him, continued the task and repeated the order of ‘Umar and demanded two witnesses to accept anything. Then Khozaimat Ibn Thabit came with the last two verses of the Sura al-Bar’at saying that ‘I have received it from the Holy Prophet, and you have not got it in your Qur’an!’ Then Othman said ‘Yes! I also give evidence that these verses are from God, but tell me where we should place them?’ Abu Khozaimat said, ‘Place these two verses at the end of the last revealed portion of the Qur’an’ and they were accordingly placed at the end of the Sura al-Bar’at concluding the sura with it.

The seventh tradition asserts that it was ‘Umar who accepted these last verses of the Sura al-Bar’at from a man of the Ansars without any witnesses, against his own condition for the acceptance which he had previously fixed.

The eighth tradition says that after the battle of Yamama in which four hundred or seven hundred reciters of Qur’an were killed, Zaid Ibn Thabit approached ‘Umar and said that ‘Qur’an is the only unifying factor of our religion and if it is lost our religion is also lost. I have decided to collect it in a book form,’ to which ‘Umar replied, ‘Wait till I ask Abu Bakr’ and both went to Abu Bakr and informed him of their talk. Abu Bakr replied ‘Do not hurry until I consult the Muslims’ and then he began lecturing to the people informing them of their decision. All approved of it. Then they collected the Qur’an and Abu Bakr ordered a crier to announce that whosoever has a part or the whole of the Qur’an should bring it.

A ninth tradition narrates that Khozaima Ibn Thabit said that he brought the last verses of Sura al-Tauba to ‘Umar and Zaid Ibn Thabit. Then Zaid asked Khozaima as to who would give evidence in his support to which Khozaima replied that he did not know anyone. Then ‘Umar said that he was there to witness it.

The tenth tradition says that when ‘Umar collected Qur’an, he asked ‘Who is the best in pronunciation?’ The people said ‘Syeed Ibn al- Aas,’ and then ‘Umar asked, ‘Who is the best calligrapher?’ The people said Zaid Ibn Thabit. Then he said, ‘Let Syeed dictate, and Zaid write.’ They made four copies, one was sent to Kufa, one to Basra, one to Damascus and one to Hjaz.

The eleventh tradition reports that when ‘Umar wanted to write the Leading Qur’an, he made a few of his companions undertake the task and said, ‘Wherever you differ in the wording write it down in the dialect of Mozar, for Qur’an was revealed to a man of Mozar.’

The twelfth tradition reports the narration of Abu Qullaba that during the reign of Othman the teachers of Qur’an started teaching their pupils different recitations and the boys used to meet and differ from each other. This was brought to the notice of the teachers and the result was that they condemned each other’s recitation. The news reached Othman and he gave a lecture saying ‘You people differ in the recitation and recite it in my presence. What about those who are far away from me in distant cities. Their recitation would differ greater and ever greater.’ Then he addressed the companions of the Holy Prophet ordering them to write a Leading Qur’an for the people. Abu Qullaba narrates that Malik Ibn Anas has said that he was among those who used to dictate the Qur’an and they used to mention the name of the person who had received that verse from the Holy Prophet and if the person was not present, they used to write the preceding and the succeeding verses leaving blank the space for the verse under dispute, until the person concerned was available. And Othman completed the Collection and wrote to the people in the big cities that he had obliterated what was with him and they should also act accordingly.

The thirteenth tradition relates that Othman addressed the people in one of his lectures and said, ‘Only thirteen years have passed between you and your Prophet, and you doubt in the Qur’an, saying the recitation of Obai or the recitation of Ibn Mas’ood and one tells the other that his recitation will not stand right.’ Then he urged them all by an oath to the effect that whosoever had any portion of the Qur’an should bring it. People brought pieces of paper, bits of wood and skin etc., containing Qur’an on them till a great number was collected. Then Othman went inside (his house) and called them one after another and made each one swears that he had heard it from the Holy Prophet and that the Holy Prophet had dictated it to him. After finishing this he asked as to who the best in pronunciation was; the people said ‘Syeed Ibn al- Aas’. Then he ordered Syeed to dictate and Zaid Ibn Thabit to write. Several copies were made and were distributed among the people and the narrator (Mas’ab Ibn Sa’b) says that he heard some of the companions of the Holy Prophet approving this act of Othman.

The fourteenth tradition tells us about the persons who were ordered by Othman to make the collection. The dictator was from the Tribe of ‘Hozail’ and the scribe from the tribe of ‘Thaqeef’.

A fifteenth tradition relates that after the collection was completed, it was brought to Othman who looked at it and said ‘You have done well and done the best. Yet I see some mistakes which the Arab would correct it, by his own tongue.’

The sixteenth tradition relates that when the collection was shown to Othman and he found some mistakes therein, he said ‘Had the dictator been from the ‘Hozails’ and the scribe from the ‘Thaqeefs’ these mistakes would not have taken place.’

A seventeenth tradition reports that when Othman wanted to make copies of the Qur’an, he sent for Obai Ibn Ka’b who dictated to Zaid Ibn Thabit and Zaid wrote it down and Syeed Ibn al- Aas was there to correct the pronunciation. Thus, the Qur’an of Othman was the recitation of Obai and Zaid.

The eighteenth tradition supports the seventeenth one but adds a person named Abdur- Rahman Ibn al- Harith to assist Syeed Ibn al- Aas in correcting the pronunciation.

The nineteenth tradition narrates from Zaid Ibn Thabit that while they were making the copies of the Qur’an, he found the passage 33:23 of Sura al-Ahzab missing and he found it with Khozaimat Ibn Thabit only, whose lonely evidence was accepted by the Holy Prophet as the evidence of two.

The twentieth one of the traditions tells us that the first person who collected the Qur’an was Abu Bakr, and Zaid Ibn Thabit was the scribe, and people would come to Zaid with passages and he would not accept any passage unless it was supported by at least two pious men except in the case of the last passage of the Sura al-Bar’at which was found with Abu Khozaimat Ibn Thabit whose lonely evidence was taken as two by the Holy Prophet, and that ‘Umar brought the passage concerning the stoning of the adulterers and we did not accept it from him for he was alone without anyone to witness.

These are the main reports about the venture of the collection of the Qur’an by the ruling party during the reigns of the first three Caliphs. None of these has the degree of authenticity to make one certain of its genuineness. Besides, they are subject to criticism from various aspects.

Let us first examine the first two traditions on the authority of Bokhari:

Supposing that Qur’an was not collected and arranged in a book form during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, what right could anyone have to do it according to one’s own taste or fancy? Is it a sort of innovation? What does ‘Sharh as-Sadr’ (The opening of the heart) mean? Does it mean a sort of inspiration or revelation which the Christians claim for the authors of the Gospels? Can this ‘Sharh as-Sadr’ be taken as an authorised legal source like ‘Kitab’ and ‘Sunna’ (the Book and the Tradition) of the Islamic Jurisprudence and the means of inference of ‘‘Halal’ (the allowed) and the ‘Haram’ (the prohibited)? Or was it an exclusive privilege given only to these three (Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and Zaid Ibn Thabit)? That about the other companions of the Holy Prophet who had also made the collection which fact has been unanimously acknowledged by the Muslim World?

Why did then Othman destroy the other collections with no sanction by the Holy Prophet for his action? Zaid’s collection as well as the collection of the others according to this statement were based on their ijtihad. Then why should one ijtihad be preferred to the other?

Why was Zaid’s inspired collection not immediately published and placed within the reach of the people before giving any room for the other versions of the Qur’an to get the currency they had gained in the length and breadth of the Muslim Empire, which forced Othman to destroy them after about twenty years of their currency?

What does the wording of Abu Bakr to Zaid imply?

“You are a young intelligent youth whom we do not suspect, and you used to write the revelations for the Holy Prophet.’

What was the qualification of Zaid which made them prefer him to the other scribes who had the honour of writing the revelations since its earliest days and long long before Zaid grew from his childhood? On the contrary the experience of a ripe age was actually the need. What does the clause ‘we do not suspect you’ imply? Leave away Ali Ibn Abi Talib who was certified by the Holy Prophet as the one who will always be with the Qur’an and with whom will always be the Holy Book and besides the other innumerable number of the certifications which he held from God and the Holy Prophet - who was the person identified with the Holy Prophet and the Holy Prophet identified with him - i.e., ‘Aliyyun Minni wa ana min Ali’ (Ali is of me and I am of Ali) - who was identified as the ‘Nafs’ or the soul of the Holy Prophet on the occasion of the historic ‘Mubahila’ - about whom the Holy Prophet had declared ‘Ana wa Ali min Noorin Wahid’ (I and Ali are of one and the same Light) - who was next only to the Holy Prophet meant by the verse of ‘Tatheer’ - who was declared by the Holy Prophet to be always with the truth and truth to be always with him - who was the foremost of the ‘Itrafe’. the Ahl Al-Bayt along with whom the ‘Kitab Allah’ the Book of God, the Holy Qur’an, was left among the ‘Ummat’ (the Muslims) as the Two Inseparable entities of the highest value for the guidance of the ‘Ummate Muslima’, i.e., the Muslim nation as a whole - who in relation to the Holy Prophet, was termed by the Holy Prophet as Aaron was to Moses with the exception of ‘Nubuwaat’ (apostleship) - -Who was certified by the Holy Prophet as ‘The Gate of the City of Knowledge and Wisdom’ - ’The Best Judge and the Witness of Truth’ not only to the Holy Prophet - These and the innumerable other qualifications - because it may be said as Bokhari and Muslim report through Malik Ibn Aas Ibn al- Hassan that the ruling party believed that Ali had no good opinion of them, and that he at that time was not on good terms with them, what about Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood, Obai Ibn Ka’b, Ma’aaz Ibn Jabal and Saalim Maula Abi Hudhayfa whose authorities according to Bokhari were certified by the Holy Prophet who had ordered the people to receive the Qur’an from the above four persons. This is narrated by Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar. Of course, Saalim was killed in the Battle of Yamama but the other three were alive and were available till the official version of Othman was issued by him, but no reference was ever made to any of these persons - Why? During the reign of Othman, the assistance of certain Omayyid youths such as Syeed Ibn al- Aas and Abdur- Rahman Ibn al- Haris Ibn al- Hisham was sought while the persons like Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Obai Ibn Ka’b were ignored. Was it because they suspected them and if so, of what? Was it:

The lack of the knowledge of the Qur’an’’

The lack of truthfulness and reliability?

The lack of political loyalty to the ruling party?

In view of the certification of the Holy Prophet, the first two possibilities are to be entirely discarded. Now remains the third possibility which is a historic fact that these were not loyal to the ruling party as Zaid Ibn Thabit was, as Ibn Abdul-Bir (the author of Istee’aab) tells us that he (Zaid) remained pro-Othman and pro-Omayyid and never joined hands with the opposition and for this act of loyalty on his part, he was rewarded with wealth and comfort while the persons like Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Obai Ibn Ka’b suffered the disfavour and particularly the former suffered persecution also by the ruling party. And if these were the reasons for ignoring these people then the bonafide of the attempt itself to collect the Qur’an become subject of suspicion.

Moreover, these two traditions of Bokhari contain contradictory statements regarding the missing verse of the Qur’an which was not found with anyone except the one whose name in one tradition is given as Abi Khozaima al-Ansari and in the other tradition as Khozaimat Ibn Thabit al-Ansari. Regarding the passage itself, in the first tradition, it is said that it was the last verses of Sura al-Bar’at and in the second it is given as verse 33:23.

Of the other twenty traditions given above, the First and the Second tell us that Abu Bakr was the first person who collected the Qur’an and according to the Second, Zaid Ibn Thabit was asked only to review Abu Bakr’s collection, contradicting the previous tradition which says that it was Zaid who collected it at the order of Abu Bakr.

The Third one says that ‘Umar and Zaid were given jointly the task of the collection and here it is said that some companions of the Holy Prophet who had already collected the Qur’an, were killed in the battle of Yamama. History is made silent about what happened to these collections and why they were not sought by the ruling party so seriously interested in collection of the Qur’an. And this contradicts the two previous traditions and the two previous to them, as it asserts that others had already collected the Qur’an.

The Fourth one contradicts all the other traditions that ‘Umar was killed, and Qur’an was not then collected.

The Fifth gives an entirely different story that ‘Umar was the first person who ordered the Qur’an to be collected in a book form and the reason was that he asked about some passage of the Qur’an and was told that it was with a person who was killed in the battle of Yamama, which means that the collection of Qur’an took place during the reign of ‘Umar long after the battle of Yamama.

The Sixth one gives us quite a different picture saying that it was ‘Umar who decided to collect the Qur’an in the same process of collecting it from bones, leaves, bits of wood and paper etc., with the witnesses, but the work was not yet completed when he was killed and Othman pursued the same course and he was the one who supported the statement of Khozaimat Ibn Thabit and not ‘Umar, while the Seventh tradition says that it happened in the reign of ‘Umar and he accepted the verses from a person who had brought them, without asking for any witnesses.

The Eighth tradition gives the credit of the initiative and the decision to collect the Qur’an by Zaid Ibn Thabit during the reign of Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr did not approve the proposal of Zaid supported by ‘Umar, till he consulted a crowd of the Muslims and obtained their approval after which he ordered the collection.

The Ninth makes Othman and Zaid Ibn Thabit, the joint champions of the cause of the venture of the collection of the Qur’an and ‘Umar accepted the statement of Khozaimat Ibn Thabit, without any evidence, offering himself as a witness to it.

The Tenth asserts ‘Umar as the initiator of the collection and employed Syeed Ibn al- Aas as the dictator and Zaid Ibn Thabit as the calligrapher and they produced four copies which were despatched to the big cities mentioned in the tradition. This contradicts the first two traditions of Bokhari which date the initiative to the collection in the reign of Abu Bakr and the despatch of the prepared copies to the big cities during the reign of Othman and it contradicts the traditions which give the credit of the initiative to ‘Umar and of the completion to Othman.

The Eleventh wants to confer the honour of the writing of the Leading Qur’an on ‘Umar.

The Twelfth gives the credit of the initiation of the collection and its completion and the preparation of the copies to Othman and introduces Anas Ibn Malik as one of the dictators of the Qur’an while it was being copied. Further, it asserts that Othman informed the people of the big cities about what he had done with the Qur’an and ordered them to follow his footsteps, without sending any copies to them, which clearly indicates that Othman was sure of the people already having the copies of Qur’an with them. It shows that of the various recitations the most current was that of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Obai Ibn Ka’b.

And the Thirteenth one asserts Syeed Ibnul Aas as the dictator and Zaid Ibn Thabit as the calligrapher who produced the copies which were distributed to the people.

The Fourteenth one asserts that the task of the dictation and of writing of the Qur’an was given by Othman to persons of the ‘Hozails’ and ‘Thaqeefs’ and not to Syeed Ibn al- Aas and Zaid Ibn Thabit, the first of whom was an Omavi and the second one an Ansari, while the sixteenth one says that if the dictator and the calligrapher had been of the ‘Hozails’ and the ‘Thaqeefs’ mistakes found by Othman in the prepared copies would not have taken place, which clearly indicates that the ‘Hozails’ and the ‘Thaqeefs’ were never at all employed in copying the Qur’an.

The Fifteenth and the Sixteenth state that the prepared copy was not free from mistakes, and they were left to the tongue of the arabs, and no corrections were made.

In the Sixteenth and the Eighteenth traditions, the name of Obai Ibn Ka’b is mentioned as a dictator and Zaid Ibn Thabit as the calligrapher which contradicts the statement of the Thirteenth which presents Syeed Ibn al-Aas as the dictator and it also contradicts all the traditions which present Zaid Ibn Thabit as the solely responsible person who undertook the job.

The Nineteenth and the Twentieth contradict each other about the missing passage which was found with Khozaimat Ibn Thabit. The first one says it was the verse 33:23 and the other says that it was the last verse of Sura al-Bar’at.

All these contradictory and inconsistent statements if they are not the creation or the innovations of later periods, show’ that in order to counter the credit and certification given by the Holy Prophet to Ali and the other members of the Ahl Al-Bayt and to Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood, Obai Ibn Ka’b, Ma’aaz Ibn Jabal and Saaleem as the highest accredited authorities on Qur’an, an attempt was made by the ruling party to produce the collection of Qur’an of their own and dispense with these authorities all together and thus to obtain a new credit for themselves. But they differed even among themselves as to whom the credit should go more. So, parties within parties counter to each other had obviously been formed, each party trying its best to own the credit for its own group and its hero. The only thing which can be said is that whoever be the hero in this venture, he was neither competent nor authorised for the task. And thus, though they had collected something of the scattered fragments from here and there, yet they dared not publish it for more than about twenty years during which period Qur’an had gained a tremendous currency in a perfect book form throughout the length and breadth of the vast Muslim Empire, and was taught, learnt, memorised, and acted upon in the daily life of the people and justice was being meted out according to it.

As Othman and the ruling party of his time felt their failure in their attempt to gain any credit in this regard through their instituted venture, procured a copy of the current version and gave the official assent to it and called it the official version. The absence of the so called collection of Abu Bakr which was laid to rest with ‘Umar and after him with his daughter Hafsa, the so-called collection of ‘Umar and the so called collection of Othman and the total absence of any other collection by anyone else and the absence of any objection by the opposition, to the assented version is the best and the greatest and the irrefutable testimony to the fact that the received version or the assented copy had continued to be the same since the departure of the Holy Prophet about which the Holy Prophet had declared:

“I leave amongst you the Book of God and my Ahl Al-Bayt”

And that whatever has been uttered contradictory to this, is nothing but a fabrication of wishful thinking which has no value, validity, or authenticity of any degree at all. It only throws light on the fact that among the companions there were people who attempted to discredit the received version by spreading rumours to feed a disruptive and mischievous propaganda.

In support of the fact, we will quote some of the statements attributed to some prominent members of the ruling party about the omissions in the present version.

The first and the foremost of all, what is agreed by the majority of the Sunni school of thought about some passages of the Qur’an, there are certain passages the wording of which is abrogated but their contents or the instructions which were accommodated therein remained valid. The example given of such abrogation is the passage dealing with the stoning of the adulterers - the wording of which is given in three different forms as Bokhari and Muslim narrate on the authority of Ibn Abbas from ‘Umar.

And Muslim tells us that Ayesha said that of the revealed passages of the Qur’an there were two passages dealing with the number of feedings by a foster mother to make her prohibited or to be considered as the mother of the baby. Ayesha says that in the first passage there was given as ten definite feedings and it was abrogated by another passage which reduced the number to five definite feedings and these two passages were read as a part of the Qur’an till the departure of the Holy Prophet. This is given as an instance of the abrogation of the passages in both the respects, i.e., the wording as well as the instruction implied in it. But a careful examination of these two instances prove that the abrogation is a sugar-coated term which meant only the omission because none, but the Holy Prophet had any right of abrogating anything from the Qur’an, either any wording or any significance of any contents. It is obvious from the two statements that the abrogation had not been done by the Holy Prophet as the first statement says that ‘Umar brought the passage dealing with the stoning of the adulterers while they were collecting the Qur’an, they did not accept it from him not for the reason of its being abrogated but for the want of the requisite witness to support the statement of ‘Umar. In the second one Ayesha expressively says that the passages dealing with the fostering mother were the part of the Qur’an till the departure of the Holy Prophet. Therefore, if these statements are true, it means nothing but the intentional omission of certain passages of the Qur’an by an unauthorised people.

Suyuti in his Itqan in continuation of the narration of Bokhari and Muslim regarding this matter, relates from ‘Umar another passage which is said to be missing in the received version of the Qur’an. But a proper examination of the said missing passages which ‘Umar and Ayesha present, comparing them with the style of the Qur’an, it proves beyond doubt that they can never be a part of the Qur’an and they are nothing but some personal fancies, for this is nothing new for the companions used to accuse each other of such mistakes of their fancies in their narrations in the question of the mourning for a bereaved person and Ayesha accused ‘Umar of misunderstanding the statement of the Holy Prophet regarding the mourning for a departed person. It is impossible that a part of the Qur’an should be unknown to all the companions of the Holy Prophet except Ayesha and ‘Umar, both of whom were accused of forgetfulness and lack of the knowledge of Qur’an.

Itqan on the authority of Tibrani narrates that ‘Umar said that the Qur’an contained ten lakhs twenty-seven thousand letters whereas the Qur’an available in his time would not reach even one third of the quantity, which means that more than two-thirds of the Qur’an has been omitted. A question arises when the Qur’an according to ‘Umar and the ruling party was yet to be collected even until the end of his life, how were the letters of the book as a whole counted? Even so when he was intimately acquainted with the present one third portion of it and a multitude of the other Muslims had even memorised it.

Moreover, when he was the person whose evidence even for one verse which he so well remembered was not accepted by his own party while Khozaima’s statement was accepted without any testimony from anyone else, how can his solitary statement about the missing of the two- thirds of the Qur’an be accepted of which he could neither remember nor even mention a single verse.

Itqan tells us that Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar said that someone may say he has received the whole Qur’an but what does he know about the whole? But one should only say that he has received of the Qur’an only that which has been known to evidence. Again, Itqan says that Ayesha claimed that the Sura al-Ahzab read during the time of the Holy Prophet contained 200 verses and that in Othman’s collection we find much less. To this same effect ‘Muntakhabet Khanz nl Ummal’ narrates from Obai Ibn Ka’b that he said that the Sura al-Ahzab which now contains seventy-three verses, was originally equal in size to the Sura al-Baqara or even more.

He is the person whom Obai Ibn Ka’b discredited in the matter of Qur’an as a person who was busy in his transactions in the Market while Obai and others were busy studying Qur’an under the Holy Prophet. And in another dispute regarding the status of Ansar as equal to the MoHajjr or subordinate to them, ‘Umar quoted verse 100 of Chapter 9 omitting the conjunctive letter, between Ansar and the relative pronoun (Those who follow them) rendering the adjectival clause after to qualify Ansar the result of which the Ansar should follow the Muhajirs, Obai Ibn Ka’b refuted ‘Umar’s misreading by asserting the conjunctive letter, between Ansar and the relative pronoun in which case the Ansars’ status becomes equal to the Muhajirin and the relative pronoun becomes a term of reference to those who follow the Muhajirs and Ansars afterwards. And this was a matter of great political importance which discards the claim of the Quraysh to be superior to the Ansar. Nevertheless, Obai’s authority on Qur’an was accepted and ‘Umar withdrew his misquotation.

Ayesha’s evidence for the missing of 127 verses of Sura al-Ahzab without quoting even a single verse of it, should be discredited as she did not remember even the beginning words of the verse 33 of the same sura which concerns herself as well as the other wives of the Holy Prophet. And the statement attributed to Obai Ibn Ka’b is also to be dismissed because the omission of such a large portion of one particular sura without being remembered by him as an acknowledged authority on Qur’an and none else besides him remembering anything of such a large quantity of the matter, is unbelievable and such an utterly discreditable claim could never have come from a personality like Obai Ibn Ka’b.

Another tradition of Itqan which asserts that Ayesha had a collection of her own, a lady narrating from her father that in Sura al-Ahzab after ‘Tasleema’. of the verse 56 of ‘Salawat’ there was a conjunctive clause... ‘wa alallazina yasiloona sofooful awwal’... and that was before Othman’s making changes in the collection. First of all the internal evidence against this statement is the style of the alleged missing clause which is against the unanimous verdict of the Muslims as a whole because either Muslims in their ‘Salawat’... on the Holy Prophet stop with the Holy Prophet or join his family to it or go further and add the companions in general or the wives and the issues of the Holy Prophet furthermore. But there is no trace of any evidence in support of this suffix. Thirdly, nobody else has narrated that Ayesha’s ‘Mus’haf’ (here own collection) was ever destroyed by anyone. Therefore, the question arises as to what has happened to that ‘Mus’haf’

Another tradition of Sahih Muslim says that Abu Musa al-Ash’ari called the reciters of Qur’an in Basra and people who had studied Qur’an came to him. He addressed them saying:

“You are the chosen ones of the people of Basra and their reciters of the Qur’an - You continue reciting Qur’an regularly and do not leave it away for any long time lest your hearts might get hardened in the manner of the hearts of the previous people and he said me used, to read a sura in Qur’an which would resemble in length and rigidity to Sura al-Bar’at, but I have forgotten it except one verse of it.

and there was another Sura which resembled to one of the ‘Musabbihat but that also I have forgotten except one verse of it, which runs as follows……..”

The style of both the quotations of Abu Musa, is entirely inferior to that of the Qur’an and the wording of the first passage itself, makes it quite obvious that it belongs to the category of the ‘Ahadith al-Qudsi’ the definition of which has already been given in the very beginning of this topic.

And regarding the Second, it might be taken as a parenthetical sentence in the form of commentary added to the text of the verse 61:2 before the third verse (Kabora maqtan indallahe) .... of the same chapter, which Abu Musa having heard it, might have taken it to be a different sura, because he is known to be credulous and weak in memory and lacking the literary taste, and as he himself confesses to have forgotten both the suras and none else had any knowledge of the matter, this statement is automatically discredited. Besides, the statement, if it be true, might have been made after the start of the tension between him and Othman which led to his removal from the governorship Thus, it is obvious he wanted to blackmail Othman accusing him with the omission.

Suyuti in his Itqan tells us that once ‘Umar told Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf: ‘Don’t you find this passage among what was revealed to us ‘In jahado kama juhadtum awwala marratin’. ‘Surely we do not find it now!’ to which Abdur Rahman replied that it was one of the passages of the Qur’an which was omitted. First of all this is a conditional clause, a part of the larger one. The consequent sentence is not mentioned and neither ‘Umar nor Abdur- Rahman Ibn Auf mention that it was the part of which verse of which sura it is, it shows the failure of this man... .Secondly, who prevented ‘Umar to reinsert this and the other omitted passages into their respective appropriate places in the Qur’an as he was a powerful leader of the ruling party unless it is said that these passages and the many other passages which were fancied by persons like ‘Umar and Abdur Rahman as the parts of the Qur’an, were the matters rejected by the Muslims for the lack of the Internal and the External evidence in support of the statements.

Similar to this sort of statement is what Suyuti tells us in his Itqan about the statement of Muslimat Ibn Mukhallad Ansari, a prominent companion of the Holy Prophet that once he asked the people, among whom there was also Sa’aad Ibn Malik Ansari... ‘Will you tell me about the two passages of the Qur’an which were not written in the collection?’ to which none replied excepting his son (most probably Muhammad Ibn Muslima) who recited the passage.

A proper examination of this passage will prove beyond doubt that the reciter had confused certain passages of different suras of the Qur’an with each other and inserting his own fancies in it and this throws light on the inimitable and the miraculous style of the Qur’an that whoever has attempted to imitate it, has exposed himself. Secondly, one can infer that the knowledge of Qur’an at that time was a great qualification of merit, credit, and honour.

Therefore, those who lacked it, tried to pose themselves as its students and the miraculous style of the Qur’an on one side and the lack of witnesses from the other betrayed them, as we today have among us incompetent and unqualified people who as the fashion of the day, pose themselves as great scholars in science and politics. It may be added to this category of tradition what is said about the two suras...found in the collection of Ibn Abbas and Obai Ibn Ka’b the proper examination of which bears testimony to the fact that their style is quite different from that of the Qur’an, and they may be classed under the category of the supplications (Adyiya - i.e. prayers) worded by the Holy Prophet or some member of his holy family. In the opinion of some, these two are even inferior in the language and the style of the supplications of the Imams of the Holy House of the Holy Prophet, the authentic collections of which we have in our hands.

There are some more traditions of this stuff which we need not worry ourselves with. What is given here is only ‘Mushti az Kharwar’ a handful from a heap. It is enough to have in view that Qur’an, to its credit has got internal evidence of its Inimitable Style which is exclusively peculiar to itself and the innumerable number of its external witnesses. All the verses and the suras, ever since its revelation have been placed within the reach of a group of people who had vehement zeal for hearing it, for writing, learning, understanding, memorising, and acting according to it. Not a single word or sentence or a passage can be accepted from the historical point of view, as a part of the Qur’an if it lacks the support of these two, external and the internal, evidence.

Therefore, for a student of the Qur’an it is easy to discard or discredit the traditions of these sorts, no matter whatever be the qualifications of the companions of the Holy Prophet as the reporters and the number of the subsequent reciters. But from these sorts of reports, we infer that either for blackmailing each other or for discrediting the received version of the Qur’an, which stood between them and their political aspirations and aims, some of the members of the ruling party were inclined to spread such disruptive rumours. On the other hand, those of the Ahl Al-Bayt and the people attached to them and other companions who were not attached very much to the ruling party, during this period never attacked or criticised the received version or even raised any voice of dissent against it. On the contrary they, in pursuance of the command of the Holy Prophet insisted on their opinion about the genuineness, validity and the authenticity of the received version as the standard and the criterion or the touchstone prescribed or fixed by the Holy Prophet for the verification or the test of the genuine and the false traditions both the pre-Qur’anic as well as the post-Qur’anic ones. The Holy Ahl Al-Bayt have recorded the saying of the Holy Prophet that once he (the Holy Prophet) stood up and declared, saying:

“Certainly, the liars on me have increased abundantly. Beware! For every truth there is a proof and for every Right there is the Light - Thus, whatsoever agrees with the Book of God hold it fast and whatsoever is opposed to the Book of God, leave it away”

The Holy Ahl Al-Bayt stuck up to this - Ali said the same - Hasan said the same - Husayn said the same and every one of the nine succeeding Imams succeeding Husayn have followed the same principle and their adherents stuck up to the same principle (see Al-Kafi and all the subsequent authorities on tradition). No tradition dealing either with the theory or the practice of Islam was, is and will ever be acceptable to the Imams of the Holy House of the Holy Prophet or the members of their school of thought, if it does not agree with the Book of God. As Allama Al-Majlisi has put it:

“Of the innumerable miracles of the Holy Prophet, the First and Foremost is the Holy Qur’an which is the most genuine and authentic one (narrated and recorded ever since its revelation by innumerable persons generation after generation down to ns) and will last as such till the day of Resurrection”5

Before concluding this chapter, it is desirable to forward more references to some traditions of the Sunni school about the nature of Ali’s collection of the Qur’an, the date of the collection, its authenticity and Ali’s knowledge of the inner and outer aspects of the Qur’an in its parts and its whole.

Suyuti in his Tarikhul Khulafa tells us - Ali is one of the godly scholars, the celebrated Warrior, the famous Ascetic, and the well-known Orator and one of those who collected the Qur’an and presented it to the Holy Prophet for his review. And in Itqan Suyuti on the authority of Abu Na’yeem, relates the statement of Ali himself:

“No verse of the Qur’an was revealed but I know about what and when it was”

And the same Abu Na’yeem narrates from Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood that Qur’an was revealed on seven folds or seven sides (Ahrof) or aspects, each of which has an inner and an outer significance and Ali Ibn Abi Talib has got with him all the inner and outer aspects with all the significance of each aspect.

The author of Waseelatun Najaat, Mullah Muhammad Mubeen Luckhnavi, on the authority of Ibn Seereen asserts that Ali arranged the Qur’an according to the dates of the revelation, with nothing antedated.

Again, Suyuti in his Itqan says, among those who arranged the Qur’an according to the dates of revelation, Ali is one.

And Abu Shukoor the author of Tamheed says that the companions of the Holy Prophet were not unanimous in accepting Ali’ collection.

Itqan of Suyuti says that Ali’s collection began with sura ‘Iqra’ ...and then ‘Almuddasir’ then ‘Muzzammil’...and then ‘Tabbat’ ...and then ‘Takweer’...and likewise. All the Meccan suras and then the Madinite suras, and Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood’s collection began with ‘Baqara’, then ‘Nisa’ ...and then ‘Aale Imran’ and with a lot of differences therein, and same was the case with the collection of Obai Ibn Ka’b.

These narrations and the others of the same sort, if we accept their authenticity, it will assert nothing more than what has already been said that Ali is the Foremost and the topmost one next only to the Holy Prophet in the thorough knowledge of the inner and outer significance of every word, sentence, passage, part or chapter of the Qur’an in its revealed and pre-revealed form to which the Qur’an itself bears testimony if it is properly and impartially read without any prejudice - verse 56:77-79 as the major premises, and verse 33:33 as the minor premises and Verse 3:61 as the conclusion defining the personnel of the Ahl Al-Bayt, adding to it the unanimous verdict of the Muslim World as a whole, as to the names of the persons whom the above verses were applied to. These verses supported by many other verses of the Qur’an which declare of the descendants of ‘Aale Ibrahim’... Those who were divinely made to inherit ‘Kitab’ (Book). ... ‘Hikmat’ ... (Wisdom) and ‘Mulke Azeem’ ... (the Great Kingdom) and the ‘Ohda al-Imamah’ (Office of Imamah) - are those who are the foremost in the total obedience and service to the Absolute, purified from all ungodly inclinations.

The topmost of whom the Ishmaelite branch, is the Holy Prophet himself and next to him are the members of his holy family (the Ahl Al-Bayt) headed by Ali as an Imam and succeeded by the eleven holy Imams. The inclusion of the Holy Lady Fatimah in the Ahl Al-Bayt besides her personal purity is by virtue of her three-sided position or status, being the Daughter of the Holy Prophet, the Wife of the First Holy Imam and the Mother of the Eleven Imams thus establishing the link between ‘Risalah,’ i.e., prophethood and ‘Imamah’ i.e., the Divine Guidance, a position or status which can never be secured by merely being a wife of a Prophet, playing no part in establishing the divinely chosen line of Abraham’s descendants.

This clear evidence of the Qur’an supported by the most authentic declarations of the Holy Prophet that:

“Ali is of me, and I am of Ali”

“Ali is with the Qur’an and Qur’an will be with Ali”

“Ali is with the Right and the Right will be with Ali”

“The Qur’an and the Ahl Al-Bayt are the Two Inseparable Entities, each perfect in itself reflecting the others” - (left behind among the people by the Holy Prophet for their guidance till the Day of Resurrection, assuring the Muslims of being safe from getting astray, should they stick up to these Two Inseparable Ones).

Regarding Ali’s and the others’ special collections, it has already been said that their particular arrangements must be for the commentary purposes or for the personal information and the guidance of the respective collectors themselves, or for the other academic purposes. Because there is abundant evidence of Ali’s collection and of those of the other authorised companions of the Holy Prophet viz., Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and Obai Ibn Ka’b - contained some explanatory notes which must definitely be besides the text, and they never attempted to give any publicity at all to their notes against the received version of the Qur’an which is meant for all men for all times and as a challenge to be an everlasting miracle of the Holy Prophet.

The point to be noted here is that this statement of Suyuti to the effect that Ali collected the Qur’an and presented it to the Holy Prophet for his review contradicts all the statements which assert that Ali collected the Qur’an after the departure of the Holy Prophet. Furthermore, we would like to support this fact that the collection of the Qur’an in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet was made, not only by Ali whose authenticity is undoubtable and unquestionable, and the other authorised companions of the Holy Prophet, but there were many others who had collected the Qur’an during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, among whom besides men there were also even women. And it is funny to note that in some traditions Zaid Ibn Thabit the hero of the official venture of the ruling party to collect the Qur’an, is counted among those who had collected the Qur’an during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. This discredits all the stories of his collecting the fragments of Qur’an from pieces of paper, bits of wood, bones, leaves and skin etc. by the order of the First, Second or the Third Caliph jointly or severally.

Tabarani and Ibn Asakir narrate from Sho’abi that he said that Qur’an was collected during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet by six persons from the Ansars:

Obai Ibn Ka’b

Ma’aaz Ibn Jabal

Zaid Ibn Thabit

Sa’ad Ibn Obaid

Abu Darda

Abu Zaid.

There was a seventh one Majama’ Ibn Jariah who also collected the Qur’an but with the exception of two or three suras.

Bokhari tells us that Anas Ibn Maalik said that four persons, all from the Ansar, collected the Qur’an during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, viz.,

Obai Ibn Ka’b

Ma’aaz Ibn Jabal.

Zaid Ibn Thabit

Abu Zaid

Nasa’i asserts that Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar said:

“I collected Qur’an and used to complete its recitation (as a whole) every night, which news reached the Holy Prophet, and he called me and told me not to hurriedly complete the recitation of the whole Qur’an in one night (i.e., not to recite it mechanically as the recitation merely for recitation’s sake) but to recite it (intelligently) to ponder over its contents to understand them duly by completing the recitation in one month”

Ibn Sa’ad asserts in ‘Tabaqat’ on the authority of Fadhl Ibn Dakeen from Valeed Ibn Abdullah Ibn Jameel who reports from his grandmother named Umm Waraqa that the Holy Prophet used to visit her and call her ‘Shaheedah’ meaning Witness - and she was one of those who had collected the Qur’an.

There is a narration from Ibn Abbas, related by:

Ahmad Ibn Hambal

Ibn Abi Shaiba

Ibn Habban

Haakim

Tirmizi

Baihaqi

Nasa’i

Zia al-Maghdasi

That Ibn Abbas once asked Othman about the reason why ‘Bismillah’ was not written in beginning of Sura al-Bara’at and why they had joined this Sura with the other and put the Suras in the seven big Suras. Othman replied that sometimes suras would be revealed to the two the Holy Prophet but not complete and later some verses of the Sura would be revealed when the Holy Prophet would call the scribes and tell them to place those verses in certain places of the Suras and thus the verse subsequently revealed would be placed in the places pointed out by the Holy Prophet. And Sura al-Anfaal was revealed in Madina early after the ‘Hijrat’ and the Sura al-Bara’at was the last of the Madinite Suras, but the contents were almost similar to each other, and the Holy Prophet did not tell us whether the Sura is a separate one or it is the continuation of the previous Sura. Therefore, I joined these two together without using ‘Bismillah’ and put in the lengthy Suras.

This statement of Othman, if true, is an attempt to gain some credit for himself of the arrangement of some portion of the Qur’an viz., ‘Bara’at’ and ‘Anfaal’ but it asserts the fact that Qur’an used to be written under the supervision and the instructions of the Holy Prophet and that the arrangement of the Aayats (verses) in the Suras and the arrangement of the Suras, one after another, all was done according to the instruction of the Holy Prophet, (i.e., Anfaal and Bara’at). But there are authentic traditions by both the schools (the Sunni as well as the Shi’a) that the revelation of the Sura al-Bara’at had begun in the 9th year of ‘Hijrat’ with the first twenty verses of which Ali was entrusted to recite it at Mecca during the Hajj season, and Bismillah was not revealed in the start of it. Thus, there is no question of Othman’s joining these two Suras or arranging them together as one. The Sura al-Bara’at was revealed without Bismillah and on account of the similarity of the contents, was put after Anfaal at the command of the Holy Prophet and not as a part of Anfaal but as a separate Sura.

Probably Othman had no knowledge of this and he followed what was current among the Muslims. It is not possible to imagine that when the Sura al-Bara’at, the earlier portion of which was revealed in the beginning of Zilkaffah of the 9th Hijri, its actual position regarding its location in the order of the arrangement among the other Suras was not to have been cleared by the Holy Prophet for more than a year until his departure from this world, when he used to himself direct the scribes about the arrangement of the Suras and even about the arrangement of the verses in them. In any case this statement discredits the claim of collecting the fragments of the Qur’an from the people and copying them with the support of any witnesses and on the other hand it supports all the statements and the evidence which show that Qur’an was collected during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet.

According to the unanimous statement of the Ahl Al-Bayt, Bismillah is a part of the Qur’an revealed to the Holy Prophet in the beginning of every sura except the Sura al-Bara’at which was revealed without Bismillah. The last portion of Othman’s statement cannot be his and may be a fabrication of a later period by those schools of thought who do not consider Bismillah as a part of the Qur’an except the Bismillah used in the middle of the Sura al-Naml.

The Conclusion

However, a thorough and critical study of the narrations regarding the collection of the Qur’an along with the external and the internal evidences given above, proves beyond doubt, that to credit the First, the Second, the Third Caliph, or their deputies with the collection of the Qur’an is nothing but stories of wishful thinking, the outcome of the unauthorised, unwarranted and unnecessary attempts by them to produce a collection of their own and gain unearned honour and distinction which miserably failed and ended in ‘much ado about nothing’ the result of which, i.e., the Bundle of the Collection having gone into oblivion without anyone to say as to what happened to it. Only one thing of it is reported by history - that the bundle which was left to lie under the bed of the lady, a part of it was consumed by a goat.

Thank God, that the Holy Qur’an of the lifetime of the Holy Prophet remained the same, unrivalled by anyone till now, in its letters and the arrangement. The only thing to the credit of Othman is that he ordered copies of the Qur’an to be made in accordance with the recitation which was in vogue since the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, trying to drop all the other recitations adopted by some reciters, of their own choice, but those recitations also could not be actually stopped for they also have come down to us in the term of the seven or the ten recitations of the Holy Book. Even this one act of credit is being associated with the act of some copies of the Holy Qur’an with the other recitations, was not approved by the bulk of the Muslims and hence was termed as “Harraqul Mosaahif” - The Burner of the Scriptures.

Of course, this futile attempt of the ruling party and the irresponsible utterances of its members, gave room to the prejudicial criticisms against the Holy Prophet and the Holy Qur’an by which even a few of some credulous Shi’a traditionists have also been deluded. Therefore, to remove once for all, all the doubts about the real and correct view of the Shi’a School about the Holy Qur’an which is now in our hands, we would like to deal with all the Shi’a traditions which may be forwarded to support the views against the completeness and the arrangement of the current version of the Holy Qur’an.

It is said that the number of the traditions narrated of the Holy Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt by the Shi’a narrators are so great that there is no doubt that some of which, if not all, are reliable and worth our consideration. Therefore, we do not try to reject those traditions totally on the ground of the unreliability of the narrators, although most of those traditions have been narrated by persons like Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Sayyari and Ali Ibn Ahmad Kufi, the first of whom was accused of heresy and the second accused of lies and heresy. However, our concern here is not the reliability or the unreliability of the narrators but the scrutiny of the text of the narrations and as there is no unanimity in the subject-matter of the traditions, we have to classify them into several groups:

The first of these traditions wherein the word ‘Tahrif’ or change has been used - the number of these traditions is twenty, of which we refer here to only eight as examples:

Ali Ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi relates from Aba Zar’e Ghaffari that the Holy Prophet in commenting on the verse ‘Yauma Tabyazzat wojoohohum’ said:

“On the Resurrection Day my people will come to me under five different standards, and I will ask the group under each standard about what they had done with the Two Precious Legacies which I left among you (i.e., the ‘Thaqalain’...)?

The people under the first standard will reply ‘that of the Two precious things which you left behind, the greater one we have distorted and threw it on our backs, ignored it and the smaller one we opposed it or hated it.’

The group under the second standard will reply - ‘Of the Two precious Ones the greater one (the Qur’an) we distorted it, tore it into pieces and went against it and the smaller one we opposed it and waged war against it.’

Ibn Tawus and Sayyid Naimatullah Jazairi, the two prominent Shi’a traditionists narrate a lengthy tradition that the Holy Prophet conveyed Hudhayfat Ibn al- Yamaani about the person who profanes the sanctuary (of Islam) that he would make people deviate from the path of God, would distort His Book, and would alter my (i.e., the Holy Prophet’s) Sunnah (traditions).

From the authority of Sa’d Ibn Abdullah al-Qummi who narrates from the Fifth Holy Imam of the Ahl Al-Bayt, Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Baqir, said that the Holy Prophet called the people at Mina and said:

“O’ People! I am leaving among you Two precious things to which if ye adhere, never never shall ye get astray i.e., the Book of God and my Ahl Al-Bayt and besides these Two, here is the Ka’ba the Sanctuary (the Holy House)” Then the Holy Imam said, “the Book distorted, the Itrat (the Ahl Al-Bayt) they have killed and the Ka’ba they have destroyed and all God’s deposits with them they threw away and they detached themselves from it”

Shaikh al-Sadooq asserts in his ‘Khisaal’ through Jabir Ibn Abdullah al-Ansari that the Holy Prophet said that on the Resurrection Day three entities would complain:

The Qur’an

The Mosque

The Itrat

The Qur’an would say: “O My Lord! They distorted me and tore me into pieces”

The Mosque would say: “O My Lord! They kept me and spoiled me”

The Itrat would say: “O our Lord! They killed us, drove us out of our homes and made us wander hither and thither”

The tradition narrated by Kafi and Sadooq from Ali Ibn Sowaid that he wrote to the Seventh Holy Imam Musa Ibn Ja’far al-Kazim while he was in prison and got the reply of which we quote hereunder:

‘‘They were, trusted with the Book of God and they distorted and altered it”

Ibn Shahr Aashoob narrates that the Third Holy Imam Husayn Ibn Ali on the day of Aashoora while addressing the enemy army said:

“You are of the same rebellious party and the remains of the infidel allies (against the Holy Prophet) and the remains of those who threw away the Book (the Holy Qur’an) and were inspired by Satan, and the gang of the criminals and of those who distorted the Book”

In the book ‘Kaamil az-Ziyarah’ is related of the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq in prescribing the prayer for the pilgrims who enter the shrine of the Holy Imam Husayn to say:

“‘O’ God! Curse those who belied thy prophets - destroyed Thy House (the Ka’ba) and distorted Thy Book”

It is narrated from the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq that he said:

“The masters of the Arabic language distorted the Word of God from its proper place”

The rest of the twenty traditionists have also used the words ‘Tahrif’... and ‘Tagh’eer’ in the same tone and tune.

If these traditions and others of their kind are read in the light of what the Holy Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has said:

“Of their throwing away the Book of God, was that they established its letters and altered and distorted its scope and significance”

Which asserts that no change in the lettering of the Qur’an ever took place by omission, addition, or alteration but the changes took place in the significance, in the interpretation and the application of the contents of the Holy Qur’an. One would have no doubt that the words ‘Tahrif’ ...’Tagh’eer’, ‘Tabdeel’ used in these traditions meant nothing but the misuse and the misinterpretation of the contents of the Qur’an. This is a fact which is fully vouched by the history of the development of the Islamic thought, and the Holy Prophet was expecting this when he said on the occasion of his rejecting three divorces in one session:

“Do they play with the Book of God when I am still present among them?”

There are many more examples of misinterpretation and misuse of the contents of the Book of God in every generation down to our present times.

The last tradition quoted here supports this fact that many who think themselves to be the masters of the Arabic language try to interpret the Holy Book destroying the real significance to the extent that we saw that many commentators strive to distort the wordings of the Qur’an to deny miracles wrought by the prophets of God and the best example of this act of misinterpretation and distortions are the attempts by the Anti-Ahl Al-Bayt Commentators to distort the significance of the verses which undoubtedly were revealed exclusively in respect of the veneration of the divine excellence of the Holy ones of the House of the Holy Prophet and their distinguished status, since the earliest days of Islam.

The best example of the distortion of the scope and the significance of the contents of the Qur’an is the verse 33:33 (Aayaye Tat’heer) which leaves no room for including the wives of the Holy Prophet in the Ahl Al-Bayt or anybody else other than the ‘Abna’ana’, ‘Nisa’ana’ and the ‘Anfosona’ of the verse of ‘Mubahila’ verse 3:61, particularly if the verses preceding the verse 33:33 and its following verses and the verses of Sura al-Tahreem dealing with the wives of the Holy Prophet are taken into consideration and that the verse 33:33 is applicable only to those who are in the highest stage of accomplishment and attainments possible for mankind, and that the wives of the Holy Prophet were subjected to severe warning from God against their behaviour with the Holy Prophet and that two of these ladies had been even asked in the Sura al-Tahreem to repent (66:4) on account of the deviation of their hearts from the right course and that ladies better than them in all respects had been available among the Muslim women (66:5). Had they been of the same standard, i.e., that of those meant in verse 33:33 they would have been included in ‘Nisa’ana’ of 3:61 (Mubahila).

Moreover, the Holy Prophet expressly pointed out in both the cases of 3:61 (Mubahila) and 33:33 (Tatheer) that Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn were exclusively his ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ and his ‘Itrat’. This statement of the Holy Prophet has been acknowledged almost unanimously practically by the Muslim world as a whole as authentic, yet to distort the application and the implication of the two important verses (3:61 and 33:33) which give Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn the highest divine status and rank next only to the Holy Prophet, exclusive of his wives and all the relatives and companions, it worth special notice as to how the anti-Ahl Al-Bayt group started misinterpreting that 33:33 being in line with the other verses dealing with the wives of the Holy Prophet cannot exclude the wives though the masculine pronoun in 33:33 separates the verse 33:33 from the other verses preceding and following it which deal with the warning to the wives of the Holy Prophet against their misbehaviour.

And in reply to the exclusive expression of the Holy Prophet about the personnel of the ‘Aayaye Tat’heer’ 33:33 and the ‘Aayaye Mubahila’ (3:61) they distort the exclusive expression as to mean also or besides the wives. This distorting attitude has been adopted by the early commentators of the anti-Ahl Al-Bayt group down to the present day. They distorted the significance of ‘Anfosona’ in 3:61 (Mubahila) which asserts the identification of the term ‘our selves’ with the self of the Holy Prophet, the fact which is supported by the authentic statement of the Holy Prophet - ’Ali is of me and I am of Ali’, as to mean instead of the ‘Self’ of the Holy Prophet, the people (all Muslims) in general forgetting that if that be so that the rest of the relatives and the companions of the Holy Prophet who are naturally included in this verse were not his people because it is a historical fact that only Ali as ‘Anfosona’, Fatimah as ‘Nisaa’ana’ and ‘Hasainain’ as ‘Abna’ana’ were taken by the Holy Prophet. - Therefore, on the ground of this interpretation the conclusion would be that his other relatives, wives, and companions were not even his people (the Holy Prophet’s) people.

To have a glimpse of the distortion of the interpretation of the verses of the Holy Qur’an see: 3:32, 5:55, 4:54, 33:33, 35:31-32, 42:23, and all the passages dealing with the distinction given to ‘Aale Ibrahim’ and also the passages which shake the position of the opponents of the Ahl Al-Bayt, particularly of the verse 9:40 (Aayaye Ghaar) and the verses which clearly show that the prophets of God inherit and leave behind them their legacies to their issues etc., and the attitude taken against the right of Fatimah just to deprive her of getting her right.

These are only a very few of the huge lot of the instances of the distortion of the scope of the significance of the contents of the Holy Qur’an against which the Holy Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet had repeatedly and continuously in private as well as in public protested and the Holy Imam Husayn lectured in the field of Karbala referring to this distortion of the Holy Qur’an and Yazeed’s quoting the verse 3:25 (Qul lillahumma Malikul…) when the Ahl Al-Bayt were brought to him as his captives, was one of the boldest and open attempts to distort the Word of God directing towards the de jure and the Spiritual Kingdom, the de jure honour and status which God confers on whomsoever He pleases, as to mean the de facto temporal hold and the worldly honour which was spontaneously refuted by the Holy Lady Zainab the daughter of Ali and Fatimah, who was there as one of the captives, lecturing to the court of Yazeed. This distortion has been one of the fundamental principles in the Theory of Government in Islam.

The second group of the traditions is that which shows that in some verses of the Holy Qur’an the name of Ali in particular or the names of the other members of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt in general had been originally mentioned and were omitted or altered later on. These also are of two kinds:

The tradition from Al-Kafi that verse 2:23 after the phrase ‘Ala Abd’na’ was the phrase ‘Fi Aliyyin’ and omitted afterwards.

There is a tradition from both the Sunni and the Shi’a schools that in verses 5:67 after the phrase ‘ilaika’ there was the phrase ‘fi aliyyin’ which was omitted later on.

The author of the ‘Faslul-Khitab’ on the authority of Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al- Siyyari (accused of Heresy) says that ‘aliyya’ in verse 15:41 ‘Qala haaza siraaton alaiyya’ was originally ‘Aliyyin.’ One may find traditions of similar nature indicating the omission or the alteration of the name, Ali, in some other passages narrated in the books like the Tafsir al- Ibn Furat or the spurious commentary unwarrantedly ascribed to the Eleventh Holy Imam Al-Hasan Ibn Ali Al-Askari, (for which Sahl Ibn Ahmad Deebaji is accused). However, regarding the First, though it is in Al-Kafi which is the most authentic Book of the traditions of the Shi’as, it is to be totally rejected because of the context. It is unanimously agreed by all Muslims that the verse 2:23 is an ever-current challenge to mankind who doubt the divine nature of the Book in part or as a whole to bring a chapter of the kind without restriction to a particular part or content of it. If there had been such a restricting phrase as ‘Fi Aliyyin’ the challenge as a whole will fall flat and the verse will also become meaningless. Those who doubted the divine origin of the Holy Qur’an, did it not merely because of the association of the name of Ali with it. Secondly, Ali’s name was not mentioned anywhere else in the Holy Qur’an to rouse their doubts. Thirdly, if Ali’s name had been mentioned, it would have been known to one and all of those who had heard it from the Holy Prophet, or from the other Sahabas, and would have come down to us, not through the one solitary and unauthentic chain of the traditions.

It should be noted that the authenticity of Al-Kafi does not mean the genuineness of everything therein. There are conflicting traditions also in it. And there are traditions against the facts of history, particularly in the Rauza al-Al-Kafi. And as we have already said no book of Islamic traditions of any school, can compete in the authenticity with that of the Holy Qur’an. Hence any report lacking that degree of authenticity, can never be considered as a part of Qur’an. Moreover, these sorts of traditions are contradicted by the authentic traditions of Al-Kafi itself, on the authority of Aba Baseer who says:

“I asked the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq about the verse 4:59 which deals with ‘Ul Al-’Amr, and he said that it was revealed about Ali, Hasan, and Husayn”. Then he told the Holy Imam that people say: “if it is so, then why, Ali and the people of his house were not mentioned by name in the Qur’an” Then the Imam said: “Tell them, the daily prayer ‘Salat’ is mentioned in Qur’an in several places but nothing of the number of the Rak’ats in each prayer has been given. It was for the Prophet to explain the details. And the same is the case with the details about Hajj, Zakat, Sawm, etc. which was left to the Prophet to explain. Likewise, it was the duty of the Prophet to explain, as to who are the qualified persons to be termed as ‘‘Ul Al-’Amr’ whose obedience would be as compulsory as the obedience to the Prophet, next to the obedience to God. And the Prophet did it whenever the occasion demanded and the last of which was the declaration at Ghadir Khumm which left no room for any doubt or any ambiguity to be clarified but those who were determined to doubt and create doubts in the others, did not spare any stone unturned to create the doubts.

Nevertheless, they could not succeed in hiding any occasion of the least importance, leave alone the event of Ghadir, connecting with the declaration of Ali and the particular members of his descendants, as his successors. This tradition contradicts all other traditions which tend to say that Ali’s name or that of Hasan, Husayn, or Fatimah, were revealed as the text of Qur’an and was dropped by some later one. Therefore, such traditions are to be interpreted as to mean that these holy names have been mentioned as a commentary to the text, as the case in verse 5:67 referred above in No. 2. And in the cases of such traditions which would not bear such interpretations, it should be totally rejected as being against the Qur’an and the authentic traditions.

Regarding the Third, first of all accepting the tradition as true, it does not convey any peculiar distinction or qualification for Ali which otherwise he did not already possess, particularly if the context is taken into consideration. All that it proves is that Ali is one of those who does not follow Satan which is no great a distinction for Ali for an ordinary righteous one possesses. Secondly, Siyyari from whom the author of Faslul-Khitab reports, did not say that here ‘Aliyyin’ is a proper noun in possessive case, as there is another recitation of this verse ‘Aliyyon’ is used as an adjective which qualifies ‘Siraat’ in verse 15:41. It is more probably that Siyyari with his ultra-views aimed to say that ‘Ali’ though used here as an adjective, yet from an historical point it meant Ali and not only here but wherever the word ‘Ali’ occurred in Qur’an though as an adjective. According to the Ultra-Shi’aites, it means Ali. According to them the Holy Prophet named him Ali under the divine command. Hence the name actually carries the quality as the name Muhammad does. Therefore, whatever is termed by God, as Ali, as an adjective, it must be associated with Ali in some sense or the other.

There are those traditions which show that ‘Aale Muhammad’ have been originally mentioned in some passages of the Holy Qur’an, omitted, or altered later on viz. the traditions narrated by Ayashi that in 3:32, 33, after ‘Aale Ibrahim’ there was ‘Aale Muhammad’ instead of ‘Aale Imran’, and the former was omitted, and the latter was inserted. Such a tradition, which if it be true, means not only omission but also addition of a non-Qur’anic matter in the Qur’an which is against the unanimous verdict of all schools particularly the Ithne-Ashari School. Besides, it’s being reported by one solitary reporter which cannot be acceptable in the case of Qur’an as already pointed out, the insertion of the term ‘Aale Muhammad’ here in the place of ‘Aale Imran’ would exclude Ali from ‘Aale Muhammad’ which is against the fact as well as against the Shi’a faith, on account of the subsequent appositional phrase ‘Zurriaton Ba’zoha min ba’z’ as Ali is not the descendant of Muhammad and if the subsequent phrase is totally discarded then in the term ‘Aale Muhammad’ will be included not only the members of the family, but all the followers as in the case of ‘Aale Fir’awn’ but in the case of the present version of the Qur’an both Muhammad and Ali, along with their issues are included in the ‘Aale Ibrahim’ (i.e., descendants of Abraham).

There is another tradition saying that in 26:227 after ‘Zalamo’ the term ‘Aale Muhammad’ was mentioned, which if it be true, would restrict the condemnation of injustice only to the case of ‘Aale Muhammad’ and not in the case of the others, which is against the spirit of Qur’an, the universal justice of God that whosoever commits injustice to anyone to any degree, is punishable and against the wording of Ali “It is easier for Ali to bear all sorts of tortures than to meet God while he has committed injustice to anyone of his creatures” Most probably the wording ‘Aale Muhammad’ have come as a commentary to show the seriousness of the injustice to the holy people.

Another example is the tradition which deals with the verse 37:130 showing that instead of ‘Ilyaseen’ there was ‘Aale Yaseen’ we have dealt with this tradition in our note on this verse, and here it is enough to say that it is totally against the context which is dealing with ‘Ilyas’ from verse 37:123-132.

There are also some solitary traditions dealing with the word ‘Ummat’ mentioned in the various passages of Qur’an assigning to it the duties and the qualities suitable for leading personalities, saying that instead of ‘Ummat’ was ‘A’imma’ viz. the word ‘Ummat’ in verse 2:143, and 2:128, 3:104, 3:110 Rnv. in the respective places which proves that the word ‘Ummat’ itself has been used in the sense of Imam. The traditions in this connection ought to be interpreted as to intend to assert that the word ‘Ummat’ meant ‘A’imma’.

There is another kind of tradition dealing with the word ‘Imaman wa Rahmat’ mentioned in the verse 11:17 saying that in the original arrangement ‘Imaman wa Rahmat’ was after ‘Shaahidun minh’ before qualifying ‘Shaahid’ and not ‘Kitaabe Moosa’ Rnv. on the verse. We have dealt with the matter there and proved that ‘Imaman wa Rahmat’ in its present arrangement qualifies both ‘Kitaabe Moosa’ and ‘Shaahid.’ The imagined arrangement is absurd and against Qur’an itself and the commentaries of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, as ‘Kitaabe Moosa’ is qualified in ‘Imaman wa Rahmat’ 46:12.

Another example of the tradition of this nature is that which deals with 25:74 saying that in the place of the present ‘Waj’alna lil Muttaqeen Imama’ it was ‘Waj’al lana minal Muttaqeen Imama.’ A reference to the verse will show the absurdity of the claim and the soundness of the present verses. The imaginary version would reduce the position of the persons, referred to, by the personal pronoun ‘Na’ meaning ‘Us’ to a state of praying to have a leader from among the pious ones, in which case the infallible Imam should be excluded from ‘Na’, i.e., Us, and it could be the prayer of only an ordinary man, while in the present version the pronoun would mean only the infallible personalities who are fit to be the leaders of the pious and not to be led by anyone from among the pious ones. In either case, the restriction in the meaning of the personal pronoun, is unavoidable. In the imaginary version the position of the Imam is reduced to an ordinary pious one ‘Muttaqi’ while according to the present version the Imam prays for the post of the ‘Imam ul-Muttaqeen’ which Abraham prayed for his ‘Zurriat.’6

There are the examples of the traditions which assert omission or the alteration of the wording of the Qur’an which according to the imaginations of their reporters, were in the favour of the Ahl Al-Bayt and were omitted. But a thorough study of them will prove beyond doubt that these were either the work of a foolish friend or a crafty enemy who wanted to damage the repute of the Holy Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt and along with, damage the unique status of the Holy Qur’an which is the ultimate criterion and the standard for the verification of the Truth of pre and post Islamic literature of theological nature.

There are traditions which give a different wording here and there, in some passages of the Qur’an as a different recitation which are not acceptable in any way, for example Ali Ibn Ibrahim narrates, through his chain from Horrais from the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq that the Holy Imam read the last portion of the Sura al-Fatiha as follows: ‘Sirata man an’amta alaihim, Ghairil Maghzoobe alaihim wa gahriz Zaalleen’, meaning instead of ‘Al’lazeena’ after ‘Siraat’ he used the relative pronoun ‘Man’ and instead of ‘la’ before ‘Zalleen’ he used ‘Ghair’. It is obvious that the imagined recitation does not differ from the present recitation in substance, but the absurdity of the narration as it is so obvious that one need not argue but to express his surprise that why a person like Ali Ibn Ibrahim should narrate such nonsense. The Fatihatul Kitab is a chapter repeatedly recited by the Muslims in the daily and all other prayers and there is no prayer without the recital of the Fatihatul Kitab and as such it is impossible for the correct version to escape the memory’ of any Muslim above the age of five and to say that its correct recitation is as narrated by Ali Ibn Ibrahim, escapes the memory of all the Muslims from the time of the Holy Prophet up to the Third Caliph or all deliberately did hide the correct recitation and yielded to the distorted recitation without a word of objection being raised from any corner. In that case, no report of the past would be relied upon, whatever may be the degree of its authenticity, the number of its narrators and the written reports about it. If the Muslim could not retain one sura of Fatiha correctly we have to read ‘Fatiha’ on Islam. The other similar traditions have to be valued in the same line. If the tradition be true, it would only mean the Imam’s giving the commentary or the interpretation of the Verse, but the reporters have failed to narrate exactly what the Imam said, a case which is not uncommon among the chain of reporters.

There is another group of the traditions quoted by some, in support of ‘Tahrif’ which indicate that Qur’an contains different sections, the section dealing about the Ahl Al-Bayt, about their enemies, about the exemplary events of the ancient, and dealing with the laws and precepts of Islam. It is obvious that these kinds of traditions have nothing to do with Tahrif, i.e., omission, alteration, or addition. It refers to the applicability of the subject-matter and not its arrangement. And as such it does not convey more than what is mentioned in the celebrated Ziarate-Jaamiah: ‘Wherever, or whenever anything good is mentioned, it applies to you as its origin, its development, its source and as its final phase.’ The traditions narrated in this connection by Ayashi in his commentary, confirms what has been said that the names of the Ahl Al-Bayt have not been mentioned in Qur’an and passages of Qur’an should be restricted to persons or occasions in connection with which, it might have been revealed. He narrates through his chain from the Fifth Holy Imam that he said ‘Qur’an was revealed in three groups, one third about us and our devotees, and a third about our enemies and the enemies of those before us (the prophets and the righteous ones).

The third about law, precepts and exemplary narrations and the Imam said if the passage revealed about some persons, would be restricted to them, and the passage would lose its applicability along with the death of the persons, but the applicability of Qur’an continues to be valid so long as the heavens and the earth exist. For every people, there is a passage in Qur’an which applies to them, good or bad. Another from the same Imam is reported by Ayashi, ‘Whenever someone of the followers of Islam is mentioned as virtuous, We are meant, and whenever some is mentioned as wicked, even in the past, our enemies are meant.’ And there is another tradition narrated by Ayashi from the Sixth Holy Imam that he said if Qur’an is read as it was revealed, one would find us named therein.

This means that if one reads Qur’an studiously without prejudice, he will realise the exclusive status given to them by Qur’an. For example, in verse 3:61 there is no doubt that nobody’s name has been mentioned in that verse but there is no doubt also that nobody else is meant by the verse but Hasan, Husayn, Fatimah and Ali respectively. And it is natural that only these can be termed as the People of the House and the members of the family. Therefore, whatever God has said in Qur’an about the Ahl Al-Bayt and the chosen members of the ‘Aale-Ibrahim’ applies to these people exclusive of all. Instead of mentioning their names, Qur’an in places referred to them by the traditions already discussed. God has introduced them in such a rhetorical manner which is much more effective than mentioning their mere names.

The fifth group are the traditions which expressively assert that a large portion of Qur’an has been omitted and some Non-Qur’anic matter has been inserted in the present version. The outstanding example of such tradition is the lengthy statement of Ali narrated by Ahmad Ibn Abu Talib Tabarsy the author of the book known as ‘Ehtjaj’ (not to be confused with Shaikhe Tabarsi, the author of the Majma’ul Bayan). Ali says that between the beginning portion of verse 4:3 and verse 137 of the same chapter about one third of Qur’an has been omitted and the same statement says verse 7:188, is not a genuine part of the Qur’an. The absurdity of his tradition is self-evident. It seems that Ali is talking of some remote ancient book, one third of Qur’an is deleted in his presence and he and all the Muslims kept quiet, and none narrates even a single verse of that one third of the Qur’an, i.e., as to what that one-third was comprised of. In the case of Fadak, Ali and his followers did not hesitate at least to raise objection and protest and for a minor deviation from the Islamic law, people like Abu Dharr, Ammar, Miqdaad, etc., would raise objection against the ruling party endangering even their lives and for one-third of Qur’an none objected, and none said anything. And such a deliberate addition to the Qur’an was affected and Ali and his party kept quiet and did not open their mouths but to a jew. This spurious tradition does not in the least affect the genuineness and authenticity of the Qur’an but affects the reliability of the book which contains it.

There is another tradition from Kulayni in the chapter dealing with Qur’an to the effect that the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq said: that the Qur’an which Gabriel brought to the Holy Prophet Muhammad contained seven thousand verses. This is according to ‘Waafi’s version taken from ‘‘Al-Kafi”, but in some editions of Al-Kafi itself, it is mentioned Seventeen thousand, instead of the Seven thousand. There is no doubt that Waafi’s narration from Al-Kafi is much more reliable than the ordinary editions of Al-Kafi itself. However, the conflict is there. Hence not reliable but to take either of these statements as to mean the omission of some wording from the present Qur’an, is a wishful conjecture, because it deals with the number of the passages of the Qur’an and the numbering depends upon punctuation about which the reciters of Qur’an may differ. According to the current punctuation, the number of the verses are 6,666 and according to the punctuation, ascribed to the Holy Prophet by the ‘Majma’ul Byan’ it is 6,263. The different schools of the reciters - Kufi, Hidjazi, Macci, Madani, Shami, differ in this regard from each other. And it is said that numbering by Kufi School, is based on the authority of Ali.

However, it should be noted that their differences in numbering was not based on the difference in numbering the letters and the words of Qur’an as confirmed by a tradition from Al-Kafi saying that ‘No change in the letters of Qur’an in addition or omission ever took place’ and that the Muslims established the letters of the Qur’an and distorted its significance and its application. Here it is not out of place to recommend the readers to refer a tradition quoted by the author of Majma’ul Byan in chapter 76 while dealing with the question about the date and the occasion of ‘Shan al-Nuzool’ the full account of the number of the chapters, verses, letters, the date, and place of their revelation, are given. It is said that there are chapters, the beginnings of which were revealed at Mecca and the other portions of it were revealed at Madina and were put in their proper places by the order of the Holy Prophet.

To the fifth group belongs the solitary tradition stating that Qur’an originally had forty ‘Juz’ i.e., parts of which now we have only thirty, the rest ten parts are with the Last Imam who would bring it when he re-appears. The absurdity of such a statement has already been pointed out when dealing with the tradition of the Ehtijaj. No word, phrase, sentence, verse, or chapter, small or large can be considered as a part of the Qur’an if it is reported by only a solitary reporter. Because in our definition of the Qur’an we have said that revealed statement which was placed within the reach of mankind as an everlasting miracle. And a revealed statement as such cannot be known only to one chain of the reporters. To this category belongs the spurious sura known as the Sura al-Vilayat the author of the Dabistanul Mazahib has narrated from some unknown source and it may be the same sura to which Ibn Shahr Aashoob refers as the Omitted Chapter of the Qur’an. The Chapter is the size of the Musabbehaat, not more than half a page. The style of it betrays its publication. It cannot be classed even with the style of the Ahl Al-Bayt in their sermons and prayers. It is an attempt to imitate the rhythm of the Qur’an but far from Qur’an in grammatical structure and rhetorical consideration, the like of which can be composed by any imitator who is acquainted with the Arabic language. There are the other compositions of this type said to be the omitted chapters of the Qur’an the style of which betrays them. Of these there are two Suras named ‘Khol’ and ‘Hafd’. Both combined do not exceed two lines of Qur’an. It is said that they are parts of the copy of the Qur’an of Obai Ibn Ka’b but the style show that they are some sort of prayers composed by someone, much inferior to even the style of the Holy Prophet and his Ahl Al-Bayt, leave alone the style of Qur’an.

There is also another tradition of this kind narrated by Kafi from Abu Nasr al-Bazanti who said that the Eighth Holy Imam Ali Ibn Musa ar-Ridha’ gave him a Qur’an and told him not to look at it, but he opened it and read chapter 98 known as the ‘Byyanah’ and found there in the name of seventy persons of the Quraysh along with the names of their fathers. Then the Holy Imam sent for the Qur’an and got it back. First of all, it is surprising as to why the Holy Imam should give the Qur’an and then tell him not to see it. Secondly, how reliable is the person who disobeys the order of the Holy Imam. Thirdly, granting the genuineness of the procedure as narrated, the very fact that he found therein the names of so many people with the names of their fathers is the best proof that what he saw was not the text of the Qur’an but some commentary. Of the contemporaries of the Holy Prophet or his ancestors, and his followers, and the members of his family, nobody’s name had come in the Qur’an except the name of Zaid among the friends and Abi Lahab among the enemies and the name of the Holy Prophet himself and if anyone else’s name had come, the report of which would have reached not through a solitary tradition. But apart from our remark against this tradition, it can be taken as evidence that the celebrated ‘Mus’haf attributed to the First Holy Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib was not confined to the text of the Qur’an revealed as a challenging miracle, but it also contained the commentaries which the Holy Prophet dictated to him or the explanatory notes which he himself added to it.

These are the main traditions quoted in favour of Tahrif, in the sense of addition or omission. There remains the question of Tahrif in regard to the arrangement of words in the phrases and the sentences in the verse and the verses in the chapters and the arrangement of the chapters in the collection. As pointed out, Qur’an expressively asserts that the arrangement, the recitation and the explanation, all are the responsibility of God, and this must have been discharged before declaring the completion of the religion and before the Holy Prophet’s declaration that I have left among you within your reach two things: the Book of God and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt. Otherwise, it will be absurd on the part of the Holy Prophet to refer to the fragments and the pieces of bones, wood, skin, leaves of trees, on which the verses of the Qur’an had been written without any proper arrangement, in the term of Book in your hand which was yet to be given the shape of a book either by Ali, Zaid Ibn Thabit, or the others later on. It is worthy of note that the Founder of Islam who has dealt with the most minute aspects of human life, even such as the etiquette of sitting in an assembly7 and is so particular that doubt and dispute in the ordinary transactions whether small or big should be avoided as much as possible, for which he recommends to be recorded in writing8, should fail to give the final shape to the Book declared as the guardian of the past scriptures and the criterion of the post-Islamic literature, and also fail to declare the final infallible authority to whom the Muslims should refer in all matters of the religious disputes, in an unequivocal clear wording, and leave both the subjects to be finalised and decided by the people, whom he considers to be very slippery in the matter of faith, particularly after him9.

The impossibility of such failures is obvious from both the points of view of the Shi’a faith, the facts of history and the Qur’an’s assertion, that no chance for any argument or excuse, was left for the people after the Holy Prophet10. There are authentic traditions supporting the genuineness of the present wording, and the verses in the respective chapters of the Qur’an. These are the traditions from the Ahl Al-Bayt which deal with the spiritual effect and the divine reward assigned to the recitation of each verse of each chapter. Besides this, the traditions which allow recitation of any chapter of the Holy Book, in the daily compulsory prayers, with the exception of four suras which contain ‘Sajda al-Wajib’ the Imams were so cautious and particular in this respect that in the case of Chapter 93 and 94, though separated from each other by Bismillah yet they said that the latter is the supplementary of the former and thus they should be recited together, if read in any compulsory prayers.

They said the same about the chapters 105 and 106. It should be noted that according to the Ahl Al-Bayt it is necessary that one complete Sura of the Qur’an neither more nor less is to be recited after the chapter 1 in the first and second Rak’at of the prayers. Therefore, if there was any misarrangement in any chapter of the Holy Book which affects its completeness and genuineness, they should have pointed out to their disciples as they did in the above-mentioned cases. Once the genuineness of the arrangement of the verses in the chapters is proved, there would hardly be any need to argue that the divine hand which did not miss the said arrangement, has not missed the arrangement of the chapters in the Book as a whole. The question of the Macci and the Madani origin of some verses of some chapters, of the early or the late dates, does not arise, then there are authentic traditions showing expressively that it was done by the direction of the Holy Prophet himself and by none else.

Kafi on the authority of Sa’d al-Iskof - relates from the Holy Prophet:

“I was given the lengthiest Suras in the place of (Taurat) Torah, and I was given hundred verse chapters in the place of (Injeel) the Evangel and I was given the lengthy one next to the first, in place of (Zaboor) Psalms and I was made to exceed them with the separate small ones - they are sixty-eight Suras and Qur’an is the guardian over all the Scriptures”

There remains a wishful criticism of some unscrupulous friends or mischievous enemy that in the present arrangement there are some verses which do not fit in, in line with their preceding and the following verses. This has already been replied that Qur’an itself declares that its method of the arrangement is peculiar to itself, and it should not be compared with the human method of arranging the parts of their classical products. Such comparisons would be like condemning natural sceneries as misarranged because it is not like a man-made garden. However, this should be remembered that the chronological arrangement of Qur’an attributed to Ali, cannot be but for commentary purpose, not as a challenging miracle of the test within the reach of public and to be recited daily in prayer and on other times, otherwise it was necessary that Ali and the other holy Imams of his House should have guided the people about the present mis-arrangement of the matter to facilitate their reciting the Qur’an in their prayer, or they should have said, that it was enough to recite any part of the Qur’an in any prayer, whether a complete or an incomplete Sura or the verses without the present sequence. But the case is otherwise. It is the unanimous verdict of the Shi’a theologians and Scholars that any recitation different from the present arrangement, or with any additions or omissions - in any compulsory prayer, renders the prayer annulled. Even in the optional prayers or in the ordinary recitation, if it is different from the present arrangement, is committing a sin. There are some solitary reports about the recitation of some Qur’anic words by the Ahl Al-Bayt other than the present, viz. ‘Mou’oodd’11 as ‘Al-Mawaddat’ 12- and there are other words also. But according to the authentic tradition of Kafi and the unanimous verdict of the Shi’a theologians, any recitation other than the seven or the ten current ones, is forbidden.

All these show that mischievous hands were working since immediately after the departure of the Holy Prophet down to the beginning of the fourth century, to create doubts about the genuineness, infallibility and the authenticity of the Qur’an in hand, in some way or other as they also did their best to create doubts about the infallible authority of the persons of the Ahl Al-Bayt who were declared by the Holy Prophet as inseparable from Qur’an to be referred to in all religious matters. And on the other hand, the holy Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt their disciples in particular and the Muslims in general, were on guard against the move, by insisting that nothing different from the present version of the Qur’an, in part or as a whole, should be taken into account and declared it as the unique standard for the verification of the truth of the pre or the post-Islamic reports on religious matters.

This also should be remembered that the report which states that the Holy Prophet on the eve of his departure told Ali to take care of the fragments of the different material on which Qur’an was written and were in the custody of the Holy Prophet, does not mean that Qur’an was not yet collected. It was already collected in the form of a complete Book by Ali and the others in charge and reviewed by the Holy Prophet but these fragments which were the first copy of the verses, the Holy Prophet did not like them to fall in the hands of the public to misuse them. Hence, he ordered Ali to take care of it and none has ever claimed to have ever seen the fragments which the Holy Prophet gave in the custody of Ali.

The fragments from which Zaid Ibn Sabi attempted to produce as collection or those fragments which people had made for themselves, other than those of the Holy Prophet’s own, it is very clear that the Holy Prophet who dictated to Ali, the details of the Islamic precepts, theoretical or practical, even the fine for a bruise (injury) and what had already happened and what will happen till the day of resurrection and Ali wrote them down in a form of a scroll, termed a ‘famea’ and another collection on the parchment of hide known as ‘fafr’, would fail to differ from the collection of the Final Word of God, which had to remain as the Challenging Miracle within the reach of one and all of mankind for all times.

In short, as it is suggested by the Holy Prophet and the Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet and followed by their disciples during their presence and pursued by the Scholars, the divines, and the theologians of standard of the Ithna-Ashari School of all the ages up to date, any report suggesting the least doubt about the genuineness of the present version of the Qur’an with its present arrangement, is to be totally rejected as a spurious product of some mischievous or foolish minds. None who confesses Islam, to whatever School he may belong, can ever doubt about the fact that Qur’an besides its containing the last message of God, has been revealed as an Ever Current Challenging Miracle and as the Guardian of all the preceding scriptures and the Standard of the verification of all the post-Islamic literature, and as such should remain genuine and intact within the reach of mankind for all times, protected against any addition, omission, alteration, or distortion - for otherwise it would affect its status and standard as a miracle and as a guardian and this has been expressively said in the Qur’an13.

And it is absurd to say that these verses refer to the true copy of the Qur’an which is with the Imams, because, as repeatedly said, Qur’an as a standard and a miracle was revealed to be, must be, within the reach of mankind and not to be hidden and treasured with any single soul. Otherwise, all the genuine copies of the ancient scriptures are also with the Imam and nothing peculiar to the Qur’an. In short, the doubting about the genuineness of the present version of the Qur’an is nothing short of doubting the very apostleship of the Holy Prophet and all the other apostles of God preceding him and the infallible authority of the declared Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt, because being inseparable from Qur’an as a guide for the people, the doubt in the infallibility of one will naturally mean the doubt in the other. But Qur’an as it is now in our hands mirrors the infallibility of the Holy Prophet and the Imams of his House in a manner which leaves no doubt for anyone who depends entirely on it without any prejudice. And similarly, the life of the Imams and their teachings mirror completely the Holy Book as it is now. We recommend our readers to refer to ‘Al-Kafi’ chapter dealing with the necessity of referring to Qur’an as the standard in any controversial matter.

Al-Kafi:

From the Seventh Imam Musa Ibn Ja’far al-Kazim – “Who soever derives his religion from the Book of God and the teachings of the Holy Prophet, the mountain will move from its place, hut he will not be shaken in his faith. But the man who takes it from one man, another one will refute it”

From the Seventh Imam - “The person who did not understand our status from Qur’an, is not safe from mischief which means the present Qur’an is the Standard for the identification of Imamah”

Al-Kafi:

From the Sixth Holy Imam - “Surely God has revealed in Qur’an the norm of everything. Surely God did not leave anything which people would be in need of it, but he revealed it in the Book, so that nobody could say ‘I wish there had been in Qur’an’”

“There is no matter under dispute between two persons but there is a ruling for it in the Qur’an, but people’s mind cannot grasp it, which clearly shows that Qur’an is short of nothing, the shortcoming is from our side”

From the Fifth Imam - “Whenever I inform you about something, you should ask me about the origin if it is in the Qur’an”

There are many traditions of similar tone narrated by Al-Kafi here and elsewhere, asserting that everything is in the present Qur’an in hand, but the ordinary people may not be able to grasp it. We would like here to summarise the gist of all these traditions in the wording of Ali:

“Inna Allah Tajalla fi Kitaabihi le ibadeh”

“God manifested Himself in His Book for mankind”

From the Sixth Imam - narrates from the Holy Prophet:

“For every truth there is a way of verification and for every right thing there is light to be thrown on it. Therefore, whatever is in conformity with Qur’an take it, and whatever is contrary to it leave it”

A man asked the Sixth Imam about the conflicting reports narrated from the Holy Prophet or from the Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet - He said:

“The one which is supported by the evidence from Qur’an or from the sayings of the Holy Prophet take it, otherwise return it to the person who has brought it”

Everything should be valued by the Book of God and the teachings of the Holy Prophet and any tradition which does not agree with the Book of God, is spurious and must be rejected.

From the Sixth Imam - narrates through the chain of his ancestors - The Sermon delivered by the Holy Prophet:

“‘O’ ye people! Ye are in an abode of truce, and ye are on journey and the move with you is fast and indeed ye see the night and day, the sun, and the moon, both wearing out everything new and bringing near everything afar and bring everything promised. Equip yourselves with provision for the remote journey”

Stood up Miqdad Ibn al- Aswaod and asked:

“O’ Apostle of God! what is the abode of the truce?”

“The abode to take provision and leave” - then continued the sermon. Replied The Holy Prophet:

“Whenever the ordeals confuse as the piece of the dark night on ye is to adhere to Qur’an. Verily it is the intercessor whose intercession is accepted and the pleader whose pleading is approved. He who keeps it in view (as his guide or norm) it guideth him to Paradise and he who puts it behind, it will drag him to hellfire. It is the guide which guideth to the best path. It is the Book wherein are details and explanation and the extract and it is the decree not a joke. For it is the apparent or the outer and hidden or the inner sides. The Outer side is law and order while the Inner side is knowledge and enlightenment. The Outer is a fascinating beauty the Inner is deep. It has bottoms and the bottoms on bottoms. Its wonders are innumerable uncomprehendable - nor its marvels are ever worn out”

“Therein are the torches of guidance and the minarets of wisdom and guidance towards knowledge for the one who understands the description”

“Thus, it is for the seeker to make his inside more around and his sight to reach the description rescued from perdition and released from entanglements. Verily the meditation on it, is life for an awakened heart as the one who walks in darkness enlightening him by the light (of Qur’an). Therefore, it is on ye to release of yourself duly without the least hesitation”

It is impossible for the Sixth Imam to refer people to the recommendation of the Holy Prophet about Qur’an, which is not within the reach of the public, in such a way.

In conformation of the traditions, a few of which have been referred to above as examples hereunder, are mentioned the universally accredited scholars of the Ithna-Ashari School who are considered to be the leading authorities resorted to, after the disappearance of the Last Imam of the Ahl Al-Bayt.

Kulayni Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Yacoob al-Kulayni (329 A.H.) author of Al-Kafi in the introduction of his celebrated work Al-Kafi:

“Passed away the Holy Prophet, leaving behind among his (Ummat) people, the Book of God and the Executor of his will, Amir Al-Mu’minin, the Commander of the Faithful and Imam al-Muttaqeen the leader or the guide of the pious ones (Peace of God be on him) as the two inseparable associates, each one of whom, stands as a witness to the truth of the other”

In pointing out the sources of the true knowledge of God’s religion, Kulayni quotes the two traditions which have already been quoted above and in answering the question about the conflicting traditions narrated by the different reporters and the method for their verification, Kulayni says:

“Behold O’ my brethren! May God guide you that none among the scholars can distinguish the true and false ones of the conflicting traditions by his own discretion, but the way shown by the Holy Imam who said, place them before the Book of God and then the one which agrees with the Book of God, take it, and the one which disagrees with the Book of God, reject it”14

This quotation from Kulayni proves beyond doubt, that to him the Qur’an and the Ahl Al-Bayt are two inseparable and infallible authorities left by the Holy Prophet among the people for their guidance and that Qur’an is the criterion for the scrutiny of the traditions and as such it is utter injustice to allege to Kulayni, doubts about the genuineness of the Qur’an simply because he has mentioned in his book some solitary reports and the news which to some may appear as indicating Tahrif, while the reports are capable of different interpretation as already pointed out. It needs to be remembered that in alleging a doctrine to a person or a community, the book containing mere traditions and reports should not be taken into consideration, but the statements which show their views based on the traditions and the other sources of the faith are to be counted. The above statement is the view of Kulayni about Qur’an.

Next to Kulayni comes the outstanding authority of Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Babawai Qummi (author of ‘Manla yahzorul Faqeen’) known as Sadooq who has expressively dealt with the subject in his famous book ‘Eteqadaat’, i.e., the Beliefs. But here Sadooq’s views are quoted through the authority of Mullah Mohsin al-Faiz, in his work Wafi to prove the unanimity between the two great authorities separated from each other by about six centuries together - The Mullah reports of Sadooq - Said our Shaikh - (May he be blessed) in his ‘Eteqadaat’ (Beliefs):

“Our belief is that Qur’an which God the Most High revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (Peace he on him and on his family) is what is between these two pads, and which is in the Land of the people and Qur’an was not more than this. The numbers of its chapters according to the people are one hundred and fourteen and according to us Nos. 93, and 94 are one and 105 and 106 are one. Whoever ascribes to us that we say that it was more than this, he is a liar”

The above statement clearly speaks that it is not only the personal view of Sadooq, but it is the unanimous verdict of all the Shi’a authorities preceding him and it does not refer only to the quantity, but it also indicates the genuineness in arrangement as it is in the hands of the people. Had there been any discrepancy other than the number of the suras or the quantity of matter, regarding the arrangement, Sadooq would have pointed out in the same manner as he did about the two sets of the four chapters.

Then Sadooq gives out the proof in support of the Shi’a view about Qur’an and then the Mulla al-Faiz confirming Sadooq’s views says that ‘Whatever tradition has come about the ‘Tahrif’ or distortion it must be taken to mean in the application and the significance of the verses of the Qur’an and nothing of its wording’15.

Next to Sadooq comes the Shaikhut Taifa - popularly known as Shaikh al-Toosi - the author of the ‘Kitab al-Tahzeeb’ and ‘Istibsar’ who has dealt studiously with the subject in his commentary known as ‘Tibyan’ and narrated therein the view of his master Sayyid al-Murtuza known as ‘Alamal-Huda’ the celebrated divine authority of the Shi’as after Shaikh Mufeed and his firm and sound argument that Qur’an as it is now in our hands, was finalised and given shape in writing during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet under his own supervision.

Next to Shaikh al-Toosi is the celebrated Shi’a Commentator Shaikh al-Tabarsi, the author of the well-known commentary the ‘Majma’ul-Byan’. Then come the Scholars of the Safawite period viz.

Mohaiqe-Karaki who has written a separate book on the subject and said that any statement in support of Tahrif should be interpreted, if possible, as to mean Tahrif in application - otherwise it should be totally rejected because it is against Qur’an and authentic sunnat and the unanimous verdict of the Ulema (Scholars).

Next comes Mullah Mohsin al-Faiz already referred to.

Sayyid Hashim Bahrani - (Safavites) TafsirBurhan.

Then among the Ulema of the last three centuries come:

Shaikh Muhammad Husayn - The author of the Principles of Jurisprudence who has discussed in his standard book - ’Fusool’ about the genuineness of the Qur’an as its supreme authority.

The celebrated jurist-scholar Shaikh Ja’far in his ‘Kashful-ghita’ - wherein he claims the unanimous verdict of the Scholars about the genuineness of the Qur’an without any omission, addition, or alteration.

Agha Hajj Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, author of ‘Al-Meezan’ the valuable Commentary next to Khaja Khan - ’Mahaqqiqe-Baghdaadi’, the author of ‘Sharhe- Wafiya Mohaqqiqe-Kalbasi’.

Then comes the celebrated Scholar on all semitic Scriptures - late Shaikh Mohammad Jawad Balaghi, in his introduction of the Commentary known as ‘A’laa-ur-Rahman.’

The late divine Ayatullah Buroojerdi also held and advocated the same view in detail. Sayyid Shah-Shahani - author of ‘Orwatul-Osqa’ not to be confused for the other book of the same name by a different author.

And of the present divines,

Ayatullah Sayyid Mohsin Hakim (Najaf)

Ayatullah Sayyid Mahmood Shahroodi (Najaf) Whose verdict which he writes to say that he has despatched from Najaf but has not reached us yet)

Ayatullah Sayyid Abol Qasim Kharyi Najaf the author of the commentary known as ‘Albayan’ the valuable work which helped us the most in preparing this note - His works are recommended to our readers.

Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Hadi Al Husayny Al-Milani (Mash’had.)

Refer to the copies of the verdict of above Mujtahids of Najafe Ashraf and Mash’hade Muqaddas displayed at the end of the note.

The Various Recitations Of The Holy Qur’an

Before closing this note a few words about the recitations ‘Qira’aat’ - It is generally known that there are seven or ten different recitations of the Qur’an - By recitation is meant the different wordings which convey the same or allied meanings ‘Maalik’ and ‘Malik’ - Such as ‘Yatta’harna’ and ‘Yat’harna’. It is generally believed the recitation of the seven or the ten reciters of the first, second and the third century of Islam are valid and the Muslims are allowed to adopt either of these in their reciting Qur’an and it is generally held that the origin of these various recitations go back to the time of the Holy Prophet who approved these varieties but according to the Shi’a Ithna-Ashari School whose views are based on the teachings of the Holy Imams, the revealed recitation of the Qur’an cannot be but one and as the Imam puts it, “Qur’an is One, came down from the One, the variation in the recitation comes from the reciters, not from God” It is a misrepresentation of the fact by the ruling party for propaganda purposes, that the Holy Prophet followed the recitation of Zaid Ibn Thabit during the close of his ministry who was not even counted16, the Holy Prophet does not follow but the divine recitation 75:16-19. Zaid Ibn Thabit and the ruling party who already failed in producing the collection of their own had no alternative but to adopt the approved collection of the Holy Prophet and his recitation otherwise it would have been objected to by the Muslim World.

Shi’a Qurra (Reciters)

Hamzatubna Habeeb.

‘Aasim.

Abdullah Ibn Aamir Yasabi - who acquired the knowledge from Waasila Asqe’ (a companion of the Holy Prophet d. 116 A.H.).

Abi Ibn Hamza al-Kasa’yi - Who acquired the knowledge from Hamza b. Habeeb, and Ibn Abi laila - who had learnt from Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

Khalaf Ibn Hashanul Bazzar - a student of Hamzat Ibna Habeeb.

Yakoob Ibn Is’haaq Qazrami - who learnt (from Amirul Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib).

Yazeed Ibn Qeeqaa’ Makhzoomi - from Abdullah Ibn Abbas who learnt from Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

Gist Of The Fatwas

The Islamic Way Of Inviting Mankind To The Truth

The following verse of the Holy Qur’an lays down in clear cut words the only way or method through which mankind has to be invited to the Truth, i.e., Islam.

It is true that Islam was spread with the sword, but which sword, not the one the Christian Church used under the Edict of Milan against the poor and helpless jews, men and women and their innocent children, but with the sword of the ever triumphant Islamic ethics, enunciated through the ideal conduct and godly character of the Holy Prophet and the matchless sacrifices of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, which was surely the lovely heavenly weapon sharper and surer than the brutal one used in spreading the creed started in the name of Jesus.

The following is the Qur’anic injunction regarding the preaching of the faith by the Muslims:

ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

“And call thou unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and kindly exhortation and dispute with them in the manner which is the best; Verily thy Lord knoweth better of him who hath gone astray from His path; and He knoweth best of those guided aright” (16:125).

Truth is that which even the enemy be helpless to vouch. Let the world listen to what the great Christian scholar declares:

“History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon the conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated” 17

There are many more of such open declarations by the impartial scholars of the non- Muslim world, earnestly in search of the Truth. To quote all of them, will need a separate volume for itself.

What ‘Deen’ Or ‘Mazhab’ Actually Means

The Arabic term ‘‘Deen’ or ‘Maz’hab’ stands for the word ‘Religion’ in English and Religion means - “The human recognition of superhuman controlling power, especially of a personal God entitled to obedience, effect of such recognition on conduct and mental attitude” (OED)

Man by nature is self-conscious of an Absolute Authority of a Superpower of the highest order and the way he thinks and behaves in his desire to reach the authority or please that Power, is a religion. Islam as a religion stands for the divinely prescribed code of the method of disciplining the human Ego or self, in its practical life on earth, to enable man to raise himself from the abyss of the material degradation to the sublime spiritual heights of the eternal heavenly bliss, in store for those who successfully conquer the lust for material possessions and physical powers and restrain the passions for the fulfilment of the carnal desires.

Islam is a divinely formulated and perfectly regulated formula for leading the life with the purity of mind, sincerity in devotion and a faithful perseverance in the conduct or endeavour.

The Holy Qur’an gives the all-comprehensive formula in a few words of one single small verse or sentence of it:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“Say thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) My Prayer, my Sacrifice, my Life, and my Death (are all, only) for God, the Lord of the worlds” (6:162).

It is worth imagining - if man ponders over the complete implication of this heavenly guiding note, in its fullness and acts upon it, how glorious the life on earth would be and there would be no need for man to aspire for Paradise, for the earth itself will become a replica of heaven.

This is the spirit and the aim of Islam. The Original Islam called ‘Shi’ism.’

How, Qur’an The Final Word Of God, Was Secured

It is a well-known historic fact that every religious scripture, revealed before the Holy Qur’an, has suffered unwarranted alterations, additions, and subtractions and some have even been made totally extinct. Leaving aside the ancient ones, take for instance, the case of Jesus the most recent one of the apostles of God, immediately preceding the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The ‘Injeel’ or the Evangel revealed to him, is totally extinct and not available to anyone today, and what is available today, is only the collection of the mere stories told by different persons at different times, based upon the contradictory and contested records of the Jewish folklore and even this has undergone and is still undergoing revision after revision, bringing forth variant versions of the text as well as the translation, hailed by some and contested by the others of the same church established in the name of the same apostle Jesus18.

This corruptive, disruptive, and the destructive activity on the part of man, was tolerated by the Almighty Providence as long as the scriptures which were tampered and corrupted, had not been finalised, and they were to go, to give place to the Final and an All-Comprehensive one which was yet to be given for the human race as a whole and for all times which was revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad the Last of the Messengers and warners from God. This Final Word of God, the Qur’an, was sent down with a challenging undertaking and assurance, that none thereafter shall ever be able to tamper it or meddle with it, as the Omnipotent Author or the Word and its Revealer Himself will take care of its Originality, Arrangement, Completeness and Security:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

“Verily We have sent down the Reminder (the Qur’an), and verily We (Ourself) unto it will certainly be the Guardian” (15:9)

“On Us is its (Qur’an’s) Compilation, its Recitation and its Explanation” Before leaving this world, the Holy Prophet declared:

“I leave among you Two great (very important) things, the Book of God and my Ahl Al-Bayt, should ye he attached to these Two, never, never shall ye gel astray, and verily never, never shall these Two he separated from one another”

This Apostolic announcement clearly declares that:

The Holy Qur’an was there in the form of a complete Book.

It was there in the hands of the people - for the Holy Prophet says, “I leave among or amidst you”

To avoid getting astray, people should hold fast to both, the Qur’an and the Ahl Al-Bayt and not the others.

The Ahl Al-Bayt will always be with the Qur’an, and Qur’an in its original form and with its correct meanings will be only with the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.

As the Holy Prophet says, these Two will never be separated from each other, as long as Qur’an is there in this world, there will be one of the Ahl Al-Bayt (the Imam of the age).

The historic recital of Qur’an by the severed head of Husayn, the King of Martyrs, at Karbala, proved that a member of the Ahl Al-Bayt even when killed, is the custodian of the Qur’an and can deliver it to the world19.

Every Word Of The Holy Prophet Muhammad Was Nothing But The Revealed Word Of God

The Holy Prophet Muhammad spoke nothing but the revelation from the Lord. This unique character or the exclusive distinction of the Holy Prophet has been declared by the Holy Qur’an as well as the ancient scriptures:

وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ

“And nor he speaketh of (his own) inclination” (53:3).

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىٰ

“It (the wording) is naught, but a revelation revealed (unto him)” (53:4).

The Holy Prophet Has Been Identified As Such, Even In Ancient Scriptures

“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you”

“And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear ‘that Prophet’, shall be destroyed from among the people” Old Testament - The Acts

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth”, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” Deut. 18/18, 19

“‘Howbeit, when the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you unto all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; he will shew you things to come” New Testament - John 16/13

Islam - What It Means And Who Are The Muslims?

Islam literally means Surrender, Submission, i.e., The complete handing over of one’s self to another. Islam also means, Peace.

Islam as a religion, means an unconditional complete submission to the All-Supreme and the Absolute Sovereign authority of the Lord of the Universe. In other words, the total submission of the individual will to the Universal will of the Lord. One who does this, is a Muslim.

Once, one in fact does this, one’s individual will, ceases to operate and it becomes subject to the Universal will of the Lord. It is relating to this state of submission, the Holy Qur’an describes:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“Say: Verily my prayer and my sacrifice, my life and my death, (are all, only) for God, the Lord of the worlds” (6:162).

إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

“Verily the religion with God is Islam (submission to God’s will); and those whom the Book had been given did not differ but after the knowledge (of the Truth) had come unto them, out of envy among themselves; and whosoever disbelieveth in the signs of God, then, verily, God is quick in reckoning” (3:19).

بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

“Yea! Whosoever Submitteth his self (entirely) to God and is a doer of good, for him there shall be his reward with his Lord, on such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve” (2:112).

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَاتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلً

“And who is better in religion than he who resigneth himself entirely unto God? and is righteous, and followeth the creed of Abraham, the Upright One, And God took Abraham for a Friend” (4:125).

What is demanded of a human being, or that which is acceptable to God, is nothing short of Islam:

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا

“This day have I perfected for you, your religion, and have completed My favour on you, and chosen for you Islam (to be) the Religion” (5:3).

The following verse gives the last word on the choice of a religion for mankind:

وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

“And whosoever seeketh any religion other than Islam (total resignation unto God) never shall it be accepted front hint, and in the next world he shall be among the losers” (3:85).

1. Vide 16:98; 7:204.

2. Vide 22:52-54.

3. Vide am.The Encyclopedia of Islam.

4. Viz. the Case of Fadak.

5. Haqq al-Yaqeen.

6. Vide 2:124.

7. Vide 58:11.

8. Vide 2:282.

9. Vide 3:144.

10. Vide 4:165.

11. Vide 81:8.

12. Vide 91:8.

13. Vide 15:9, 41:42.

14. Ref. introduction of Al-Kafi, Vol. 1.

15. Wafi - closing Chapter on Qur’an.

16. As stated by Mustafa Sadiqe-Rufaa’yee in his Book ‘Ejaazul Qur’an’.

17. De Lacy O’Leary, in his famous work Islam at the Crossroads. London, 1923, p. 8.

18. Vide the Dua of the Catholic Church, the St. James Edition of the Protestant Church and the Diaglott of the Watch Tower Society Etc.

19. See the detailed note on Tahrif by A.P.

Shi’ism – The Original Islam

Shi’ism - What It Is And Why It Is Called So?

Shi’ism is another distinguishing name for the Original Qur’anic faith. In short, it is nothing more or less than the Islam-Original.

It is a historic fact that no sooner the Holy Prophet departed from this world than the vested interest of man, gained hold on matters secular as well as spiritual and started additions and subtraction and thus adulterated the original teachings of Islam, misinterpreting the Word of God and minting counterfeit traditions in the name of the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet before departing from this world, had openly and repeatedly made the following guiding announcements, for the people to abide by them:

“Of whomsoever I am the Mawla (Master), this Ali is his Mawla” 1

And finally, the Holy Prophet, before his departure, had declared:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: إني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي فإنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض.

‘Verily I leave amidst you the Two Weighty (important) things, the Book of God (the Qur’an) and my Itrat, Ahl Al-Bayt. If ye hold fast to these Two, never will ye get astray’, never will these Two be separated from each other, until they both return unto me at the Cistern (of’ Kawthar’)’ 2

The Holy Prophet further announced:

“The likeness of my ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ is that of the Ark of Noah. Whosoever getteth into it, is saved and whosoever turneth away from it, is drowned and lost” 3

People neglected the Ahl Al-Bayt and began following their own ways and yet called their own innovated Schools as Islam, and themselves the deviators from the prescribed course, as Muslims. Therefore, those who faithfully followed the Original teachings of the Holy Qur’an and remained faithfully attached to the course prescribed by the Holy Prophet, had necessarily to distinguish themselves from the others who had discarded the divinely set up guides, the Ahl Al-Bayt. Thus, those who followed Ali in the place of the Holy Prophet, called themselves as the Shi’as of Ali, just to distinguish the Original Islam which they faithfully followed and identified it as ‘Shi’ism.’ This was quite in accordance with the ‘Bait’, or the allegiance taken from the Muslims by the Holy Prophet, for Ali at Ghadir Khumm, while the others disregarded it and paid their allegiance to their own chosen leaders.

Thus, Shi’ism stands for the Original Islam and Shi’as for the true Muslims faithfully attached to the Holy Prophet and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.

In fact, the Shi’a-Ithna-Ashari School is the Qur’anic Islam of the Holy Prophet, and the rest are the newly started sects and sub-sects deviating from the Original Course.

The Most Misrepresented And The Most Misunderstood School Is The School Of The Islam-Original, Called Shi’ism

Islam in general, is no doubt misrepresented and misunderstood on account of the antagonistic propaganda by the vested interest of Christian missionaries but the original side of it, which is identified as Shi’ism, is the most misrepresented and the most misinterpreted School and consequently the most misunderstood of the religions of the world. The causative factor behind this misfortune, is the miserable absence of its literature in languages other than Arabic, Persian and Urdu and particularly in the English language.

A very brief note on its fundamental doctrines, in a telegraphic language, with one or two leading verses of the Qur’an, on which the belief or the ideology is based, is given just to enable the reader to know whether Shi’aism is Original Islam or not and how superb and sublime and unchallengeable is the Pure Qur’anic Faith, which was presented to mankind by the Holy Prophet and preserved by the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.

The notes given here are not to make the work unnecessarily voluminous but with sincere and rather the sacred purpose of establishing better understanding of the Truth and creating the love of fellowship among the various groups of the human family on earth.

I am very sorry, for want of space and the shortness of the time at my disposal, at present, I could give very few notes and even that in the briefest way possible, presenting the matter in small script, but I am confident that a really inquisitive mind with the sincerity in the search for the truth, would not mind the trouble of going through the matter, at the same time pardoning me for the unavoidable inability to give better facility of ease in the perusal of it.

The Classification Of The Religious Knowledge

The knowledge of the religion Islam, has been classified into Two sections:

‘Usool Ad-Deen’ i.e., the Roots or Fundamentals, or the Basics of the Religion.

‘Furu’ Ad-Deen’ i.e., the Branches or the articles of the Practice of the Religion.

Roots are the parts of a tree which remain hidden under the earth and are not seen. The parts of the religion concerning the faith of the individual which remain hidden in his heart and cannot be seen, are called the roots, in Arabic ‘Usool’.

Branches are the parts of a tree which thrive above the earth and are seen. Those articles of the religion which are concerned with the practice of it, and which are seen out, are called in Arabic the ‘Furo’ (i.e., in Branches).

Mere roots without the branches are not called a complete tree, nor they can ever thrive underground, and the existence of any such hidden thing without the proof of its being there, without any manifestation above the earth, can neither be believed in, nor can they be logically proved. Similarly, the ‘Usool Ad-Deen’ can neither remain safe, nor can be believed to be genuine in their existence, and nor they can be reasonably asserted to exist without the ‘Furu’ Ad-Deen’ which are nothing but the evidential implementation of the ‘Usool.’

Similarly, branches alone, without the roots can never thrive. Unless the branches are duly connected with the roots under them, they will naturally and necessarily wither away and perish. Thus, mere ‘Furu’ Ad-Deen’ without the correct ‘Usool Ad-Deen’ can neither be called any particular religion nor can they ever at all thrive for any time.

Hence a true Muslim should see that his faith is properly rooted in the correct knowledge of the ‘Usool Ad-Deen’ and at the same time see that the ‘Usool Ad-Deen’ are supplied with their natural growth into healthy branches, i.e., the ‘Furu’ Ad-Deen.’

In short, as a tree is complete, prosperous, and useful, only when it has its roots as well as its branches, the religion Islam or Shi’ism, is complete and genuine with the correctness of the ‘Usool Ad-Deen’ strengthened through their faithful translation into action, i.e., the ‘Furu’ Ad-Deen’, as the one without the other, is useless and can neither thrive nor be acceptable.

Every Shi’a should see that the roots of his faith, are correct, as prescribed by the Lord through the Holy Prophet and the Ahl Al-Bayt and are duly and regularly nurtured and systematically cultivated for a healthy growth of it, in its branches, making them yield as profusely as possible, the best of their fruits for him in this life and the hereafter.

A studious study or at least an intelligent perusal of these notes, will help the Non-Shi’a readers to know the strict Qur’anic Purity of the Faith and the sublime nature of the doctrines.

The Other Notes In The Introduction

Brief notes on a few topics are given for use of our brethren for their own general information, as well as to dispel the doubts created in the minds of the public through malicious propaganda against Shi’ism which is nothing but the Original Qur’anic Islam; to show how each and every article of the faith as well as its practice is based strictly on the Word of God and pure reasoning.

Similar, notes on the other general topics, particularly of the Shi’a Ethics are also desirable, but neither time nor the exigency at present, permit it. If Allah wills, the Revised Edition will contain further information.

It is repeatedly declared that the notes particularly on the side of the practice of the faith are only the Bare Skeleton of the fundamentals and not the whole with all the necessary details for which, the reader should and must refer to Fiqh for the other details about each of the articles.

1. Hadith Ghadir Khumm.

2. Tafsir al-Kabir, Tafsir Durr al-Manthur and many others.

3. Hadith As-Safina, Mustadrak Hakim,vol. 3, p.151.

Usool Ad-Deen

Roots or the Fundamentals of the Faith are Five:

Tawhid - The Unity of God.

Adalah - The Divine Justice.

Risalah - The Apostleship

Imamah - The Divine Guidance.

Qiyamah - The Day of Final Judgment.

‘Tawhid’ - The Divine Unity

The Existence Of God

Man has got himself sunk so deep in the lust of the immediate pleasures in the fulfilment of his carnal desires that he is now helpless against his rebellious self and feels his inability to get out of its clutches. Some have drenched the cloak of their souls so badly that they have lost the hope of its ever being cleaned of the blots and in their despair makes them resort to deluding their minds by the denial of the existence of God Himself, to fool themselves for the time being with the false and grossly deceptive arguments that neither there is any supreme authority, nor their rebellion is ever going to be subjected to any questioning or requital by anyone. On the other hand, none with common sense can ever doubt about the existence of God. One can even deny his own existence in some philosophic sense or the other, but can never deny or even doubt the undeniable, the undoubtable phenomena of every effect having a cause of it.

The basis of all scientific investigations is the fact that there could be no effect without a cause. The Holy Qur’an has, only in a few words of a single interrogatory clause, cornered the denier of the existence of God, himself to be convinced that there is God, without any doubt, Who is the Originator of the phenomena of cause and effect. Mankind is questioned by the Holy Qur’an.

أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ

“Were they created by nothing? Or are they themselves the creators?” (52:35).

The only answer to the above question could be that neither man was created by nothing (i.e., by none) nor did man create himself, which means to accept that man was created by something or someone and that thing or that ultimate cause must be the Self-existing One, the Cause of the causes as the Original Causative Potency of the whole system of cause and effect. And if the unreasonable argument of the ever-existing cycle of the cause and effect, be advanced, the final silencing answer will be that there should be the Omnipotent Absolute Sovereignty which has effected the Cycle and effected and maintains its continuity and does not allow it to break or stop, and that Absolute Supreme Authority is God.

This is the briefest argument against the unreasonable argument of a deluded atheist which could never be broken.

I hereunder give a very brief note once issued by Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Hajj Aga Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi.

The Phenomena Of Cause And Effect

“None with common sense and the average intelligence can ever doubt about the existence of God. One can as well deny his own existence in some sense or the other rather than denying or even doubting about any effect being without any causative factor.

Cause

The being by which another being exists or on which the existence of another being depends, is called a Cause.

The existence of an effect cannot depend on a non-being. This implies that the chain of an effect and its cause should end in a self-existing cause, otherwise it would mean the existence of a being by a non-being, the absurdity of which is self-evident.

Having the definition of the cause and the effect, in view, mankind has been questioned by the following verse of the Holy Qur’an:

أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ

“Are they created of nothing, or they created themselves?” (52:35).

The basis of all scientific investigations is that there could be no effect without a cause. The word ‘Cause’ is a term meaning a thing somehow responsible for the existence of a being. And this is of two kinds, the Structural and the Creative.

The Structural cause means the parts or the components in a whole. There are the subordinate factors, the one is the Matter and the other the Form; the former is called the Material and the latter is called the Formal cause. Thus, the structural cause consists of these two subordinate causes.

The Creative cause means the factor which produces the parts and effects their arrangement. This cause consists of two sub-factors, i.e., the Genetic and the Objective, i.e., the former is called the First or the Active, and the latter is called the Ultimate or the Final cause.

No man with common sense, has ever denied or doubted the necessity of the Structural cause. Everything owes its existence to its component parts and to the Form in which they are arranged together.

Effect

Every being of composite nature is an effect, i.e., its existence is not by itself, as it depends at least on its parts and its existence is caused by them. The parts of a being or beings cannot be non-beings. The question arises whether the parts exist by themselves, or they are composite wholes depending on their parts? we have to trace back the process till we reach the Final components, which can be said that it is a being of Non-composite nature existing by itself on which the whole edifice of the effects and their causes, stands.

No being of a dimensional nature presentable in the term of Space and Time, can ever be of a non-composite nature as the simplest and the smallest being which occupies space, is still dimensional and geometrically divisible and depends on its parts.

Therefore, no dimensional being can be taken as a Self-existing being as the First or the Beginning of the chain of beings is based on non-beings, the absurdity of which is self-evident; or we are forced in the search of a Self-existing being of a Non-composite nature, to step out of the realm of the chain of cause and effect, i.e., standing on a self-existing being of a non- dimensional nature. This means that the whole dimensional realm, presentable in the term of space and time, is an effect, and the phenomena of a non-dimensional and non-material being. On this ground we have to say goodbye to the dimensional and the material realm and proceed in search of the Self-Existing being responsible for the phenomena of the chain of cause and effect in the realm where the experimental logic and method, has no approach to it at all.

We said that any being of composite nature depends for its existence on its parts at least, and hence it is an Effect, a Phenomena and Unreal. Here it is to be pointed out that the parts and the components of a composite being may be of two kinds, concrete and abstract.

The Concrete

The concrete parts are those which our mind sees them and sets side by side in the realm outside the mind, such as the parts of an organic, chemical, or geometrical compound.

The Abstract

The abstract parts are those found in a being in the course of the mental operation and the analysis, otherwise outside the realm of mind, the parts are merged into each other as an entity such as the logical parts of a definition Genus and the Differentia. The aspect found in an idea which is common to another one and the aspect which is peculiar to one and which is not found in anyone else.

In any case, composition means dependence on the parts. Hence the composite being becomes an effect and a phenomenon and thus unreal, be the parts, concrete or abstract. Because though the abstract parts, genus, and differentia, are merged as one outside the mind yet in reality they are two different things.

Therefore, the same would be the case of the beings dependent on abstract parts required in logical definition. They are also effects, phenomena, and unreal and not self-existing beings.

Hence as we, in our search have to step out of the limitation of space and time (in search of the self-existing being) have also to step further out beyond the logical limitations which consists of the abstract parts of genus and differentia. Hence unlimited, not presentable in the term of space and time, genus, and differentia, beyond all dimensional and un- dimensional limitations and as such it cannot be one. Because the idea of the two self-existing beings implies limitations of both, of having a common aspect of being self-existing and the aspect by which they are distinguished from each other. Hence composite and dependent on their parts.

The conclusion is that the self-existing being is one, the real unit, which is not divisible at all, in any sense of the term, and in any respect or form in any aspect imaginable. Hence it is the real unique, the like of it in any sense, is not possible.

This Unique Unit by which the finite beings in part and as a whole are existing, is not absent from itself. Hence it is conscious of itself. Consciousness means presence of the Knower to the Knower, presence of one thing to (or for) the other.

If the thing or being itself is present to itself, then the being is conscious of itself and consequently becomes conscious of anything else which is present to it or stand by it. But if the being (or thing) is absent from itself, it cannot be self-conscious hence not conscious of other things standing by it.

All the dimensional beings are composed of dimensional parts and every dimensional part occupies a portion of space not identified with the portion occupied by the other parts. Hence every dimensional part is absent from the other dimensional parts. The conclusion is that all the dimensional beings are devoid of self-consciousness and consequently devoid of consciousness at all. On the other hand, anything (or being) which is undimensional and non-material, be it composed of parts (such as finite mind) of logical nature (genus and definition) or be composed of no part at all (such as the absolute unit in question which is unlimited and finite) itself is not absent from itself. Because whether it has no part at all or it consists of parts, which does not occupy definite portion of space, are merged into each other and their separation is only mental and a conceptual process.

Regarding the undimensional being of absolute unit, it is obvious that it cannot be absent from itself on account of its absolute unity. In the case of the undimensional beings which are finite, though they consist of parts and hence dependent, yet the parts are one and identified outside the mind and the realm of conception. Hence, they also are not absent from their own selves. Each is present to itself; hence conscious of itself and consequently conscious of whatever it is.

The conclusion is that whatever is undimensional is conscious and whatever is conscious is undimensional and vice versa. Hence the absolute unit by which all beings exist and stand and is necessarily present in every being, is Self-Conscious and conscious of all that exists by it. Hence Living. Therefore the reference to the absolute unit responsible for the whole phenomena called Universe, should be in terms of ‘He’ instead of ‘It’. “(A.P.)

The Existence Of God

The purely rationalistic quality of Islam is self-evident from the appeal to the human intellect made in the following verses of the Holy Qur’an, so that every man and woman might himself or herself decide about the faith in the existence of the Self-Existent Omnipotent Sovereign Being. The attention of every human being is invited to the truth eloquently declared by the creation of the universe and the perfect harmony with which the smooth functioning of the universe as a whole, as one compact unit goes on:

هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً لَكُمْ مِنْهُ شَرَابٌ وَمِنْهُ شَجَرٌ فِيهِ تُسِيمُونَ

“He it is Who sendeth down water from the heavens for you; from it ye drink, and by it (groweth) trees on which ye pasture your cattle” (16:10).

يُنْبِتُ لَكُمْ بِهِ الزَّرْعَ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالنَّخِيلَ وَالْأَعْنَابَ وَمِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

“He groweth for you thereby corn, and the olives, and the palm-trees, and the grapes, and of all the fruits; Verily in this is a sign for a people who reflect” (16:11).

وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومُ مُسَخَّرَاتٌ بِأَمْرِهِ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

“And (He hath) made subservient for you the night and the day and the sun and the moon; and the stars have been made subservient by His decree; Verily in this are signs for a people who understand” (16:12).

وَمَا ذَرَأَ لَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

“And what He hath produced in the earth of varied hues (and qualities); Verily there is in this a sign for a people who are mindful (with gratitude)” (16:13).

وَهُوَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ الْبَحْرَ لِتَأْكُلُوا مِنْهُ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُوا مِنْهُ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا وَتَرَى الْفُلْكَ مَوَاخِرَ فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

“And He it is Who made subservient the sea that ye might eat from it fresh meat and take out from it ornaments which ye wear, and thou seest the ships cleaving through it, and that ye might seek of His grace, and that ye might give thanks” (16:14).

وَأَلْقَىٰ فِي الْأَرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ أَنْ تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ وَأَنْهَارًا وَسُبُلًا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

“And He hath cast great mountains (standing firm) in the earth lest it may shake with you, and rivers and the roads that ye be guided aright” (16:15).

وَعَلَامَاتٍ وَبِالنَّجْمِ هُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ

“And landmarks (too), and by the star they are guided (to the right way)” (16:16).

أَفَمَنْ يَخْلُقُ كَمَنْ لَا يَخْلُقُ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ

“What! Is He then who createth like unto him who createth not? Will ye not then consider?” (16:17).

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنْبِتُ الْأَرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“Hallowed is He Who created pairs (of) all things, of what groweth the earth, or their selves and of what they know not” (36:36).

وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَهَا ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

“And the sun travelleth unto a resting-place fixed for it; That is the decree of the All-Mighty, the All Knowing” (36:38).

وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَاهُ مَنَازِلَ حَتَّىٰ عَادَ كَالْعُرْجُونِ الْقَدِيمِ

“And (as for) the moon, We have fixed for it stages till it returneth to be bent like an old palm branch” (36:39).

لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنْبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ

“It is not (expedient) for the sun that it should overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day; and each (of these luminaries) rotate on in (its peculiar) sphere” (36:40).

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الْإِنْسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُبِينٌ

“What! Seest not man that We created him from (a drop of) sperm? (and) yet lol he is an open disputant! (36:77).

إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ

“His command, when intendeth He anything, is only that He sayeth unto it ‘Be’ then (and there) it is” (36:82).

فَسُبْحَانَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

“Therefore, Hallowed is He in Whose hand is the kingdom of all things, and unto Him ye shall all be returned” (36:83).

أَفَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَاهَا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِنْ فُرُوجٍ

“What! See they not up unto the heaven above them how have We made it and adorned it; no gaps are therein” (50:6).

وَالْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَاهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ

“And the earth, We have spread it out, and have cast We therein mountains and have cast We therein the growth of all beauteous kinds” (50:7).

There are many similar verses in the Holy Qur’an which invite man’s attention to prove the existence of the Omnipotent Originator of the Universe and the Sovereign Lord of it.

The Unity Or The Oneness Of God

The simple logic which establishes the phenomena of cause and effect, is sufficient to make one helplessly accept that the ultimate or the original causative potency, cannot but be One and the Absolute One, for if there be more than One, then again, the arguments starts, which is the cause that controls the number to be only so many, not more or less. And what compels the variance that distributes them into the number, to remain joined or united. Ultimately the Causative potency effecting the harmony between the different components will naturally be one and the Absolute one which will be indivisible and not dependent on any component or partner in its unity Absolute.

The first and the foremost demand of Islam, rather the one rock on which the whole edifice of the religion of Islam stands, is the Unity or the Oneness of God, and not a word against the perfect sense or the meaning of it, is in the least tolerable. It has been most vehemently declared:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَىٰ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا

“Verily God forgiveth not (anything) be associated with Him, but He forgiveth what is besides that whomsoever He pleaseth; and whoever associateth (aught) with God, hath indeed devised a great sin” (4:48).

وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ

“And when said Luqman unto his son, while he was exhorting unto him: ‘Oh! my son! associate not aught with God for verily associating (aught) with God is the greatest iniquity’” (31:13).

The most repeated warning in the Qur’an is against polytheism called ‘Shirk’.

All Apostles Preached Only The Unity Of God

All apostles of God preached only the Unity or the Oneness of God. The Holy Qur’an declares this fact in clear cut words:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ

“And sent We not before thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) any apostle but revealed We unto him that ‘Verily there is no god but I; so worship ye Me (alone)’” (21:25).

The one identical object of all the messengers from God, was to bring home to man the absolute Sovereignty of the Lord of the universe. All the various schools of thought about God, other than the one preached by the apostles of God, are the subsequent innovations of the corruptive minds of the self-made leaders of their own created religious orders. Some divided the godhead into two imaginary equal units of goodness and badness, and some distribute it to an unreasonable and inconceivable trinity, and some believed in the multiples of the number of the various aspects of the godhead and into the innumerable incarnations. It is Islam that stressed upon the Absolute Unity of God without the least possibility of any division of His Unity or any kind of association with Him, whatsoever.

The Ancient Prophets Preached Only The Unity Of God

The Hindu Scriptures the Bhagvat Gita:

“I am the Father of the universe, the Mother, the Supporter and the Grandsire, I am the HOLY ONE to he known:” Ch. 11/17

“But those who meditate on Me and worship Me and NO OTHER and are ever devoted, to them I ensure the power to gain the new and preserve the old” Ch. 11/22

“I am the unborn without a beginning” Ch. 10/3

“I am the Origin of all, from Me proceed all things” Ch. 10/8

“I am the ‘Soul’ O! Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all creatures, I am the ‘Beginning’, the ‘Middle’ and the ‘End’ of all beings” Ch. 10/20

God is addressed with the following words:

“Thou art the Imperishable, The Supreme to be realised. Thou art the ‘Abode of the universe’ Thou art the ‘Undying Guardian’ of the eternal law. I believe that Thou art the ‘Primal Being’” Ch. 11/18

“Tor by Thee alone are filled these interfaces of heaven and earth and all the quarters of the sky, ‘O Mighty One’” Ch. 11/20

“Why should they not bow to Thee ‘O Mighty One’ Who art the ‘Creator’ of them all, being the ‘Primal’ cause even of Brahma, ‘O Infinite.’

“Lord of gods, abode of the world. Thou Art ‘Imperishable” Ch. 1/37

Swami Devanand Saraswati in his introduction to the commentary of the Vedas says:

“Besides that Parmeshawar, there is no other second”

It is quite evident from the above quotations from the sacred scriptures or the Vedas that the great sages who appeared in the sub-continent of India, preached nothing but the Unity of God, but owing to the lack of the necessary maturity in the receptive capacity of the people of the age, they could preach only the overall or the general view of the Oneness of the Lord of the Universe and could not give all the necessary details about the Absoluteness of the Divine Unity. Consequently, the people got indulged in the theory of the incarnation of God, not only in man but also in the various other creatures of His viz., the animals like the cow, birds like the white kite, serpents like the cobra, trees like the ‘Pipple’, rivers like the Ganges, Krishna and Cauveri, mountains like those in South India and besides all these the several other gods and goddesses and fixed up the various Moorties (Idols) - or forms for them.

The same thing happened among the people of the Church started in the name of Jesus with its fanciful sonship of Jesus and the worship of the Virgin Mary and the other saints solemnised by the self-assumed authority of the Church started by Constantine the King of Rome who enthroned himself as the First Pope on the throne of the Papacy founded by himself without any sanction even from the very Book which he himself named as the Holy Bible which was nothing but the compilation of the stories about Jesus edited by persons who had not even seen the Holy Teacher of Nazareth.

An intelligent comparative study of the Unity of the Holy Qur’an will make it clear, how perfect is the Islamic Oneness of the All-Divine Self Existent, leaving no room for anyone to get astray from the right course to know the Absolute Sovereignty of the Only True God.

The Holy Scriptures Revealed Prior To The Holy Qur’an

A Shi’a Muslim believes in the truthfulness and the sanctity of all the Holy Scriptures revealed to the Apostles of God preceding the Holy Prophet, and the Holy Books being the revealed Word of God.

The following verse of the Holy Qur’an defines a true Muslim:

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ

“And who believe in that which hath been sent down unto thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) and that which hath been sent down (unto the other apostles) before thee, and of the hereafter, they are sure” (2:4).

There is no other religion besides Islam which demands of its adherents to acknowledge the truthfulness of the other scriptures or the heavenly revelations, besides the one of its own. This is another proof positive of the universality of Islam as the religion of mankind as a whole.

كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ وَأَنْزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ فَهَدَى اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِ وَاللَّهُ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“Mankind was but one people; and God sent apostles as bearers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Book with the Truth that it might judge between men in that wherein they differed and none differed therein; but those very (people) whom it was given unto, after clear signs had come unto them, through revolt among themselves; whereupon God guided those who believed, by His will, regarding that which the people differed about the Truth and verily God guideth whomsoever He willeth to the Right Path” (2:213).

نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ

“He hath sent down unto thee the Book with Truth confirming what was before it; And He sent down the Torah and the Evangel” (3:3).

مِنْ قَبْلُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَأَنْزَلَ الْفُرْقَانَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انْتِقَامٍ

“Aforetime, a guidance for people and sent down the Distinction (Furqan); Verily for those who disbelieve in the signs of God, for them is severe punishment; God is a Mighty Lord of Retribution” (3:4).

The Holy Qur’an

It is the essential belief of Shi’ism or the Islam-Original, and of every true follower of Islam who calls himself a ‘Shi’a’ that the present Qur’an, that which is in our hands today, is the Holy Book of God, revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, as arranged and compiled during his lifetime and read out to him and it contains nothing less or more than what was revealed, and the present arrangement of it, is the order in which the various verses were assorted and arranged at the command of the Holy Prophet himself. This is the uncorrupted or the undisturbed Word of God, the preservation of which has been guaranteed by God Himself:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

“Verily We have sent down the Reminder (the Qur’an) and verily We (Ourself) unto it will certainly be the Guardian” (15:9). 1

The Hadith (tradition) of Thaqalain in which the Holy Prophet declared that he had left behind him Two important things, the Book of God and his ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ and they will never be separated from each other, is a proof positive that during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet there did exist the Holy Qur’an in its complete and perfect form to be called The Book of God.

Otherwise, mere distorted fragments, some in the hands of a few and some in the hands of the others, could never have been called a Book, by the Holy Prophet. Besides, it is said that the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt will never be separated from one another which means that the Book of God was already there with the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.

وَمِنْ قَبْلِهِ كِتَابُ مُوسَىٰ إِمَامًا وَرَحْمَةً وَهَٰذَا كِتَابٌ مُصَدِّقٌ لِسَانًا عَرَبِيًّا لِيُنْذِرَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُحْسِنِينَ

“And before it (the Qur’an) the Book of Moses (the Pentateuch) was a guide and a mercy: and this (Qur’an) is a Book confirmeth (the previous scriptures) in the Arabic language that it may warn those who are unjust; and glad tidings for the doers of good” (46:12).

ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“This is the Book, there is no doubt in it, (being the Word of God) (it is) a guidance for the pious (ones)” (2:2).

وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

“If ye be in doubt about what We have sent down unto our Servant (Muhammad) produce ye then a surah (chapter) like unto it, and call ye your witness other than God, if ye be truthful” (2:23).

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا

“Do they not think (carefully) in Qur’an? And if it had been from any other than God, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy” (4:82).

وَهَٰذَا كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

“And this (Qur’an) is a Book, We have sent it down, blessed, so follow it, and guard (yourselves against evil) so that ye may be done mercy” (6:155).

وَمَا كَانَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنُ أَنْ يُفْتَرَىٰ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلَٰكِنْ تَصْدِيقَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَتَفْصِيلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“And this Qur’an is not such as to be forged by (anyone) besides God, but it is a confirmation of (the scriptures) that went before it and (the clearest) explanation of the Book, there is no doubt in it, (it is) from the Lord of the worlds” (10:37).

الر ۚ كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ

“Alif, Lam, Ra, (A. L. R.) A Book (the Qur’an) (We) sent it down unto thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) that thou mayest lead out men from the darkness into the light, by their Lord’s permission, unto the way of the Mighty, the (Most) Praised (One)” (14:1).

The Christian Scriptures On The Unity Of God

Neither the prophets mentioned in the Old Testament nor Jesus of the New Testament preached anything other than the Unity of God. Though the Oneness or the Absolute Unity of the Creator Lord of the Universe has not been defined fully yet it is the Oneness of God that has been preached, and never at all the Trinity of the Christian Church or any other polytheistic phenomena of any partnership in the godhead. Higher knowledge of the All-Divine One, has been evidently left to the mission of the Spirit of Truth the Holy Prophet Muhammad who had to come later as the one to abide for ever. This is implied in the declaration of Jesus that he had many things to say but the people would not hear them then. Saying this, Jesus contented himself by informing the people, of the advent of the Spirit of Truth. The following is what the Old and the New Testaments say about the Unity of God:

Old Testament

“Unto thee it was shown that thou mightest know that the Lord is God, there is none else besides Him” Deut. LV/35

“I am the First, and I am the Last, and besides Me there is no god” Isiah XIV/6

“Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is One Lord” Deut VI4

“I am the Lord that is My name and My glory mill I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images” Deut XVII/5

New Testament

“And Jesus answered him, the First of all commandments is O’ Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord” Mark 12/29

“Then sayeth Jesus unto him, get thee hence Satan, for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve” Math. 4/10

The above few verses of the Holy Bible of the Christian Church are sufficient to guide any true believer in Jesus, with common sense to the right path ‘Islam’, which is based on the Absolute Unity of God and nothing short of it which alone was the object of the teachings of the Holy Prophet Jesus and all the predecessor apostles of the Lord.

The Qur’anic Unity Of God

Though all the ancient apostles of God preceding the Holy Prophet Muhammad preached only the Oneness of God but from the preaching of those apostles, any intelligent one can easily find that mankind was only informed that the Lord God of the universe Whom mankind should serve, was only One and there was none besides Him, whom man should fear, love, and serve. But no scripture besides the Holy Qur’an and no religious leader besides the Holy Prophet Muhammad had ever given the details of the perfection or the absoluteness of the divine unity, for then many could not understand the higher meaning or the subtle aspect of the absolute nature of the Oneness.

The wonderful way in which the Holy Qur’an has declared the all-comprehensive nature of the Oneness, in a few words, is superb and exclusively the unique characteristic of its own. The Qur’anic Unity of God has left no room whatsoever for any polytheistic innovation by anyone thereafter. The one Sura or the Chapter of ‘Ikhlas’ or the Unity, is quite sufficient to comprehend the whole truth about Singleness of the Absolute Sovereign One.

This is the Chapter ‘Ikhlas’ Chapter 112 of the Holy Qur’an:

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

“Say: ‘He, God is One (alone) God” (112:1).

اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ

“The Needless” (112:2).

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

“He begetteth not, nor is He Begotten” (112:3).

وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

“And there is none like unto Him” (112:4).

The above Sura gives the Divine Unity in a nutshell and besides this there are the ever-repeated verses which give the various aspects of the Singular Oneness of the Absolute All-Sovereign, All-Supreme. Self-Existent, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, All-Merciful Creator Lord of the universe.

The faith in the perfect unity of God is the bottom rock on which stands the whole edifice of the religion, Islam. Hence the above Sura has to be recited in every compulsory daily prayer.

Sifat Ilahiyah’ - The Attributes Of God

Unlike the other religions, Islam does not content itself by mere preaching that God is One, but it wants its adherents, the Muslims, to believe in the following essential attributes in the All-Divine Absolute Sovereign and the Self-Existent Unity.

To explain the absolute perfection in the Unity, the ‘Sifat’ or the divine qualities have been classified into two kinds, the ‘Sifat al-Sobootiah’, i.e., the Attributes-Positive, i.e., the qualities Essential in the All-Divine Being and the ‘Sifat al-Salbiah’, i.e., the Attributes-Negative, i.e., the qualities opposed to the All-Divine Unity. Both the kinds of the attributes are counted as Eight in each group:

‘Sifat al-Sobootiah’ - The Positive Attributes

Owing to the difficulties in translating the Arabic words the terms with comprehensive meanings into any other language, particularly in English, English words which are the nearest to the meanings are used.

‘Qadeem’ - The Ancient

The term ancient used here is not against or in comparison to the term modern. It means that God is Self-Existent even before the birth of time and space. Time and space were also created by God as every other being. When God is the Primal Cause, and everything besides Him is only the effect of His Creative Will, there can be no meaning in any effect being prior to its Cause, i.e., when God is the Creator of everything besides Him, it is an impossibility for any creature to be before its Creator.

هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

“He is the First and the Last and the Manifest and the Hidden: and He (alone) is the All-Knowing of all things” (57:3).

‘Qadir’ - The Almighty

God alone can do or undo anything and everything at His Ever-Independent Will. His might alone is the Might-Real, the Matchless, the Incontestable. He alone is the Ever-Omnipotent Lord of the Universe. Besides His Might there is no other Might, Power, or Authority.

لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He causeth life and causeth death; and He, over all hath power” (57:2).

‘Aalim’ - The All-Knowing - The Knower

God is the Only All-Knowing, the Only One Whose All-Perfect Knowledge envelops the in and out of everything. Since everything is His Own creation created by Him, nothing can escape His knowledge. He is the Only Knower of whatever is in the heavens and the earth and whatever is in between them.

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ هُوَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ الرَّحِيمُ

“He is God, there is no god, save He: The Knower of the unseen and the seen; He is the Beneficent, the Most Merciful” (59:22).

يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَا وَهُوَ الرَّحِيمُ الْغَفُورُ

“Knoweth He whatever that passeth into the earth and whatever that cometh out of it, and whatever that cometh down from heaven and whatever that goeth up unto it; and He is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving” (34:2).

‘Mudrik’ - The Ever-Perceiving

He is All-Perception. He is the Only Independent One Who needs no medium of any of the organs of senses viz., the eyes, ears, etc., to see or to hear or to perceive or do anything in the earth or in the heavens and in whatsoever is in between them. His knowledge envelops the whole creation, i.e., the Universe, fully cognisant of the hidden as well as the manifest. He knows everything hidden in the hearts of every being. No one can know His will save that which He Himself willeth to manifest it.

‘Hay’ - The Ever-Living

He is the Only One Who is Self-Existing and Ever-Living. He is the Only Ever Living Who dieth not. Death is only the execution of His Own will for His creatures. Death indicates an end, and an end comes only to the one who had a beginning and the end of the one who had no beginning is meaningless. He is the Eternity which has neither a beginning nor an end.

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ

“God! there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent (The Sustainer of all things)” (3:2).

He alone can raise the dead:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُبِينٍ

“Eerily We, (and) We (alone) give life unto the dead, and We write down what they have sent before them and (even) their footprints (which they leave behind them): Ind everything have We confined into a Manifesting Imam (Guide)” (36:12).

i.e., He alone brings or raises the dead to life once again.

‘Mureed’ - The All-Independent In Will As Well As Action

He is the Independent Master of His Own. Will. He has the hold on everything as He wills, and He needs nothing to fulfil His will. His alone is the Will which is unquestionable and incontestable by anyone. It is only His Will which is always done in the earth and in the heavens and in the in-between.

إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ

“His command, when intendeth He anything, is only that He sayeth unto it ‘Be’ then (and there) it is” (36:82).

‘Mutakallim’ - The Creator Of Speech

He alone at His Own Will can create speech from anything animate or inanimate. He alone can cause even a mineral or a vegetable to speak at His Will. He alone can cause anything to speak:

الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

‘On that day will We set a seal upon their mouths, and shall speak unto Us their hands and shall bear witness their feet, of what they were earning” (36:65).

‘Sadiq’ - The Ever Truthful

He is always True. He alone is the Truth. Lie or falsehood is a defect and an imperfection, and His All-Perfect Self is free from every kind of defect or imperfection. He always fulfils His promise to His creatures.

‘Sifat al-Salbiah’ - The Negative Attributes

‘Sifat al-Salbiah’ - The Negative Attributes- - Or The Self-Repulsed Qualities

As the ‘Sifat al-Sobootiah’ are the Attributes Positive, self-existent in godhead the ‘Sifat al-Salbiati’ are the Attributes-Negative, i.e., the qualities Self-Repulsed from godhead. The following are the qualities which can never be found or attributed at any time or in any sense, to the existence of God:

‘Murakkab’ - Compound

God can never be a compound. He is not made of a compound or any components. A Compound suggests dependence of each component upon the other, and the being of a compound needs a compounder. God is the Absolute Independent One Who is free from all needs. He needs none and everything needs Him.

‘Makan’ - Accommodation

God needs no accommodation. Accommodation suggests dependence and being confined to the limits. He is the Independent, All-Pervading Omnipresent Being. He is the Unlimited and the Infinite Whom nothing can limit, comprehend, encompass, or cover. He comprehends everything. He is the Creator of accommodation.

‘Holool’ - Incarnation

He is Unlimited and Infinite. He can never be incarnated or accommodated or confined into any bounds or forms, animate or inanimate.

‘Maryee’ - Visible

God can never be seen by any physical vision. Vision can never arrest Him. No physical eye can ever see or visualise Him. Material eyes can see things material and God is Non-material. Hence no imagery can image or imagine Him.

‘Ehtiyaj’ - Need

Everything belongs only to Him. He needs nothing. Everything needs’ Him. He needs none to assist Him in anything. Everything in the heavens and in the earth and whatsoever is in between them needs His f. grace and His assistance.

‘Shirkat’ - Association

He has no associate or Partner or Equal or Assistant. He needs none to assist Him in anything whereas nothing without Him or His grace or assistance can ever exist.

Mahalle Hawadis (Tagha’yyir) - In Changing

Being subject to or undergoing any change.

‘Sifate-Zaid” - Qualities Additional

No quality or any attribute of His, is in any way or in any sense, an addition to His All-Perfect Self. Every attribute of His, is His Essential, i.e., His Self itself.

Adalah - Divine Justice

Belief in the All-Just disposition of a ruling authority has a dual aspect of its natural effect on its subjects. When the subjects are sure of the strict justice being meted out by their Ruler, they always guard themselves against breaking the law or going against any wish of the Ruler, for they know, he is a strict judge and there is no hope of any rebel being let off, and at the same time, being convinced of the just appreciation and admiration of sincere loyalty, and being sure of the just recompense and the reward, the subjects get encouraged to be good, to do good, to be loyal and help each other in loyalty to their just Monarch.

Besides, Justice is such an excellence that it creates honour, reverence, admiration, appreciation, love, loyalty, and the natural submission to it. Besides, justice is purity, goodness, and perfection, whereas injustice is corruption, evil and a defect. God the Creator Lord of the universe is All-Good and All-Perfect, and every kind of evil and every nature of imperfection, is far, far away from His Absolute and All-Pure Being.

ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ

“This, is for what your (own) hands have forwarded before you and because God is not (in the least) unjust to (the) servants” (3:182).

شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَأُولُو الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا بِالْقِسْطِ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

“God (Himself) witnesseth that there is no god but HE, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge, standing firm for justice, (there is) no god but He, the Mighty the Wise” (3:18).

The Absolute justice of God has been repeatedly declared in the Holy Qur’an and justice has been repeatedly enjoined on man in all his dealings with God, as well as His creatures.

Besides, justice is an essential factor in the establishment and the maintenance of peace and security on earth and unless the Lord of the Universe Himself is just, He cannot be justified in demanding man to be just and punishing injustice.

Faith in the Absolute Justice of God is one of the essential or the cardinal articles of Islam- Original which is identified with the distinguishing title of ‘Shi’ism’ for some of the other schools subsequently started by the Muslims, believe that God need not necessarily be always just.

The Divine Justice Is Tempered With Mercy

It must be remembered that the divine justice of the All-Merciful Omnipotent Lord cannot be compared to the justice meted out by the judges in the courts of law of the world. These judges are only the executors of the law without any authority of any discretion out of the limits of the law. They are bound by the laws and are helpless against the strict implication of the law when it demands punishment, and they are not the disposers of mercy and the petition for it is to be addressed only to the Crown, i.e., the maker of the law or its supreme promulgator.

God is not a mere judge to execute any laws given to Him fixed by anyone else, for Him to be bound by them. He is the Absolute Monarch with Absolute independence and Himself being the All-Just, is the Supreme Judge. Hence His justice is always tempered with mercy for it is He and none else to grant mercy to anyone.

Hence, while an offender cannot expect an ordinary judge to pardon him against any amount of repentance, he can be sure of the merciful pardon of the All-Merciful, if the repentance be genuine with the sincere determination for the amendment in the future.

Man has been informed that God is not a mere judge of the day of the final requital, but the King, the Master, the Lord, the Owner of the day with Absolute Sovereignty to punish or pardon anyone as demands His perfect Justice or as it pleases His Infinite mercy:

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“(All) praise is (only) God’s, the Lord of the worlds” (1:2).

الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“The Beneficent, the Merciful” (1:3).

مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

“Master of the Day of Judgment” (1:4).

It is to be noted that the above qualities of God, have been declared to man in the very first, i.e., the Opening chapter of the Holy Qur’an, which is to be compulsorily repeated at least seventeen times every day in the five times prescribed compulsory prayers which a Muslim has to unfailingly offer, so that he may always remember God Who is All-Merciful and All-Just and at the same time the Absolute Sovereign or the Independent Lord of the Universe.

It is for man to glorify God, rejoicing at His being All-Merciful as well as to be warned of His Justice to guard himself against transgressing any of the divine laws, and be busy in goodness to himself and to the others, assured of the reward from the All-Just Master of the Day of Judgment.

‘Risalah’ - The Apostleship

God alone and none else could have granted His creatures, knowledge, and guidance. With the creation of man started the divinely commissioned apostleship (in Arabic the ‘Risalah’) for the guidance of mankind. Every unit of the human race in every part of the globe, had a Warner and a Guide, i.e., an apostle from God and even that in the language of the people:

وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولٌ فَإِذَا جَاءَ رَسُولُهُمْ قُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْقِسْطِ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

“And for every people (was sent) an apostle; and when came their apostle, the matter between them was decided with equity and they shall not (in the least) be done (any) injustice” (10:47).

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَالَةُ فَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ

“And indeed, raised We in every nation an apostle (of Ours) (preaching) that ‘Worship ye God (only) and shun ye (the worship of every kind of) idol,’ so of them were some whom God guided, and of them were others on whom error was confirmed. Therefore, travel ye in the earth, then see what hath been the end of the beliers” (16:36).

إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَإِنْ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ

“Verily We sent thee with truth, as a hearer of glad tidings and a warner: and there is not a people but a warner hath gone among them” (35:24).

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ فَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

“And We sent not any apostle but with the language of the people that he might clearly explain (Our commandments) unto them; then God leaveth to stray whom He willeth and guideth He whom He willeth, and He is the Mighty the Wise” (14:4).

A guide from God should necessarily be infallible, i.e., sinless by nature and all the apostles of God were naturally so. Otherwise, the one who is himself a fallible, i.e., amenable to sinning cannot reasonably preach sinlessness to the others. The demand of Islam as regards the faith of the Muslims in regard to the apostles of God is incorporated in the following verse of the Holy Qur’an:

قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

“Say ye (O Muslims!) ‘We believe in God and that which hath been sent down unto us and that which was sent down unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and which was given Moses and Jesus and that which was given unto the apostles from their Lord. No difference do we make between any of them and to Him (alone) have we submitted (ourselves)” (2:136).

The above verse is clear in its declaration that a Muslim has to believe in God and the Holy Qur’an, all the heavenly scriptures revealed to the ancient prophets who preceded the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and there should be no distinction made about their personal purity and truthfulness, and a Muslim is he who has submitted himself to God. (See the definition of Islam.)

Though the names of all these apostles of God, are not given in the Holy Qur’an the number of these apostles is reported to be a lakh and twenty-four thousand, and this number may mean the hugeness or the innumerable nature of the number of the guides that were given to humanity since its advent on earth.

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ لَمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ بِالْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ

“And verily sent We apostles before thee, of them there are those whom We have mentioned unto thee; and of them are those whom We have mentioned not unto thee; and it was not given to any apostle to bring a sign (miracle) save with the leave of God, but when came the behest of God, (it) was executed with truth, and those who stood on falsehood were then the losers” (40:78).

The first of them was Adam and the Last, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, with whom concluded the apostleship and after whom neither any other apostle came nor would ever come until the end of the world. A Muslim has to essentially believe in the finality of the apostleship of Muhammad, the Last Apostle of God.

Belief In The Prophets Preceding The Holy Prophet Muhammad

This is another proof positive of Islam’s being the universal religion of man that unlike any other religious order of the world, Islam demands faith in the infallibility and the truthfulness of all the prophets preceding the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and in their really being the Messengers from God, who had been sent for the guidance of the human units in the different parts of the world.

A Muslim has to essentially believe in 1,24000 prophets of whom only a very few have been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. A few of the verses concerning the divinely sent Messengers of God are given below:

وَتِلْكَ حُجَّتُنَا آتَيْنَاهَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَنْ نَشَاءُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ

“This Our argument, We gave it to Abraham against his people; We exalt (anyone) whom We please; Verily thy Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing” (6:83).

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ كُلًّا هَدَيْنَا وَنُوحًا هَدَيْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَهَارُونَ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“We gave unto him (Abraham) (issues like) Isaac and Jacob; each We did guide, and Noah, We did guide before, and in his progeny, David and Solomon, and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron; and thus, do We reward those who do good” (6:84).

وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَإِلْيَاسَ كُلٌّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

“And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias; everyone was of the righteous (ones)” (6:85).

وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَالْيَسَعَ وَيُونُسَ وَلُوطًا وَكُلًّا فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ

“And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot; and everyone We did exalt (with Our apostleship) over the worlds” (6:86).

وَمِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ وَإِخْوَانِهِمْ وَاجْتَبَيْنَاهُمْ وَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“And of their fathers and their descendants and their brethren, and We did choose them (for Our apostleship), and We guided them unto the straight (right) way” (6:87).

ذَٰلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“This is God’s guidance, guideth He with it, whomsoever of His servants He pleaseth; and if they were to associate others (with Him) certainly would be vain for them what they were doing” (6:88).

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ فَإِنْ يَكْفُرْ بِهَا هَٰؤُلَاءِ فَقَدْ وَكَّلْنَا بِهَا قَوْمًا لَيْسُوا بِهَا بِكَافِرِينَ

“These are they whom gave We the Book and the authority and the apostleship; so if these (people) disbelieve in it, indeed have We (already) entrusted it unto a people who are not disbelievers in it” (6:89).

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَذُرِّيَّةً وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ لِكُلِّ أَجَلٍ كِتَابٌ

“And indeed, We did send apostles before thee and gave We unto them wives and offspring’ and it is not for an apostle to bring or (show) a sign (miracle) but by God’s permission; for every term there is a book prescribed” (13:38).

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فِي شِيَعِ الْأَوَّلِينَ

“And indeed, We did send apostles before thee among the people of yore” (15:10).

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“And We sent not before thee, but men unto whom We did reveal, so ask ye the people of the Reminder if ye know • not” (21:7).

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ

“Indeed, sent We Our apostles with clear proofs, and sent We down with them the Book and the Scale that people may establish themselves in justice; and sent We down iron wherein is latent (in its use) mighty power and also benefits for mankind and that God may prove who helpeth Him and His apostles in secret; Verily God is All-Strong the Ever Prevalent” (57:25).

The Advent of Muhammad the Last Apostle, Prophesied

Old Testament

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken” Deut. 18/25

“1 will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren and will put My words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”

“And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name I shall require it of him” Deut 18/18-19

New Testament

The Holy Prophet Jesus had also prophesied the advent of this Promised Guide, which has been recorded in the New Testament.

“I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever” John 14/16

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you, and if I depart, 1 will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of Judgment” John 16/7-8

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatever I have said unto you” John 15/25

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now”

“Howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is Come; he will guide you unto all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, whatever he shall hear that shall he speak, and he will shew you things to come” John 16/12-13

The above verses of the Old and the New Testaments openly and clearly declare and identify the Holy Prophet Muhammad, as the one promised by God to mankind and the Holy Qur’an as the Word of God put into his mouth, and he speaks not but what has been revealed to him by God which fact has been vouched by the Holy Qur’an.

وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ

“He (Our Apostle Muhammad) speaketh not by himself” (53:3).

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىٰ

“But only that which hath been conveyed to him by revelation” (53:4).

The above verses of the Holy Scriptures presented by the Christian Church clearly declare that the Holy Prophet Muhammad is the ‘Comforter’, ‘The Holy Ghost’ and ‘The Spirit Of Truth’ whose advent has been foretold by the Holy Prophet Jesus and as, The ‘Prophet’ prophesied by Moses.

The Holy Book of the Christian Church further declares that the advent of the Promised Prophet the Holy Prophet Muhammad, had been continuously prophesied by all the ancient prophets preceding even Moses

“Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken have likewise foretold these days” Acts 3/22

The Apostleship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad

A few of the verses of the Holy Qur’an referring to the position of the Holy Prophet Muhammad as the apostle of God, are given hereunder:

وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَىٰ أَعْقَابِكُمْ وَمَنْ يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ

“And Muhammad is not but an Apostle, (other) apostles have already passed away prior to him; Therefore, if he dieth or be slain, will ye turn upon your heels? And he who turneth upon his heels will by no means do harm to God in the least, and shortly mill God reward the grateful ones” (3:144).

مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ وَأَرْسَلْنَاكَ لِلنَّاسِ رَسُولًا وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا

“Whatever good befalleth thee (O Man!) it is from God and whatever evil befalleth thee, it is from thyself; We have sent thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) unto mankind as (our) Apostle; and God is sufficient a witness (thereof)” (4:79).

مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ وَمَنْ تَوَلَّىٰ فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا

“Whoso obeyeth the Apostle, he indeed obeyeth God; and whoever turneth away We have not sent thee upon them to watch” (4:80).

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَكُمُ الرَّسُولُ بِالْحَقِّ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَآمِنُوا خَيْرًا لَكُمْ وَإِنْ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

“O’ mankind! Verily, the Apostle (Muhammad) hath come unto you with truth from your Lord; Believe (then) (in him), it is good for you; and if ye disbelieve, then, God’s is whatever is in the Heavens and the Earth; and God is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (4:170).

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ الَّذِي يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَكَلِمَاتِهِ وَاتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

“Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) ‘O’ ye people, verily I am the apostle of God unto you all, of Him unto Whom belongeth the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; No god is there but He. He giveth life and causeth death, so believe ye in God and His Apostle, Prophet, the ‘Ummi’ who believeth in God and His Words, So ye follow him that ye may be guided aright” (7:158).

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ

“Indeed, hath come unto you an Apostle from among yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into distress, (he is) solicitous regarding your welfare, towards the faithful (he is) compassionate, (and) merciful” (9:128).

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

“And We sent thee not (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) but a Mercy unto (all) the worlds” (21:107).

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

“And We sent thee not (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) but a Bearer of glad tidings and a Warner” (25:56).

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ وَأُولُو الْأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِبَعْضٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَفْعَلُوا إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِكُمْ مَعْرُوفًا كَانَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْكِتَابِ مَسْطُورًا

“The Prophet (Muhammad) hath a greater claim on the believers than they have on their own selves, and his wives are (as) their mothers and blood-relations have the better claim in respect of one to the other, according to the Book of God, than the (other) believers and the emigrants, save that ye do some good unto your friends; This in the Book (of God) is prescribed” (33:6).

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا

“Indeed (there) is for you in the Apostle of God (Muhammad) an excellent pattern (of conduct) for him who hopeth in God and the latter day and remembereth God much” (33:21).

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا

“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but an Apostle of God and the seal of the prophets; And God is of all things - ever the Knower” (33:40).

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

“O’ (Our) Prophet (Muhammad!) Verily We have sent thee as a Witness, and as a Bearer of Glad Tidings and as a Warner” (33:45).

وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُنِيرًا

“And as the Inviter unto God by His command, and an illuminating torch” (33:46).

وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَضْلًا كَبِيرًا

“And give thou the glad tidings unto the believers that there shall he for them from God, a great grace” (33:47).

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) We sent thee not but unto the whole of mankind, a Bearer of glad tidings and a Warner, but most of the people know (it) not” (34:28).

There are many other verses of the Holy Qur’an referring to the Holy Prophet Muhammad and his unique position as the Last Prophet of God.

Muhammad The Last Apostle Of God

The Holy Qur’an, the Last or the Final Word of God, declares in clear cut words that the Holy Prophet Muhammad is the Last of the apostles of God which means that no other Prophet, apostle, or messenger will ever come after him:

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا

“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but an Apostle of God and the Seal of the prophets; And God is of all things - ever the Knower” (33:40).

After this heavenly declaration, a Muslim has to believe as the article of his faith that no prophet did come or will ever come after the Holy Prophet Muhammad and if anyone claims to be a prophet in any meaning or any sense of the term, he is definitely a liar and an imposter, deserving the curse of God and of all true believers in Him.

Why Prophethood Has Ended With The Holy Prophet

Prophethood or the apostleship is only the office of the mission of conveying the message or the Word of God for the purpose of revealing to the human world the divinely regulated code of life or religion for mankind on earth. Prophet after prophet, was sent to the different units of the human family inhabiting the various parts of the earth, according to the mental evolutionary state of the different ages. Ultimately the divine guidance was consolidated in a universal teacher to unite mankind under one single constitutional order with the Final form of the divinely regulated and perfected code. The religion was finally declared to have been perfected and it was also given a definite name ‘Islam’, meaning Submission.

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا

“This day have I perfected for you, your religion, and have completed my favour on you, and chosen for you Islam (to be) the Religion” (5:3).

The greatest of the favours of God, is His guidance and in sending His Last Apostle Muhammad and perfecting the Religion for man, is the completion of the divine favour. Once the Religion is perfected and the divine favour is declared as complete, there remains no further necessity at all, for anyone else to be sent for the same purpose. Hence with the conclusion of the apostleship or the prophethood, the mission of ‘Imamah’ or the divine guidance towards the true meaning of the revealed Word of God, the Holy Qur’an, and the correct interpretation of the same in the practical life, was instituted. ‘Imamah’ is only for the preservation of the Word of God and the correct guidance on the path preached and practiced by the Last Apostle of God, the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The Strict Surrender To The Verdict Of The Holy Prophet Demanded

Every Muslim, as ordained by the following ordinance from the Lord, has to decide even his personal differences, particularly those concerning the faith according to the verdict of the Holy Prophet without the least reluctance whatsoever, with implicit submission.

فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

“So No! By thy Lord! they believe not (really) until they have set thee up their judge in all that they dispute about among themselves and thereafter find not in their selves any vexation (at all) against what thou decideth and submit (themselves) with total submission” (4:65).

Particularly about the faith, one has to remember the verdict of the Holy Prophet as to the only source of the correct meaning of the Holy Qur’an the Muslims have to adopt.

“I leave behind me amidst you Two great things. The Book of God (the Holy Qur’an) and my ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ (i.e., the members of the Holy Family viz., AU and Fatimah and their godly issues). Should ye be attached to these Two, never, never shall ye get astray after me, for verily these Two will never be separated from one another or until they meet me at the Spring of ‘Kauthar’2.

According to the above ordinance of God, and the declaration of the Holy Prophet, every Muslim has to follow only Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib as his Maula or Lord in the place of the Holy Prophet for the Holy Prophet had openly declared before the mammoth assembly of the Hajjes at ‘Ghadir Khumm’ while returning from his Last Hajj or Pilgrimage, which historic event, none of the historians could fail to report, when he raised Ali, by the Prophetic strength by his own arms, from the improvised pulpit, declared Ali as the ‘Maula,’ the Guardian, the Lord or the Master of the Muslims in his place and immediately coming down from the pulpit commanded everyone to address Ali as the ‘Amir al-Mu’minin’ and ‘Umar Ibn Khattab was the first one commanded to do it, and he did it, acknowledging Ali as the ‘Ameer’ or the Commander of the Faithful. Why the appointment of the Ameer by the Holy Prophet was set aside and whether setting aside the verdict of the Holy Prophet and the appointment of anyone else in the place, instead of the one appointed by the Holy Prophet, was legal and acceptable or not, is left to the readers to judge. The Holy Prophet had declared:

“Of whomsoever I am the Mawla (Master), this Ali is his Mawla” 3

Under the above apostolic declaration, he who holds the Holy Prophet as his Lord, must necessarily hold Ali as his Lord, which means that he who holds not Ali as his Lord in the place of the Holy Prophet, he does not hold the Holy Prophet as his Lord.

Be it known that it is under this divine ordinance of God communicated to us through the Holy Prophet at Ghadir Khumm that the Shi’as or the followers of the Islam-Original, follow Ali as their Guide or the Imam in the place of the Holy Prophet Muhammad after his departure from this world, and just to identify themselves from the others who do not follow the verdict of God and the Holy Prophet, they call themselves the Shi’as of Ali, i.e., the followers of Ali, the Maula or the Ameer appointed by the Holy Prophet at God’s Command, and none else. Whether this is justifiable or not the readers themselves to judge.

Imamah - Divine Guidance

‘Imamah’ And ‘Khilafat’

It is to be noted that the institution which is now generally called ‘Khilafat’ is not the ‘Khilafat Ilahiyah’ i.e., the vicegerency of God which is bestowed by God Himself and never could be the choice of mankind. The institution called by man as ‘Khilafat’ is ‘Amarat,’ i.e., the political leadership or the rulership of the state, instituted by man, is quite different from the one established by the Divine Command through the Holy Prophet.

The one who assumes such an authority, the Muslims have called him the ‘Khalifah al-Muslimeen’ i.e., the Ruler of the Muslims. No such ‘Caliph’ could also be the ‘Khalifah al- Rasul,’ i.e., the Successor to the Holy Prophet, for anyone who occupied the throne could never also be the rightful successor of the Holy Prophet who has to be the ‘Khalifatu Allah,’

e., God’s Vicegerent on earth as was the Holy Prophet himself. Otherwise, people like Yazid the well-known brute in human frame, the historically acknowledged habitual drunkards and the naturalised libertines and the most licentious free lances like Valid son of Yazid son of Abdul Malik and the others of the Omayyids, and the assassin kalifs of the Abbasides, will also have to be acknowledged as the vicegerents of God, succeeding the Holy Prophet, which none in the world with common sense would ever agree to do.

The ‘Khilafat Ilahiyah’ was the Apostleship and after the conclusion of the apostleship with the Holy Prophet Muhammad, it was conveyed to Imamah, the divinely inspired heavenly guidance through the godly ones purified by God Himself, who were born pure, who lived pure and who surrendered themselves in the way of the Lord in all purity, which historic fact is unanimously acknowledged by the Muslim World as a whole.

Islam demands faith in these Holy Imams as in the apostleship of God, as the All- Truthful, Holy, and infallible guides divinely commissioned for the preservation of verbal form and the true meanings, both external and internal, of the Holy Qur’an, the Final Word of God, as its authentic custodians and the divinely inspired interpreters and the correct models of godly life on earth to be copied by their devotees.

The series of Imamah starts with Ali Ibn Abi Talib and ends with Muhammad Ibn al- Hasan Al-Mahdi the Last and the Living Imam of the Age.

The Distinguishing And The Distinctive Qualities Of An Imam

It must be remembered that ‘Imamah’ which is ‘Khilafat Ilahiyah’ is not a man-made institution like the ‘Caliphate’ which was started by man and annihilated by man himself, nor is the position of an Imam’ like that of a ‘Caliph’ who was once appointed at the choice of a few, once by nomination and once by arbitration and later became hereditary in a dynasty until it was snatched away by another lineage and ultimately distributed to be held by several at one and the same time, on a territorial basis in Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Baghdad etc. ‘Imamah’ is the institution inaugurated by God Himself for the guidance of man and conferred upon His Own chosen one among His apostles like Abraham, even that after Abraham’s proving himself worthy of it, by passing through a test. The following verse of the Holy Qur’an declares the actual position of ‘Imamah’ and the ‘Imam’:

وَإِذِ ابْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ

“And remember when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words then he fulfilled them; He said, ‘Verily I make thee an Imam for mankind;’(Abraham) said’ And of my offspring?’ He said: ‘My covenant reacheth not the unjust” (2:124).

The above verse of the Holy Qur’an declares the following points about ‘Imamah,’ i.e., God’s appointed leadership of mankind.

‘Imamah’ is such an important post that it is not conferred upon even great prophets like Abraham, without passing a special test, effected by God Himself.

God Himself confers the Designation and none else.

That ‘Imamah’ is a Covenant between God and the tested one of His own chosen ones.

It is not promised indefinitely to go to anyone and everyone in the offspring of even the chosen ones like Abraham who has passed the test and already declared an ‘Imam’ i.e., it is not unconditionally hereditary.

‘Imamah’ will never be conferred upon the Unjust and the greatest injustice according to the Holy Qur’an is ‘Shirk’ i.e., Polytheism, which clearly means that one who has been once polluted with ‘Shirk’, i.e., been a polytheist, can never hold this post i.e., can never be an ‘Imam’, i.e., a divinely commissioned leader of mankind.

وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ

“And when said Luqman unto his son, while he was exhorting unto him: “O’ my son1 associate not aught with God for verily associating (aught) with God is the greatest iniquity’” (31:13).

The Imamah conferred upon Abraham continued in his seed among those who were pure physically and spiritually and it reached the Holy Prophet. With the conclusion of the Apostleship with the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the Imamah continued in the Holy ‘Ahl Al-Bayt who have been declared by God to have been purified by Himself:

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا

“Verily, verily God intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleannest O’ ye the People of the House and purify you (with) a thorough purification” (33:33).

Under the command from God the Holy Prophet on almost the eve of his departure from this world, while returning from the Last ‘Hajj’ or the Pilgrimage, appointed Ali Ibn Abi Talib as the Lord, Guardian, Master, the Imam, and the Ameer of the people in his own place. And at the appointment of Ali as the Lord of the people in the place of the Holy Prophet, God named the religion as ‘Islam’ and ordained it to be His Own prescribed religion for mankind.

The following are the verses of the Holy Qur’an concerning this event:

The Command of God at which the Holy Prophet appointed Ali as the Lord of the Muslims, in his own place:

يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ

“(O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) Deliver thou what hath been sent down unto thee from thy Lord: and if thou dost it not, then (it will be as if) thou hast not delivered His message (at all); and surely will God protect thee from (the mischief) of men; Verily, God guideth not an infidel people” (5:67).

History reports all the details how the Holy Prophet stopped the caravan, delivered a long sermon on an improvised pulpit and before the mammoth assembly of the thousands of the Hajjes called Ali on the pulpit and raising him with the miraculous strength of his apostolic arms declared Ali as the ‘Maula’ or the Lord of the Muslims as he the Holy Prophet himself was to them. Immediately as this ceremonial installation of the Imam or the divinely commissioned Guide of mankind in the place of the Holy Prophet, was done, the following verse was revealed naming the religion as ‘Islam’ and declaring it as God’s Own prescribed religion for mankind:

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا

“This day have I perfected for you, your religion, and have completed My favour on you, and chosen for you Islam (to be) the Religion;” (5:3).

Immediately as the Holy Prophet came down the pulpit, he commanded everyone to pay ‘Bait’ or homage to Ali and to address him thereafter as ‘Amir al-Mu’minin’, i.e., the Commander of the Faithful. Under this injunction of God received through the Holy Prophet the true Muslims have been bound to follow only Ali as their Imam or the Guide in the place of the Holy Prophet and none else and accordingly the Shi’as follow Ali and identify themselves with the title as the Shi’as of Ali, i.e., the followers of the Imam appointed by the Holy Prophet, just to distinguish themselves from those who have deviated from the course ordained by God through the Holy Prophet.

According to the restrictions divinely laid on Imamah under verse 2:124 quoted above the following are the essential qualities for Imamah.

He must be of the same purity physical and spiritual as possessed the Holy Prophet. Otherwise, an impure cannot rightfully succeed the pure one.

About Ali the Holy Prophet had declared:

“I and Ali are of the same Divine Light”

And Ali had never worshipped anyone besides God as had done the Holy Prophet whereas all the others were once polytheists, i.e., idol worshippers.

He must possess the same store of knowledge as did the Holy Prophet.

About Ali alone the Holy Prophet had declared:

أنا مدينة العلم و عليّ بابها

‘Ana Madinat ul-‘Ilm, wa Aliyun Babuha’

I am the City of knowledge, and Ali is its Gate.4

“O’ Ali! thy flesh is my flesh., thy blood is my blood, thou heareth what I hear and thou seest what I see save that there is no apostle after me”

He must be as truthful as was the Holy Prophet. The greatest falsehood is polytheism and that was far away from Ali, whereas all the others were once polytheists. The Holy Prophet had declared that Truth shall always be with Ali and Ali will always be with Truth.

He must be as brave and courageous, as was the Holy Prophet to face any situation that may arise. The Islamic World knows that it was Ali and none else who was titled as Asadullah the ever-victorious Lion of God and a heavenly voice had announced at Ali’s valour that there is no youth but Ali and there is no sword but his sword the ‘Zulfiqar’ “La fata ilia Ali, La Saif Illa Zulfiqar” Ali’s bravery is unchallengeable and universally accepted on all hands, even by his antagonists. History records that it was Ali’s bravery and valour that saved Islam and the Muslims on more than one occasion when the companions of the Holy Prophet, even the most prominent of them, had fled away from the field, deserting the Holy Prophet in the thick of the battle, practically in the valley of death. It was Ali who knew not what fear was, save the fear of God.

He must always be as just and impartial as was the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet had declared Aqza Kom Ali Ibn Abi Talib ‘the Most just among you is Ali’. “Al-Haqq Ma’a Ali wa Aliyyun ma’al Haqq” - Truth will always be with Ali and Ali will always be with the Truth. There is the famous well-known declaration of the Holy Prophet about Ali’s position or relationship to him saying “‘O’ Ali thou art to me as Aaron was to Moses”.

Guidance To Choose Of An Imam

Though man has been put into the field of a continued test but the All-Merciful Lord while subjecting man to the test, has also placed at man’s disposal the necessary guiding factors to enable him to get through it successfully, if he chooses to avail of the merciful opportunities and chances. The supreme power and the ruling authority vested in the office of an apostle and a divinely chosen Imam, has tempted many an imposter to claim the heavenly office for himself.

Practically in every age have risen several false prophets and false Imams. God, of His infinite mercy, has cautioned man against such dangerous and grossly misleading elements among mankind, through very eloquent declarations in the Holy Qur’an, announcing the definite qualities of His own commissioned Guide or Imam. The following two verses are more than sufficient to anyone with common sense, who sincerely desires to be guided aright in choosing or identifying the correct guide for himself:

قُلْ هَلْ مِنْ شُرَكَائِكُمْ مَنْ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ قُلِ اللَّهُ يَهْدِي لِلْحَقِّ أَفَمَنْ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ يُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لَا يَهِدِّي إِلَّا أَنْ يُهْدَىٰ فَمَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ

“Say thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) ‘Of your associates is there anyone who can guide unto truth?’ Say thou! ‘It is God alone Who guideth unto truth; Is then He Who guideth unto truth more worthy to be followed or he who himself goeth not aright unless he is guided?’ What then hath befallen you? How (ill) ye judge?” (10:35).

أَفَمَنْ يَمْشِي مُكِبًّا عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ أَهْدَىٰ أَمَّنْ يَمْشِي سَوِيًّا عَلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“What! is he who goeth along grovelling on his face, better guided or he who walketh upright upon the straight path?” (67:22).

The qualities of a true Imam mentioned in both the above verses are clearly manifest in the personalities of all the Holy Imams who were never educated under anyone save by divine native endowment in them inherited from the Holy Prophet Muhammad who was inspired with knowledge directly by God and through the Messenger Angel and by none else and yet each one of them was the fountainhead of knowledge and guidance for mankind and this is a factor of history acknowledged by those correctly aware of these chosen holy ones of the Lord.

The Beginning And The End Of The Caliphate

The divinely instituted system of the godly guidance of Imamah should not be confused with the movement started with political exigencies for the secular power and authority called the ‘Caliphate’ which was started by man and ended by man himself. It looks as if the Caliphate was a play or a game which some children started, played with it for some time and themselves got tired of it and themselves ended it. Or it can be said that the Caliphate was a toy which looked to be very attractive to some children who aspired to own it, quarrelled, and even fought for it, got it, and broke it into bits and ultimately the bits were thrown away, one after another until the toy altogether disappeared.

The Start Of The Caliphate

The Holy Prophet had not even breathed his last, the people who only waited for his departure from this world to gain hold over the vast Muslim Empire, quarrelled among themselves as to who should hold the Authority-Supreme, the Muhajirs, (i.e., those who had migrated from Mecca to Madina) or the ‘Ansars’ the helpers, (i.e., the Madinites) who gave the Muhajirs, the emigrants, the asylum. The people deserted the Holy Prophet, in his deathbed and assembled at a place called the ‘Saqifa al-Bani Sa’ada.’

The contest between the Muhajirs and the Ansars started and at a stage a reconciliatory proposal was made that there should be an ‘Ameer’ or the ruler from each of the groups but ultimately ‘Umar Ibn Khattab enforced his own personal decision, as his veto and holding the hand of Abu-Bakr declared him as the Ameer or the Caliph and paid his ‘Bait’ or allegiance to him. Here an intelligent student of the Islamic History particularly a true Muslim, will naturally ask what happened to the ‘Ameer’ appointed by the Holy Prophet at Ghadir Khumm, and what happened to ‘Umar’s paying his allegiance to him, (i.e., Ali Ibn Abi Talib) as the one who was the first to do it, congratulating Ali on his appointment? Why did not ‘Umar with the command over the affairs he had on the occasion, to get his personal decision supersede all the other proposals, declare that there is the decision of the Holy Prophet about the appointment of the Ameer in his own place and the decision of the Prophet of God shall stand and going against it is ‘Kufr’ infidelity. However, it was not done, and Abu Bakr was declared the Caliph.

Any student of political science, will never call the appointment in the manner it was made, as a democratic appointment or as the decision of the people as a whole, for those few gathered at the Saqifa, were not all of the Muslims, even of Madina, and even granting it was the voice of the Madinites what about the opinion of the multitudes of the Muslims in the other parts of the Muslim World? There are many other points proving the actual position of this appointment, but they need not be enumerated here. What is said is quite sufficient to guide the intelligent ones to the truth.

It is a historic fact that most of the people, and not all assembled in the Saqifa, willingly or reluctantly agreed to the appointment made by ‘Umar and the Hashimites who remained with the Holy Prophet’s family and the group of the Ansars who supported their Chief Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas, did not accept it up to the end of the life of their Chief, and did not swear allegiance to Abu Bakr as the Caliph or the ‘Ameer.’

Abu Bakr, a few hours before his death, appointed ‘Umar as the Caliph, thus the principle of the so-called democratic appointment of the Caliph, at the decision of the people, was arbitrarily given up.

‘Umar before his death adopted a new device and appointed a committee of six persons to decide among themselves as to who should be the Caliph after him. Even in formulating the committee, ‘Umar did not implement his knowledge about the actual position of Ali about whom, he knew the Holy Prophet had repeatedly declared as: •

“Thy flesh is my flesh and thy bland is my blood, thou hearest what I hear and thou seest what I see save that there is no apostle after me”

And had also declared:

“I and Ali are of one and the same Divine Light”

Though ‘Umar knew there was no question of any appointment besides that of Ali as the Amir, which was declared by the Holy Prophet at Ghadir Khumm, and ‘Umar himself was the first to congratulate Ali, paying him his allegiance. However, the committee of the following was nominated by ‘Umar and even then, the veto was not given to Ali but to Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf:

(1) Ali (2) Zubair (3) Talha (4) Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf (5) ‘Uthman (6) Sa’d Ibn Waqqas.

Abdur Rahman laid down an unwarranted condition of his own that the successor to ‘Umar should abide by the traditions laid down by the previous Caliphs, besides the Holy Qur’an. The offer was made to Ali. Anybody who aspired for the supreme authority of the State, would have readily accepted the condition to act or not according to the terms, later on. But Ali who detested the worldly glory, could never accept it when it included the acceptance of new authority set up parallel to the Word of God and the Tradition of the Holy Prophet. Ali said he would rule the State by the Word of God as explained by the word of the Holy Prophet and if any of the traditions of the former Caliphs were opposed to these two authorities, they would naturally be unworthy to follow. Abdur Rahman insisted upon his own innovated condition and Ali rejected the offer which was diametrically opposed to the Spirit of Islam. ‘Uthman accepted the condition and Abdur Rahman appointed ‘Uthman as the Caliph. The device is quite evident that the condition was intentionally innovated for the people and particularly Abdur Rahman knew the loyalty of Ali to the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Prophet, with which Ali would never accept anything in the world which is opposed to even anyone of these two. At the appointment of ‘Uthman, the entire Muslim World viz., Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Hedjaz, and Yamen ran in chaos and disorder and the people who suffered the maladministration under the rulers appointed by ‘Uthman, sent their deputations to Madina to enquire against some allegation against the governing authorities. ‘Uthman however did not agree to the deputationists to redress their grievances against the maladministration which ended in the murder of ‘Uthman.

After ‘Uthman’s death, whole multitude of the Muslims, approached Ali to handle the affairs as the Caliph. Although the approach was unanimous from the people and was pressing on him to accept the Caliphate, Ali bluntly refused and ultimately when it became unavoidable and also expedient that the chaos in the public life should be halted and Peace and Order be restored, Ali accepted the Caliphate declaring openly in Mosque of the Holy Prophet, fully packed by the people, that he would be guided only by the Word of God and the tradition of the Holy Prophet and nothing else. Thus, at the unanimous persistent imploration of the people consisting of the representatives of the various units of the Muslim State as a whole, Ali accepted to be the Caliph.

The kingdom of God on earth which Ali established was naturally opposed to the devilish aspirants for the worldly authority and its glory. Mu’awiyah the governor of Syria appointed by Othman, revolted and Ali was forced to meet Mu’awiyah’s insurgent forces at Siffin and another revolt headed by Ayesha at the Battle of ‘Jamal’. Ali had to meet another revolt at Nahravan. Ultimately a plot to do away with the godly rule by Ali the Vicegerent of God, on earth, succeeded in martyring him while he was engaged in the morning prayer in the Mosque at Kufa on the 19th of the Holy Month of Ramadhan and on the 21st of the same Holy Month, Ali departed from this world. History records Ali’s prophesies about his martyrdom and the wonderful events which accompanied his funeral, and burial.

Hasan, the eldest son of Ali and Fatimah, the First grandson of the Holy Prophet, remained a Caliph only for six months and when Mu’awiyah’s intrigues, Conspiracies and mischief, began hurting the general interest of the poor people, particularly of those faithfully attached to the family of the Holy Prophet and more particularly those pious ones who called themselves the Shi’as of Ali, i.e., followers of Ali, Hasan in the interest of the public peace and safety, concluded a Truce with Mu’awiyah with the following conditions:

That Mu’awiyah would follow the Holy Qur’an and the tradition of the Holy Prophet in word and action.

That Mu’awiyah would stop abusing Ali, which he had enforced even from the pulpits in the Mosques.

That Mu’awiyah would give protection of life, property, and honour of the Shi’as i.e., the devotees of Ali.

That Mu’awiyah would not appoint anyone as his successor to the throne.

Thus, Imam Al-Hasan relinquished the Caliphate and Mu’awiyah became the Caliph but violated the terms of the truce and the same treachery and tyranny continued and converted the Caliphate into Kingship, i.e., a Hereditary Monarchy. Thus, the rule called the Caliphate, virtually ended and in its place started the despotic hereditary kingdom.

The Caliphate or the rulership ran in the following order:

Abu Bakr who ruled for 2 years 4 months

‘Umar who ruled for 10 years 6 months

‘Uthman who ruled for 11 years 11 months

Ali who ruled for 4 years 9 months

Hasan who ruled for 6 months

about 30 years in all calculating the exact dates of the months of the start and the end of the Caliphate, and the Prophet had already prophesied the start and the end of this institution.

The Holy Imam Al-Hasan, after relinquishing the Caliphate retired into seclusion, having nothing at all to do with politics or any of the political leaders and yet he was blackmailed through all sorts of degrading fabrications against him and was ultimately martyred through poison, and even his body was not allowed to be buried besides his Grandfather the Holy Prophet. As his funeral proceeded, arrows were shot at the coffin and some of the arrows had even entered the coffin, and some were found stuck in the holy body of the poisoned Imam. Hasan was ultimately forced to be buried in the public cemetery of the ‘‘Jannahul-Baqi’.

However, the Omayyid rule commenced from Mu’awiyah and Mu’awiyah against the Truce, appointed Yazid who was an acknowledged brute in human frame, who enacted the wholesale massacre of the Holy Imam Husayn, his kith and kin, and his godly comrades at Karbala.

The Omayyid rule continued up to Marwan 11 (133 A.H.). To know about the manners and conduct of the Omayyid rulers who called themselves the successors of the Holy Prophet, a reference to the detailed work by Hitti the well-known western Historian who has given a detailed version of the Muslim rule, with the documentary evidence, will suffice.

Table 1: A Historical Chart Of The Holy Fourteen

A Historical Chart of the Holy ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ (consisting of Muhammad the Last Apostle of God, his godly daughter Fatimah-az-Zahra, the Lady of Light, and the Twelve Holy Imams)

[Note: The Dates and ages given in this chart are according to the Tarikhul Islam, Vol. I, of S.Z. Husayn of Delhi (1918) Edn.]

One Of The Mysteries

One of the Wonderful mysteries about the personalities of Muhammad the Apostle of God, his daughter Fatimah the Lady of Light and the Eleven of the Twelve Divinely Chosen Successors, or the Imams, from Ali-al-Murtaza to Hasan-al- Askari, is, that all of them were martyred, and none of the Holy Fourteen had any education and yet were the fountainhead of a wonderful Divinely inspired all-round knowledge unequalled by anyone else other than those of their own holy group.

Imam Al-Hasan-al-Askari the 11th Imam was martyred in 260 A.H. - The Abbasi Caliph Mo’tmad sent his men to kill the 12th Imam who under divine inspiration took shelter in the cave at ‘Surra manra’ and disappeared. Many great Sunni Scholars have also accepted this incident Viz.:

Mullah Jami in his Shawahidun-Nubwwa.

Abdul-Wahab Sha’rani in his Lawahaqul-Anwar and in his Alyawa qucet-Wal-Jawahir.

Shaik al-Akbar, Mohieddin Ibn-Arabi in his Futuhate- Makkiah.

Khaja Parsa in Fashil-Khitab.

Abdul Huq Mohaddis Dehlavi in A’immatul-At’har.

Jamaluddin Mohaddith in his Raudzatul-Ahbab.

Abu-Abdullah Shami author of Kifayatul-Tibyan-Fi- Akbare-Sahebuz-Zaman.

Sibt- Ibn-Jawzi in his Tizkirae-Khawasal-Umma.

Ibn-Sabbagh Nuruddin Ali Malcki in his Fusoolul- Muhimma.

Kamaluddin-Ibn Talha Shafayi in his Matalcbus-Su’ool.

Shah Valiullah in his Fazlul-Mubeen.

Shaik Sulaiman Hanan in his Yanabiul Mo’addah.

(and other great scholars also)

About the indefinite and extraordinary length of the life granted to the 12th Imam the great Scholars have replied that when Muslims believe in the life of the holy prophets Jesus, Khizr, Idris and even the Dajjal, where is the point in wondering about the life of a Divine.

Table 2: The Rulers Of The Kalifate After Ali

(Excluding Imam Al-Hasan who relinquished the Caliphate in the interest of public peace)

The Omayyid and the Abbaside lines of the Caliphs who called themselves successors of the Apostle of God

The Abbaside Caliphs

Until the Omayyids, there was one Caliph (or a ruler) for the whole of the Muslim Empire but with the start of the Abbaside Caliphate, the Spanish Territory did not acknowledge the Abbaside Rulers. Abdur Rahman had established his hold in Spain, competing with the pomp and show of the Abbaside Court. The African positions went under the different revolting heads. Thus, with the start of the Abbaside rule, there were many separate rulers in the different parts of the Muslim Empire, each claiming to be the Caliph or the rightful successor of the Apostle of God.

Thus, the word ‘Caliphate’ and the title ‘Caliph’ became openly identical with the rulership and the ruler of the Muslim States, but the masses still held the Caliphs (or the rulers) not only as their political Lords but also as their supreme spiritual leaders. The Shi’as or the followers of Ali, though subjected to the most miserable persecution and painful tortures, were always with the Holy Imams who were ever the fountainheads of godliness and every kind of virtue, spreading the wonderful light of the inestimable store of inspired knowledge.

The Abbasides though related to Ali, as the issues of Abbas the uncle of the Holy Prophet, were hostile to the family of Ali and Fatimah.

The Abbasides ruled as kings until 656 A.H. when Mo’tasim son of Mustansar was killed by the Mongol King Halako and thus the Caliphate at Baghdad came to an end. But one of the sons of Tahirbillah fled to Egypt and started a dynasty which ruled up to 1517 A.D. when Sultan Salim of Turkey conquered Egypt and founded the ‘Uthmani Caliphate at Turkey which continued up to 1922 A.D. when Mustafa Kamal Pasha the Ataturk abolished the Caliphate altogether and thereafter up till now there has been no Caliph either under the practice started at the Saqifa or under any other system. Thus, the Caliphate started by man has been abolished by man himself but the Imamah or the divinely commissioned succession to the Holy Prophet, continued, consistently acknowledged by the Muslim world, as the Golden Chain of the divinely commissioned, godly inspired, Infallible and the sinless guides or the Imams - the godly guardians of the Final Word of God, the Holy Qur’an, and its correct interpreters - and the perfect models of the correct practice of the Islamic faith.

The following statement will give the reader the kind of persons or the personalities the Abbasides were, who claimed to be the successors of the Holy Prophet.

Table 3: The Abbaside Caliphs who succeeded the Omayyids to the Caliphate

The reader will find how many of the Omayyids and the Abbasides were the assassins who martyred the Holy Imams of the Family of the Holy Prophet.

Imamah Conclusion

It is now for every intelligent reader to himself judge that whether anyone or everyone, irrespective of his personal qualities, who merely satisfies the choice of the majority of the masses, can ever be reasonably justified to succeed the Holy Prophet as the godly guide for mankind. It is an acknowledged truth that the Holy Prophet was All-Pure physically and spiritually, purified by God Himself, and no impure one can ever succeed an All-Pure personality. One can give an argument and not an understanding of the truth. God also having revealed the truth has declared

إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا

“Verily have We shown him (man) the (Right) way, he be grateful or ungrateful” (76:3)

Man is left with a test to use his discretion correctly. The names of the successors to the Holy Prophet are not given in the Holy Qur’an but the infinite mercy of the Lord has not spared giving the guiding hints in the Final Word, the Holy Qur’an. 10:35 & 67:22. And besides these verbal notes of definite guidance towards the qualities essential in the Successor to the Holy Prophet, as a guide for mankind, the Holy Prophet was also commanded by the All-Merciful Lord to announce at ‘Ghadir Khumm’ at the eve of his departure from this world, before the mammoth assembly of the righteous ones, the Hajjes, as to who the people should follow, after him, and accordingly the Holy Prophet had declared Ali as the Lord, the Guardian, the Ameer in his place and had taken allegiance to him, during his very lifetime. As it becomes incumbent on every true Muslim to abide by the command of the Holy Prophet which was issued at the instance of the command of the Lord, the true Muslims have only to follow Ali as their leader in the place of the Holy Prophet. Since those who have deviated from this right course, also call themselves as Muslims, those who follow the command of the Holy Prophet identify themselves by calling themselves as the Shi’as of Ali to mean those who follow the course prescribed by the Holy Prophet, i.e., the Original Islam .

Any Intelligent reader will find, what has happened to the Caliphate instituted by man in the place of the Imamah declared by God through His Holy Prophet at Ghadir Khumm. Sometimes it was decided by a method which was called an election though it was not one even, and sometimes by nomination and sometimes by arbitration and later on, it becomes a hereditary kingship at one place, and sometimes divided into the various territories and ultimately it dies away. And till now the non-Shi’a world is uncertain about any universally accepted procedure. And today the Khilafat has been distributed by the masses among the innumerable who have started their own mystic school and appoint their own Khalifas or the deputies or successors.

Thus, the Shi’as of Ali or the followers of the Original Islam irrespective of what the non-Shi’a world believes and acts, are faithfully attached to the Command of God, received through the Holy Prophet and hold the Holy Prophet, His daughter Fatimah Zahra and the Twelve Imams as the godly ideals of their life and the Muslim World knows and unanimously acknowledges that these holy ones are those who have been purified by God Himself:

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا

“Verily, verily God intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleanness O’ ye the People of the House and purify you (with) a thorough purification” (33:33).

The Holy Prophet on the memorable historic day of Mubahila showing Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn, had declared saying “O Lord! these are my Ahl Al-Bayt”

Besides all the other similar announcements, the Holy Prophet had declared:

“The likeness of my Ahl Al-Bayt is that of the Ark of Noah. He who got into it is saved and he who turned away from it got himself drowned and lost”

Hadith

What else should God and the Holy Prophet, have done to guide mankind aright?

Shi’ism is following nothing but the Original Commands of the Lord and His Holy Prophet and those who do it, identify themselves as the Shi’as of Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

Thus, Shi’ism means only Original Islam and nothing else other than what preaches the Holy Qur’an and practiced the Holy Prophet, and his Ahl Al-Bayt.

It is therefore compulsory in Shi’ism to believe in the Twelve Holy Imams as the divinely Commissioned Guides in the place of the Holy Prophet, and none else.

The readers to themselves judge if this is the right course or otherwise.

The Twelve Holy Imams - The Divinely Commissioned Guides

About the Twelve Holy Imams or the Divinely Commissioned Guides succeeding the Holy Prophet Muhammad5.

It must be remembered that the prophethood or the apostleship of God has been concluded with the Holy Prophet Muhammad and these Imams are the divinely commissioned guardians of the Holy Qur’an, the Final Word of God, and the Qur’anic law the ‘Shariat’ and the guides to the right practice of the Qur’anic faith.

The Living Imam Of The Age

As Jesus in the seed of Abraham through Isaac and Moses, was rescued from the hands of the Jews, the Last Imam Muhammad Ibn al- Hasan al-Mahdi, also in the seed of the same Abraham through his first son Ishmael and the Holy Prophet Muhammad, was rescued from the plots of Mo’tamad and is kept alive by the will of the Lord, and will re-appear when the Lord wills, at whose appearance, will also return Jesus. Thus, the divinity bifurcated into the seeds of Ishmael and Isaac will come to meet and that will mark the end of the world.

The Holy Ahl Al-Bayt - Who Are They?

It is a universally acknowledged fact that truth can never be resisted or suppressed for all times. Even the enemy is forced to helplessly declare it. Here are given only a very few of the evidence which are decisive as to who actually are the Ahl Al-Bayt and what their actual position is in the Islamic World. The following references are from the greatest rather the original religious authorities of our Sunni brethren. The great works are full of such references but only a very few are given here, for these will be quite sufficient to those who are really earnest to know the truth, and nothing can help those who are adamant and who do not at all want to know it.

ذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يُبَشِّرُ اللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ

“That is of which giveth God the glad tidings unto His servants who believe and do good deeds; Say thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) ‘I demand not of you any recompense for it (the toils of the apostleship) save the love of (my) relatives; and whosoever earneth good. We increase for him good therein, verily God is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Grateful (One)” (42:23).

When asked as to who his relatives were referred to in the above verse, the Holy Prophet replied:

‘Ali, Fatimah and their issues.’ 6

It is reported that one day the Holy Prophet way lying under his Mantle, therein entered Ali, Hasan, Husayn and Fatimah, this verse was revealed:

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا

“Verily, verily God intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleanness O’ ye the people of the House and purify you (with a thorough purification)” (33:33). 7

Umm al-Mu’minin Ayesha says that the verse was revealed when the above five were under the mantle8.

When Hazrat Ayesha herself says that only the above Five Holy Ones were there under the mantle and she was out of it, some of our brethren not knowing her actual position unwarrantedly claim her inclusion in the ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ interpreting the verse of the Holy Qur’an in their own way.

Hazrat Omme Salema reports that on the above occasion she was there and desired herself to join the Holy Five, but the Holy Prophet refused her entry saying, “Thou art of my wives and thou art righteous but this is not the place for thee, thou art not of my Ahl Al-Bayt”9.

The above event related by Ayesha and Umm Salema clears the position of the wives of the Holy Prophet in comparison to the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt all the authorities reporting the historic event, quoted above, are of our Sunni Brethren10

The historic event of Mubahila reported invariably by all the Historians, Traditionists and the other religious authorities, clears once for all the position of the Ahl Al-Bayt as to who they were. There is no loophole left for anyone else besides the declared personnel, to be counted among the Ahl Al-Bayt, i.e., besides the Holy Ones - The Holy Prophet, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, Husayn and the nine Imams in the seed of Husayn.

When the Christians of Najran did not yield to any of the reasonable arguments proving Islam as the only religion prescribed by God, the following verse was revealed giving the directive to the Holy Prophet, about the course to be adopted to prove the truth:

فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ

“And unto him who disputeth with thee therein after the knowledge hath come unto thee, Say! (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) (Unto them) “come ye, let us summon our sons, and (ye summon) your sons, and (we summon) our women and (ye) your women, and (we summon) ourselves and (ye) yourselves and then let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the liars!” (3:61).

The great Sunni commentators on the Holy Qur’an say that on the occasion the Holy Prophet took along with him only Hasan, Husayn, Fatimah, and Ali.

Besides the above great authorities - Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal Muslim - Tirmizi and Nisayi have related of Sa’d Ibn Waqqas and Hakim of Jabir Ibn Abdullah that by the term sons are meant Hasan and Husayn and by women is meant Fatimah Zahra and by selves, is meant Ali Al-Murtaza.

As regards the position of Ali with the Holy Prophet, it has been reported that the Holy Prophet declared:

“Ali is myself”

This has been related by Hazrat Ayesha and Hazrat Umm Salama, and ‘Umar Ibn Aas11.

‘Qiyamah’ - The Last Day Or Date Of The Final Judgment

‘Qiyamah’ or the Last Day of Final Judgment

Islam demands a Muslim to essentially believe in the return of everything to the Lord for the Final Judgment of every soul with regard to its faith and actions. There are repeated declarations in the Holy Qur’an, informing man of this day and warning him to be guarded in his life on earth, against the Requital which is sure and certain to take place. It is the conviction about this fact that would keep man, on the right track, duly guarded against his accountability. It is natural that when an individual is not mindful of his or her accountability, nothing would hinder him or her, to commit any sin or crime, and with the sense of one’s accountability one would never dare to transgress the limits and would always remain guarded.

A Muslim should and must believe in ‘Ma’ad’ or ‘Qiyamah’, i.e., the Last Day of the Final Judgment and live such a clean life which would help him to pass through the divine judgment easily and earn the life eternal of the heavenly bliss.

‘Ma’ad’ - ‘Qiyamah’ - The Last Day Of Final Judgment

The fifth principle of the faith ‘Islam-Original’ or ‘Shi’ism’ i.e., the belief in ‘Ala ad’ or ‘Qiyamah’, i.e., the Last Day of Final Judgment. The faith in this principle is essential, i.e., compulsory.

Every human being is individually accountable for each one’s faith and deeds.

وَلِكُلٍّ دَرَجَاتٌ مِمَّا عَمِلُوا وَلِيُوَفِّيَهُمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

“And for all (are ranks assigned) according to what they did; that (God) may (fully) recompense their deeds, an.’ they shall not be done any injustice” (46:19).

After death, all human beings will be resurrected to be rewarded and punished according to each individual’s earnings of virtue and vice in this life. The present life is only a season for cultivation or effort, and the life after death will be the period of harvest or the result. This life is a respite for creating causes for the effects in the hereafter. As one sows now so then shall he reap.

It is needless to repeat here the well-known fact that there was a time when there was no human life on earth, and it started with one single pair called Adam and Eve and got multiplied during the immeasurable passage of time. Simple logic ensures that that which had a beginning shall also have an end.

Death can never reasonably be the extinction of life, for if it be so, the end of the good and the bad, will be one and the same. The good and the evil can never be equalised:

قُلْ لَا يَسْتَوِي الْخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكَ كَثْرَةُ الْخَبِيثِ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“Say! (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) equal are not the bad and the good though the abundance of the bad may enchant thee; so then fear ye God, O’ ye of understanding that ye may be successful” (5:100)

Mere common sense is sufficient to know that goodness should be rewarded and evil should be punished.

When we are enjoined to do only good and to abstain from every evil, the question arises why? the only natural or reasonable answer can be that if good is done good will be the return and if evil is done evil will be the return. It is with this assurance one will incline to goodness and remain away from evil. Note the Qur’anic declarations.

يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصْدُرُ النَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًا لِيُرَوْا أَعْمَالَهُمْ

“On that day shall come out people (from their graves) in (scattered) groups, to be shown their own deeds” (99:6).

فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ

“Then he who hath done an atom-weight of good shall see it” (99:7).

وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

“And he who has done an atom-weight of evil shall see it” (99:8).

It is worthy of note how the following verses encourage doing good, promising the return for good more than what it actually would be:

مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ مِنْهَا وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى الَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“Whosoever bringeth good, for him shall be better than it, and whosoever bringeth evil, then shall not be recompensed those who wrought evil, (with) aught save what they had been working” (28:84).

Besides, it will be opposed to the divine justice to allow good and a bad life, both to equally end in mere extinction. To imagine the one who suffered miseries, tortures and painful death for the sake of goodness under the divine command, to please the Lord and the one who lived in vice and all sorts of sinful luxuries and criminal enjoyments prohibited by the Lord, to be levelled together, is opposed to reasoning and justice.

Moses and Pharaoh, Jesus and his persecutors, Muhammad the Holy Prophet and Abu Jehl, Ali and Ibn Muljim and Husayn and Yazid can never be equalised. The merits and the demerits naturally and necessarily need, rather imperatively demand, recognition and appreciation. The ‘Ma’ad’ or the ‘Qiyamah’ is only for this.

Death is only a turning point of life, a transit from this life of causes to the state of effects.

The period between death and the Day of the Final Judgment is called ‘Barzakh’ or what is called in English the Purgatory stage.

The Last Day will be the Day of the Final Judgment when every soul shall account for its individual good or evil in its life on earth.

On this day the people will be divided into three groups:

Those who did only good and never polluted themselves with any evil and did good to others.

Those who lived their whole life in evil and did evil to the others.

Those who have a mixed record of good and evil in their lives.

It is also a known fact that a good deed may seem to be a minor goodness, but it may have an abiding major effect and similarly an evil may seem to be minor, but it may have far reaching major consequences. Hence every good deed, minor or major, and every evil, simple or grave, in our own opinion, will be judged according to the actual merit or the demerit of its consequent effect.

Thus, he who did only good, will enjoy the eternal bliss, those who did evil shall have the consequent punishment and those with mixed records of goodness and badness together, their actions will be balanced against each other. If their good deeds outweigh their evils, they may draw the proportionate return and if the evils outweigh the good deeds, accordingly, will be the award.

There is room for intercession, but it is conditional, and it will not be for those who have intentionally rebelled against the authorities set up by God, and who have tortured and killed God’s vicegerents on earth viz. the Apostle and the Holy Imams.

The Holy Qur’an says that killing one man is equal to killing the whole human race and saving one man’s life is saving the life of the human race as a whole. If this be so, in the case of killing a single ordinary man, what will be gravity of the killing of an apostle of God or an Imam, and what will be the case with those who have killed Husayn along with his whole godly band of faithful supporters of the truth:

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ

“For this reason did We prescribe unto the Children of Israel that he who slayeth anyone (man), without (that being for) murder, or for mischief in the land, (It is shall be) as though he hath slain mankind as a whole; and he who saveth it (a human life), shall be as though he hath saved mankind as a whole; and certainly our Apostles came unto them with clear evidences and yet verily, many of them even after that certainly commit excesses in the land” (5:32).

The return of everything to its Creator Lord, in the life hereafter - the Judgment has been repeatedly declared by the Holy Qur’an:

وَهُوَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْأُولَىٰ وَالْآخِرَةِ وَلَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

“And He is God, there is no god hut He! His is all praise, in first and (in) the last, and His is the authority, and unto Him (only) ye shall he returned” (28:70).

The Day of a Total gathering is announced:

وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا مَكَانَكُمْ أَنْتُمْ وَشُرَكَاؤُكُمْ فَزَيَّلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَقَالَ شُرَكَاؤُهُمْ مَا كُنْتُمْ إِيَّانَا تَعْبُدُونَ

“On the day (of resurrection) when We will gather them all together, then will We say unto those who associated others (with Us) ‘Keep ye where ye are, ye and your associated gods;’ then We shall separate them, the one from the other, and shall say (unto them) their associate gods ‘It was not us that ye worshipped’” (10:28).

Regarding the return of all men to their True Lord and how quickly the accounting will be affected it is declared:

ثُمَّ رُدُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلَاهُمُ الْحَقِّ أَلَا لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَهُوَ أَسْرَعُ الْحَاسِبِينَ

“Then they are returned unto God, their ‘Mania’ (Master), the (only) Real One; Beware! (Now surely), His (alone) (as the Master) is the Judgment, and He is the Swiftest or reckoners” (6:62). 12

The following verse gives out that the deeds will be judged according to their merits and demerits and accordingly will be rewarding and the punishment:

وَلِكُلٍّ دَرَجَاتٌ مِمَّا عَمِلُوا وَلِيُوَفِّيَهُمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

“And for all (are ranks) (assigned) according to what they did; that (God) may (fully) recompense their deeds, and they shall not be done any injustice” (46:19).

God the Best of the judges:

أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ

“What! Is not God the Judge of the judges?” (95:8).

The following verses of ‘Sura al-Tatwif’ (the Defaulters) will be sufficient to give a brief picture of the Day of Judgment:

The verses clearly declare the following points about the Last Day of Judgment:

Sura 83 Verses

أَلَا يَظُنُّ أُولَٰئِكَ أَنَّهُمْ مَبْعُوثُونَ

“What! Think they not that they shall be raised” (83:4).

لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

“For a mighty day” (83:5).

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ النَّاسُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“On the day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds?” (83:6).

وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ

“Woe on that day unto the beliers” (83:10).

الَّذِينَ يُكَذِّبُونَ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ

“Those who belie the Day of Judgment” (83:11).

وَمَا يُكَذِّبُ بِهِ إِلَّا كُلُّ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ

“And belieth it not (anyone) saves a every transgressor, a sinner” (83:12).

ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ لَصَالُو الْجَحِيمِ

“Verily, they shall be committed to the flaming fire” (83:16).

ثُمَّ يُقَالُ هَٰذَا الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ

“Then shall it be said (unto them): ‘This is that which ye belied” (83:17).

إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ

“Verily the righteous ones shall be in bounteous bliss” (83:22).

تَعْرِفُ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ نَضْرَةَ النَّعِيمِ

“Thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) wilt recognise in their face -the (delightful) radiance of the bliss” (83:24).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا كَانُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ

“And verily they who are the guilty ones, used to laugh at those who believe” (83:29).

وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ

“And when they pass by them, wink they at one another” (83:30).

وَإِذَا انْقَلَبُوا إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِمُ انْقَلَبُوا فَكِهِينَ

“And when return they unto their people, return they jesting” (83:31).

وَإِذَا رَأَوْهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ لَضَالُّونَ

“And when they see them, say they: ‘These are the ones astrayed one” (83:32).

وَمَا أُرْسِلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ حَافِظِينَ

“While they are sent not over them to be the watchers” (83:33).

فَالْيَوْمَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ يَضْحَكُونَ

“So, today, those who believe shall be at the disbelievers laugh;” (83:34).

عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ يَنْظُرُونَ

“On couches (exalted they shall be) seeing (the delightful sights)” (83:35).

هَلْ ثُوِّبَ الْكُفَّارُ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ

“Shall not the disbelievers be (also) recompensed for what they used to do?” (83:36).

The above Verses clearly declare:

That there is a Day of Final Judgment,

When every soul shall return to the Lord of the worlds.

The evil shall be punished and the good shall be rewarded.

There is a place of suffering for the evil ones which is called Hell and there is a place of eternal bliss for the good ones which is called Heaven or Paradise.

The reward or punishment to each individual soul shall be according to the individual merit or demerit.

The Holy Qur’an is full of warnings to mankind against the life after death and the Last Day of the Final Judgment.

‘Jannah’ Paradise or Heaven

‘Naar’ Hellfire.

‘Akhirat’ The Hereafter.

‘Mahshar’ The Place of the gathering of the souls.

‘Qiyamah’ The Resurrection.

‘Mizaan’ The Balance - The means of discrimination or balancing two things against each other. This will not be any material scale which can measure or weigh only material commodities and not the abstract ones like the merits of intention and actions.

‘Siraat’ The Path absolutely corrects in every meaning and sense of it. Every soul shall pass through it. The righteous ones will not find any difficulty to pass through, whereas it will be very difficult rather impossible for the wicked ones to traverse it successfully. Every soul will find it easy or difficult according to the individual merit or demerit earned in this life.

‘Sawale-Munkir wa Nakir’ - Every human soul at its leaving the corporeal body shall be questioned about its faith and deeds which it earns in the present life and will be admitted to the transitory state ‘Barzakh’ or the Purgatory, according to the degree of the success in the response to the questioning.

‘Nama al-Aamaal’ or the Record of deeds - Every one’s deeds are getting then and there recorded and the records are preserved.

Sura 83 Verses

كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْفُجَّارِ لَفِي سِجِّينٍ

“Nay! the record of the wicked hast been preserved in the ‘Sijjin’” (83:7).

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سِجِّينٌ

“And what will make thee know what ‘‘Sijjin’ is?” (83:8).

كِتَابٌ مَرْقُومٌ

“It is a book Written” (83:9).

كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْأَبْرَارِ لَفِي عِلِّيِّينَ

“Nay! The record of the righteous shall be in the ‘‘Illiyin” (83:18).

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ

“And what will make thee know what the ‘Illiyun’ is?” (83:19).

كِتَابٌ مَرْقُومٌ

“(It is) a book Written” (83:20).

The Book referred to here, does not mean the book of paper or any material stuff but the means of natural evidence.

The Day of Judgment shall be a horrible day of the revelation of the truth both hidden and manifest. Every Organ of man itself will automatically bear witness to the deeds of the individual:

الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

“On that day will We set a seal upon their mouths and shall speak unto Us their hands and shall bear witness their feet, of what they were earning” (36:65).

يَوْمَ تَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَلْسِنَتُهُمْ وَأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“On that day will bear witness against them, their tongues and their hands and their feet, as to what they did” (24:24).

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا

“On the day whereon shall stand the spirit and the angels arrayed they shall speak not save he whom the Beneficent God giveth leave, who spoke not (only) the truth” (78:38).

ذَٰلِكَ الْيَوْمُ الْحَقُّ فَمَنْ شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ مَآبًا

“That is the day certain, whoso then desireth, may take refuge unto his Lord” (78:39).

There are many more verses in the Qur’an dealing with the other details of the Last day of the Final Judgment. Only a very few verses have been quoted here, just to give the idea as to how sure is the coming of the Day of Requital when every soul shall render the account of its deeds and get rewarded or punished according to the merits and demerits earned in this life. Thus, every true Muslim should believe in the Last Day of Judgment as a compulsory article of the faith Aslam’ or ‘Shi’asm.’

‘Jannah’ - Paradise

‘Jannah’ is a place which is generally called in English ‘Heaven.’ It is a place of eternal bliss, an abode granted to those who do good in this world. On the day of the Final Requital or Judgment, every one’s actions will be weighed and those whose goodness in this life exceeds their evils will be granted this abode to live therein for ever in the degree of bliss according to one’s own rank in goodness earned by the individual. The belief in the existence of this abode and its award to the good ones by the Lord, is incumbent on every Muslim. The following are a few of the verses of the Holy Qur’an referring to ‘Jannah’ and its award:

زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ الشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِينَ وَالْقَنَاطِيرِ الْمُقَنْطَرَةِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَالْخَيْلِ الْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ وَالْحَرْثِ ذَٰلِكَ مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حُسْنُ الْمَآبِ

“(It has been) made to seem attractively fair unto men, the love of the lusts for women and sons and pile hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well-bred horses and cattle and tilth; this is the provision of the life of this world, while God! Verily with Him is the best destination.’’ (3:14).

قُلْ أَؤُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْ ذَٰلِكُمْ لِلَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَأَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ وَرِضْوَانٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

“Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) ‘Shall I tell you of what is better than these? for those who take shelter in God are gardens with their Lord, beneath which flow rivers, to abide in them and mates pure, and God’s pleasure; and verily God is well aware of the servants” (3:15).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ يَهْدِيهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِإِيمَانِهِمْ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهِمُ الْأَنْهَارُ فِي جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ

“Verily (for) those who believe and do good, guideth them their Lord by their faith, beneath them will flow rivers in gardens of bliss” (10:9).

دَعْوَاهُمْ فِيهَا سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَتَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلَامٌ وَآخِرُ دَعْوَاهُمْ أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“Their cry therein (will be), ‘Glory be to Thee O’ God!’ and their greetings in it (will be), ‘Peace’ and the last of their cry (will be), that God’s is the praise, the Lord of the worlds” (10:10).

The following will be the announcement to the good servants of the Lord on the Day of Judgment:

يَا عِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَا أَنْتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ

“O’ My servants! No fear shall be on you this day, nor shall ye grieve” (43:68).

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ

“Those who believed in Our signs and were Muslims (those submitting themselves unto God)” (43:69).

ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ أَنْتُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ تُحْبَرُونَ

“Enter ye the Garden, ye and your mates; ye shall be made to be delighted” (43:70).

يُطَافُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِصِحَافٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ وَأَكْوَابٍ وَفِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِيهِ الْأَنْفُسُ وَتَلَذُّ الْأَعْيُنُ وَأَنْتُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

“Shall be passed round unto them dishes of gold and cups (of drinks); and therein shall be whatever desire their souls, and (wherein) could delight the eyes; and ye shall abide therein” (43:71).

وَتِلْكَ الْجَنَّةُ الَّتِي أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

“This is the Garden (Paradise) ye are made to receive as a heritage (in recompense) for what ye have been doing” (43:72).

The Faith In The Angels

Angels are pure spiritual beings created to glorify the Lord and to execute His will. They can appear in any form but not of any base animals. Their number, none knows. Only a few important ones whose services are directly connected with the life known to mankind, arc mentioned. Faith in the existence of these celestial beings, is incumbent on every Muslim. A few’ of the verses of the Holy Qur’an concerning the angels are given below:

لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ

“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards the East and the West, righteousness is rather one who believeth in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Book, the apostles, and giveth his wealth out of love for Him to the kindred and the orphans and the poor and the wayfarer and the needy and for those in bondage; And established prayer and payeth the poor-rate; And those who fulfil their promise and the patient ones in distress and affliction and in the time of war these are they who are Truthful and these are they who are the pious” (2:177).

يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ بِالرُّوحِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَىٰ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ أَنْ أَنْذِرُوا أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاتَّقُونِ

“He sendeth down the angels with the spirit (revelation) by His own decree on whomsoever He willeth of His servants saying: “Warn ye (the mankind) that there is no God, but I therefore fear Me” (16:2).

وَلَهُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَلَا يَسْتَحْسِرُونَ

“And His is whosoever is in the heavens and the earth; and those who are with Him are not proud to worship Him, nor do they get weary” (21:19).

الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ

“Those who bear the ‘Arsh’ and those around it celebrate the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and seek forgiveness for those who believe in Him (saying): ‘O’ Our Lord! Thou comprehendeth all things in (Thy) Mercy and Knowledge, therefore, forgive Thou those who turn (unto Thee) and follow thy way, and save them from the torment of the Hell” (40:7).

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ

“And there shall be a blast on the trumpet, It is the Day Promised (warned against)” (50:20).

وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ

“And shall come every soul, along with it a driver and a witness” (50:21).

وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا

“By those who drag forth violently” (79:1).

وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطًا

“And by those who untie (the knot) briskly” (79:2).

وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا

“And by those (angels) who glide on (swiftly)” (79:3).

فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقًا

“Then those (angels) who go ahead with a foremost speed” (79:4).

فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْرًا

“Then those (angels) who (submissively) manage the affairs” (79:5).

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا

“On the day whereon shall stand the spirit and the angels arrayed they shall speak not save he whom the Beneficient God giveth leave, who spoke not (only) the truth” (78:38).

The following angels are those with the definite duties mentioned against them:

Gabriel - The appellation of this angel is the ‘Ameen’ (i.e., the Trusted). He is the foremost of all the angels and he is the one who communicated God’s commandments to the Prophets, and he is the one who conveyed the Holy Qur’an to the Holy Prophet.

Israel - The messenger of Death, who separates the soul from the body.

Israfeel - The one -who will blow’ the Trumpet announcing the Day of the Final Judgment.

1. See the note on ‘Tahrif’ by A.P.

2. Vide ‘Tafsir-Kabir, Tafsir-Durr al-Manthur and the others

3. Hadith Ghadir Khumm.

4. Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala as-Sahihayn, Vol.3, p. 126; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Isti’ab, Vol.3, p. 1102.

5. See Table 1: A Historical Chart Of The Holy Fourteen.

6. Vide Tafsir al-Kabir of Fakhruddine Fazi Zamakhshari-Tafsir-Kashashaf-Sawaiqe Mohriqa al- Ibn Hajjre-Makki.

7. See: Tafsir Kabir; Kanz al-’Ummal; Tirmizi; Sawaiqe Mohriqa; Musnad Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal; Aqdul Farid; Sharh Fiqh Akbar; Durr al-Manthur.

8. Sahih Muslim-Baidhavi.

9. Tabari Vol. II p. 17.

10. See the notes on Verse 33:33.

11. Kanz al-’Ummal. Musnad Khawarzami. Sawaique Mohriqa.

12. See also Chapter ‘Yasin’, particularly verses 36:51-54 & 36:65.

Furu al-Deen

Furu al-deen, The Articles of the Practice of the Faith

Caution

The brief notes given here on the practical side of the faith, are only the outlines of the doctrines, presented, just to give the correct view of the practical side of the Shi’a faith, which is nothing but the Original Qur’anic Islam, for the general information of our brethren and to dispel the misunderstandings among the non-Shi’a public. For the exact details, for the actual practice of each and every one of the articles, one must refer to ‘Fiqh’ and should not depend totally on these notes.

Islam no doubt, gives the freedom of the choice of the faith but once a man or woman embraces the truth, it never allows him or her to dance to the tunes of his or her own personal fancy in the practice of God’s prescribed religion. Once an individual accepts it, the order is ‘Follow the Leader’ as a man may join or not join the army of a state, the choice is there, but once he joins it, the individual will, or the fancy of the recruit has no place in the service and the order is Follow the Commander and ‘Do or die - No question why.’

If anyone calls himself a Muslim and yet follows his own view other than the prescribed regulations, he is following his own creed and not that of the Lord. He is not deceiving anyone but his own self:

يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“Desire they to deceive God and those who believe, but they deceive not save themselves while they perceive not” (2:9).

The Branches or the Articles of the Practice of the Faith are Ten:

‘Salat’ (Namaz) The Daily Prayers.

‘Sawm’ (Roza) Fast during the month of Ramazan.

‘Hajj’ Pilgrimage to the Holy Ka’ba (in Mecca).

‘Zakat’ Poor-rate - 2-1/2 per cent. Annual tax on the Capital or the total assets.

‘Khums’ The 1/5th Rate of the Annual tax on the Nett Profit.

‘Jihad’ Fight or the endeavour in the way of God.

‘Amar bi ‘l-Ma’roof’ Enjoining of Good.

‘Nahya anil Munkar’ Prevention of evil

‘Tawallah’ Love of the godly ones.

‘Tabarra’ Hatred of the evil or the wicked ones or the abstinence from them.

Salat Or Namaz - Prayer

The Compulsory Prayers

Islam is unique in prescribing the offering of various prayers on various occasions. Among the prayers prescribed, there are compulsory as well as the optional ones. There are the following prayers prescribed to be offered by every Muslim adult man or woman:

The Daily Five Times Prayers. (Compulsory)

The Daily Five Times Prayers. (Optional)

The Weekly Friday Prayers.

Salat al-Aayaat.

Salat al-Nazr or Ahd.

Salat al-Qasm.

Salat al-Tawaf.

Salat al-Ijarah.

Salat al-Qaza.

Salat al-Ehtiyaat Waledain.

Salat al-Janaza.

Salat al-Mase Mayyit.1

It needs to be remembered that Islam is not a Society, or a Club, or an Association or a League or a Convention or any Order of any school of thought. Islam means Surrender or Submission of one’s self to the Divine Will of the Lord of the Universe. Islam is the code of the correct faith in the True God proved through the sincere and faithful implementation of the prescribed ordinances of disciplining the practical life in thought and action to qualify for the higher realms of the spheres of the life after death, with the aim of going on enriching our souls with every possible goodness in this life to qualify for the ultimate end of eternal bliss. Having submitted or surrendered himself to the Lord, a Muslim has to live with this motto of his life:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“Say: ‘Verily my prayer and my sacrifice, my life and my death, (are all, only) for God, the Lord of the worlds’” (6:162).

Thus, the first, the foremost and the unavoidable duty of a true Muslim is to offer regularly and punctually the prescribed prayers more particularly the Daily Five Times Prayers called ‘Salat’ in Arabic and ‘Namaz’ in Persian and Urdu.

‘Salat’ (Namaz) i.e., the prescribed prayers must be offered regularly and punctually. A few of the verses of the Holy Qur’an referring to the prescribed prayers are given below:

فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِكُمْ فَإِذَا اطْمَأْنَنْتُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا

“And when ye have finished the prayer remember God standing, and sitting, and reclining, and when ye are secure (from danger), establish prayer; Verily Prayer is, (imposed) upon the believers as (a) timed Ordinance” (4:103).

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O Mankind! Worship ye (only) your Lord, Who created you and those before you, happly ye may guard (yourselves against evil)” (2:21).

وَأَنْ أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَهُوَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ

“And that ye establish prayer, and ye fear Him; And He it is unto Whom ye shall be gathered” (6:72).

إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي

“Verily I, I (alone), am God: There is no God but I: worship thou (only) Me, and establish prayer for My remembrance!” (20:14).

اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ

“Recite thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) that which hath been revealed unto thee of the Book and establish prayer; verily prayer restraineth (one) from filth and evil; and certainly, the remembrance of God is the greatest (duty of the believers); and God knoweth what ye do” (29:45).

مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

“Turning unto Him and fear His wrath and establish prayer and be not of the polytheists” (30:31).

One has to pray to God until his Death:

وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ

“And worship thou thy Lord until there cometh unto thee what is certain” (15:99).

The Various Compulsory Daily Prayers

The various prayers prescribed by Islam are timed as has been said in Verse 4:103 quoted above.

The Five Daily Prayers which every Muslim adult male or female has to compulsorily offer are as follows and for the sake of convenience of the general public the popular word ‘Namaz’ is used here instead of the original Arabic term ‘Salat’-

The Daily Five Times Prayers

The Prayer and the time when it should be offered

‘Salat al-Fajr’ (Dawn) - From the dawn till a little before the sunrise.

‘Salat al-Zohr’ (Mid-day) - From the time, the sun passes the meridian up till a little before the sunset.

‘Salat al-Asr’ (Afternoon) - From the start of the second quarter of the later part of the day till sunset. This prayer may be offered after offering the Zohr prayer. The Zohr and the Asr prayers may be offered one after the other in immediate sequence. (This is only a choice for the Holy Prophet himself had at times done it).

‘Salat al-Maghrib’ (Evening) - From sunset to a little while before mid-night.

‘Salat al-Isha’ (Night) - From the second quarter of the first half of the night to mid-night. This also can be said immediately after the Maghrib prayer is offered as in the case of Asr prayer (This is also a choice).

Prayers have to be offered punctually as the time for each prayer starts, not waiting till the end of the time. Prayer offered in time, has its excellence and merit in its acceptability’.

Prayers should not be offered in advance of the fixed times Viz. The Fajr, i.e., the Morning prayer should not be performed before Dawn. The ‘Zohr’ and the ‘Asr’ prayers not before Mid-day. The ‘Maghrib’ and ‘Isha’ prayers not before Sunset.

Similarly, the above prayers after the following limits are considered as Qaza or the delayed or the defaulted:

Fajr - after sunrise.

Zohr and Asr - after sunset.

Maghrib and Isha - after mid-night.

If under any unavoidable circumstances any prayer could not be offered during its limits, such prayers which are termed as ‘Qaza’ or defaulted, should be offered as soon as the cause for the delay or default, is removed.

Every prayer is divided into units called ‘Rak’ats’:

Salat - Prayer | Wajib (Compulsory) | Sunnah (Optional)
Fajr | 2 Raka’ats | 2 Raka’ats
Zohr | 4 Raka’ats | 8 Raka’ats*
Asr | 4 Raka’ats | 8 Raka’ats*
Maghrib | 3 Raka’ats | 4 Raka’ats*
Isha | 4 Raka’ats | 2 Raka’ats
Total | 17 Raka’ats | 24 Raka’ats

Tahajjud or Midnight prayer: Time – After midnight, before the dawn - Not compulsory but highly Commended:

وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَكَ عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا

“And (in a part) of the night forsake sleep for prayer, in addition to (what is incumbent on) thee; May be that exalteth thee thy Lord unto a position” (17: 79).

* - To be offered in parts of two Raka’ats each like the Salat al-Fajr. Sunnah prayers are very highly recommended.

Each Rak’at or unit consists of ‘Qiam’ standing upright, reciting the text of the prayer, bowing called ‘Ruku’ with its recitation, sitting ‘Qu’ood’ sitting with its recitation and falling into prostration ‘Sajda’ twice with the recitations therein.

Legality Of The Possessions Used For Prayer

It is compulsory that the dress in which the prayer is offered and the place on which the prayer is performed are not usurped properties without the sanction or the permission of the rightful owner, to be used.

The Prescribed Formalities For The Prayer

Islam, the religion of strict discipline does not allow an individual to dance as he likes to his own tunes but fixes a fully regulated code for the disciplined order or the behaviour one should strictly observe when he or she appears before the Absolute Sovereign Authority of the Lord of the worlds. The order in which the prayer is prescribed to be offered is to put the individual in direct communion with the universal One. A Muslim while prepared to pray to the Lord, has to strictly observe the following order in his movement and behaviour:

First stand erect facing to the Qiblah.

Fix up his determination called the ‘Niyyat’ as to which prayer he intends to offer.

Sound the glorification of God saying ‘Allahu Akbar’, i.e., God the Greatest, which is called the ‘Takbiratu al-Ihram’, i.e., the glorification of the Lord which disconnects him from this world and the worldly interest and connects him in communion with his True Master.

Recites the passages of prayer from the Holy Qur’an, the Word of God, i.e.,

the ‘Sura al-Hamd’ the First Chapter of the Holy Qur’an

and any other Chapter or Sura of the same Holy Book.

This is called the ‘Qir’at’ or the recital of ‘Hamd’ or the Praise of the Lord and another Sura.

After the recitals he goes to bow, which action of bowing to the Lord is called the ‘Ruku.’ In this state he recites the glorifications of the Lord saying ‘Subhana Rabbial Azeem wa Behamdeh,’ i.e., Pure is my Lord the Great.

Returns from bowing and stands upright and then sits down and goes into prostration reciting ‘Subhana Rabbial A’laa wa behamdeh’ i.e., Pure is my Lord the Highest.

This state is called ‘Sujood’ or Prostration.

This prostration he does twice.

With the second prostration done, it completes one Rak’at or the part or the unit of a prayer. Similarly, he repeats the times, according to the fixed number of the ‘Rak’ats of the prayer he performs.

The number of the Rak’ats that each prescribed prayer consists of, has been given above.

As no book, be that even a holy scripture, suffices anyone to have the full knowledge or the meaning contained in it, without the Master, the mere recitation of these brief notes on the method of the Islamic prayer which though very simple and easy, and full of meaning, will not do until every sincere one to learn this divinely regulated course of prayer approaches someone who knows it, to explain it to him, with a model demonstration to make the learning and acting easy and correct.

It is to be noted that in the first Rak’at while standing the Sura al-Hamd and any other Sura, is to be recited. In the third and the fourth Rak’ats only the Sura al-Hamd.

Praying In Congregation With The Other Muslims

The offering of the daily compulsory prayers in congregation with the other Muslims (called Jama’at) is very highly commended to have greater excellence and merit, rather than offering separately alone.

The Method Of Praying Prescribed By The Holy Qur’an

While all the other religions have merely commended praying without showing the right method of doing it, Islam gives all the minutest details of the desired actions of man in his supplication to the Lord. The Holy Qur’an prescribes the basic manners and behaviours and the Holy Prophet had given all the details demonstrating them during his lifetime in his daily life:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ارْكَعُوا وَاسْجُدُوا وَاعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَافْعَلُوا الْخَيْرَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“‘O’ ye who believe! Bow ye down and prostrate ye and worship ye your Lord, and do ye good, happily ye may succeed” (22:77)

The ‘Qunoot’

At the conclusion of the standing recital in the second Rak’at of each prayer before the individual goes into bowing, i.e., in ‘Ruku’ there is a short prayer to be recited. It is called ‘Qunoot.’

‘Tasha’hhud’

At the end of the second Rak’at, after making both the prostrations, the individual has to sit and recite a prayer called ‘Tasha’hhud’.

‘Salam’ - The Salutation

At the completion of the last Rak’at, i.e., after making both the prostrations, the individual has to recite the ‘Tasha’hhud’ followed by the ‘Salam’, i.e., the Salutation, which marks the conclusion of a prayer.

The various postures:

Standing upright is called ‘Qiyam.’

Bowing is called ‘Ruku’.

Sitting is called ‘Qu’ood’.

Prostrating is called ‘Sujood’.

The ‘Qiblah’ - The Facing Point Or Direction

It is essential i.e., compulsory that a Muslim while praying should face the ‘Qiblah,’ i.e., towards the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca. The Holy Ka’ba is the ‘Qiblah’ for those who pray in the Mosque around it. But for those praying outside the Mosque, the Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) is the Qiblah and for those away from Mecca the town of Mecca will be the Qiblah.

The following verse of the Holy Qur’an fixes the Qiblah for the Muslims:

وَمِنْ حَيْثُ خَرَجْتَ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَيْكُمْ حُجَّةٌ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِي وَلِأُتِمَّ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

“So, from whencesoever thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) goeth forth, turn thou thy face towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever ye (O’ Muslims) are, turn ye (too) your faces thither then men may have no plea against you save those of them that are unjust; So, fear not them but fear Me! And that I may perfect My bounties on you, and that ye may be guided aright” (2:150)

‘Azan’ - The Call For Prayer

It is ‘Mustahab’ or Commanded by the Apostle that prior to every daily ‘Wajib’ or compulsory prayer, the ‘Azan’ and the ‘Iqamat’, i.e., the declaration of establishment of the prayer is recited.

‘Taharat’ - Cleanliness

The first, the foremost or the most utmost and the most important demand of Islam on every one of its adherents, man as well as woman, is ‘Taharat’, i.e., cleanliness.

Islam wants a Muslim to be clean in words, thought, action, personality, external and internal. There is no religion which so strictly prescribes the systematic cleanliness as one of the doctrines of the Faith.

There can be no prayers without the prescribed cleanliness.

One may pour over himself hundreds of gallons of water or dip himself in it for any number of times to any extent unless it is done in the divinely prescribed manner, the individual is not clean in the true sense of the term as essential to appear before the Lord while offering prayers to Him.

Hence it is essential that the ‘Ghusl’ (the Major or detailed Wash) and ‘Wuzu’, i.e., the brief or the minimum essential ablution should be performed in the manner prescribed. Any deviation from the prescribed course makes the cleaning null and void - and must be rejected.

Cleanliness, The Essential Pre-Requisite For Every Prayer

It is essential that the individual in his body and dress and the place on which the prayer is offered, is perfectly clean.

‘Wuzu’ -Ablution And ‘Tyammum’ -The Substitute For Ablution

In case ‘Wuzu’ for any valid reason is not possible the individual intending to pray should perform ‘Tayammum’. No prescribed prayer can be offered without ‘Wuzu’ or ‘Tayammum.’

‘Wuzu’ Method

‘Wuzu’ or ablution should be in the following order:

First - Wash your feet thoroughly and get the top of the palm dried by wiping out the water with some cloth.

Second - Sit down, and first wash your hands thoroughly taking the water in your right palm. Third - Get water into your mouth by your right hand and gargle, repeat this thrice. It is better that the mouth is cleaned with a finger or by the use of a tooth-stick or a toothbrush.

Fourth - Take water by the right hand and wash the face from the forehead to the chin, pouring water from above the forehead where hair in the head begin to grow. See both the cheeks are equally washed. Repeat this Twice and not Thrice. The water should flow down the beard if there fie any, with the water reaching the bottom of the hair of the beard and the moustache.

Fifth - Wash the right arm pouring the water from above the elbow by the left hand. Repeat this twice.

Sixth - Wash the left arm pouring the water from above the elbow by the right hand. Repeat this only once.

When the above is done in the given order the ablution has to be completed by ‘Masah.’ To do ‘Masah’, pass the points of four fingers of your hand on the one-fourth surface of the head up to the end of the hair above the forehead. Then pass the five fingers of the right and the left hands on the top of the palm of the right and left foot respectively. The direction should be from the fingers of the feet to the ankle.

The ‘Wuzu’ is completed. The individual having done this is ready to start the prayer.

Note: The ‘Masah’ should be completed before the water in the palms of the hands with which the ‘Wuzu’ was performed is not dried.

‘Ghusl’ - The Detailed Major Ablution Or Wash

‘Ghusl’ or the detailed major ablution or wash is of two kinds – ‘Tarteebi’, i.e., washing the body in steps with water taken for the bath. ‘Irtemasi’, i.e., dipping the whole body in a tank or a pond or lake or river or sea.

‘Ghusl Tarteebi’ - First give a thorough wash to the body as a whole. Then wash both sides, left and right thrice - gargle with water thrice - clean the nostrils thrice - then determine the ‘Niyyat’ or the intention as for what the ‘Ghusl’ is performed - then after the ‘Niyyat’ wash afresh the head and the neck, then pour water on the right shoulder in a manner to see that water reaches the fingers, in the foot and below it - while giving the wash see that the front and the back of the body including the parts in waste are washed - while pouring the water see that the leg of the side does not rest on the ground so that water may reach below the foot - Repeat the same to the other side. If there be rings in the fingers, they may either be removed or be shaken by rolling them to see that water reaches the surface covered by them. When water is poured on the two sides, i.e., on the shoulder it must wash that part of the neck also.

‘Ghusl Irtemasi’ - The Bath by a dip in abundant water as said above - first clean the body, done as a preliminary to the Ghusl Tarteebi and then dip the whole body thrice consecutively with any interval. While dipping the body it must be remembered the whole body should be totally submerged. After the Ghusl Janabat - There is no need for ‘Wuzu’ or the minor ablution for prayers. Prayer or ‘Namaz’ can be performed with the ‘Ghusl’ unless anything like passing of wind - or passing of urine or the other call of nature or anything else which violates a ‘Wuzu’ takes place (Refer to ‘Fiqh’).

Note: The water and the place used for ‘Ghusl’ must be own or with the permission of the owner - Rivers, ponds, sea, i.e., the natural resources need no permission from anyone. (Refer to Fiqh).

Compulsory ‘Ghusl’ - Are Six

Ghusl Janabat - discharge, either in sleep or in the wake of semen - either automatically or by cohabitation.

Ghusl Haiz - After the monthly.

Ghusl Istehaaza - Which the discharge of blood in a woman for less than three days and for more than ten days.

Ghusl Nifaas - The discharge of blood in woman at the delivery of a child.

Ghusl Mase-Mayyit - Touching a dead body of a man after the soul leaving the body before its giving the wash.

Ghusl Mayyit - The wash which is given to the dead before burial.

Method Of Offering The ‘Salat’ Or Prayers

‘Salat’ or Prayers the Islamic Prayers Compulsory and Obligatory called ‘Salat’ in Arabic and ‘Namaz’ in Persian with English Translation of the Arabic Passages of the Prayers And the methods of offering explained.

The Five Times ‘Wajib Salat’ Or The Compulsory Prayers

Islam is the most regulated and the final code of discipline divinely prescribed for mankind. The question of prayer is fully regulated and perfectly prescribed with the different times and occasions for the various kinds of prayer timely fixed. The time for the five daily compulsory prayers is also fixed as follows:

Salat al-Fajr - or the Morning prayer from the dawn up to the sunrise.

Salat al-Zohr - or the Mid-day or the Noon Prayer. From the sun’s passing the Meridian, its time extends to a little before the sunset but the best time for it before the shadow of the individual reaching his life size.

Salat al-Asr - or the afternoon Prayer. From the time after the offering of the Zohr Prayer immediately after the sun passing the Meridian up to the sunset.

Note: It is permitted to offer the Asr Prayer after completing the Zohr, for its time starts from the completion of the Zohr Prayer. The Holy Prophet also sometimes did it.

Salat al-Maghrib - or the Evening Prayer. From the sunset to a little before midnight.

Salat al-Isha - or the Night Prayer. From the conclusion of the Salat al-Maghrib to midnight.

All prayers have to be offered punctually in their prescribed time and the extension of the maximum time-limit is given not to allow man to offer it leisurely but for valid causes of the individual’s inability to immediately offer the prayer as its time starts. Delay in offering the prescribed compulsory prayers is very much deprecated.

Number Of Rak’ats Or Units Of Each Prayer

Each Islamic ‘Salat’ or prayer has a certain number of Rak’ats or repetition. The following are the number of Rak’ats of each of the five compulsory daily prayers:

Every prayer is divided into units called ‘Rak’ats’:

Salat - Prayer | Wajib (Compulsory) | Sunnah (Optional)
Fajr | 2 Raka’ats | 2 Raka’ats
Zohr | 4 Raka’ats | 8 Raka’ats*
Asr | 4 Raka’ats | 8 Raka’ats*
Maghrib | 3 Raka’ats | 4 Raka’ats*
Isha | 4 Raka’ats | 2 Raka’ats
Total | 17 Raka’ats | 24 Raka’ats

* - To be offered in parts of two Raka’ats each like the Salat al-Fajr. Sunnah prayers are very highly recommended.

Besides the compulsory prayers there are the Sunnah prayers which are optional.

‘Wajib’ or ‘Farz’ is Compulsory, prescribed as a duty to God. Any act prescribed as ‘Wajib’ must be performed as a compulsory duty the avoidance of which is a sin. In case of a failure to perform it in the prescribed time-limit, it has to be performed later, when possible, as ‘Qaza,’ i.e., Last Performance. But a timely performance of the act, be it Salat, i.e., Prayer or ‘Sawm,’ i.e., Fasting etc. ‘Sunnah’ or the Optional or the Auxiliary.

A Sunnah is an act becoming incumbent upon the believers in following the Holy Prophet. It is an act which, though not prescribed as compulsory under any ordinance from God, but the Apostle of God used to do it. If the act is performed by any Muslim, it has its reward and if it is not done, it is not sin.

‘Sunnah al-Muwakkada’ or the ‘‘Sunnah’’ about which the Holy Apostle Muhammad has particularly advised his followers to perform. Though it is not compulsory, yet the order ranges to the limits of compulsion.

Along with the ‘Wajib’ or the compulsory daily five times prayers, there are an equal number of ‘‘Sunnah’ prayers which are performed just as the ‘Wajib’ or the compulsory ones are done, but only the ‘Niyyat’ or the intention differs. In case of ‘Sunnah’ prayers the intention should be of performing the ‘Sunnah’ prayers and not the ‘Wajib’ or the compulsory.2

The ‘Niyyat’ Or Intention

It is essential before the start of each prayer, be it ‘Wajib’, i.e., Compulsory] or ‘Sunnah’, i.e., optional, or auxiliary, the individual who offers the prayers must definitely intend or determine in his heart as to how many Rak’ats of which prayer whether it is ‘Wajib’ or ‘Sunnah’ what he offers:

For instance, in the case of the ‘Salat al-Fajr’ the ‘Niyyat’ should be:

“I offer two Rak’ats, of Salat al-Fajr ‘Wajib’ in my approach to God”

Similarly, the number of Rak’ats, the name of The prayer, i.e., Zohr or Asr, etc. and the kind of the prayer ‘Wajib’ or ‘Sunnah’ will be substituted accordingly.

The intention is concerned with the heart of the individual who offers the prayer. Therefore, the ‘Niyyat’ need not be uttered by any verbal expression. (Refer to ‘Fiqh’)

The ‘Azan’ The Natural Method Of Calling For Prayer

Islam being the natural religion does not want any of its adherents in the practice of the faith, to depend upon any artificial implements like the bell or the bugles or the trumpets for the announcement of the start of the congregational prayer in a Mosque. It does not require any chairs, tables, or altars in the Mosque. Such implements might be available to some people and might not be available to some, and the non-availability of the implement might become a valid excuse for not discharging any of the spiritual duties imposed upon the individual or the people as a whole. The Call for prayer in Islam is natural. It is sufficient if anyone of the believers calls for the prayer in the Mosque, at the top of his own voice. Naturally calling the other believers also to a duty to God, like the prayer has ‘Swab’ or the reward from God.

Saying The ‘Azan’ Or The Call For Prayers

The ‘Azan’ is said standing facing towards the Qibla (i.e., the Ka’ba in Mecca) - in the best tone possible.

If the call is said in a Mosque, it is said as a loud as it may be possible for the ‘Moazzin’ or the Caller for prayer, (i.e., who says the ‘Azan’).

‘Azan’ And Its Meaning

Every verse of the ‘Azan’ is pregnant with the meaning which draws the attention of those who hear it, to the ideal of his faith.

No. | Azan | Meaning | No. of Times
1. | Allahu Akbar | God is the Greatest | 4
2. | Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah | I bear witness that there is no god but Allah | 2
3. | Ash-hadu anna Muhammad ar Rasul Allah. | I bear witness that Muhammad is the Apostle of God | 2
4. | Ash-hadu anna Amir al-Mu’minina Aliyan Waliyu Allah wasiyti Rasuli Allah * | I bear witness that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, is the Vicegerent of God, and the Successor to the Apostle of God (Muhammad). | 2
5. | Hayya ala as-Salat | Hasten to prayer | 2
6. | Hayya ala al-falah | Hasten to success | 2
7. | Hayya ala Khairi al-’Amal | Hasten to the best deed | 2
8. | Allahu Akbar | God is the Greatest | 2
9. | La ilaha illa Allah | There is no god but Allah (God) | 2

* This clause is not a part of the ‘Azan’ or the ‘Iqamat’. It is commendable to say it, for the believer to distinguish himself as the one following the Original teachings of the Apostle and not the otherwise, i.e., the later innovations.

‘Iqamat’ Or The Establishment Of The Prayer

When the ‘Azan’ is said and the prayer following it is recited, the individual intending to pray stands erect, seriously intent alert to start the ‘Salat’ or prayer. And the declaration of the standing for prayer is called ‘Iqamat.’

The verses of the ‘Iqamat’ are the same as in ‘Azan’ excepting that the number of the repetitions is as follows with one extra verse.

The clause ‘Qad qamati as-salat’ meaning Indeed prayer has been established, has to be inserted after ‘Hayya ala Khairi al-Amal’ as in the following order3:

No. | Azan | Meaning | No. of Times
1. | Allahu Akbar | God is the Greatest | 2
2. | Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah | I bear witness that there is no god but Allah | 2
3. | Ash-hadu anna Muhammad ar Rasul Allah. | I bear witness that Muhammad is the Apostle of God | 2
4. | Ash-hadu anna Amir al-Mu’minina Aliyan Waliyu Allah wasiyti Rasuli Allah * | I bear witness that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, is the Vicegerent of God, and the Successor to the Apostle of God (Muhammad). | 2
5. | Hayya ala as-Salat | Hasten to prayer | 2
6. | Hayya ala al-falah | Hasten to success | 2
7. | Hayya ala Khairi al-’Amal | Hasten to the best deed | 2
8. | Qad Qamati as-Salat | Indeed, the prayer has begun | 2
9. | Allahu Akbar | God is the Greatest | 2
10. | La ilaha illa Allah | There is no god but Allah (God) | 1

* This clause is not a part of the ‘Azan’ or the ‘Iqamat’. It is commendable to say it, for the believer to distinguish himself as the one following the Original teachings of the Apostle and not the otherwise, i.e., the later innovations.

Takbiratu al-Ihram

Saying the ‘Takbiratu al-Ihram’ i.e., Allahu Akbar, before each prayer is ‘Wajib,’ i.e., compulsory, and it is a ‘Rukn’ i.e., a pillar of the prayer, without which the prayer is incorrect. (RF)

While saying the ‘Takbiratu al-Ihram’ the body of the individual must be still without any movement and face turned towards the ‘Qiblah,’ the hands of the individual, raised up to his ears.

Start Of The Prayer

The individual intending to offer the prayer should stand erect, determine in his heart the ‘Niyyat’ or the intention as to which prayer and how many Rak’ats ‘Wajib,’ i.e., compulsory or ‘Sunnah,’ i.e., optional, or auxiliary, which he intends to perform. Determining the ‘Niyyat’ or the intention about the prayer is ‘Wajib,’ i.e., compulsory’. Once the determination is done as prescribed above, the individual should recite the ‘Takbiratu al-Ihram’ and with the recital of the ‘Takbiratu al-Ihram’ the individual is initiated into the prayer and the first Rak’at of the prayer is started. He should stand still, motionless, with his gaze down at the point of ‘Sajdah’ where he will place his forehead in his prostration and start reciting the Sura Fatiha.

After reciting the Sura al-Fatiha the individual must recite any other sura or chapter from the Holy Qur’an. Generally, Sura al-Qadr the chapter of value is recited. (RF)

Sura Al-Fatiha

(١) بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful (1:1).

(٢) الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds (1:2).

(٣) الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

The Beneficent the Merciful (1:3).

(٤) مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

The Master of the Day of Judgement (1:4).

(٥) إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

You alone we worship, and from You alone we seek help (1:5).

(٦) اهدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

Guide us to the straight path (1:6).

(٧) صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ

The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favours, not of those inflicted by Thy wrath, nor of those gone astray (1:7).

Sura Al-Qadr

(١) إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ

Surely, We sent it (the Qur’an) down on the Night of Ordainment. (97:1).

(٢) وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ

And what will make you know what the Night of Ordainment is? (97:2).

(٣) لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ

The Night of Ordainment is better than a thousand months. (97:3).

(٤) تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِّنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ

The Angels and the Spirit descend therein by their Lord’s leave for every affair. (97:4).

(٥) سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ

Peace! It is until the rising of the dawn. (97:5).

With the second Sura recited in the first rak’at, raise both hands up to the ears and say, ‘Allahu Akbar’, (i.e., Allah is the Greatest) and get into ‘Ruku’ (bowing) and recite thrice. ‘Subhana Rabbi al-Azeem wa behamdeh’ (Holy is my Cherisher Lord the Greatest with His Glory)

Then stand erect saying: ‘Sami’ Allahu liman hameda’ Heareth God, whosoever declareth His Glory.

Then say, ‘Allahu Akbar’, (i.e., Allah is the Greatest), and fall down in prostration and placing the forehead on the ground, say, thrice: ‘Subhana Rabbi al-A’ala wa Behamdeh’ (Holy is my Cherisher Lord, the Highest with His Glory).

Then say, ‘Rabbi Salli ala Muhammadin wa Aale Muhammad’, (i.e., O’ My Lord, bestow peace upon Muhammad and His (chosen) descendants). Then rise and sit erect from the first sajda or prostration, saying, ‘Allahu Akbar’, (i.e., Allah is the Greatest). While sitting and before going into the second sajda say: ‘Astaghfiru Allah Rabbi wa atoobo illaih,’ (i.e., I seek protection of my Cherisher Lord and I turn unto Him).

Then go into the second sajda and then recite the same, what was recited in the first sajda must be recited again, (i.e., repeating it thrice).

Then again repeat the ‘Salawat’, i.e., ‘Rabbi Salli ala Muhammadin wa aale Muhmmad’ and saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ rise, and sit erect and then stand erect again saying: ‘Behaulillahi ta’ala wa Quwwatihi aqoom wa aq’ud’, (i.e., with the strength bestowed upon me) of God the Highest, do I stand and sit. This marks the completion of the first Rak’at of the prayer.

The Second Rak’at: Stand erect for a second time and this is the second Rak’at. As in the first Rak’at, recite the Sura or the Chapter of Hamd or Fatiha and then recite the Sura al-Ikhlas or the Chapter of the ‘Divine’ Purity.

Sura Al-Ikhlas

(١) قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

“Say: He, Allah, is One” (112:1).

(٢) اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ

“Allah is He on Whom all depend” (112:2).

(٣) لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

“He begets not, nor is He begotten” (112:3).

(٤) وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

“And none is like Him” (112:4).

It is commended to the reciter is of this Sura, that he at the end of it may say thrice: ‘Kazaalika Allahu Rabbi’ So my Cherisher Lord.

When the above second Sura in the second Rak’at is completely recited, raise both hands saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ hold them before your face with both palms fully opened horizontal to his face pointing to heaven and recite the ‘Qunoot’ Prayer).

Qunoot

Rabbana ghfirili – ‘O’ Lord Forgive me.

Wa-le-waaladayya - And my parents.

Wa-lil-Mu’minina-wal-Mu’minaat Al-Muslimeena-wa-Muslimat - And all the faithful men and all the faithful women, and all the Muslim men and Muslim women.

Al-ahya al-minhum-walamwaat - The living ones of them and those dead.

Tabe-bainana-wa-bainahom-bil-Khairat - Establish between us and between them virtues.

Ya-Waliyal-Hassanath - ‘O’ Lover of good deeds.

Innaka-Mujeebud-Da’awaat - Verily, Thou art the respondent to all prayers.

Wa-innaka-alaa-kulle-Shiyyin-Qadeer - And verily thou art upon all things powerful.

OR

Rabbana ghfir lana - O’ Our Lord, Forgive us.

War-hamma - Be merciful unto us.

Wa-Aafena - And save us.

Wa-fu-anna - And pass over our sins.

Fid-dunya wal-aakhira - In this world and the hereafter.

Innaka alaa kulle shiyyin Qadeer - Verily Thou art upon all things powerful.

Any one of the two or both of the above prayers may be recited.

At the end of the above prayer, say, (Allahumma Salli alaa Muhammadin wa aale Muhammad) (O’ Lord may Thy peace be upon Muhammad and his chosen descendants).

Then say ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is the Greatest) raise both your hands up to your ears and get into ‘Ruku’ (or bowing) as you did in the first Rak’at and recite the same.

‘Subhana Rabbi al-Aala wa Behamdeh (thrice) and say ‘Rabbi Salli alaa Muhammadin wa aale Muhammad’ and sit erect saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ while sitting, say, ‘Astaghfiru Allah Rabbi wa atubo ilaih’ or (I seek protection of My Cherisher Lord and I turn unto Him) and go into the Sajda again and recite the same verse as you did in the previous Sajda, i.e., ‘Subhana Rabbi al-Aalawa Behamdeh’ thrice, then say ‘Rabbi Salli alaa Muhammadin wa Aale Muhammad’, and saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ then rise to sit erect and recite the following prayer, ‘Tasha’hhud.’

‘Tashahhud’ - Bearing Witness

Alhamdulillah - All praise is God’s.

Ash-hadu al la ilaha illa Allah - I bear witness that there is no god but God.

Wah a dahu - He is one (the only One).

La-Shareka-lahu - There is no partner or equal to Him.

Wa ashadu-anna Muhammadan-Abdoho-wa-Rashooloho - And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle.

Allahumma-Salli-alaa Muhaammadin wa aale Muhammad - O’ Lord! May Thy peace be on Muhammad and His (Chosen descendants).

The above prayer ‘Tashah’hud’ must be read sitting after the two sajdas at the end of every second Rak’at.

Concluding Prayer

When the last Rak’at of a prayer is completed, for instance, if it be a morning prayer at the end of the second Rak’at, as explained above, in continuation of ‘Tashah’hud’ should be recited the ‘Salam’ or the Salutation, with which concludes a prayer.

The ‘Salam’ Or The Salutation

Assalamu alika ayyuhan-Nabi wa Rahmat-ullahi-wa-barakatuh - Peace be on thee O’ Apostle and His blessings.

Assalamu alina wa ala ibadillahis-saleheen - Peace be on us and on all righteous servants of God.

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi-wa-Barakatuh - Peace be on all of you and His blessings.

and say thrice raising both hands up to the ears: Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar.

The Third or Fourth Rak’at: If the prayer be of ‘‘Maghrib,’ i.e., Evening Prayer, after completing the second Rak’at, recite only the ‘Tashah’hud’ without the Salam or the Salutation (for with the ‘Salam’ or the recitation of the Salutation, the prayer gets concluded). Get up and stand erect as it was done after concluding the first Rak’at saying ‘Behaulillahi-ta’alaa wa-Quwwatihi Aqoomu wa-aq’ud’ and now this being the third Rak’at stand erect as it was done in the previous Rak’ats and recite only the Sura al-Hamd, (i.e., Sura al-Fatiha the opening Chapter). After concluding the Sura say ‘Allahu Akbar’ as it was done in the previous rak’ats and bow down in ‘Ruku’ (i.e., the bowing) and recite thrice ‘Subhana Rabbi al-Azeeme wa Behamdeh’ and saying ‘Sami’Allahu-leman-hamidah’ rise and stand erect and say, ‘Allahu Akbar’, and then fall down in sajda (the prostration) as it was done previously and after doing the two sajdas or the prostrations and sit erect, and recite the ‘Tashah’hud’ and this being the Maghrib prayer, which is a prayer of three Rak’ats, conclude it with Tashah’hud and Salam or the salutation, and say ‘Allahu Akbar’ thrice. The three Rak’at Maghrib prayer is complete and is concluded.

The Fourth Rak’at: If the prayer be of Zuhr or the Asr or of Isha, after completing the third rak’at, do not recite the ‘Tashah’hud’ and ‘Salam’ but get up saying ‘Behaulillahi-ta’ala wa quwwatihi aqoomu wa aq’ud’ and stand erect and recite only the Sura al-Fatiha, i.e., the Sura al-Hamd and then say ‘Allahu Akbar’, and bow down in Ruku, recite thrice ‘Subhana- Rabbiyal-Azeem-wa-Behamdeh’ and stand erect saying ‘Sami Allahu-leman-hameda’ while standing erect say ‘Allahu Akbar’. Then fall down in ‘sajda’ or the prostration and recite thrice ‘Subhana Rabbi al-A’la wa behamdeh’ and say, ‘Rabbi Salli-alaa Muhammadin-wa-aale-Muhammad’ and sitting erect say ‘Astaghfiru Allah Rabbi wa-atoob ilaih.’ Repeat the sajda and sitting erect after the second sajda recite the ‘Tashah’hud’ and ‘Salam’ and say thrice ‘Allahu Akbar’ the prayer is concluded4.5

Appearance At Prayer

The Command of the Lord is: “Adopt decency even in appearance at every prayer”

A Muslim man or woman has to dress fully cleanly and respectfully when he engages in prayer.

One must appear at prayer as one would do before the Lord and stand fully disciplined. Dressing shabbily and inattentive and undisciplined appearance, mars the value and worth and the merit of the prayer.

Doubts During Prayers

What to do if any Doubts occur during the Prayers about the number of (Rak’ats) units, offered

Sawm Or Roza - The Compulsory Fasting

The Prescribed Fast

A Muslim has to compulsorily fast during the whole of the month of the holy month of Ramazan:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“‘O’ ye who believe! Fasting has been ordained unto you as it was ordained unto those before you so that ye guard yourself (against evil)” (2:183).

As about the other practices of the faith, Islam prescribes all the details about the fast, as to when to fast, how to fast and when not too fast and when to make up the defaulted fasts and how if one cannot fast at all owing to reasons of health, the compensation for it. The following verse of the Holy Qur’an gives only the basics or the fundamentals of the Islamic fast:

أَيَّامًا مَعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْكُمْ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَنْ تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ وَأَنْ تَصُومُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“For a fixed number of days, but whoso among you is sick or on a journey then (he shall fast) that number of days; and those who are hardly able to do it, may effect a redemption by feeding a poor man, and (even so) whoso of his own accord performeth a good deed, it is better for him; and that ye fast is better for you if ye know” (2:184).

The following verse gives out the name of the month in which one should fast, the sanctity of the month and the concession allowed for those in journey and the sick, and the making up of the number of the defaulted fasts and how man should be grateful to the Lord for the right guidance received from Him:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

“The month of Ramadhan that in which was sent down the Qur’an a Guidance for mankind and Clear Evidence of guidance and Discrimination (for the Right and the Wrong); So whosoever of you witnesseth the month, he shall fast therein; and whosoever is ill or on a journey (he shall fast) the same number of other days; God desireth ease for you and He desireth not for you hardship that ye shall complete the (prescribed) number (of days) and that ye may glorify God for His guiding you and that ye may be thankful (to Him)” (2:185).

The following verse gives the sanction of conjugal enjoyment of the night time during the fasting month and the time of the duration of eating and drinking and to abstain from the conjugal enjoyment while keeping to the mosques:

أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَائِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَقْرَبُوهَا كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

“It is made lawful unto you on the nights of the fast to go in unto your wives; they are an apparel for you and ye are apparel for them; God knoweth that ye yourselves held it fraudulent so He hath turned (in mercy) towards you and forgiven you. Wherefor go in unto them and seek what God hath prescribed for you and eat and drink until the white streak (of dawn) becometh manifest unto you from the black streak (of night) thereafter complete the fast until night and associate not with them while ye are confined in the mosques. These are the bounds prescribed by God, therefore draw not (yourselves) near them; Thus, doth God make clear His signs unto mankind so that they may guard themselves (against evil)” (2:187). 6

‘Hajj’ - The Pilgrimage To The Holy Mosque Ka’ba In Mecca

It is incumbent on every Muslim who has the necessary means to do it, to visit on Pilgrimage the Holy Mosque the Ka’ba in Mecca once in his life. The carrying out of this ordinance is subject to the condition that the individual has the means to do it. The main conditions are:7

The individual must be a major and not a minor.

He must have the means to meet the expense of the journey, without detriment to his ability to continue his business or the means of his living.

The health of the individual should permit the journey.

There should be no risk of life in the journey.

The essential formality of Hajj is the Ihram, i.e., the male should remove his stitched clothes and get himself wrapped with two pieces of unstitched, clean cloth, one covering his body from his neck to his loins and another from his waist to bi ‘l-feet. A female should wrap these two pieces over and above her usual clothes.

The Ihram cloth should have been lawfully acquired and it should not be silken or transparent.

The moment the individual puts on the Ihram, i.e., the garb’ of a Pilgrim, (i.e., a Hajj), he becomes responding exclusively to the call of the Lord which was issued to mankind through the great Prophet Abraham:

وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَنْ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ

“And (remember O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) when We fixed for Abraham the place for the House, (saying): ‘Associate thou not with Me aught and cleanse My House for those who make the circuits and stand in prayer and bow and prostrate themselves (unto Me)” (22:26).

وَأَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ

“And proclaim thou unto the people the Pilgrimage (Hajj)! They will come unto thee on foot and on lean camel, coming from every remote (high) way!” (22:27)

.

Putting on the Ihram. the pilgrim in response to the call of the Lord issued through Abraham, calls:

‘Labbaik, Allahumma Labbaik!’ - Yes, here I am O’ Lord, here I am.

‘La Sharika laka Labbaik’ - There is no partner for thee. Yes, here I am.

‘Inna al-Hamdu, wa an-Ne’mata laka’ Verily, the Praise and the bounties are Thine.

‘Wal Mulk. la ka Labbaik’ And the Dominion is Thine. Yes, I am here, O Lord!

It is worth noting that the call of the Lord to mankind, issued through Abraham thousands of years ago has been made to ring and resound into the ears of men through Islam and today the Holy House of the Lord, the Ka’ba, is visited regularly and punctually every year on the fixed dates in the month of Zilhaj (the twelfth or the last month) of the Islamic Calendar year.

After putting on the Ihram, the Hajj or the pilgrim to do the following:

‘Tawaf’, i.e., circumambulation, i.e., going seven times round the Ka’ba.

After the ‘Tawaf’ is completed, a prayer (Namaz) of two Rak’ats like that of the morning prayers must be performed.

After the prayer the pilgrim has to cut the nails.

These formalities are performed immediately as the pilgrim arrives in the city of Mecca for the pilgrimage and this is called Umrah, and the cutting of the nails is called ‘Taqseer’. This could be performed from the first of the lunar month Shawwal to the 8th of Zilhaj.

On the 8th Zilhaj the pilgrim should put on the Ihram.

On the 9th Zilhaj the pilgrim should go to the plain of Arafat and stay there until sunset.

After the sunset the pilgrim should proceed to the place called Mash’ar and stay there at night.

On the morning of 10th Zilhaj the pilgrim should go to the plain of Mina, offer sacrifice and effect the ‘Taqseer’ (shaving his head clean).

After this the pilgrim should put off the Ihram but must remain in Mina for two or three nights.

During the day the pilgrim goes to Mecca to perform ‘Tawaf’ and offer two Rak’at prayer.

After completing the ‘Tawaf’ the pilgrim should perform the Sai between the two hillocks Safa and Marina.

After completing the Sai the pilgrim should conclude the performance by repeating the ‘Tawaf’ called the ‘Tawaf al-Nisa.’

Caution: Be it known - the above note about the performance of Hajj, is only a bare skeleton just to give an idea of pilgrimage in Shi’ism - For the exact details one should refer to ‘Fiqh’.

This completes the pilgrimage, and the Hajj now returns to Mecca.

After the Hajj the pilgrim proceeds to Madina to visit the shrine of the Holy Prophet and the graves of the Four Holy Imams in the Cemetery ‘Jannahul-Baqi’ viz.

The Second Holy Imam Al-Hasan Ibn Ali Al-Mujtaba.

The Fourth Holy Imam Ali Ibn al- Husayn Az-Zainulabideen.

The Fifth Holy Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Baqir.

The Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq.

The Mausoleums over graves of the above Holy ones have been demolished and the pilgrims are not allowed by the Saudi Rule to offer any prayers like Fatiha or the recitation of any salutation to the Holy Souls. Every sincere Muslim loyal to the Holy family of the Holy Prophet the Ahl Al-Bayt particularly the Shi’as, feel for the ruined condition of the holy graves and the unwarranted and unreasonable ban on the recitation of either the Holy Qur’an or offering any salutation to the Holy souls, and earnestly prays to God for the restoration of the freedom to offer the Salutation etc., on the Holy shrines as it was before, and for the removal of the unislamic ban.

A Few Of The Qur’anic Verses On Hajj

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِلْعَالَمِينَ

“Verily, the First House made for mankind is the one at Mecca, Blessed and a Guidance for the worlds” (3:96).

فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ

“In it are clear signs; the standing place of Abraham; and whoever entereth it is secure; and (purely) for God, is incumbent upon mankind, the pilgrimage to the House, for those who can afford to journey thither; And whosoever denieth then Verily, God is Self-sufficiently independent of the worlds” (3:96).

The Time For The Pilgrimage And The Discipline Therein

الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَعْلُومَاتٌ فَمَنْ فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ الْحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُ وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

“Hajj is the months well-known, whosoever then undertaketh the pilgrimage therein, then let there be no intercourse, nor bad language, nor quarrelling during the pilgrimage; and whatever of good ye do, God knoweth it; so make provision (for your journey) and verily the best provision is piety; and fear Me O ye people of understanding” (2:197).

لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَبْتَغُوا فَضْلًا مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُمْ مِنْ عَرَفَاتٍ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِنْدَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الضَّالِّينَ

“It shall be no guilt on your part if ye seek bounty from your Lord (in trade during pilgrimage); then when ye march from Arafat remember God near the Holy Monument, and remember Him as He hath guided you, although ye were surely before this, of those who had gone astray” (2:198).

ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

“Then march ye on from whence the other people march on and seek pardon of God; verily God is Forgiving, Merciful” (2:199).

فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمْ مَنَاسِكَكُمْ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ آبَاءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ

“And when ye have performed your rites, remember God as ye remember your fathers, rather with a more intense remembrance; for of men there are those who say, ‘Our Lord! give us in this world’ and for him there shall be no portion in the Hereafter” (2:200).

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

“And among them there are some who say Our Lord! give us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the (Hell) Fire” (2:201).

أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

“These shall have a portion of what they have earned; verily, God is quick in reckoning” (2:202).

وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَنْ تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَنْ تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ لِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ

“And remember ye God on the numbered days; and whosoever hasteneth off in two days it will be no sin on him, and whoso tarrieth (there), on him (also) there will be no sin, and this is for him who guardeth (against evil) so take ye shelter in God and know ye (that) unto Hint ye shall (all) be gathered” (2:203).

Disciplinary Restrictions Of Amnesty During The Hajj Period

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقْتُلُوا الصَّيْدَ وَأَنْتُمْ حُرُمٌ وَمَنْ قَتَلَهُ مِنْكُمْ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاءٌ مِثْلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ النَّعَمِ يَحْكُمُ بِهِ ذَوَا عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ هَدْيًا بَالِغَ الْكَعْبَةِ أَوْ كَفَّارَةٌ طَعَامُ مَسَاكِينَ أَوْ عَدْلُ ذَٰلِكَ صِيَامًا لِيَذُوقَ وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِ عَفَا اللَّهُ عَمَّا سَلَفَ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَيَنْتَقِمُ اللَّهُ مِنْهُ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انْتِقَامٍ

“O’ ye who believe! kill ye not (any) game while ye are in the pilgrim garb; and whoever among you killeth it intentionally, the compensation (of it) is the like of what he killed from the cattle, as adjudged by two just men from among you, as an offering to be brought to the Ka’ba or the expiation (of it) is the feeding of the poor or the equivalent of it in fasting, that he may taste the heinousness of his deed; God hath pardoned what is gone by; and whoever returneth (to ‘ it); then will God exact penalty from him, and God is Mighty, Lord of Retribution” (5:95).

The Lawful Game During The Pilgrimage

أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُ مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَرِّ مَا دُمْتُمْ حُرُمًا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ

“Allowed unto you is the game of the sea and eating thereof a provision for you and for the travellers; and forbidden unto you is the game of the land so* long as ye arc in the pilgrim garb; and fear ye God unto Whom ye shall be gathered” (5:96)

The Sanctity Of The Holy Ka’ba And The Month And The Offerings

جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيَامًا لِلنَّاسِ وَالشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ وَالْهَدْيَ وَالْقَلَائِدَ ذَٰلِكَ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

“God hath made the Ka’ba, the Sacred House, a Sanctuary (Place of stay in peace) for mankind, and the Sacred Month and the Offerings and the (animals with the) garlands; this is that ye may know that God knoweth whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and that God is the Knower of all things” (5:97). 8

The Disciplinary Conduct To Be Followed During The Pilgrimage

In the case of Ihram for Hajj, the repetition of the Talbiah should stop at noon on the day of Arafa. The Hajj during Ihram should abstain from the following9:

Hunting or helping and hunting in any form and utilising a hunted animal.

Ill sexual enjoyments., even witnessing a marriage contract.

Any deliberate action causing discharge of sperm.

Use of any incense or perfume.

Any kind of mischief or uttering a lie, or falsehood.

Any kind of dispute or quarrel, particularly it is associated with any kind of swearing by God.

Killing even any insect on the body.

Removal of hair on the body, by any means.

Covering the head and the top of the foot. The head should not be even submerged in the water.

Sheltering under moving shelters, like umbrellas, hooded cars or carts or aeroplanes. No harm in remaining

stationary shelters like rooms etc.

Cutting of nails, trees, plants, and herbs.

Use of toilets, decorations, and ornaments.

Wearing of arms, unless necessary.

Rubbing or scratching the body. (RF.)

After Entering Mecca, One Should Not Leave It Before Hajj Is Over.

Wear the Ihram after one of the daily compulsory prayers.

Recite Talbiah when wearing the Ihram.

Take out Ihram when the Omrah is over, but no shaving to be done.

Remove hair before wearing Ihram.

Take the Gusle Ihram and Wozu for Namaz.

After completing the Sai of Omrah cut hair and nails

There are two Tawafs:

For Umrah.

In Zilhaj.

At Mina on 10th.

Stone the three Satans.

Shave head and offer the sacrifice.

After giving the sacrifice come out of Ihram.

On the 11th and 12th also perform the other rites and stoning at Mina.

‘Zakat’ Or The Prescribed Poor-Rate

Let the world embrace Islam and faithfully follow the Qur’anic system of the distribution of wealth, communism of which the capitalist powers, are mortally afraid of, will automatically disappear. Islam in its system of Zakat and Khums, has rendered a death blow to the accumulation of wealth with any particular individual, making it automatically and most healthily shared among the members of the human family. The rank of the ordinance about the payment of ‘Zakat’ or the Poor-rate among the doctrines of Islam is immediately after the prescribed prayer. The disbursement of the Zakat has been repeatedly stressed upon, in many verses. Only a very few are given below:

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ

“Establish ye the prayer and give ye away the poor-rate and bow ye down (while ye bow down praying)” (2:43).

لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ

“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards the East and the West, righteousness is rather one who believeth in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Book, the apostles, and giveth his wealth out of love for Him to the kindred and the orphans and the poor and the wayfarer and the needy and for those in bondage; And establish prayer and payeth the poor-rate; Ind those who fulfil their promise when they make a promise and the patient ones in distress and affliction and in the time of war these are they who are the Truthful and these are they who are the pious” (2:177).

The two verses of the very second chapter of the Holy Qur’an are sufficient to make one understand the position of the payment of the prescribed poor-rate in Islam, besides the other charitable disbursement of one’s wealth, left to the individual option to earn the pleasure of the All-Merciful Lord.

For the details about the rate of the payment in the various possessions of wealth viz., grains, cattle, gold and silver and the other assets, refer to Fiqh.

‘Khums’ - The 1/5th Rate Of The Annual Tax On The Nett Profit

Khums is an annual tax besides the Zakat. The rate of Khums is one-fifth or the 20 per cent, of the nett income or profit, i.e., the amount which stands to the credit of the individual after meeting all necessary expenses, i.e., the Nett Income or the Nett Profit.

‘Khums’ has to be divided into six equal parts. The first three parts to be earmarked for God, the Holy Prophet, and the Holy Imam of the age. The legal recipient of this amount is the Imam of the age and since the Imam of the present age, is by the divine will, hidden, the amount should be paid to the Mujtahid who alone holds the power delegated to him by the decree of the Holy Imam of the age to utilise this amount for the welfare of the Muslim World at large as he deems desirable under the ordinance of the Holy Imam. The other three parts should be spent only on Sayyids, i.e., the issues of the Holy Prophet.

The following is the verse of the Holy Qur’an which makes it incumbent on every Muslim to pay the Khums:

وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ آمَنْتُمْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا يَوْمَ الْفُرْقَانِ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“And know ye (O’ believers) that whatever of a thing ye acquire a fifth of it is for God, and for the Apostle and for the (Apostle’s) near relatives and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if ye believe in God and that which We sent down unto Our servant (Muhammad), on the day of distinction, on the day when met the two parties; And verily God hath power over all things” (8:41).

The Following is Another Verse Enjoining Khums:

مَا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَىٰ فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ

“Whatever hath God bestowed on His Apostle from the people of the towns, belongeth unto God, and for the Apostle, and for his (Prophet’s) kindred, and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, so that it may not circulate among the rich ones of you, and whatever giveth you the Apostle, ye accept it, and from whatever preventeth he, ye be away, and fear ye (the wrath of) God; Verily, God is severe in retribution” (59:7).

The concluding words of the verse are a clear warning against whatever is sanctioned by the Holy Prophet. A Muslim being the one who has submitted himself to God, has only to implicitly obey the command of the Holy Prophet, which is nothing but the command of God, and should not interfere into it, using his own discretion. The Shi’a Muslims who are the followers of the Islam-Original, as prescribed by the Holy Qur’an and preached and practiced by the Holy Prophet and his Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, follow the law of disbursing the Khums as it was enforced by the Holy Prophet himself during his lifetime. Whereas the Non-Shi’as have deviated from the original, disputing among themselves about the validity of the command of the Holy Prophet giving preference to their own view on the matter.

Khums is the fifth Compulsory article of the practice of the faith Islam-Original, i.e., Shi’ism.10

‘Jihad’ - The Strive Or The Fight In The Way Of God

Jihad literally means Strive and as striving can be of various kinds and in different ways, it includes also fighting when it becomes the only alternative to defend the faith and the faithful. Jihad can be:

Jihad bi ‘l-Nafs - Fight with one’s own rebellious self which is the greatest Jihad called the ‘Jihad al-Akbar11.

Jihad bi ‘l-Maal12 - Endeavour with one’s wealth, i.e., spending or sacrificing one’s own wealth in the way of the Lord.

Jihad bi ‘l-Ilm - Fight with knowledge, i.e., Spreading knowledge to the benefit of those who need it, without any strings of any worldly gain or fame in return for the services.

Jihad bi ‘l-Saif13- Fight with sword, when it becomes unavoidable to defend the truth, Islam, or the truthful, the Muslims. This kind of Jihad is allowed only at the command of the Holy Prophet or the Holy Imam, i.e., his apostolic successor and in the absence of the Holy Imam the Muslims can fight only when it becomes unavoidably necessary to defend their faith or their lives and this kind of defence is called ‘Difa’ or the Self-Defence.

Jihad should be exclusively in the way of the Lord and never for any territorial ambition. The wars that were fought by the Muslim kings had no sanction of the Qur’an or the Holy Prophet or any of the Holy Imams. They were to satisfy the monarchical territorial ambitions which are abhorred by Islam. The following verse declares what the object of the Islamic Jihad should be:

وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِي هَٰذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ

“And fight (endeavour) ye in (the may of) God as it behoveth you to fight (endeavour) for Him; He hath chosen you and hath laid not upon you any hardship in religion; The faith of your Father Abraham; He (God Himself) named you Muslims before and in this, that the Apostle may be a witness over you and ye be witness over the people; So establish ye prayer and pay ye the poor-rate and hold ye fast by God; He is your Master - How Excellent the Master and How Excellent the Helper!” (22:78).

The Qur’anic injunction about the ‘Jihad bi ‘l-Maal’ (Fight or striving in the way of God with wealth) and Jihad bi ‘l-Nafs (i.e., Jihad with Self):

انْفِرُوا خِفَافًا وَثِقَالًا وَجَاهِدُوا بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“Go ye forth (with) light and heavy equipment and strive in the way of God with your property and yourselves this is better for you, if ye know (it)” (9:41).

The following verse clearly declared that the fight in the way of the Lord is that which is enforced only at God’s command irrespective of the like or the dislike of any individual, and that could be for nothing but the safety of the faith and the faithful:

كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“Fighting (in the cause of God), is ordained unto you and it is hateful to you, and perchance ye hate a thing whereas it is good for you, and perchance ye love a thing whereas it is bad for you; and verily God knoweth while ye know not” (2:216).

The following verse declares the reason for fighting being prescribed by God. It is clear that it was to defend the interest of the aggressed ones who were the victims of unprovoked aggression:

وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيرًا

“And what hath happened to you that ye fight not in the way of God and for the weak among men, women, and children who (in helplessness) say ‘O’ Our Lord! take us out of this town whose inhabitants are tyrants and appoint for us from Thee a guardian and appoint for us from Thee a helper” (4:75).

The following verse declares the reward for those who are slain or come out triumphant fighting in the way of God:

فَلْيُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يَشْرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ وَمَنْ يُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيُقْتَلْ أَوْ يَغْلِبْ فَسَوْفَ نُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

“Let those then fight in the way of God, who sell the life of this world for the hereafter; and to him who fighteth in the way of God, be he slain or (be he) victorious. We shall grant him a great recompense” (4:74).

There are similar other verses which explain the need for the fight prescribed by God14.

‘Amr bi ‘l-Ma’roof’ - Enjoining Of Good

Under this ordinance of the faith, it is compulsory for every Muslim to be good, to do good and to enjoin his other brethren to do the same.

Here every Muslim should remember the following Qur’anic question:

ا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ

“Why do ye speak of a thing which ye yourselves do it not?” (61:2).

The famous saying is also worth remembering ‘Reformer Reform Thyself First.’

The following verse clearly declares this ordinance and its proper implication:

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ مِنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

“Ye are the best group that hath been brought forth for mankind: Ye enjoin goodness and ye forbid evil, and ye believe in God; And if the people of the Book had (also) believed (similarly) it had surely been better for them; of them (only some) are believers and most of them are perverse” (3:110).

It must be remembered that the ‘Ummat al-Khair’ mentioned in this verse does not refer to the ordinary Muslims but to the Holy Prophet and his Holy Ahl Al-Bayt who were goodness personified without the least pollution whatsoever. They were the ones who were purified by God Himself15.

But whatever good service assigned to these godly ones, gets automatically incumbent upon their followers to act, to get as near as possible to their models.

The following verse repeats the same ordinance making it incumbent upon every Muslim:

وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and these it is that shall be successful” (3:104).

Here again it must be remembered that those who invite to goodness must themselves be good and who else other than the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt who were purified by God Himself, can claim to be all-good, and he who preaches abstinence from evil should himself be free from it. Who else other than the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt can claim to be absolutely free from every evil for it was they that God had willed to be kept away from every evil16. But as they were sent into the world to be the models of the perfect Islamic life, every Muslim has to copy them in every goodness.

The Holy Qur’an has laid down the rule or the method of inviting mankind to goodness, and this was the method used by the Holy Prophet and Holy Ahl Al-Bayt and which every Muslim also should follow:

ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

“And call thou unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and kindly exhortation and dispute with them in the manner which is the best; verily thy Lord knoweth better of him who hath gone astray from His path; and He knoweth best of those guided aright” (16:125). 17

‘Nahy An il-Munkar’ - Avoiding The Forbidden or The Prevention of Evil

This ordinance of abstaining from evil and preaching to others to do the same goes along with the previous one which is connected with being good and preaching to others to do the same. The same principle or rule which applies to the former, is applicable here, i.e., a Muslim has to keep himself away from every evil and wickedness before he preaches to the others the abstinence from it.

It is obligatory on every Muslim to abstain from every evil in word and action and to avoid evil society.

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ

“Adopt thou moderation and enjoin virtue and turn thou away front the ignorant ones” (7:199).

الَّذِينَ إِنْ مَكَّنَّاهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَمَرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ

“Those, if We establish them in the earth, will establish prayer and pay the poor-rate and enjoin good and forbid evil: and unto God (alone) is the sequel of (all) affairs” (22:41).

The following verse gives out Luqman’s advice to his son:

يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ

“‘O’ my son! establish prayer and enjoin the good and forbid the evil and be patient against what befalleth thee: verily this is the task of steadfastness” (31:17).

In short, the spirit of every teaching of the Holy Qur’an, is to abide by the truth and goodness and to shun evil and to enjoin upon the other to do the same18.

Tawallah - Attachment Or Love Of The Good

Whatever be the heredity, environment always plays its own effective role in moulding man’s character and conduct and in fixing the track of his ideology and its practice. More often, man is the product of his immediate environment. A human child, brought up in good and healthy environment has almost always been good and healthy and likewise the child brought up in evil and wicked society, becomes evil and wicked. It is with this natural phenomenon in view, God ordered the Holy Prophet to command his followers, the Muslims, to love his nearest kin, as the recompense for the labours of his apostleship, so that the Muslims, bound in duty, might love the relatives (the Ahl Al-Bayt) of the Holy Prophet and being attached to them, would remain on the right path:

ذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يُبَشِّرُ اللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ

“That is of which giveth God the glad tidings unto His servants who believe and do good deeds; Say thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!); ‘I demand not of you any recompense for it’ (the toils of the apostleship) save the love of (my) relatives, and whosoever earneth good, We increase for him good therein, verily God is Oft Forgiving the Most Grateful (One)” (42:23).

Under the above command of God, it is incumbent on every true Muslim to love the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, otherwise he has not paid the return for the guidance of God he received through the Holy Prophet.

Who Were The Holy Ahl Al-Bayt

The Holy Prophet had repeatedly pointed out as to who his Ahl Al-Bayt are. Repeatedly did the Holy Prophet mysteriously collect:

his Vicegerent Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

his daughter Fatimah Zahra

his first grandson Hasan and

his second grandson Husayn

And prayed to God saying ‘O’ Lord! These are my Ahl Al-Bayt’.

And once when, on such an occasion the Holy Prophet’s wife Umm-Salema desired to join the group of the holy ones, the Holy Prophet told her that, that was not the place for her though she was, on the right path and once when on a similar occasion his wife Ayesha similarly desired, she was denied the unique privilege. Umm al-Mu’minin Ayesha herself reports the event.

Again, when the Holy Prophet had invited the Christians of Najran who were not amenable to reasoning, to a spiritual contest, to prove the truthfulness of Islam against Christianity under the following command from God:

فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ

“And unto him who disputeth with thee therein after the knowledge hath come unto thee, Say! (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) (Unto them) ‘Come ye, let us summon our sons, and (ye summon) your sons, and (we summon) our women and (ye) your women, and (me summon) our selves and (ye) your selves and then let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the liars!” (3:61).

It is the unanimous report of all historians that on that memorable occasion of proving the truthfulness of Islam against the contesting Christian world, the Holy Prophet appeared in the field with Husayn who was then only a baby, in his lap, Hasan held by his hand, followed by his daughter Fatimah the Lady of Light and behind her, her husband Ali Ibn Abi Talib the Vicegerent of the Holy Prophet. Standing in the open field with the multitude of the Muslims and the Christians surrounding him, turning his face towards heaven declared:

“Lord! these are my Ahl Al-Bayt”

Why The Love Of The Ahl Al-Bayt Made Incumbent

The Ahl Al-Bayt are the beings purified by God Himself and those purified by the Lord are naturally infallible ones (i.e., the Masoom), who never committed even a minor sin or fault in their life. God Himself declares for the information and the guidance of mankind that He has Himself purified them to the limits of purity:

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا

“Verily, verily God intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleanness O’ ye the people of the House and purify you (with) a thorough purification” (33:33).

The Ahl Al-Bayt are the godly ones of the family of the Holy Prophet whom the Muslim World as a whole unanimously acknowledges as the pure personalities and holds them as the infallible holy ones purified by God Himself. In their love of the divinely purified ones, the devotees, will naturally be inclined to purity and their self-purification.

Tabarra - Keeping Aloof Or Being Clear Off

Hating evil and the wicked, is quite natural. Righteous parents advise their children to be away from the wicked ones? It is because the destructive effects of a bad society, is known to everyone. ‘Tabarra’ is to hate evil and to keep aloof from the evil ones. Tabarra never means abusing or using of any vulgar or offensive terms against anyone, but only the expression of one’s hatred of the evil character and the wicked conduct, by invoking God’s curse on the tyrants among them.

Cursing the wicked ones, is a godly act, for God Himself curses them and declares that the angels and men also do it, which means that men, the true believers in God, should do the same.

Particularly about those who offend God and the Holy Prophet, God declares:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا

“Verily those who annoy God and His Apostle (Muhammad), God, hath cursed them in this world and the hereafter, and He hath prepared for them a chastisement disgraceful” (33:57).

Real Tabarra does not mean mere verbal declaration of the hatred against the wicked and invoking God’s curse on them, but it also demands to be away from those evils which entitled the wicked one to the hatred of men and the curse of God.

Cursing The Wicked - A Godly Act

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ

“Verily those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers, on them shall be the curse of God, and (of) the angels and (of) mankind all together” (2:161).

أُولَٰئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ أَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ لَعْنَةَ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ

“These, their return is that upon them shall rest the curse of God and the angels and of mankind together” (3:86).

وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا أُولَٰئِكَ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَقُولُ الْأَشْهَادُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا عَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ أَلَا لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ

“And who is more unjust than he who forgeth a lie against God? These shall be presented before their Lord and shall say the witnesses: “These are those who lied against their Lord: Beware! (Now) verily the curse of God is on the unjust” (11:18).

The fate of Those who Annoy the Holy Prophet.

وَمِنْهُمُ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ النَّبِيَّ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ أُذُنٌ قُلْ أُذُنُ خَيْرٍ لَكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَيُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“Among them are those who hurt the Apostle (Muhammad) and say they (that) ‘he is (all) - ear’ (i.e., one who believes in everything he hears); say he (Muhammad) is the Ear of good for you; he believeth in God and hath faith in the believers and a mercy unto those of you who believe, and those who hurt the Apostle of God (Muhammad) for them is a grievous chastisement” (9:61).

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّهُ مَنْ يُحَادِدِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَأَنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدًا فِيهَا ذَٰلِكَ الْخِزْيُ الْعَظِيمُ

“Know they not that whosoever opposeth God and His Apostle (Muhammad) verily for him is the fire of Hell to abide therein? that is the grievous abasement” (9:63).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا

“Verily those who annoy God and His Apostle (Muhammad), God hath cursed them in this world and the hereafter, and He hath prepared for them a chastisement disgraceful” (33:57).

Judge the position of those who annoyed Fatimah - about whom the Holy Prophet had declared:

“He who annoyed Fatimah, annoyed me and he who annoyed me, annoyed God and he who annoyed God hath turned an infidel”

1. For the exact details refer to ‘Fiqh’.

2. Refer to Fiqh.

3. Not as a part of the Iqamat See ‘Fiqh’.

4. Refer to ‘Fiqh’.

5. For details regarding the difference in the postures for male and female RF.

6. For details refer to ‘Fiqh’.

7. For exact details refer to ‘Fiqh’.

8. For details Refer to ‘Fiqh’.

9. For the exact details consult ‘Fiqh’.

10. For the exact details refer to ‘Fiqh”.

11. Vide 9:41.

12. Vide 9:41.

13. Vide 2:216; 2:244; 4:84; 22:78.

14. For details Refer to Fiqh.

15. Vide 33:33.

16. Vide 33:33.

17. Refer to ‘Fiqh’.

18. For details refer to Fiqh.

Brief Notes On Some Important Topics

1. Whole Humanity - One Family

There could be no greater effort to unite mankind into one single brotherhood, than making man believe that humanity as a whole, is one single family and all men and women are the children of one and the same parents.

انَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ وَأَنْزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ فَهَدَى اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِ وَاللَّهُ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“Mankind was but one people; and God sent apostles as bearers of good tidings and warners and sent doom with them the Book with the Truth that it might judge between men in that wherein they differed; and none differed therein; but those very (people) whom it was given unto, after clear signs had come unto them, through revolt among themselves; whereupon God guided those who believed, by His Will, regarding that which the people differed about the Truth and verily God guideth whomso He willeth to the Right Path” (2:213).

Besides this, there are the other verses declaring man and woman having been created of one single self. It can easily be imagined as to how far the belief in the truth about the unity of the human race, would go to sublimate the animal in man, to create in him the fellow feeling for the others of his kind and thus to establish the human brotherhood on earth. Unfortunately, even today the West, i.e., the Christian world, believes in the Colour Bar and in the East, i.e., our Hindu brethren observe the Caste Restrictions. Of the sacred scriptures of the religions of the world, the Holy Qur’an is the first and the only one to declare the unity of the human race and Islam is the only religion which lays the strongest stress on it.

2. The Mystery Of The Individual Differences And The Unity Of Purpose

Though man has been gifted with the provisions physical as well as mental, necessary for his life and progress, all men are not gifted in equal measure. Some are gifted with certain things and energies while the others are not given the same. It is a well-known fact that some excel the others in physical strength while the others have been gifted with mental powers, in extraordinary degrees. People differ even in their individual aptitudes and the degree of intelligence. Some are gifted writers, and some are orators, some are wonderful artists, and some are enchanting poets, some are inventive scientists and mathematical calculators, and some are powerful administrators.

It is an undeniable fact that all these distinguishing factors are the gifts of the Omnipotent Creator, and these are the intuitive mysteries endowed in the nature of man. The point underlying is quite obvious, that the members of the human family, had been destined to be dependent on each other, otherwise with the equal distribution of these natural gifts, man would never have been communicative with his fellow beings for none would have needed the help of the other and there could never have been any social life on earth. There would have been nothing but wars, not only between groups of men but also between each individual man and man.

Thus, in the unequal distribution of the native endowments, in the variety of the individual capacities and the aptitudes effecting the interdependence among the members of the human family, along with the infallible and fully controlled working of each component particle of the great organism of the universe, has been masterly vested the design of the establishment of the wonderful society of the human family on earth and its successful, harmonious, continuous, and amazing development.

Thus, man needs his other fellow men of variant faculties, knowledge, and experience for his life on earth. He also needs someone with special faculties, to inform him of the very mystery of his life and the correct way to his welfare in this life and in the hereafter (i.e., after death). None could fulfil this need save those informed by the Creator Himself, deputed by Him for the purpose, and they are the prophets or the apostles of God and the Imams (the Guides).

3. From God Alone Could Come Guidance

It is no secret to need any disclosure, nor is it a problem that needs any solution, but a fact known to every human being with common sense that man did not create himself. He was created by some Self-Existing Sovereign Power, an Omnipotent Independent Wilful Authority, and was brought into a world which was already there, with native endowments of a progressive nature. Man left to himself, could never have by himself, been able to guide himself. The ever-extending universe with the wonderful things and astonishing energies, functioning therein with perfect and unfailing harmony, by itself suggests the causative will to be Omnipotent and All-wise, and the functioning of the whole organism to be mysteriously purposeful.

The inter-dependence of each and every part constituting the universe and the perfect harmony between the functions of the various components, things, and energies, suggests a definite purpose behind the creation of each and every particle constituting the great organism and the creation of man with all the exclusively superior endowments and wonderful potentialities, could never reasonably be purposeless. The knowledge of the purpose of his creation with the knowledge of everything around him, is essential for man, without which he cannot live a purposeful life, adjusting himself in harmony with his environment, drawing the due benefit from his fellow’ creatures and profiting them in return. Hence man could get knowledge from his Creator Lord and from none else.

Referring to the purposefulness of the creation of the universe, the Holy Qur’an says:

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

“Those who remember God standing and sitting and reclining on their sides and think (seriously) in the creation of the heaven and the earth, saying ‘O’ Our Lord! Thou hast not created (all) this in vain! Glory be to Thee! Save us then from the torment of the (Hell) fire” (3:191).

4. All Man-Made Distinctions Annihilated

Islam and no other religion in the world, gave the most imperative halt to all man-made distinctions in the human society. All distinctions of caste, colour, community, and race, were, annihilated once for all, in one stroke of the declaration:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

“‘O’ ye people! Verily We have created you of a male and a female, and made you in nations and tribes, that ye may recognise each other; Verily the most honoured of you with God is the one of you who guardeth (himself) the most (against evil), verily God is All-Knowing, the All-Aware” (49:13).

The above declaration clearly says that the distribution of the human family into tribes and families, is only for identification and the actual distinction among the members of the human race, shall be based on the degree of the piety and the personal excellence in each individual man or woman.

5. The Sources Of Knowledge - And Man Specially Equipped

Man has been blessed with special powers, faculties, capacities, and the abilities which no other creature on earth owns. These extraordinary gifts of the special equipment’s of the progressive mental faculties, themselves suggest the purpose of the creation, to be extraordinary or especially progressive. Like the other animals, man also is given the eyes to see, the ears to hear, nose to smell and breathe, tongue to taste and speak, the skin all over the body with the sense of touch. Which are the doorways through which man acquires the knowledge, but only of the sensual world. In addition to these gifts, in common with the other animals, man has been exclusively gifted with the special equipment of intellect with an unlimited potentiality which none on earth has been granted.

This is to enable him to ponder over the mystery of life and work out in this life, his welfare or perdition, as he chooses, in the life hereafter. If man controls the other gifts of sensual nature with the great gift of conscience and reasoning, he succeeds, and if this great award, i.e., the conscience is allowed to be ruled by the degrading forces, he loses the game of life. In this lies the Test.

6. God Is The Nearest To Everything

Man is cautioned that God is nearest to man, nearer than his own Life-Vein:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

“And indeed, We created man, and know We whatever thoughts whispereth his self-unto him, and We are nearer to him than his (very) life-vein” (50:16).

7. Man Directed To Seek The Medium To Reach The Lord

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ

“‘O’ ye who believe! Fear ye God! and seek ye the medium of approach unto Him (God)” (5:35).

Who else can be the medium, save the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, the purified by the Lord Himself1.

8. No Compulsion In Faith

Since the truth has been clearly revealed against falsehood, through the Holy Qur’an, the Final Word of God, Islam has sounded an open warning against any compulsion in faith:

لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ ۖ قَدْ تَبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ ۚ فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“No compulsion be in religion; Indeed, truth has been made manifest distinct from error; therefore he who disbelieveth the rebels (false deities) and believeth in God, hath indeed laid hold on the strongest handle no break is for it; and verily Cod is All-Hearing, All-Knowing” (2:256).

9. Good And Evil Promised To Be Individually Rewarded And Punished

Islam charges every individual man and woman with one’s own personal responsibility to make his or her own way to heaven or hell, by being good and doing good or by being evil and doing evil in this life. The life on earth, has been announced to be the season for the cultivation of the life hereafter. As one would sow here, so shall he or she reap in the hereafter, (i.e., in the life after death). As the right way to the eternal bliss has been made clearly manifest, every human soul, has been warned through the following decree about what actually will take place on the Day of the Final Requital:

Chapter 99 of the Holy Qur’an:

يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصْدُرُ النَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًا لِيُرَوْا أَعْمَالَهُمْ

“On that day shall come out people (from their graves) in groups, to be shown their (own) deeds” (99:6).

فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ

“Then he who hath done an atom-weight of good shall see it” (99:7)

وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

“And he who hath done an atom-weight of evil shall see it” (99:8)

Any man or woman with common sense, can easily judge what a great encouragement it is for him or her, to be good and to do good, and what an alerting warning and caution it is, to shun evil and keep away from it.

10. No Physical Eye Can Ever See God

لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ

“Vision perceiveth Him not, and He perceiveth (all) vision; He is the Subtle, the All-Aware” (6:103).

Hence the belief in seeing God in His Person, at any time in this life or in the hereafter is an impossibility.

11. The Word Of The Holy Prophet Is Final

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا

“And it is not for a believer man or woman to have any choice in their affair when God and His Apostle have decided a matter; and whoever disobeyeth God and His Apostle, indeed he hath strayed off a manifest straying” (33:36).

12. Annoying Or Hurting The Holy Prophet

The following is the verdict of the Lord about those who annoy God by hurting the feelings of the Holy Prophet in any manner whatsoever, be that acting against His will or command or by hurting the Holy ones like the killing of the issues, the members of the Ahl Al-Bayt of the Holy Prophet, the Holy Imams, and their devotees:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا

“Surely those who hurt God and His apostle, God hath cursed them in this world and the hereafter and he hath prepared for them a Chastisement disgraceful” (33:57).

13. Importance Of The Choice Of The Leader

On the Day of Judgment, everyone will be called along with his ‘Imam’ or the leader whom he followed in his life:

يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ فَمَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَقْرَءُونَ كِتَابَهُمْ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا

“Remember the Day (of Judgment) when We will summon every people with their Imam (Leader): then whosoever is given his book in his right hand, these shall read their books (with pleasure), and they shall not be dealt with (even) a shred unjustly” (17:71).

Who will be better than the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt whom God Himself purified2. The Imam is he, in whom all things have been encompassed. The Holy Prophet declared:

أنا مدينة العلم و عليّ بابها

‘Ana Madinat ul-‘Ilm, wa Aliyun Babuha’

I am the City of knowledge, and Ali is its Gate.3

The Qualities Of A God Appointed King

نَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ وَاللَّهُ يُؤْتِي مُلْكَهُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“Verily God has chosen him (to last) in preference to you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and physique and God granteth His Kingdom to whomsoever He pleaseth, and God is Ample Giving, All Knowing” (2:247).

Ali is the Gate of the City of Knowledge and the ever-triumphant Lion of God - the distinctions exclusively held by Ali and none else.

14. The Identification Of A Genuine Heavenly Guide

If man sincerely seeks the help of his Creator Lord, in finding out the genuine heavenly guide from among the claimants to guidance among the men, there is His Final Word the Holy Qur’an to guide him and it is the declared promise of the All-Merciful Lord, to show the right way to those who sincerely endeavour for it. The first condition, is the sincerity in seeking the divine help in this regard:

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“And those who strive hard in Us, certainly will We guide them in Our ways; And verily God is (always) with those who do good” (29:69).

The Qur’anic lead to a sincere seeker towards the genuine heavenly guide, is given in the following verses:

قُلْ هَلْ مِنْ شُرَكَائِكُمْ مَنْ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ قُلِ اللَّهُ يَهْدِي لِلْحَقِّ أَفَمَنْ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ يُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لَا يَهِدِّي إِلَّا أَنْ يُهْدَىٰ فَمَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ

“Say thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) ‘Of your associates is there anyone who can guide unto truth? ‘Say thou! ‘It is God alone Who guideth unto truth; Is then He Who guideth unto truth more worthy to be followed or he who himself goeth not aright unless he is guided? What then hath befallen you? How (ill) ye judge?” (10:35).

أَفَمَنْ يَمْشِي مُكِبًّا عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ أَهْدَىٰ أَمَّنْ يَمْشِي سَوِيًّا عَلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“What! is he who goeth along grovelling on his face, better guided or he who walketh upright upon the straight path?” (67:22).

Thus, a genuine heavenly guide is he who never needs any education or guidance from any mortal in this world. He is sent into the world divinely conditioned with guidance, as were all the apostles from God, the Last one of them the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the holy Thirteen of his godly family, i.e., the Twelve Holy Imams and the Holy Lady of Light Fatimah Zahra (the only daughter of the Holy Prophet, who was the wife of the First Holy Imam Ali Ibn Ahi Talib, and the mother of the other Eleven Holy ones).

15. Blind Following

Professing a creed, blindly following a crowd, or joining any religious order for any material benefit, i.e., for any worldly advantages, is quite different from adopting a faith with genuine conviction, knowing the truth therein, after a thorough study of its fundamentals, and reasoning them out against their counter arguments. Islam totally discredits any blind following and abhors exploiting of the ignorance of the poor illiterates among the poverty-stricken helpless masses in the slums and is vehemently opposed to attracting anybody or bribing anyone with the bait of any material benefits or any kind of the worldly advantages or any social or economic uplift, just to inflate the number of its adherents to swell its ranks.

The one and only aim of Islam, is to educate the members of the human family, with the truth about the Absolute Sovereignty of the Only True God and the natural demand, of every creature’s willing submission or voluntary surrender to the All-Supreme Authority of the Creator Lord of the Universe. Islam invites every awakened mind of the human world, to a serious study of the mystery of the start of life, and the truth about its Omnipotent Originator, with a divinely prescribed code of life on earth to enable him, to raise himself from the abyss of the material degradation to the sublime heavenly heights of eternal spiritual bliss. Islam accepts only an independent judgment on the part of each individual by himself and for himself, without the least coercion, compulsion, inducement, or pressure of any kind whatsoever, save the dictates of the conviction of one’s own conscience.

16. Man Charged With Personal Responsibility Of Getting Guided Aright

Man had been deluded by the false imagination of the unconditional escape from the requital of his evil and wickedness through a vicarious atonement in return for the belief in some imaginary deities and man-made gods and goddesses. Islam rendered a death blow to such false imagination which gives the human mind the impunity to act freely as it likes, without any restriction or any restraint, with the confidence in the redemption through his belief in the imaginary gods, goddesses and the imaginary sons and the daughters of God. Islam has charged man with the personal and the individual responsibility of holding the right or the correct faith and every individual soul bearing its own burden:

مَنِ اهْتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا

“Whosoever getteth guided aright, verily he getteth guided aright for his own self; and he who goeth astray, verily he goeth astray against his own self; nor shall the hearer of a burden bear the burden of another; And we chastise not (any people) until We raise an apostle (among them)” (17:15).

وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ وَإِنْ تَدْعُ مُثْقَلَةٌ إِلَىٰ حِمْلِهَا لَا يُحْمَلْ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَىٰ إِنَّمَا تُنْذِرُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَيْبِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَمَنْ تَزَكَّىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَتَزَكَّىٰ لِنَفْسِهِ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ

“And no bearer shall bear the burden of another; and if the heavy-laden one should cry for (another bearer to carry) its burden, (even) aught of it shall not be carried, and even if he be near of kin; Thou canst but warn those who fear their Lord unseen and keep up regular prayer; And whosoever purifieth (himself), he only purifieth for his own self; And unto God (alone) is the destination (of all)” (35:18).

17. The Individual Liberty Or The Freedom Of Choice, Announced

Having shown the right way against the wrong one, every human soul has been given the freedom of choosing one’s own way to the life hereafter:

إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا

“Verily have We shown him the (Right) way, be he grateful or ungrateful” (76:3).

Let those who blindly criticise Islam and its Holy Founder, attributing compulsion to the spread of the Qur’anic faith, dispassionately judge and impartially say out, in view of the above Qur’anic declaration and also with the verse 2:256, if there is left any room for any such doubt against the mission of the Holy Teacher.

18. The Individual And Personal Responsibility Of Every Man And Woman

Islam charges man with the individual responsibility of going aright in the walk of one’s life on earth, declaring that whatever a soul does here, be that good or evil, is for or against the soul itself:

مَنِ اهْتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا

“Whosoever getteth guided aright, verily he getteth guided aright for his own self: and he who goeth astray, verily he goeth astray against his own self; nor shall the bearer of a burden bear the burden of another; and We chastise not (any people) until We raise an apostle (among them)” (17:15).

إِنْ أَحْسَنْتُمْ أَحْسَنْتُمْ لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيرًا

“If ye do good, ye do it for your own selves; and if ye do evil it is (in like manner) for your own selves; So when came the second promise (warning to be fulfilled) (We roused your enemies to) sadden your faces, and that they may enter the Mosque as they entered it the first time, and to destroy whatever they conquered (with) total destruction” (17:7).

This warning has been repeatedly sounded in the Holy Qur’an:

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ

“Whosoever doeth good, it is for his own self and whosoever doeth evil, it is against it; and thy Lord is not unjust unto the servants” (41:46).

فَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَقَالُوا مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُمْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ

“And as to the people of Ad, they prided in the land without right, and said they: ‘Who is mightier than we in power?’ What! Beheld they not that God Who created them is mightier than they in power? And Our signs they used to deny” (41:15).

By the above verses, man is not only warned against the sure retribution of the evil, but also encouraged with the divine promise of the just reward or the sure return for goodness in this life and the hereafter.

19. The Qur’anic Formula To Be On The Right

In a single clause, only of a few words, the Holy Qur’an gives man the formula and shows him the right method of a sure and an unfailing following of the Right Path.

لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَدْ تَبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“No compulsion be in religion; Indeed, truth has been made manifest distinct from error; therefore he who disbelief eth the rebels (false deities) and believeth in God, hath indeed laid hold on the strongest handle no break is for it; and verily God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing” (2:256).

An intelligent study of the above verse of the Holy Qur’an will disclose it to be the best and the only solution to fight against the deceptive devilish attractions which lead man astray. With the disbelief in Satan, man will never fall a victim of any attraction of any evil, and with the sincere belief in God, and faithful devotion to Him, what is the goodness which man will not adorn himself with.

20. The Decree Of The Holy Imam - A Note From A.P.

“The decree of the Masoom, (i.e., the Sixth Holy Imam) in this respect which is about ‘Ijtihad’, is not the only tradition but there are many undisputed traditions also of the other Imams establishing the institution of ‘Ijtihad’ prescribing the minutest details of its functioning, only a very brief outline of which is given below.

“Of the many declarations of the other Imams in this respect, two of them are the most outstanding. One from Hazrat Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq, known as the ‘Maqool- el-’Umar-Ibn Hanzala’ (the tradition of ‘Umar Ibn Hanzala) and the other is from the Eleventh Holy Imam Husayn al-Askari”

21. ‘Taqlid’ - A Note From A.P.

“The only, the greatest and the best protection afforded in Shi’ism, against the continuous as well as the occasional raids by Satan and his disciple missionaries is the ordinance about ‘Taqlid’4 (or to always abide by the ‘Ali’m’ or the most learned one, called the ‘Mujtahid’. This course guides one always to the right or the correct way of the practice of the faith and protects him from committing any excess and from shortcomings, and at the same time the individual from being exploited by the instigations of the satanic forces”

‘Taqlid’ has also been misinterpreted into the innovated institution of the Mureeds blindly following the Peers. Be it known that being guided by a ‘Mujtahid’ in matters of doubt about the practice of the faith, has nothing in common with it, and can never be compared to any such unwarranted blind following. Taqlid is only being attached to anyone of the greatest scholars who has reached the level of ‘Ijtihad’, (i.e., the ability to derive the required correct inference from the Holy Qur’an or the genuine traditions of the Holy Prophet) in matters of doubt about any articles of the practice of the faith ‘Furu al-Deen’, ‘Taqlid’ or any kind of following anyone in the articles of faith, i.e., ‘Usool al-Deen’ is ‘Haram’, (i.e., prohibited). As every one of the adherents of the faith cannot be expected to know all the minutest details about the practice of the faith, or be able to draw the correct inference about any doubts, from the Word of God, the Holy Qur’an, and the Hadith or the Sayings of the Holy Prophet, the divinely prescribed course to keep a Muslim always on the right course of his practised life, as well as to protect him from getting astray by the misgivings from the ill-informed or less- informed one, is Taqlid by which one chooses of his own independent discretion anyone of the accredited scholars who, in his considered opinion, is the greatest one of the most learned and the most pious ones of the age, and is always guided by the directive of such a scholar in all matters of the individual’s doubts regarding any matter of the practice of the faith. By this course one is not only assured by the best possible guidance to the right course, by the highest intellect of the age but also of the safety against his getting deluded by the unqualified, mis-qualified, or purposeful misgivings by any self-assumed authority”

“Since the practice of the faith by any adherent, unbounded by this course of ‘Taqlid,’ cannot doubtlessly be free from irregularities hence it will naturally be unacceptable”

“The question of following the highest authority in knowledge and piety, is only in the case of ‘Fatwa’ or the opinion of the Scholar about the law and not about the application of the law for which ‘Ijtihad’ is sufficient. The caution that Shi’ism, the Islam-Original, has sounded against the ruinous effects of unqualified administration of justice, is worthy of note here, for the information of the sincere adherents of Islam, (i.e., the special importance Shi’ism attaches to Justice being meted out in the proper manner, and to the extraordinary care taken against any unqualified and defective administration of it.) The following is the decree of the Sixth Holy Imam, Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq the Regulator of the Shi’a faith: ”

“None shall take this seat save a Prophet of God, the Successor to the prophet or the evil one”

“This declaration clearly warns any unqualified one without any authority from the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imam, who assumes the seat of ‘Qaza’at’ or (Justice) will be none but the evil one. Hence a ‘Qazi’ (a judge) can be none but a ‘Mujtahid’ who gets himself qualified under the declaration of the Imam reported above”

“While condemning the yielding to the rule of ‘Taghoot’, i.e., an authority without the divine sanction, the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq said that instead of submitting to such a tyrant, seek the greatest of the scholars among you, who has learnt our traditions and gained deep insight into our sanctions and prohibitions and who knows our rulings well and accept him as your Judge (i.e., Qazi) and your Ruler, as I have appointed him to rule over you. And if he gives a ruling and if it is not accepted by anyone, it will be the contempt of God’s Sovereignty, which is almost ‘Shirk’, i.e., the recognition of an authority beside God’s”.

“The definition and the requirements of ‘Ijtihad’ and ‘Taqlid’ given below, are those that have been prescribed by the ‘Masoom’, i.e., the Twelfth Holy Imam, as ordained by the Holy Qur’an and the ‘Sunnah’ as a part and parcel of the whole system of the Divine Sovereignty and the Absolute Theocracy which is implemented in the very term ‘Islam’ which means acceptance of the Absolute Sovereignty of God and complete submission to His will. It is on this basis that the institution of apostleship is established. God communicates His will to mankind through the chain of the apostles, which was consummated in the apostleship of the Holy Prophet of Islam through whom was presented the Final Word of God, in the form of the Holy Qur’an, and his own apostolic sayings. And in the continuation of that sovereignty and the institution of apostleship, the Holy Prophet declared Ali and the Eleven Imams in his descent, as the authority joined with the Holy Qur’an representing his as well as God’s will”.

“When the period of the codification and the consolidation of the ‘‘Kitab’ and ‘Sunnah’ was completed, the age of the Imamah for that legislative purpose came to its conclusion. Hence the seclusion of the Twelfth Imam was affected though his hidden existence continues as a necessity, as a medium factor between God and His creatures, in the process of the Creative administration of the universe. The Imams declared the institution of ‘Ijtihad’ as given below, as the sole directive authority on their behalf, in leading mankind on the right path of submission to the sovereignty and the will of God, in all the practical aspects of the covenant which the ‘Kitab’ and the ‘Sunnah’ had already dealt with”.

“In short, ‘Ijtihad’ and ‘Taqlid’ are the supplementary institutions to ‘Imamah’ which in turn, is supplementary to ‘Risalah’ (Apostleship) which as a whole is the manifestation of the Divine Sovereignty. There is no room left for any individual view or choice except that the door is left open for every human being irrespective of any racial or geographical bias or restriction, to qualify one’s self in knowledge and piety to the level of ‘Ijtihad.’ The decree of the Holy Imam about the institution of ‘Ijtihad’ is as follows”.

* Amma Hawadisal Waqi’aat, Far ‘jeoo ila rimate Aliadeesena fa innahom hujati alaikum wa ana Hujjatullah.

“In all the events of life, refer ye to those who bear our traditions, they are the authority over you on my behalf, and I am the authority on behalf of God”

22. The Definition Of ‘Ijtihad’ - A Note From A.P.

“‘Ijtihad’ literally means an all-out effort to interpret and explain explicitly the divine orders, rules and regulations from the denotations, the connotations and the implications contained in the Holy Qur’an and the authentic sayings of the Holy Prophet and the apostolic Imams. ‘Ijtihad’ does not mean the use of one’s discretion in the findings, parallel to the Qu’ran and the ‘Sunnah.’ Anyone who has the capacity of understanding the details of the Divine Laws, Rules, and Regulations from the Qur’an and the ‘Sunnah’ of a ‘Masoom’ as given above, is a ‘Mujtahid’ provided he is of outstanding learning, knowledge, and piety. Any one short of that standard of knowledge and piety, be he a good scholar in certain branches of the Islamic literature, is termed as a layman in regard to the field of religion. A man who has not reached the stage, to take decisions in every detailed point of the laws of Islam, on the authority of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah, is a layman, and he has to follow a person who has definitely reached that standard, and whoever has reached that standard has to follow his own decision, and it is forbidden for him to follow anyone else”

“In case there are several men of equal standard, and they differ in their decisions, the layman has the choice to follow anyone of them and in case the ‘Mujtahids’ differ in degree of their accomplishments, the best among them is to be followed. In case one is better in knowledge and the other in piety, the latter is to be followed”

“As to how to find the best one among the ‘Mujtahids’ the layman should refer to the evidence of the competent pious scholars of Islamic Theology who have no claim to ‘Aalamiat’ or to the evidence of the ‘Mujtahids’ of the approximate standing about the best next to them. By the collection of all these evidence, one can easily consider for himself as to who is the best. This is the best method followed throughout the history of the ‘Niabat’ of the Imam after the Ghaibat”

“There is no room for any election or the counting of votes of any class or group to appoint one as the ecclesiastical head as used in the Papal system of Christianity, nor is it the ‘Peeri’ and the ‘Mureedi’ practised in the mystic system which is an unwarranted innovation among a section of the Muslims, carried as a counter or parallel to the institution of ‘Imamah.’ Be it known that the qualifications for ‘Ijtihad’ are known, recognised and measurable and the qualifications for a ‘Peeri’ is only fanciful heresy blindly accepted and neither fixed nor measurable”

“It is to be noted that the question of following the opinion of the best in knowledge and piety is confined to such questions where the Mujtahids differ, and the question of following any ‘Mujtahid’ does not arise in matters unanimously accepted by all ‘Mujtahids’”

“It is to be noted that for the administration of the theological centres and the other religious and ecclesiastical services, any pious ‘Mujtahid’ is competent for the undertaking, and if any pious ‘Mujtahid’ offers himself to shoulder the task the other ‘Mujtahid’ should not stand in his way, on the other hand he must help him”

23. Mere Verbal Profession Of The Faith Will Not Do

Everyone will be tried in his faith - to prove to himself the bonafide of his professing the faith:

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ

“What! Do people imagine that they will he left off on (their) saying: ‘We believe! and they will not be tried?” (29:2).

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ

“We will surely test you with something of fear, and hunger and loss of wealth and lives and fruits; and give glad tidings to the patient ones” (2:155).

الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

“Who when, misfortune befalleth them, say, ‘Verily we are God’s and verily unto Him shall we return” (2:156).

أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ

“Those are they on whom are the blessings from their Lord and (His) Mercy: and they are the ones that are (rightly)guided” (2:157).

The value of mere verbal declaration given out:

إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ قَالُوا نَشْهَدُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُهُ وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَكَاذِبُونَ

“When come unto thee the hypocrites, say they ‘We bear witness that verily thou art God’s Apostle’ and God Knoweth that thou art surely His Apostle, and God beareth witness that the hypocrites are certainly liars” (63:1).

24. The Real Islamic Piety Explained

To all hypocritic show of the formal observances of the faith, void of sincerity in the practical interpretation of it, Islam has rendered a deathblow, with the following decree:

لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ

“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards the East and the West, righteousness is rather one who believeth in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Book, the apostles, and giveth his wealth out of love for Him to the kindred and the orphans and the poor and the wayfarer and the needy and for those in bondage; and established prayer and payeth the poor-rate; And those who fulfil their promise when they make a promise and the patient ones in distress and affliction and in the time of war these are they who are the Truthful and these are they who are the pious” (2:177).

Let the readers themselves say if there can be a better definition of piety and how glorious would be the soul which gets itself imbibed with these godly qualities in their fullness.

25. To Be Always With The Truthful

Man ordained to always be with the Truthful ones, i.e., those who never utter a lie. The greatest lie is ‘Shirk’, i.e., the belief in anyone else besides God and worshipping the false deities. Who else can be the Truthful ones besides the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt who never in their life, bowed to anything besides God and who are the only ones, God says that He Himself purified5:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ

“O’ ye who believe! Fear ye God and be ye (always) with the Truthful ones” (9:119).

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْتَابُوا وَجَاهَدُوا بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الصَّادِقُونَ

“The believers are only those who believe in God and His Apostle, they doubt not thereafter, and strive (fight) they with their wealth and their lives in the way of God; they are the truthful ones” (49:15).

The qualities of a Truthful one is also given:

لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ

“It is not righteous that ye turn your faces towards the East and the West, righteous is rather one who believeth in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Book, the apostles, and giveth his wealth out of love for Him to the kindred and the orphans and the poor and the wayfarer and the needy and for those in bondage; and established prayer and payeth the poor-rate; And those who fulfil their promise when they make a promise and the patient ones in distress and affliction and in the time of war these are they who arc the Truthful and these are they who are the pious” (2:177).

26. Taqiah

Hiding the faith - giving out a mere verbal profession otherwise to save one’s life or life interest. This is a Qur’anic ordinance.

The one who hides in faith at its proper occasion is praised in the Qur’an - Viz. The ‘Mu’min aale Fir’awn.’

وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مُؤْمِنٌ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَكْتُمُ إِيمَانَهُ أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلًا أَنْ يَقُولَ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ وَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَإِنْ يَكُ كَاذِبًا فَعَلَيْهِ كَذِبُهُ وَإِنْ يَكُ صَادِقًا يُصِبْكُمْ بَعْضُ الَّذِي يَعِدُكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ

“And said a man who was a Believer, from among the people of Pharaoh: who used to conceal his faith: ‘What! slay ye a man for sayeth he ‘My Lord is God’, and indeed he hath brought unto you clear proofs (of his mission) from your Lord? While if he be a liar, on him will be his life, and if he be truthful, then wilt afflict you some of what he warneth you (with); Verily, God guideth not him who is extravagant (and) a liar” (40:28).

وَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ يَسْعَىٰ قَالَ يَا مُوسَىٰ إِنَّ الْمَلَأَ يَأْتَمِرُونَ بِكَ لِيَقْتُلُوكَ فَاخْرُجْ إِنِّي لَكَ مِنَ النَّاصِحِينَ

“And there came a man from the remotest part of city, running (and) said he: “O’ Moses! verily the chiefs are consulting to slay thee, Begone (from here at once)! Verily, unto thee I am of the sincere advisers” (28:20).

مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِهِ إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَٰكِنْ مَنْ شَرَحَ بِالْكُفْرِ صَدْرًا فَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

“He who disbelieveth in God after his having believed, not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith - but he who open his breast (heart) for disbelief - they shall have a grievous chastisement” (16:106).

27. Intercession Available

Intercession for redemption against the earned punishment available, not by one of man’s fancied gods and the false deities whom man worshipped as the Creator Lord - but by those divinely qualified to do it:

مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ

“Who is he who can intercede unto Him but by His Permission” (2:255)

إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مَا مِنْ شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ

“Verily, Your Lord is God Who created the heavens and the earth in six days (terms) and is firmly established on ‘Arsh’; He regulateth everything; No intercessor can there be save after His leave; This is God, your Lord, Therefore Him (alone) worship ye; What! will ye not then mind?” (10:3).

لَا يَمْلِكُونَ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّخَذَ عِنْدَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَهْدًا

“They shall not own intercession, save he who has made a covenant with the Beneficent God” (19:87).

يَوْمَئِذٍ لَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَرَضِيَ لَهُ قَوْلًا

“On that day shall avail not intercession (of any) save (that of) whom hath permitted God, and whose word He is pleased with” (20:109).

يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ وَهُمْ مِنْ خَشْيَتِهِ مُشْفِقُونَ

“Knoweth He what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede but for him whom He approveth, and they, of His fear, tremble” (21:28).

وَلَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ

“And will avail not aught any intercession with Him save of him whom He hath permitted” (34:23).

28. Killing Of Even A Single Believer

وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا

“And whosoever killeth a believer intentionally his recompense shall be Hell, he shall abide therein, and God’s wrath shall be on him and His curse, and (there) is prepared for hint a great torment” (4:93).

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ

“For this reason did we prescribe unto the children of Israel that he who slayeth anyone (man), without (that being for) murder, or for mischief in the land, (It shall be) as though he hath slain mankind as a whole; and he who saveth it (a human life), shall be as though he hath saved mankind as a whole; and certainly our Apostles came unto them with clear evidences and yet verily, many of them even after that certainly commit excesses in the land” (5:32).

Man has to judge under the above ordinances of the Lord the position of those who killed the very beloved ones of God, the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt. History is there to testify the fact that none, save the Fourteenth one of the Holy ones, did escape the murder at the hands of those who called themselves Muslim and ruled the States calling themselves as the Caliphs. See the chart about the Holy Fourteen under Imamah.

29. The Dead In The Way Of The Lord Are Alive

The following declaration of God through His Final Word, the Holy Qur’an, says that those who lay their lives in God’s way are alive and not to be counted as dead. Thus, the Shi’as believe in the martyrs being alive and revere their unforgettable memory:

وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ يُقْتَلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتٌ بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ وَلَٰكِنْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ

“And say not of those who arc slain in the path of God that they are dead; Nay (they are) living, but ye perceive not” (2:154).

وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ

“Reckon not those who are slain in the way of God, to be dead; Nay! alive they are with their Lord being sustained” (3:169).

الَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ قُتِلُوا أَوْ مَاتُوا لَيَرْزُقَنَّهُمُ اللَّهُ رِزْقًا حَسَنًا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ

“And those who migrate in the Way of God and are then slain or die, certainly will God provide them with an excellent sustenance; and Verily, God is the Best of providers” (22:58).

30. Reverence Or Respect To The Signs Of God

Everything in the Universe is a Sign of God particularly those associated with godly objects and the men of God:

إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ فَمَنْ حَجَّ الْبَيْتَ أَوِ اعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا وَمَنْ تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ

“Verily, ‘Safa’ and Marina’ are among the signs of God; whoever therefore maketh a pilgrimage to the House or performeth ‘Umra’ Therefore it shall be no blame on him to go round them both; and whoever of his own accord doeth anything good indeed, verily God is Grateful, All-Knowing” (2:158).

وَالْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَاهَا لَكُمْ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ

“As (as for the Camels) We have made them for you, of the Signs of God” (22:36).

ذَٰلِكَ وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ

“That shall be so, and whosoever respected the Signs of God, then that verily is the outcome of the piety of heart” (22:32).

Mere common sense is needed to know that if mounds of Safa and Marwa and the animals of sacrifice are worthy to be the Signs of God, the token of the Emblem or the Standard of Islam with which Husayn fought and established the Truth will be the greatest sign of God, i.e., the Sign of the Religion revealed by the Lord and respect and reverence to it cannot be but the Sign of the piety of the individual. Be it known that the Shi’as, the followers of the Qur’anic faith, the Islam- Original are more careful against ‘Shirk’ than any other school they regard the ‘Alam al-Husayny’ neither as God nor as Husayn but as a token of the Standard of Islam.

31. Mourning For The Martyrs

فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنْظَرِينَ

“So wept not on them the heavens and the earth nor were they respited” (44:29).

Qur’an clearly declares that heaven and earth also mourn. When they do not mourn for the wicked, it naturally infers that they do it on the righteous.

Thus, mourning for the righteous, particularly for those who have laid their lives in the way of the Lord is a heavenly conduct.

There are authentic traditions of the Holy Prophet shedding tears for the prophesied massacre of Husayn even before the event had actually taken place.

There is The Qur’anic evidence of Jacob’s weeping for his son Joseph who had only disappeared from his sight to the extent of his losing his sight, although as an apostle of God, he knew that his son Joseph was not dead.

Thus, mourning for Husayn or any other martyr of the House of the Holy Prophet is following the apostolic tradition.

32. Breast-Beating For The Martyrs

The breast-beating which is generally done by the Shi’as, for the martyrs of the House of the Holy Prophet, the Ahl Al-Bayt, is not a part of the Shi’a faith. It is an active expression of the sorrow and the grief for the holy ones, no doubt a violent outlet of the climax of the emotion of grief, identifying with the sufferers in the way of the Lord. There is a similar conduct in the history of Islam on the part of Owais Qarani who hurt himself breaking his own teeth in feeling for the Holy Prophet who suffered in Ohad, which is not only perceived by the Muslim world but also recognised and regarded by the Holy Prophet himself. Thus, though not a part of the religion, breast-beating is tolerated.

The phenomenon behind the degree of feeling by one for another, is the degree or the extent of the individuals’ identifying with the personal interest of one another. The intensity of the feeling will be according to the intensity of the attachment. The violent expression of the feeling by the Shi’as for the martyrs of the Holy ones of the House of the Holy Prophet, is nothing but the natural consequence of their identification and attachment to them. When a man dies, the others will not feel as much as his sons, or his nearest relatives would do. If an issues of any departed soul weep or mourn and behave even violently, in their bereavement - the others do not condemn them but console and express their own sympathy.

Similarly, the Shi’a - attachment to the holy ones, is closer than that of the others, and the Shi’as actually regard the holy ones as their spiritual parents. The same did the Holy Prophet declare: “I and Ali are the two fathers of this people”

33. Reverential Prostration

A reverential Prostration before any sacred object is not prohibited by Islam. People not knowing the difference between a mere reverential prostration to a respectable object and the Prostration of Supplication and Submission to God, wrongly termed the act as ‘Shirk.’’ Iblees or the Lucifer was outcasted for not prostrating to Adam:

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ

“And when said We unto the angels ‘Prostrate ye before Adam!’ they all prostrated save Iblees, he refrained and was puffed with pride and was turned into one of the disbelievers.’” (2:34).

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ

“And indeed, We did create you, then We did fashion you, then said We unto the angels; ‘‘Prostrate yourselves unto Adam;’ so they all did prostrate themselves except Iblees; he was not of the prostrating ones” (7:11).

فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِي فَقَعُوا لَهُ سَاجِدِينَ

“So when I complete him and breathe into him My spirit, fall ye down unto him prostrating (in obeisance)” (15:29).

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ

“When said We unto the angels ‘Prostrate ye in obeisance unto Adam!’ they did prostrate in obeisance save ‘Iblees’, he refused” (20:116).

Jacob being the Apostle of God, prostrated along with other sons to his own son on the throne of authority:

وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّوا لَهُ سُجَّدًا وَقَالَ يَا أَبَتِ هَٰذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَايَ مِنْ قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّي حَقًّا وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بِي إِذْ أَخْرَجَنِي مِنَ السِّجْنِ وَجَاءَ بِكُمْ مِنَ الْبَدْوِ مِنْ بَعْدِ أَنْ نَزَغَ الشَّيْطَانُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَتِي إِنَّ رَبِّي لَطِيفٌ لِمَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

“And raised he his parents to the throne, and they fell down unto him prostrating and said he ‘O’ my father! this is the interpretation of my dream of aforetime! Indeed, my Lord hath made it come true; and indeed He was kind unto me when He took me out of the prison and hath sown Satan dissension between me and my brothers: Verily my Lord is Beneficent unto whomsoever He willeth; verily He is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (12:100).

34. Every Muslim Is Not A Mu’min, A Genuine Believer

The following verse of the Qur’an clearly gives the actual position of a Muslim and a Mu’min - the term Muslim is used for the one who submits himself to the faith, Islam, be that forced by circumstances or sincerely. But the term ‘Mu’min’, i.e., a believer, is he who has earned the genuine conviction in the truth:

قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُلْ لَمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَٰكِنْ قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِنْ تُطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَا يَلِتْكُمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

“Say the desert Arabs ‘We believe.’ Say thou (unto them): ‘Ye believed not, but say ye, “We submit, for faith hath not yet entered your hearts: and if ye obey God and His Apostle, He will lessen to naught of your deeds; Verily God is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful” (49:14).

35. Respite Given to the Disbelievers

The respite given to the disbelievers is not in fact good for them:

وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِثْمًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ

“Let not those who disbelieve think that Our giving them respite is good for their selves; We only give respite to them that they may increase in sins, and for them is a disgraceful chastisement” (3:178).

36. Hoarding of Wealth

The following is the verdict of the Lord about those who hoard up wealth and do not spend it in His way:

وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنْفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

“And as for those who hoard up gold and silver and spend not in the way of the Lord, announce unto them a painful chastisement” (9:34).

يَوْمَ يُحْمَىٰ عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَىٰ بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ هَٰذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ

“On the day when it shall be heated in the fire of hell their foreheads and their sides and their hacks shall be branded with it saying: this is what ye hoarded up for yourselves, so taste ye what ye hoarded” (9:35).

37. A Goodly Loan To God Has A Multiple Return.

Spending in the way of God, is lending the amount or the commodity or the endeavour, to God and that, not only gets a multiple return, but also forgiveness of sins:

إِنْ تُقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَاعِفْهُ لَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ شَكُورٌ حَلِيمٌ

“If ye lend God a goodly loan, He will double it unto you and will forgive you; And God is Most Appreciating, the Most Forbearing” (64:17).

لِيُنْفِقْ ذُو سَعَةٍ مِنْ سَعَتِهِ وَمَنْ قُدِرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُهُ فَلْيُنْفِقْ مِمَّا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا مَا آتَاهَا سَيَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ عُسْرٍ يُسْرًا

“Let him with abundance spend of his abundance and he on whom is straitened his subsistence, let him spend of what God hath given him; (for) God layeth not on any soul a burden save to the extent to which He hath given it; God will soon bring about case after difficulty” (65:7).

38. Self-Defence Prescribed

While preaching, to return what is Best against evil, Islam is not an impracticable ideal. Islam wants man to resist evil as best one could do it, with all means of goodness and when the aggressor crosses the limits of reasonability and exploits the goodness on the part of the resistant one, then the man is commanded to defend himself with equal measures of strength and power but to be always just and reasonable and never to cross the limits.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَالْأُنْثَىٰ بِالْأُنْثَىٰ فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ ذَٰلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَىٰ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ

“‘O’ ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the (unlawful) murdered, the freeman for the freeman, the bondman for the bondman, the woman for the woman; but if any remission is made (to anyone) by his (aggrieved) brother then the recognised course be adopted, and payment made to him in handsome manner. This is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord, and whosoever transgesseth the limit after this, then for him shall be a painful chastisement” (2:178).

The above is the ordinance of the Holy Qur’an and the Bible preaches to turn the other cheek if the one is already smitten and to surrender the coat also if the cloak is taken away, a comparison between these two commandments will disclose to any intelligent mind which is cent per cent practical and practised, and which is adored only in the recitation of it and could never be practised even by the staunchest Christian power on earth viz. Rome in Italy. Any man with common sense can easily judge as to which of the ordinances can be helpful to maintain peace, security, safety, and order and which will let loose the mischievous elements to do the worst under the ordinance of self-surrender preached by the Christian Church, which the people of the Church themselves do not practise and they can never practise it, at all.

39. A Believer Described

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

“Indeed, successful are the believers” (23:1).

الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ

“Those who in their prayers are humble” (23:2).

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ

“And those who, from what is vain, keep (themselves) aloof” (23:3).

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ

“And those who act for purification” (23:4).

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ

“And those who guard their private parts” (23:5).

إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ

“Except from their wives or those whom their right hands possess, for then verily they are not blameable” (23:6).

40. Gender Segregation

Let those who are madly devoted to, and vehemently advocate the unwholesome and the disgraceful immoral traffic, licensed by the modern social freedom with the label of the false plea of individual liberty with the grossly deceptive and tempting bait to innocent womanhood, of equality with man, to encourage woman to enter the beastly realm of immorality, hear what one of the greatest and the renowned reformers of the modern society Mrs. Anne Besant says about her knowledge and experience of the present state of womanhood and the fate of poor woman in the hands of the voluptuous modern society particularly of the western model6.

Let every intelligent gentleman and respectable woman, judge if this could ever be the object of the creation of the chaste beauty and the glorious life of gentle womanhood, to be ruined in the public streets and to be torn and shattered in the slaughterhouses of morality labelled as clubs and hotels. Woman has been created for the healthy communion of pure and chaste sexual love, with a moral purposeful sacred mingling for the fulfilment of the divine plan of the continuity of the wholesome human progeny and never for any immoral traffic in any of the walks of human life on earth.

It is now for the world of gentle womanhood as a whole to rise in an irresistible revolt against the agents of Satan in the garb of the modern immoral fashionable manhood, and combat with the firmest possible determination to defeat the forces of the vultures of the wilderness of immorality, never allowing them any’ more to invade the holy domain of gentle and chaste womanhood. Islam, through its prescribed restrictions, aims at keeping both the sexes apart at a healthy distance to keep them safe against any evilly stimulated approach to each other, under any delusion from Satan who is ever active through all possible means and methods to gain sway over the children of Adam and drag them into vices of every kind.

Women, the gentile women in particular, have to be specially guarded, in these modern days of ours, against the grossly’ deceptive ways the devils in human form who have gained a strong sway over the affairs of womanhood under the pretext of chivalry and sympathy for women promising and advocating the freedom which is nothing but a master device to drag chaste and modest women out of their homes into immoral ways through the modern methods and the current devices of amusement and enjoyment in the clubs and the mixed parties in the hotels.

It is now left to woman, either to get deluded and be shattered by the vultures of the wilderness of immorality or to guard and protect the purity of her chastity and the grace of her modesty and preserve and maintain the greatness of her value and the glory’ vested in her by the All-Merciful Creator Lord. It is to help woman, to succeed in this regard, Islam has prescribed its own ordinances so that she may’ be safe without much strain on her part against the strong and the atrocious move of the evil hands and the corrupt intentions of the wicked manhood.

41. The Hijab Or Purdah – Veil For The Beliving Women

وَقُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَىٰ عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“And say unto the believing women that they cast down their gaze and guard their private parts and they display not their adornment save what is apparent of it; and to draw their veils over their bosoms and they display not their adornment save to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husband’s, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands or their brothers, or their brother’s sons, or their sister’s sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants void of sexual stimulant, or the children who have not yet attained the carnal knowledge of women’s nakedness, and let them not strike their feet (in walking) that what they hide of their adornment gets apparent; and turn ye (repentant) unto God all of you, O’ ye believers! that ye may be successful” (24:31).

Our women are our jewels, invaluable ornaments - The more valuable is a thing, more secured we keep it and it is not displayed to one and all in the market or to all those who visit us. The first or the most attractive part of a body is the face. It is the facial features and the mould of the body that stimulate the animal passion in the sexes.

Thus, hiding of the face and the mould of the body of a woman, depends upon the value she herself assigns to her own personality and position - and to the extent she desires herself to be seen by the others or otherwise. In her hiding herself, lies her own safety and value. Though she might remain pure but with man as well as the woman, is always the devil to inspire evil intentions and stimulates the rebellious carnal desires. A good virtuous lady would never like her beauty to be polluted by the lusty glances of the devilish eyes and herself to be the genetic cause of unhealthy attraction and of stimulating devilish passion to pollute her pure and chaste fairness.

Some ladies, argue saying ‘What do we care, what happens to the others, but the answer is ‘Why should they become the tool of Satan to create evil?

The believer ladies who faithfully follow the Holy Lady Fatimah Zahra, need no directions save following the Godly Model of Chaste Womanhood on earth.

42. Adultery

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَىٰ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا

“Go not nigh unto fornication, verily it is an indecency; And evil is the way” (17:32).

43. Wedlock Or Marriage - Man Told To Marry

There is no Celibacy or Monasticism in Islam - man has to marry - The following verse will give the actual position of the ordinance about Wedlock:

وَأَنْكِحُوا الْأَيَامَىٰ مِنْكُمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِكُمْ وَإِمَائِكُمْ إِنْ يَكُونُوا فُقَرَاءَ يُغْنِهِمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“And marry ye those among you who are single and those who are righteous ones your male slaves and your female slaves; If they be needy, God out of His grace will make them free from want; and God is All- Bounteous, All-Knowing” (24:32).

The Holy Prophet declared: “Wedding is my ‘Sunnah’ (i.e., Tradition) and he who turns away from my ‘Sunnah’ is not of me” “Wed and meet and multiply yourselves, for on the Day of Judgment I shall be proud of the number of my followers compared to those of the other peoples”

The First Holy Imam Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib says:

“A prayer (Namaz) consisting of (the minimum of) only Two ‘Rak’ats’ (i.e., units) offered by a wedded pair, is better than the seventy ‘Rak’ats’ offered by the single ones”

44. Mut’a – Temporary Marriage - The Timed Wedlock

What the Holy Prophet invalidated, shall be invalid for ever and none shall validate it, and whatever he validated, shall be for ever valid and none shall invalidate it. ‘Mut’a’ or the Timed-Wedlock is valid by Qur’an and was so during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet and also in the time of the first Caliph Abu Bakr - and even for about half the regime of the Second Caliph ‘Umar - but later, ‘Umar at his own discretion which is unwarranted both by the Qur’an and as per the Holy Prophet - invalidated it. The Shi’as - as they follow the Holy Qur’an guided by the Holy Prophet, hold ‘Mut’a’ as valid.

Besides Ali when he became a Caliph re-validated it and none thereafter invalidated it. Hence, even by the verdict of the Caliphate, it is valid:

الْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلَّا مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأُحِلَّ لَكُمْ مَا وَرَاءَ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَنْ تَبْتَغُوا بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

“And (all) protected (married) ones of the women (are forbidden unto you) save those whom your right hands possess. (This is) God’s written ordinance unto you; And it is allowed for you, (all women) besides these that ye may seek (them) by means of your wealth taking (them) into marriage and not committing fornication; and as such of them, ‘ye hath Mut’a’ with them, give them their dowries as a fixed reward; and it shall not be a sin on you, in whatever ye mutually agree (to vary) after the fixed reward; Verily God is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (4:24).

Forbidding by anyone what is made lawful by God is not allowed:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ

“O’ ye who believe! Forbid not (yourselves) the good things which God hath made lawful unto you -” (5:87).

Judge under the above ordinance the forbidding of ‘Mut’a’ by ‘Umar.

45. Polygamy And Islam

People without knowing what actually Islam says about Polygamy blindly criticise it. Be it known that Islam never started Polygamy but controlled it. There is no religion which has protected woman and given her the maximum desirable individual rights, as Islam has done; rather Islam is the first and the only religion which has recognised the individuality of woman in the human society.

The Verse permitting polygamy does not order a Muslim to be polygamous; on the other hand, Islam warns man that he would not be able to have more than one woman as his wife, maintaining the strict equity essential for harmony between them. Hence only with the strict observance of equity, Islam permits man to marry, up to four and at the end warns that if he could not maintain justice, he should marry only one:

فَانْكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً

“Then marry those who seem good to you, two, or three or four, and if ye fear that ye shall not deal justly (with so many) then (marry) one only” (4:3).

This is nothing but a strictly restricted permission for exigencies.

Let the critics listen to what the great scholar viz., Lady Annie Besant and the others opine:

Annie Besant declares:

“You can find others stating that the religion (Islam) is evil, because it sanctions a limited polygamy. But you do not hear as a rule the criticism which I spoke out one day in a London hall where I knew that the audience was entirely uninstructed. I pointed out to them that monogamy with a blended mass of prostitution was a hypocrisy and more degrading than a limited polygamy. Naturally a statement like that gives offence, but it has to be made, because it must be remembered that the law of Islam in relation to women was until lately, when parts of it have been imitated in England, the most just law as far as women are concerned, to be found in the world. Dealing with property, dealing with rights of succession and so on, dealing with cases of divorce, it was far beyond the law of the West, in the respect which was paid to the rights of women. Those things are forgotten while people are hypnotised by the words monogamy and polygamy and do not look at what lies behind it in the West - the frightful degradation of women who are thrown into the street when their first protectors, weary of them, no longer give them any assistance.

“I often think that woman is more free in Islam than in Christianity. Woman is more protected by Islam than by the faith which preaches monogamy. In Al-Qur’an the law about woman is more just and liberal. It is only in the last twenty years that Christian England, has recognized the right of woman to property, while Islam has allowed this right from all times. It is slander to say that Islam preaches that women have no souls”7

James A. Michener says...

“Western writers have based their charges of voluptuousness mainly on the question of women. Before Muhammad, however, men were encouraged to lake innumerable wives; he limited them to four only, and the Koran is explicit that husbands who are unable to maintain strict equality between two or more wives, must confine themselves to one. . “8

J. E. Clare McFarlane writes...

“Whether the question is considered socially, ethically, or religiously, it can be demonstrated that polygamy is not contrary to the highest standards of civilization... The suggestion offers a practical remedy for the problem of the destitute and unwanted female; the alternative is continual and increased prostitution, concubinage and distressing spinsterhood9

Suppose the wife of a man becomes incurably sick or she is proved barren, or she becomes incurably insane, should the poor soul for no fault of hers, be discarded or under such circumstances the husband be miserable for the whole of his life without any home member. Under such circumstances, even then, if the husband can fulfil the condition laid down in the verse, may have another wife.

46. Birth Control

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ مِنْ إِمْلَاقٍ

“Slay not your children for fear of poverty” (6:151).

47. Reward For Shunning The Greater Evils

Shunning the greater evils gets the other sins wiped out:

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“And (as for) those who believe and do good, certainly will We do away their evil deeds, and certainly, will We reward them the best of what they were doing” (29:7).

48. Intoxicants And Gambling

When man gets sunk too deep in sinning, he begins to delude his own self i.e., his corrupted conscience, with self-deceptive arguments in favour of his straying conduct, justifying his sinning as acts not forbidden by the law. It is argued that liquor and gambling has not been forbidden in the Qur’an. While Qur’an has used the most vehement terms with regard to liquor and gambling, prohibiting even going near it:

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِمَا وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ

“They ask thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) concerning wine and lots (gambling and games of chance); Say, in both these is great sin and also (some) profits for men; but their sin is greater than their profit; And they will ask thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) as to what they shall spend (in alms); Say, ‘whatsoever can be spared’; thus doth God maketh clear for you the signs so that ye may ponder” (2:219).

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنْصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“O’ ye who believe! intoxicants and games of chance (dedication of) stones (i.e., idols) and (divination by) arrows, are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork, so be ye away front it so that ye may be successful” (5:90).

There cannot be a more vehement expression prohibiting the use of a thing or act, than saying “Go not nigh unto it”

49. Niggardliness

A niggard is niggard to his own self - for whatever he owns he will leave here and go away without earning any good for the hereafter by spending his wealth in the right way:

وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ

“He who is niggardly is verily niggardly to his own self” (47:38).

For God says:

لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ

“Never shall ye attain to righteousness until ye give away (in the way of your Lord) of what ye love; and of whatsoever ye give, Verily, God knoweth it” (3:92).

50. Behaviour With Parents

وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِنْدَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُلْ لَهُمَا أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُلْ لَهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا

“And commanded thy Lord hath that thou shall worship not (anyone) but Him, and goodness to parents; if either or both of them reach old age with thee, utter not unto them (even so much as) ‘Fie’ nor chide them, and speak unto them a generous word” (17:23).

وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا وَإِنْ جَاهَدَاكَ لِتُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

“And We have enjoined on man goodness unto his parents; and if they (either of them) strive (to force) thee to associate (others) with Me (in worship) of which thou hast no knowledge, then thou obey them not; Unto Me is the return of ye (all) and then will I inform you of what ye were doing” (29:8).

وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ وَفِصَالُهُ فِي عَامَيْنِ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ إِلَيَّ الْمَصِيرُ

“And We did enjoin upon man concerning his parents; beareth him his mother in weakness upon weakness and his weaning taketh two years (and) saying: ‘Be thou grateful unto Me and unto thy parents’; (and remember thou that) unto Me is the ultimate return (of all),” (31:14).

وَإِنْ جَاهَدَاكَ عَلَىٰ أَنْ تُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

“And, if they contend with thee that thou should associate with Me what thou hast no knowledge of, (then thou) obey them not, and consort kindly, with them in the world, and follow thou the path of him who turneth (repentant) unto Me; then unto Me is the return of ye (all) and then will I inform you of what ye were doing” (31:15).

وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَانًا

“We have enjoined on man the doing of good to parents” (46:15).

51. Usury - Charging Interest On Any Lending

الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا فَمَنْ جَاءَهُ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فَانْتَهَىٰ فَلَهُ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

“Those who swallow interest will not (be able to) stand (in resurrection) except as standeth one whom Satan hath confounded with his touch; this because they say, trade is only like (earning) interest, whereas God hath decreed trade lawful and hath forbidden interest, wherefore whosoever (after) the admonition hath come unto him from his Lord desists, shall have what hath gone before; and his affair rests with God, and whoever returneth (to it even after the admonition); They are the inmates of the (Hell) fire, therein shall they abide” (2:275).

52. Life Of This World

إِنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ

“Verily the life of this World is only an idle sport and play” (47:36) 10

53. None Knows Where On Earth He Will Breathe His Last

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

“Verily, God is He with Whom is the knowledge of the Hour and He sendeth down the rain, and knoweth He what is in the wombs; and knoweth not any soul what he shall earn the morrow; and knoweth not any soul in what lands he shall die; Verily God is All-Knowing, All-Aware” (31:34).

54. Khitan - Circumcision

Circumcision in Islam is ‘Sunnah al-Muwakkada’ - a tradition insisted upon (very near compulsory). Its origin comes from the time of Abraham - and it is the token of Abraham’s Everlasting Covenant with the Lord. It is reported that the Holy Prophet and all the Holy Imams of his House (i.e., Ahl Al-Bayt) were born duly circumcised. Sometimes, for old age Converts like earliest Companions of the Holy Prophet, this was not insisted upon and hence they were without it:

Abraham

“This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee. Every man child among you shall be circumcised”

“And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin: and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you”

“And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in you generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money to any stranger, with is not of thy seed”

“He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money must needs be circumcised: and covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant”

“And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant” O.T. Gen. 17/10-14

Isaac

“And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded hint” Genesis 21:4

“And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said into him” Genesis 17/23

Jesus

“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb” Luke 2/21

55. Following The Crowd Blindly

أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا

“Thinkest thou that most of them do hear or understand? They are not but like the cattle; Nay! they are farther astray from the (right) path” (25:44).

People are warned against being enamoured of any hugeness of any crowd, in the matter of faith or right thinking for the majority had always been deluded by the satanic temptations and those who avoid the wrong path and been on the right one, had always been in minority. Among the men, the learned ones are few, among the learned, those with special intellect are fewer, among the intellectuals, the godly are fewer, among the godly, the saints are fewer, among the saints those chosen ones of God to be His messengers are fewer, among the messengers of God those with Scriptures or the Law Givers are fewer and among the Law Givers the Final Law Giver the Holy Prophet, is One.

This order of strength or number is there in every specie of creation. Take for instance, among the stones the costly are few, among the costly the more valuable are fewer, among the valuables, the precious ones are fewer, among the precious, diamonds are fewer and among the diamonds the Kohinoor is not known where it is now. Among the followers, the wild ones are innumerable, among the wild ones, the colourful are fewer, among the colourful those with fragrance are fewer, among the fragrant the selected species are fewer and among the selected ones, roses are fewer and among the roses those of special quality are the rarest. Take the birds. The crows and the other wild birds are innumerable, among the birds the beautiful ones are few, among the beautiful ones those with sweet voice, are fewer and the sweet-singer bird the nightingale is the rarer.

Thus, by the following verse man is warned against the actual intrinsic value of men in general:

أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا

“Thinkest thou that most of them do hear or understand? They are not but like the cattle; Nay! they are farther astray from the (right) path” (25:44).

Thus, man should not blindly be deluded by the majority for majority has always been discrediting any minority for their right thinking, simply because of their being lesser in number.

56. The Position Of The Majority Of The People

Man warned against following the crowd, influenced by multitudinous number:

وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا أُولَٰئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ

“Indeed, We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; They have hearts (hut) they understand not with it; and they have eyes (but) they see not with it; and they have ears (hut) they hear not with it; they are like cattle, nay, more astray; These are they the heedless ones” (7:179).

57. Misappropriating The Property Of Orphans

وَآتُوا الْيَتَامَىٰ أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُوا الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَهُمْ إِلَىٰ أَمْوَالِكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حُوبًا كَبِيرًا

“And give unto orphans their property, and substitute not (your) worthless things for (their) good ones, and devour not ye their property, along with your own; for verily it is a great crime” (4:2).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْيَتَامَىٰ ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًا وَسَيَصْلَوْنَ سَعِيرًا

“Verily, those who eat away the properties of the orphans unjustly, they swallow (only) fire into their bellies; and anon shall they enter the blazing Hellfire” (4:10).

58. Repel Evil With What Is Best

Man should as far as possible be good and do good and if anyone does evil, to return the evil with that which is Best. The best, is a very comprehensive term to mean, as best as the individual deserves or the situation demands:

وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ

“And equals cannot he the good and the evil. Repel thou (evil) with what is the best, when lol he between whom and thee was enmity, shall be as though he were a warm friend” (41:34).

The aim of a Muslim, in the return for the evil, should be, to be good and to do good and to try to win over another heart by doing a good turn, even in return for an evil, rather than perpetuate the hostility and the evil.

The best and the greatest example of such a conduct was presented by Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib who commanded the drink brought to him, immediately after his being mortally wounded by Abdur Rahman Ibn Muljim, first to be served to his assassin and to attend first to his convenience. Innumerable similar examples are there in the glorious lives of all the Holy Imams and even their devotees.

59. Fitna - Mischief Is Graver Then Murder

وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْل

“Mischief (Fitna) is more Grievous than Murder” (2:217).

60. Merciful Pardon In Response To Sincere Repentance Promised

As the unreasonable false belief in the false hope of any unconditional vicarious atonement encourages a man or a woman to act as a freelance in his practical life in this world, and at the same time the dejection against a merciless requital makes one desperate in his wickedness. Islam while warning against the false belief in any vicarious atonement extends the hope of the sure merciful pardon of the All-Merciful Lord in response to a sincere repentance and thus encourages man to leave the evil way and to return to righteousness, with a determination never again to resort to the evil, seeking pardon for the past, and the All-Merciful promises His merciful Pardon to such sincere repentant ones:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

“Say thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) ‘O’ My servants! who have been extravagant unto their own selves, despair ye not of the mercy of God; verity God forgiveth sins al! together: verily He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful” (39:53).

Let man seriously ponder and impartially judge, which is reasonable, and helpful to a sinner, the false belief in the imaginary vicarious atonement which gives man the impunity to proceed fearlessly in sinning or the promise of the merciful pardon against a sincere repentance which invites and encourages man to leave off sinning and return to righteousness.

61. Every One’s Action Is Being Watched

وَقُلِ اعْمَلُوا فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

“And say thou (unto them) ‘Act ye as ye will, God beholdeth your deeds, and His Apostle and the believers and then ye shall be brought back to the Knower of the hidden and the Manifest” (9:105).

The above verse clearly declares that every one’s action is being watched, not only by God but also by the Holy Prophet and the Believers.

The ordinance to act is current for ever, until the Day of the Final Judgment and along with it the watch over the conduct of the people will be naturally current.

The above verse clearly means that by the will of the Lord, the Holy Prophet and some Believers also watch the actions of the people. The Omnipresence of God is indisputable, and the presence of the Holy Prophet is definitely declared but who else can be the Believers other than those purified by the Lord Himself, i.e., the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.11.

The above verse clearly declares that in every age there will be a Believer (a member of the Ahl Al-Bayt) the Imam of the age and it has been declared by the Holy Prophet:

مَن ماتَ ولم يعرِفْ إمامَ زمانِهِ ماتَ ميتةً جاهليَّةً

"Man mata' wa lam yarifu imama zamanihi mata' maytatan jahiliyah".

He who dieth without knowing the Imam of his age, hath died the death of the age of ignorance 12 (as was Abu Jahil and Abu Lahab and the others of his kind).

Conclusion

The brief topical notes given above are just to give a general view’ of the religious and the moral ideology of the Original Islam which is identified as Shi’ism. These few leading points will be sufficient to a sincere seeker of truth to have a correct view as what Shi’ism actually means, whether it is the strict and the pure Qur’anic faith or otherwise.

This work had to be rushed through under peculiar circumstances which cannot be detailed here. I sincerely declare that it was not the work of anyone else but the fulfilment of the will of the Lord that this humble work has been brought out.

There might be some printing and the other mistakes for which I sincerely apologise, and they will certainly be avoided ‘InshaAllahu Ta’ala’ in the next edition. I request the work may be perused pardonfully to me.

Any enquiry about Islam or any Qur’anic factor will be gladly received and duly answered.

Enquiries to be addressed to:

21, Buddi Begum Street

Thousand Lights, Madras. 6

S. India. 26th Moharram 1384 A.H.

8th June 1964

S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali

The Wonderful Revolutionary Changes Effected By Muhammad The Last Apostle Of God Through The Qur’anic Teachings

The wonderful transformation, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the Last Apostle of God, so successfully effected within the short span of only twenty-three years of his apostolic mission, is itself the mightiest of the miracles the world had ever witnessed. He successfully attacked every problem of the wildest barbarism and the chronic paganism which prevailed in the world at the time of his advent and established a godly life of superb virtues, in its stead, effecting the following changes:

Humanity was united under One God.

A death blow was rendered to the misconception about the multiple number of deities.

All apostles of God were declared to be equally truthful, holy, and sinless. Thus, the Brotherhood of Religions was established.

Respect for the leaders of the other faiths was enjoined.

Truthfulness of all heavenly scriptures was declared and respect and regard to all heavenly scripture was ordained.

All kinds of worship to creatures in the place of the Creator was strictly prohibited.

All man-made distinctions of caste, colour and birth were eliminated.

Compulsory and regular congregational prayers (daily, weekly, and terminal), with the annual rehearsal of the Human Brotherhood in Hajj, were prescribed and firmly established.

Uniform methods of prayer at the fixed times, with the test of the verbal supplication to be recited, were prescribed to be strictly followed.

Idolatry of every kind was strictly prohibited and banned.

The rights of man and woman were prescribed in their details and were effectively enforced.

The minimum amount of regulated charity was made compulsory.

Celibacy was condemned, marriage encouraged, wedlock honoured.

Hays of a godly life in the world were shown and demonstrated with practical examples to be followed.

Woman was honoured; marriage was sanctified; parental rights were prescribed; widow marriage was legalized and commended.

Unlimited marriages and the institution of concubinage or the holding of unlimited number of wives was stopped and controlled through a strictly prescribed equity.

Polygamy as a curative measure was made strictly conditional, subject to perfect equality among wives.

Woman was given equal opportunity for spiritual elevation along with man.

The burial of female babies was stopped. The value of daughters was equalized to sons.

Sobriety and temperance were ordained. Use of all intoxicants was strictly prohibited.

Distribution of property was prescribed in detail and strictly enforced.

Place of worship was declared open to all worshippers, without any monopoly for any individual or community.

Nude dances were stopped, graceful dressing was prescribed.

Seeking of knowledge was made compulsory, both for man and woman, scholarship was encouraged, and scholars honoured.

Gambling and all games of chance were declared as crimes.

Adultery was declared as the most abhorred and the most severely punishable crime.

Slavery was abolished in the most practical and peaceful way, enjoining equal treatment to the slaves as compulsory, if slaves had to be maintained.

The law of ‘Maktabah’ to facilitate slaves get liberated was enforced.

Usury was strictly prohibited, loan without interest highly commended.

Socialistic pattern of society mas established through a commonwealth called ‘Bait-ul-mal.’

Accumulation of wealth was controlled through the Laws of Inheritance, and the annual taxations, with the prescribed rates.

Hoarding of food grains and other foodstuffs were declared as punishable crimes.

Just and the correct use of Weights and Measures, was ordered.

Cleanliness of body, thought, conduct and character was made compulsory.

Varieties of food and drinks and the limits of eating and drinking fixed.

Strictly regulated fasting was prescribed and declared compulsory.

Protection of travellers and helping them as much as possible, made obligatory and highly commendable.

Patronage of orphans and the destitute declared as one of the great virtues and a strongly commended quality.

Compulsion in faith strongly deprecated and strictly prohibited.

Man was given the liberty in the choice of his faith, with personal responsibility for a correct decision.

Reformation through many other characteristics and exclusively distinctive commandments was enforced through which human society was revolutionised and greatly profited.

The Various Titles Of The Holy Prophet Muhammad

The Various Titles, the Holy Prophet Muhammad has been referred to in the Heavenly Scriptures of Old and the Holy Qur’an:

The Holy Bible

| Prophet Muhammad’s Name | Reference
Old Testament | The Prophet | Deut. 18/15, 18
New Testament | The Parcelete | Dua
| The Awaited | John 1/21
| That Prophet | John 1/21
| The Comforter | John 14/16, 26 John 16/7, John 15/26
| The Spirit of Truth | John 16/13
| The Holy Ghost | John 14/26

Holy Qur’an

Prophet Muhammad’s Name
Reference

Muhammad
48:29

Ahmad
61:6

Rahmatun lil ‘-‘Alameen
21:107

Rasul
5:67

Nabi
33:56, 33:28

Basheer
25:56, 34:28

Nazeer
25:56, 34:28

Noor
61:8, 5:15

Mizan
57:25

Muzzammil
73:1

Muddaththir
74:1

Sirajan Muneer
33:46

Shaahid

Shaheed

33:45

Daa’i ila Allah

Awwal al-Muslimeen

Awwal al-Abideen

Reference to Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib in the Holy Qur’an

Salih al-Mu’minin

Man-indaho ‘ilm al-Kitab

Man yashtari Nafsaho

Yo’toona az-Zakaat wahom Rake’oon.

Reference to Jesus In The New Testament

Jesus calls himself - Son of man - Luke 9/26.

The Arabic names used in the Holy Qur’an with their anglicised names used in the English translation of the Bible

Arabic | English
Adam | Adam
Ayyub | Job
Al-Yash’a | Elisha
Dawood | David
Fir’awn | Pharaoh
Haroon | Aaron
Ibrahim | Abraham
Imran | Amran
Ilyas | Elias
Injeel | Evangel - Gospel
Is-haq | Isaac
Isma’il | Ishmael
‘Isa | Jesus
Jibril | Gabriel
Jalut | Goliath
Lut | Lot
Luqman | Lok
Majuj | Magog
Maryam | Mary
Mika’il | Michael
Musa | Moses
Muhammad or Ahmad | Parcelete, That Prophet, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Holy Ghost
Nuh | Noah
Qarun | Korah
Saba | Sheba
Sulayman | Solomon
Taurat | Torah
Uzair | Ezra
Talut | Saul
Yahudi | Jew
Yahya | John
Yunus | Jonah
Yusuf | Joseph
Zakariyya | Zachariah

Early Shi’a Qur’an Commentators

A few of the Shi’a Commentators who worked on Qur’an in First, Second, Third and the early part of the fourth century before the Ghaibah Al-Kubra.

I am indebted to Allama Raza Husayn Khan Rashid Turabi for providing me with these references - Most of these ancient Works are in his personal library.

For years, he is busy in a detailed Work on ‘Rijal’ a very great and useful venture when realised fully by this great Scholar and gifted orator, will be of immense value to those interested in the ‘‘Ilm al-Hadith’ for the scrutiny of the Traditions, i.e., the Ahadith. It will be a unique work of its kind which is imperatively needed in these days when people are deluded by the mere quotation of a ‘Hadith’ without knowing the actual position of it. It will be a yeoman service to the study of Islamic theology and the Qur’anic matters.

He has a wonderful collection of very rare and ancient basic authorities which are not commonly available even in big libraries - I could visit during my own venture all these years.

Maytham al-Tammar - 60 A.H.

Abdullah Ibn Abbas - 68 A.H.

TafsirAtiat Ibn Sa’d - 111 A.H. Atiat Ibn Sa’d Aufi Jadali Abul Hasan, one of the companions of the Fifth Holy Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Baqir.

Tafsir al-Sadooq - Muhammad Ibn Ali, Ibn Husayn Ibn Ali al-Qummi.

Tafsir al-Soddi - 127 A.H. Abu Muhammad Ismail Ibn Abdul Rahman Ibn Abi Kareemat Ibn Qoraishi.

Tafsir al-Zaid Ibn Aslam - 136 A.H. One of the companions of the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq.

TafsirHusayni - Husayn Ibn Syeed Hammad Ahwazi (The reporter from the Eighth and the Ninth Holy Imam Ali Ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’).

Tafsir Ismail Abi Ziad al-Sakooni - 150 A.H. His commentary based on Report from the 4th, 5th, and 6th Imams. Reporter from the 6th Imam.

Jabir Ibn Hyyan Koofi - 200 A.H. The celebrated Father of Chemistry who reports from the Sixth Imam.

Tafsir ul-Uza - 208 A.H. Yayya Ibn Ziadal Aqta’ Ibn Abdullah. The hands of his father were cut off on account of his being with Husayn Ibn Ali Ibn Hasan al-Musallas.

Tafsir al-Yminus - 208 A.H. Younus Ibn Abdul Rahman As-Siqatul Jaleel (Reporter from the Seventh and the Eighth Holy Imams, Musa Ibn Ja’far Al-Kazim and Ali Ibn Musa ar-Ridha’).

Tafsir al-Yaqteeni - 214 A.H. Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Isa Ibn Obaid Ibn Yaqteen (A reporter from Abi Ja’far Thani al-Jawad).

Tafsir al-Maa’zani - 249 A.H. Abu Othman Ibn Bakar Ibn Muhammad Ibn Baqiatul al Maa’zani.

Tafsir al-Mankhal - Mankhal Ibn Jameel Asadi. (One of the companions of the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq).

Fazl Ibn Shazaan - 260 A.H.

Imam Al-Hasan al-‘Askari - (Partly this Imam but mostly by Sahl Ibn Ahmad Debaji).

Tafsir al-Wahaib - 263 A.H. Abu Ali Waheeb Ibn Hafs al-Jareeri.

Tafa Abu Haneef Dainoosi - 280 A.H.

Tafsir al-Al-Ghazari - 290 A.H. Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Abbas Ibn Isa.

Ali Ibraheem Qummi - 307 A.H.

Tafsir al-Furat - 307 A.H. Furat Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Furat al-Koofi.

Tafsir al-Qotaiba - 316 A.H. Qotaiba Ibn Ahmad Ibn Shoraih al-Bokhari Ashshiye (Not to be confused with the Sunni Scholar Ibn Qataiba Dainoosi).

Tafsir -al-Ka’bi - 317 A.H. Abul Qasim Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Mahmood al-Ka’bi al-Balkhi.

Tafsir al-Ayashi - 320 A.H. Abu Nazr Muhammad Ibn Masood Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ayashi Salmi Samarqandi.

If one goes through these most ancient and the basic works on the Original side of the Qur’anic knowledge on which is based the Original Islam identified as Shi’ism, one will find that nowhere in these foremost works on Islam, is the least mention of any Tahrif al-Makani or the shortage or any addition to the present Version of the Holy Qur’an which is in our hands. If at all there is anything found in these basic authorities, it is only about ‘Tawil’ i.e., Interpretation.

In the 10th volume of Bihar Al-Anwar of Mullah Baqir Al-Majlisi, there is the discussion between Abdullah Ibn Abbas and Mu’awiyah. Ibn Abbas in answering to the Amir Sham, against his command to stop praising Ali and the Ahl Al-Bayt - never speaks of any distortion or misarrangement of the verses in the Holy Qur’an or any portion having been dropped and not incorporated into it, nor of any additions but questions Mu’awiyah, challenging him, as to what he could do to the interpretation or the ‘Tawil’ of the verses of the Qur’an which directly and exclusively speak of Ali and the Ahl Al-Bayt. This is another clear evidence of the present Qur’an undoubtedly being the very same copy of the collection made during the time of the Holy Prophet at his command and presented by the earliest Scripts the leader of them being Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib - whose collection was with the special explanatory notes from the Holy Prophet and by himself regarding the external as well as the internal meaning of the Word of God.

Translations Of The Holy Qur’an Into English Language

Translations of the holy Qur’an into English language by our Christian brethren, kept in view

G. Sale.

Memoirs of the translation by G. Sale by R. A. Devonport.

Savary’s version of the Koran - Notes by E.M. Wherry.

Translation of Holy Qur’an by Dr. with short commentary notes 1905 Edition.

Translation of the Koran by J. M. Rodwell.

Translation of the Koran by E. H. Palmer.

Selections from G. Sale’s translation with notes by S. Lane-Pool.

Notes on Sale’s translation by J. Murdock.

Notes on Koran in his work The Religion of the Koran, by A. N. Wollaston.

Sir William Muir on the Koran (Notes).

Tisdale’s sources of the Koran.

The Teachings of the Koran by H. U. W. Stanton.

A. Mingana on the style of the Koran.

The Different Titles Of The Holy Qur’an

The Final Word of God (The Holy Qur’an) has been referred to with various titles:

Arabic Words
Translation in English
Related Verse(s)

Al-Kitab
The Book
2:2, etc.

Al-Huda
The Guidance
2:2, etc.

Al-Qur’an
The Recital, what is read
2:185, etc.

Habl Allah
The Rope, the Covenant of Allah
3:103

Al-Khair
The Goodness
3:104

Al-Bayan
The Explanation
3:138

Al-Burhan
The Proof, the Argument
4:174

Al-Muhaimin
The Protector, the Guardian (of previous revelation)
5:48

An-Nur
The Light
7:157

Al-Mau’izah
The Admonition
10:57, etc.

Ash-Shifa
The Healing, the Cure
10:57, etc.

Al-Hukm (other forms of the same word, being Hikmat, Hakim, Muhkam)
The Judgment, the Wisdom
13:37, etc.

Adh-Dhikr (other forms of the same word used being, Zikra and Tazkirah)
The Reminder
15:9, etc.

Al-Haqq
The Truth
17:81

Ar-Rahmah
The Mercy
17:82

Al-Qayyim
The Maintainer of Truth
18:2

Al-Hadith
The Saying
18:6, etc.

Al-Furqan
The Distinguisher - that which makes a Distinction between Truth and Falsehood
25:1, 25:32

Al-Tanzil

Ar-Rooh

The Revelation

The Spirit, the life

26:192, etc.

42:52

An-Ni’mah
The Bounty
93:11

Al-Mubarak
The Blessed, or the one with the blessings (whose blessings are never intercepted)
21:50, etc.

This shows that the divine revelation is not one sided, but it is a multi-purpose or a multifaceted Guidance from the Universal and the All-Enveloping Conscious, Merciful, Almighty - not for anyone purpose or one age but for all purposes of life as a whole, for all times to the last, i.e., until the Final Judgment. This makes it quite evident that the Holy Qur’an, is not a mere verbal expression of the Divine Will but it has its own inherent and latent value and worth to the human race as a whole. Its words convey the meanings, and its proper recital has its own spiritual blessings of conditioning the reciter’s soul to qualify it for higher regions of spiritual life of permanent value of the eternal bliss.

1. Vide 33:33.

2. Vide 33:33.

3. Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala as-Sahihayn, Vol.3, p. 126; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Isti’ab, Vol.3, p. 1102.

4. Vide 16:43.

5. Vide 33:33.

6. See p. 140.

7. Annie Besant, The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras, June 1932, p. 3.

8. James A. Michener, “Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,” in the Reader’s Digest (American Edition) for May 1955, pp. 68-70.

9. J. E. Clare McFarlane, The Case for Polygamy London, 1934, p. 30

10. See also 6:32; 29:64; 57:20.

11. Vide 33:33.

12. References in Shi’a Books: Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni’mat, al-Sheikh al-Saduq, p. 409-410; Kifayat al-Athar, al-Khazaz al-Qummi, p. 296; Wasail al-Shi’a (Al al-Bayt), al-Hurr al-‘Amili, vol. 16, p. 246; Mustadrak al-Wasail, al-Mirza al-Nuri, vol. 18, p. 187, and others.
Sunni Books: Musnad Ahmad, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, vol. 4, p. 96; Majma’ al-Zawaid, al-Heithami, vol. 5, p. 218; Masnad al-Tiyalisi, al-Tiyalisi, p. 295; al-Ihsan Bi Tartib Sahih Ibn Haban, vol. 7, p. 49; Hilyat al-Awliya, vol. 3, p. 22 Sahih Muslim, v. 6, p.22 and Kitab Al-Sunnah by ibn Abi Aasim, p. 489 among others.

Family Trees

Family Tree Of The Prophets and Infallibles

Family Tree Of The Prophet, Imam Ali And The First Two Caliphs

Family Tree Of Ummayads

Family Tree Of Abbasids

Supplication (Du’a) of ‘Kumayl’

Granted by Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib to his devotee Kumayl Ibn Ziad - Shi’as are commended to recite this prayer at least once a week.

An intelligent reading of the ‘Du’a Kumayl’, the worded supplication granted by Ali to one of his intimate devotees Kumayl Ibn Ziad, will disclose to the reader the unique nature of the touching appeal it has to invoke the Divine Mercy as well as the sublime eloquence it presents.

Once Kumayl requested the Holy Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib for some prayer with which he could get his heart tranquilled. The Holy Imam granted this prayer saying:

“Kumayl! Take this prayer and recite it every night. If thou canst not do it every night, recite it once a week. If thou canst not do it, recite it, once a month. If thou canst not do it, recite it once a year. And Kumayl! if thou canst not do that even, recite thou, at least once in thy life”

A copy of the Arabic Text of the Prayer along with the English translation of it by Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Agha Hajj Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi, is given hereunder, not only for the information about:

The Conception of God in Islam.

The various divine attributes concerning God’s dealing with His creation.

The hopes of man, in the Divine Mercy.

The surety of the merciful response to the sincere implorations from His faithful servants.

The inimitable sublime eloquence of the divinely inspired language, its flow, and its unfailing and moving appeal to rouse the mercy of the All-Merciful Lord.

The actual tranquillity it certainly gives to the supplicant, making him confidently hopeful of the sure response.

But also, to use it as advised by Amir Al-Mu’minin to Kumayl Ibn Ziad, reciting the Arabic Text with the knowledge of the prayer and get benefited by it.

Du’a Kumayl Arabic Text And Translation

أَللّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

O Allah! Send Your blessings to Prophet Muhammad and his family

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficient, The Most Merciful

Section 1

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْألُكَ بِرَحْمَتِكَ الَّتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيٍْء

O Allah! I ask You by Your Mercy which covers all things.

وَبِقُوَّتِكَ الَّتِي قَهَرْتَ بِهَا كُلَّ شَيٍْء

By Your strengths, through which overpowers all things.

وَخَضَعَ لَهَا كُلُّ شَيٍْء

Towards which all things I submit

وَذَلَّ لَهَا كُلُّ شَيٍْء

And before which all things are humble.

وَبِجَبرُوتِكَ الَّتِي غَلَبْتَ بِهَا كُلَّ شَيٍْء

By Your power through which you overpower all things.

وَبِعِزَّتِكَ الَّتِي لا يَقُومُ لَهَا شَيْءٌ

By Your might through which nothing can resist.

وَبِعَظَمَتِكَ الَّتِي مَلأَتْ كُلَّ شَيٍْء

By Your greatness which has filled all things.

وَبِسُلْطَانِكَ الَّذِي عَلاَ كُلَّ شَيٍْء

By Your authority which towers over all things.

وَبِوَجْهِكَ الْبَاقِي بَعْدَ فَنَاءِ كُلِّ شَيٍْء

By Your face which remains after all things have perished

وَبِأَسْمَائِكَ الَّتِي مَلأَتْ أَرْكَانَ كُلِّ شَيٍْء

By Your names which have filled the foundations of all things.

وَبِعِلْمِكَ الَّذِي أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيٍْء

By Your knowledge which covers all things

وَبِنُورِ وَجْهِكَ الَّذِي أَضَاءَ لَهُ كُلُّ شَيٍْء

And by the light of Your face through which all things are lit.

يَا نُورُ يَا قُدُّوسُ

O Light! O Holy!

يَا أَوَّلَ الْأَوَّلِينَ

O First of the First!

وَيَا آخِرَ الآخِرِينَ

O Last of the Last!

Section 2

اللَّهُمَ اغْفِرْ لِي الذُّنُوبَ الَّتِي تَهتِكُ الْعِصَمَ

O Allah! Forgive me those sins which removes Your protection

اللَّهُمَ اغْفِرْ لِي الذُّنُوبَ الَّتِي تُنْزِلُ النِّقَمَ

O Allah! Forgive me those sins which brings me troubles

اللَّهُمَ اغْفِرْ لِي الذُّنُوبَ الَّتِي تُغيِّرُ النِّعَمَ

O Allah! Forgive me those sins which changes Your blessings

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي الذُّنُوبَ الَّتِي تَحْبِسُ الدُّعَاءَ

O Allah! Forgive me those sins which holds back my requests

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي الذُّنُوبَ الَّتِي تَقْطَعُ الرََّّجَاءَ

O Allah! Forgive me those sins which cut off the hopes

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي الذُّنُوبَ الَّتِي تُنْزِلُ البَلاءَ

O Allah! Forgive me those sins which brings me sufferings

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي كُلَّ ذَنْبٍ أَذْنَبْتُهُ وَكُلَّ خَطِيئَةٍ أَخْطَأْتُهَا

O Allah! Forgive me every sin I have committed and every mistake I have made.

Section 3

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيْكَ بِذِكْرِكَ

O Allah! I seek nearness to You through Your remembrance

وَأَسْتَشْفِعُ بِكَ إِلَي نَفْسِكَ

And pray for your intercession through You.

وَأَسْألُكَ بِجُودِكَ أَن تُدْنِيَنِي مِن قُرْبِكَ وَأَن تُوزِعَنِي شُكْرَكَ

Request You through Your generosity to bring me closer to You with gratitude

وَأَن تُلْهِمَنِي ذِكْرَكَ

And to inspire me with Your remembrance

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْألُكَ سُؤَالَ خَاضِعٍ مُّتَذَلِّلٍ خَاشِعٍ أَن تُسَامِحَنِي وَتَرْحَمَنِي

O Allah! I ask You obediently, and as a humble servant to be generous to me, to have mercy on me

وَتَجْعلَنِي بِقَسَمِكَ رَاضِياً قَانِعاً، وَفِي جَمِيعِ الأَحْوَاِل مُتَوَاضِعاً

And to make me satisfied and contented with Your distribution and make me humble in every way

Section 4

اللَّهُمَّ وَأَسْألُكَ سُؤَالَ مَنِ اشْتَدَّتْ فَاقَتُهُ

O Allah! I ask You as one whose poverty is intense,

وَأَنزَلَ بِكَ عِنْدَ الشَّدَائِدِ حَاجَتَهُ

who has stated to You in difficulties his needs

وَعَظُمَ فِيمَا عِنْدَكَ رَغْبَتُهُ

And whose desire for what is with You has become great.

اللَّهُمَّ عَظُمَ سُلْطَانُكَ وَعَلاَ مَكَانُكَ

O Allah! Your authority is tremendous, Your place is high,

وَخَفِي مَكْرُكَ وَظَهَرَ أَمْرُكَ

Your creation is overwhelming, Your command is clear

وَغَلَبَ قَهْرُكَ وَجَرَتْ قُدْرَتُكَ

And Your authority is great. Your power is unlimited

وَلا يُمْكِنُ الْفِرَارُ مِنْ حُكُومَتِكَ

And escape from Your control is impossible.

Section 5

اللَّهُمَّ لا أَجِدُ لِذُنُوبِي غَافِراً

O Allah! I find no forgiver of my sins,

وَّلا لِقَبَائِحِي سَاتِراً

No one to cover my shameful acts,

وَّلا لِشَيٍْء مِّنْ عَمَلِي الْقَبِيحِ بِالْحَسَنِ مُبَدِّلاً غَيْرَكَ

No one but You to change my actions into good.

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنتَ

There is no God but You,

سُبْحَانَكَ وَبِحَمْدِكَ

Glory and praise be to You!

ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي

I have wronged myself!

وَتَجَرَّأْتُ بِجَهْلِي

Daring in my ignorance,

وَسَكَنتُ إِلَي قَدِيمِ ذِكْرِكَ لِي وَمَنِّكَ عَلَيَّ

And I have taken for granted Your past remembrance of me and Your favours towards me.

Section 6

اللَّهُمَّ مَوْلايَ

O Allah! O my Protector!

كَم مِّن قَبِيحٍ سَتَرْتَهُ

How many ugly things have You concealed?

وَكَم مِّن فَاِدحٍ مِّنَ البَلاءِ أَقَلْتَهُ

How many heavy trials have You reduced?

وَكَم مِّنْ عِثَارٍ وَّقَيْتَهُ

How many falls, errors or mistakes have You prevented?

وَكَم مِّن مَّكْرُوهٍ دَفَعْتَهُ

How many undesirable deeds have You prevented

وَكَم مِّن ثَنَاٍء جَمِيلٍ لَّسْتُ أَهْلاً لَّهُ نَشَرْتَهُ

And how much beautiful praise, for which I was unworthy, have You spread around me?

Section 7

اللَّهُمَّ عَظُمَ بَلائِي

O Allah! my hardship is extremely great,

وَأَفْرَطَ بِي سُوءُ حَاِلي

My condition is too much,

وَقَصُرَتْ بِي أَعْمَاِلي

My acts are imperfect,

وَقَعَدَتْ بِي أَغْلاَلِي

My sins have tied me down,

وَحَبَسَنِي عَن نَّفْعِي بُعْدُ آمَاِلي

My hopes have held me back from my gains

وَخَدَعَتْنِي الدُّنْيَا بِغُرُورِهَا وَنَفْسِي بِجِنَايَتِهَا وَمِطَاِلي

And this world with its unrealities, my own soul has deceived me with its dishonesty and delay.

يَا سَيِّدِي فَأَسْألُكَ بِعِزَّتِكَ أَن لا يَحْجُبَ عَنْكَ دُعَائِي سُوءُ عَمَلِي وَفِعَاِلي

O my Master! So I ask You by Your might; not to let my evil works and acts cover my requests to You,

وَلا تَفْضَحَنِي بِخَفِيِّ مَا اطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ سِرِّي

Not to shame me by exposing my hidden secrets

وَلا تُعَاجِلْنِي بِالْعُقُوبَةِ عَلَى مَا عَمِلْتُهُ فِي خَلَوَاتِي

And not to hasten me to punishment for what I have done in private such as;

مِنْ سُوءِ فِعْلِي وَإِسَاءَتِي،

My evil acts in secrecy, my misdeeds,

وَدَوَامِ تَفْرِيطِي وَجَهَالَتِي

My continuous carelessness, my ignorance,

وَكَثْرَةِ شَهَوَاتِي وَغَفْلَتِي

My many desires, and my forgetfulness.

وَكُنِ اللَّهُمَّ بِعِزَّتِكَ لِي فِي كُلِّ الأَحْوَاِل رَؤُوفاً

So by Your might, O Allah! Be kind to me

وَّعَلَيَّ فِي جَمِيعِ الأُمُورِ عَطُوفاً

And merciful in all my condition

Section 8

إِلَهِي وَرَبِّي مَن لِّي غَيْرُكَ أَسْألُهُ كَشْفَ ضُرِّي وَالْنَّظَرَ فِي أَمْرِي!

O Allah and my Lord! Do I have anyone other than You to ask for removal of my troubles and consider my affairs?

إِلَهِي وَمَوْلاي أَجْرَيْتَ عَلَيَّ حُكْماً اتَّبَعْتُ فِيهِ هَوَى نَفْسِي،

My Allah and my Protector! You gave me freedom; I followed my desires and misused it

وَلَمْ أَحْتَرِسْ فِيهِ مِن تَزْيينِ عَدُوِّي،

And did not take notice of the severity of my enemies

فَغَرَّنِي بِمَا أَهْوَى وَأَسْعَدَهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ القَضَاءُ

Who deceived me through my soul and the decree helped him in this.

فَتَجَاوَزْتُ بِمَا جَرَى عَلَيَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ بَعْضَ حُدُودِكَ

I crossed the limits as set by You

وَخَالَفْتُ بَعْضَ أَوَامِرِكَ

And disobeyed some of Your commands

فَلَكَ الْحُجَّةُ عَلَيَّ فِي جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ

Therefore, You have the clear arguments against me in all these matters,

وَلا حُجَّةَ لِي فِيمَا جَرَي عَلَيَّ فِيهِ قَضَاؤُكَ،

And I have no arguments against You in that, which you have ordained

وَأَلْزَمَنِي حُكْمُكَ وَبَلاؤُكَ

And imposed on me and Your trials

Section 9

وَقَدْ أَتَيْتُكَ يَا إِلَهِي بَعْدَ تَقْصِيرِي وَإِسْرَافِي عَلَى نَفْسِي

O my Allah! I come to You, after being guilty of negligence in my actions; and being lavish on myself;

مُعْتَذِراً نَّادِماً، مُّنْكَسِراً مُّسْتَقِيلاً مُّسْتَغْفِراً مُّنِيباً، مُّقِرّاً مُّذْعِناً مُّعْتَرِفاً

I appear before You; regretful, broken, apologizing, asking forgiveness, repenting, acknowledging, submissive, and confessing

لا أَجِدُ مَفَرّاً مِّمَّا كَانَ مِنِّي

I cannot see any escape from what I have done?

وَلا مَفْزَعاً أَتَوَجَّهُ إِلَيْهِ في أَمْرِي

I cannot find any shelter towards which I can turn

غَيْرَ قَبُولِكَ عُذْرِي، وَإِدخَاِلكَ إِيَاي فِي سَعَةٍ مِّن رَّحْمَتِكَ

Except that You forgive me, have mercy on me and allow me to enter within the bounds of Your mercy.

Section 10

اللَّهُمَّ فَاقْبَل عُذْرِي

Therefore, O Allah! Accept my pleas,

وَارْحَمْ شِدَّةَ ضُرِّي

Take pity on my severe sufferings

وَفُكَّنِي مِن شَدِّ وَثَاقِي

And set me free of my burden.

يَا رَبِّ ارْحَمْ ضَعْفَ بَدَنِي وَرِقَّةَ جِلْدِي وَدِقَّةَ عَظْمِي

O Lord! Have mercy upon the weakness of my body, on the tenderness of my skin and the weakness of my bones.

يَا مَنْ بَدَأَ خَلْقِي وَذِكْرِي وَتَرْبِيَتِي وَبِرِّي وَتَغْذِيَتِي

O You who give rise to my creation and remembrance! Created me; began my upbringing and ensured my welfare and nurture from the very beginning,

هَبْنِي لابْتِدَاءِ كَرَمِكَ وَسَاِلفِ بِرِّكَ بِي

continue Your favours and generosity as before.

Section 11

يَا إِلَهِي وَسَيِّدِي وَرَبِّي

My Allah! my Master! and my Lord!

أَتُرَاكَ مُعَذِّبِي بِنَارِكَ بَعْدَ تَوْحِيدِكَ

Can You see me being punished with fire, after I have believed in Your unity?

وَبَعْدَ مَا انْطَوَى عَلَيْهِ قَلْبِي مِن مَّعْرِفَتِكَ

After my heart has acknowledged You?

وَلَهِجَ بِهِ لِسَانِي مِنْ ذِكْرِكَ

After my tongue has constantly remembered You?

وَاعْتَقَدَهُ ضَمِيرِي مِنْ حُبِّكَ

After my conscience has been strongly bound to love You and

وَبَعْدَ صِدْقِ اعْتِرَافِي وَدُعَائِي خَاضِعاً لِّرُبُوبِيَّتِكَ

After my true confession and humble prayers to You, O Lordship!

هَيْهَاتَ أَنتَ أَكْرَمُ مِنْ أَن تُضَيِّعَ مَن رَّبَّيْتَهُ

Far be it from You? You are more generous than that! that You should waste one whom You have nourished.

أَوْ تُبْعِدَ مَنْ أَدْنَيْتَهُ

Or turn away one whom You have brought near;

أَوْ تُشَرِّدَ مَنْ آوَيْتَهُ

Arive away one whom You have given shelter

أَوْ تُسْلِّمَ إِلىَ الْبلاءِ مَن كَفَيْتَهُ وَرَحِمْتَهُ

Or submit to troubles; one whom You have made self-sufficient and shown mercy.

Section 12

وَلَيْتَ شِعْرِي يَا سَيِّدِي وَإِلَهِي وَمَوْلاي

My Master! my Allah! O my Protector!

أَتُسَلِّطُ النَّارَ عَلَى وُجُوهٍ خَرَّتْ لِعَظَمَتِكَ سَاجِدَةً

Can you impose fire on the faces of those which have bowed in worship of Your greatness?

وَّعَلَى أَلْسُنٍ نَّطَقَتْ بِتَوْحِيدِكَ صَادِقَةً وَّبِشُكْرِكَ مَادِحَةً

Or on the tongues that have testified to Your unity and thanked You with praise?

وَّعَلَى قُلُوبٍ اعْتَرَفَتْ بِإِلَهِيَّتِكَ مُحَقِّقَةً

Or on the hearts that have acknowledged Your divinity with truthfulness?

وَّعَلَى ضَمَائِرَ حَوَتْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ بِكَ حَتَّى صَارَتْ خَاشِعَةً

Or on the minds that are covered by knowledge of You to an extent, that they have become humble?

وَّعَلَى جَواِرحَ سَعَتْ إِلَى أَوْطَانِ تَعَبُّدِكَ طَائِعَةً وَّأَشَارَتْ بِاسْتِغْفَارِكَ مُذْعِنَةً

Or on the limbs that have moved towards the places of Your worship in obedience, and aiming for Your forgiveness in submission?

مَّا هَكَذَا الظَّنُّ بِكَ وَلا أُخْبِرْنَا بِفَضْلِكَ عَنكَ

This can never be expected from You? Nor has it ever been reported, thanks to Your bounty,

يَا كَرِيمُ، يَا رَبِّ

O Generous One! O Lord!

Section 13

وَأَنتَ تَعْلَمُ ضَعْفِي عَن قَلِيلٍ مِّن بَلاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَعُقُوبَاتِهَا،

You know that I am too weak to bear even a small portion of this world’s troubles and punishment,

وَمَا يَجْرِي فِيهَا مِنَ الْمَكَارِهِ عَلَى أَهْلِهَا

Or the sorrow that falls on the people that live in it?

عَلَى أَنَّ ذَلِكَ بَلاءٌ وَّمَكْرُوهٌ، قَلِيلٌ مَّكْثُهُ، يَسِيرٌ بَقَاؤُهُ، قَصِيرٌ مُّدَّتُهُ

Though these troubles are passing, vanishing and short lived?

فَكَيْفَ احْتِمَاِلي لِبَلاءِ الآخِرَةِ وَجَلِيلِ وُقُوعِ الْمَكَارِهِ فِيهَا!

So how then, will I bear the trials of the hereafter? with its tremendous sufferings,

وَهُوَ بَلاءٌ تَطُولُ مُدَّتُهُ، وَيَدُومُ مَقَامُهُ، وَلا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْ أَهْلِهِ

And its prolonged hardships and everlasting state which shall never be reduced for the people?

لأَنَّهُ لا يَكُونُ إِلاَّ عَنْ غَضَبِكَ وَانتِقَامِكَ وَسَخَطِكَ وَهَذَا مَا لا تَقُومُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالأَرْضُ

For it is nothing but a result of Your punishments and anger which neither the heavens nor the earth can bear.

يَا سَيِّدِي فَكَيْفَ بِي

How then, O Lord! Can I,

وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ الضَّعِيفُ الذَّلِيلُ الْحَقِيرُ الْمِسْكِينُ الْمُسْتَكِينُ

Your weak, miserable, humble, poor, and incapable slave withstand it?

Section 14

يَا إِلَهِي وَرَبِّي وَسَيِّدِي وَمَوْلاي

My Allah! my Lord! my Protector! my Master!

لأَيِّ الأُمُورِ إِلَيْكَ أَشْكُو

Of how many matters shall I complain to You?

وَلِمَا مِنْهَا أَضِجُّ وَأَبْكِي

And for what things shall I weep and wail?

وَلِمَا مِنْهَا أَضِجُّ وَأَبْكِي

For the severe punishment

أَمْ لِطُولِ الْبَلاءِ وَمُدَّتِهِ!

or for the long period of trouble?

فَلَئِن صَيَّرْتَنِي لِلْعُقُوبَاتِ مَعَ أَعْدَائِكَ

For, if you take me to the punishments with Your enemies;

وَجَمَعْتَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ أَهْلِ بَلائِكَ

Gather me with the chastised punished people

وَفَرَّقْتَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ أَحِبَّائِكَ وَأَوْلِيَائِكَ

And separate me from those love You?

فَهَبْنِي يَا إِلَهِي وَسَيِّدِي وَمَوْلاي وَرَبِّي صَبَرْتُ عَلَى عَذَابِكَ،

Then suppose? My Allah! my Protector! my Master! my Lord! I am able to endure Your punishment?

فَكَيْفَ أَصْبِرُ عَلَى فِرَاقِكَ

how can I bear the separation from You?

وَهَبْنِي صَبَرْتُ عَلَى حَرِّ نَارِكَ،

And suppose I am able to endure the heat of Your fire?

فَكَيْفَ أَصْبِرُ عَنِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى كَرَامَتِكَ

How can I bear not being able to look for Your generosity?

أَمْ كَيْفَ أَسْكُنُ فِي النَّارِ وَرَجَائِي عَفْوُكَ

How can I remain in fire, while I have hope of Your forgiveness?

Section 15

فَبِعِزَّتِكَ يَا سَيِّدِي وَمَوْلاي أُقْسِمُ صَادِقاً، لَئِن تَرَكْتَنِي نَاطِقاً

So by Your Might! my Master! and my Protector! I swear truthfully if You leave me with the power of speech;

لأَضِجَّنَّ إِلَيْكَ بَيْنَ أَهْلِهَا ضَجِيجَ الآمِلِينَ

I will cry out to You. with the cry of the hopeful

وَلأَصْرُخَنَّ إِلَيكَ صُرَاخَ المُسْتَصْرِخِينَ

And I will scream with the voice of those who cry for help

وَلأَبْكِيَنَّ عَلَيْكَ بُكَاءَ الفَاقِدِينَ

And I will cry with the cry of those that are desperate

وَلأُنَادِيَنَّكَ أَيْنَ كُنتَ يَا وَلِيَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And I will keep calling out to You saying; Where are You? O Friend of the believers!

يَا غَايَةَ آمَاِل العَارِفِينَ

The Final Hope of those without hope!

يَا غِيَاثَ المُسْتَغِيثِينَ

Helper of those who seek help!

يَا حَبِيبَ قُلُوبِ الصَّادِقِينَ

Beloved of the truthful one

وَيَا إِلَهَ العَالَمِينَ

God of all the worlds!

أَفَتُرَاكَ، سُبْحَانَكَ يَا إِلَهِي وَبِحَمْدِكَ، تَسْمَعُ فِيهَا صَوْتَ عَبْدٍ مُّسْلِمٍ

Can You see Yourself? Glory is to You, My Allah! and Yours is the praise, Hearing within the fire, the voice of a slave submitted to You,

سُجِنَ فِيهَا بِمُخَالَفَتِهِ

Imprisoned there because of his misdeeds?

وَذَاقَ طَعْمَ عَذَابِهَا بِمَعْصِيَتِهِ

Tasting the flavor of its torments because of his disobedience?

وَذَاقَ طَعْمَ عَذَابِهَا بِمَعْصِيَتِهِ

And confined within its levels because of his sins and crimes?

وَهُوَ يَضِجُّ إلَيْكَ ضَجِيجَ مُؤَمِّلٍ لِّرَحْمَتِكَ

While he cries to You with a cry of one who is hopeful of Your mercy;

وَيُنَادِيكَ بِلِسَانِ أَهْلِ تَوْحِيدِكَ

Calls to You with the tongue of those who confess Your unity

وَيَتَوَسَّلُ إلَيْكَ بِرُبُوبِيَّتِكَ

And seeks Your help, with faith in Your Lordship?

Section 16

يَا مَوْلاي فَكَيْفَ يَبقَى فِي الْعَذَابِ وَهُوَ يَرْجُو مَا سَلَفَ مِنْ حِلْمِكَ

My Master! How shall the sinner remain in the place of torment while he has hope for Your previous forgiveness?

أَمْ كَيْفَ تُؤْلِمُهُ النَّارُ وَهُوَ يَامَلُ فَضْلَكَ وَرَحْمَتَكَ

Or how should the fire cause him pain, while he expects Your bounty and mercy?

أَمْ كَيْفَ يُحْرِقُهُ لَهِيبُهَا وَأَنتَ تَسْمَعُ صَوْتَهُ وَتَرَى مَكَانَهُ

Or how should its Hames bum him while You hear his voice and sees his place?

أَمْ كَيْفَ يَشْتَمِلُ عَلَيْهِ زَفِيرُهَا وَأَنتَ تَعْلَمُ ضَعْفَهُ

Or how should its sufferings surround him while You know of his weakness?

أَمْ كَيْفَ يَتَقَلْقَلُ بَيْنَ أَطْبَاقِهَا وَأَنتَ تَعْلَمُ صِدْقَهُ

Or how should he be tortured among its levels while You know his sincerity?

أَمْ كَيْفَ تَزْجُرُهُ زَبَانِيَتُهَا وَهُوَ يُنَادِيكَ يَا رَبَّهُ

And how can its guards torture him, while he keeps calling upon You as his Lord?

أَمْ كَيْفَ يَرْجُو فَضْلَكَ فِي عِتْقِهِ مِنْهَا فَتَتْرُكُهُ فِيهَا

How is it possible that while he is hopeful of Your grace in setting him free, that You should abandon him within it?

هَيهَاتَ مَا ذَلِكَ الظَّنُّ بِكَ

Far be it from You - That is not what is expected of You,

وَلا الْمَعْرُوفُ مِن فَضْلِكَ

Nor has it ever been known to be so, by Your grace!

وَلا مُشْبِهٌ لِمَا عَامَلْتَ بِهِ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنْ بِرِّكَ وَإِحْسَانِكَ

Nor does it resemble to the goodness and kindness You have shown to those who believe in Your unity

فَبِالْيَقِينِ أَقْطَعُ لَوْلا مَا حَكَمْتَ بِهِ مِن تَعْذِيبِ جَاحِدِيكَ

So I declare with certainty; that were it not for what You have decreed concerning the punishment for those who did not believe in You;

وَقَضَيْتَ بِهِ مِنْ إِخْلاَدِ مُعَانِدِيكَ

And had You not declared that Your enemies should remain therein forever.

لَجَعَلْتَ النَّارَ كُلَّهَا بَرْداً وَّسَلاَماً،

You would have made the fire cold and harmless,

وَمَا كَانَ لأَحَدٍ فِيهَا مَقَرّاً وَّلا مُقَاماً

And no one would have a place of rest or abode within it.

لَّكِنَّكَ تَقَدَّسَتْ أَسْمَاؤُكَ أَقْسَمْتَ أَنْ تَمْلأَهَا مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ،

But You! Holy are Your names; have sworn that You will fill it with the unbelievers,

مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ

Both amongst the Jinn and men

وَأَن تُخَلِّدَ فِيهَا الْمُعَانِدِينَ

And that You will place those who stubbornly resist therein forever

وَأَنتَ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُكَ قُلْتَ مُبْتَدَئاً، وَّتَطَوَّلْتَ بِالإِنْعَامِ مُتَكَرِّماً:

And You! Majestic is Your praise! Have said in the beginning out of Your extensive Grace, through kindness and as a favour;

أَفَمَنْ كَانَ مُؤْمِنًا كَمَنْ كَانَ فَاسِقًا لَا يَسْتَوُونَ

“What? Is he who has been a believer like the one who is a transgressor? They are not equal” (32:18)

Section 17

إِلَهِي وَسَيِّدِي فَأَسْألُكَ بِالْقُدْرَةِ الَّتِي قَدَّرْتَهَا

My Allah and my Master! Therefore, I ask You (in the name of) the fate You have enforced

وَبِالْقَضِيَّةِ الَّتِي حَتَمْتَهَا وَحَكَمْتَهَا وَغَلَبْتَ مَنْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرَيْتَهَا

And (in the name of) the destiny You have determined and imposed, overpowering thereby, those on whom You have imposed it;

أَن تَهَبَ لِي، فِي هذِهِ اللَّيْلَةِ، وَفِي هَذِهِ السَّاعَةِ

To forgive me tonight, and at this hour;

كُلَّ جُرْمٍ أَجْرَمْتُهُ

every offence I have committed;

وَكُلَّ ذَنْبٍ أَذْنَبْتُهُ

every sin I have performed;

وَكُلَّ قَبِيحٍ أَسْرَرْتُهُ

every ugly thing I have concealed

وَكُلَّ جَهْلٍ عَمِلْتُهُ،

And all the mistakes that are mine,

كَتَمْتُهُ أَوْ أَعْلَنتُهُ،

hidden or disclosed;

أَخفَيْتُهُ أَوْ أَظْهَرْتُهُ

Covered or open,

وَكُلَّ سَيِّئَةٍ أَمَرْتَ بِإِثْبَاتِهَا الْكِرَامَ الكَاتِبِينَ

And every evil act which You have commanded the noble writers to record

الَّذِينَ وَكَّلْتَهُم بِحِفْظِ مَا يَكُونُ مِنِّي

Those whom You have appointed to watch over what appears from me

وَجَعَلْتَهُمْ شُهُوداً عَلَيَّ مَعَ جَوَارِحِي،

And whom You have made, along with my bodily members, witness against me!

وَكُنتَ أَنتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيَّ مِن وَّرَائِهِمْ،

‘And You were Yourself the Watcher’ (Surah-Al-Maidah-Ayah 117) over me from behind them

وَالشَّاهِدَ لِمَا خَفِي عَنْهُمْ،

And the witness of what is hidden from them

وَبِرَحْمَتِكَ أَخْفَيْتَهُ،

But through Your mercy, You concealed it

وَبفَضْلِكَ سَتَرْتَهُ

And through Your Grace You covered it

وَأَن تُوَفِّرَ حَظِّي مِن كُلِّ خَيْرٍ تُنْزِلُهُ،

And I ask You to increase my portion, in all the good that You have sent down

أَوْ إِحْسَانٍ تُفْضِلُهُ

And in all the kindness that You have given

أَوْ بِرٍّ تَنْشِرُهُ،

And in the virtue that You have extended

أَوْ رِزْقٍ تَبْسُطُهُ

And in the sustenance that You have spread,

أَوْ ذَنْبٍ تَغْفِرُهُ

And the sins which You forgive

أَوْ خَطَأٍ تَسْتُرُهُ

And in the misdeeds which You conceal

Section 18

يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ

My Lord, my Lord, my Lord!

يَا إِلَهِي وَسَيِّدِي وَمَوْلاي وَمَاِلكَ رِقِّي

My Allah! my Master! My Protector! Owner of my freedom!

يَا مَنْ بِيَدِهِ نَاصِيَتِي

O He, in whose hand is my destiny!

يَا عَلِيماً بِضُرِّي وَمَسْكَنَتِي

O He, who knows my hardship and my misery!

يَا خَبِيراً بِفَقْرِي وَفَاقَتِي

O He, who is aware of my poverty and my needs!

يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ

My Lord, my Lord, my Lord!

أَسْألُكَ بِحَقِّكَ وَقُدْسِكَ

I ask You by Your truth. Your holiness

وَأَعْظَمِ صِفَاتِكَ وَأَسْمَائِكَ

And the greatness of Your attributes and names,

أن تَجْعَلَ أَوْقَاتِي فِي اللَّيلِ وَالنَّهَارِ بِذِكْرِكَ مَعْمُورَةً،

To grant; that my time, by day and by night, be occupied with Your remembrance

وَبِخِدْمَتِكَ مَوْصُولَةً،

And bound to Your services,

وَّأَعْمَاِلي عِنْدَكَ مَقْبُولَةً،

And let my work be acceptable to You

حَتَّى تَكُونَ أَعْمَاِلي وَأَوْرَادِي كُلُّهَا وِرْداً وَّاحِداً،

To such an extent that all my deeds and habits may become one single effort

وَّحَاِلي فِي خِدْمَتِكَ سَرْمَداً

And my occupation with Your service everlasting.

Section 19

يَا سَيِّدِي، يَا مَنْ عَلَيْهِ مُعَوَّلِي

My Master! O He! Upon whom I depend?

يَا مَنْ إلَيْهِ شَكَوْتُ أَحْوَاِلي

O He! To whom I complain about my condition?

يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ

My Lord, my Lord, my Lord!

قَوِّ عَلَى خِدْمَتِكَ جَوَارِحِي

Strengthen my limbs for Your service

وَاشْدُدْ عَلىَ الْعَزِيمَةِ جَوَانِحِي

And increase my will in this determination

وَهَبْ لِي الْجِدَّ فِي خَشْيَتِكَ

And grant me that I might be serious in fearing You,

وَالدَّوَامَ فِي الإتِّصَاِل بِخِدْمَتِكَ

And remain forever occupied in Your service to such an extent;

حَتَّى أَسْرَحَ إِلَيكَ فِي مَيَادِينِ السَّابِقِينَ

That I may race faster towards You in the field with those who are the foremost

وَأُسْرِعَ إلَيْكَ فِي الْمبُادِرِينَ

And I may hurry on with those;

وَأَشْتَاقَ إلىَ قُرْبِكَ فِي الْمُشْتَاقِينَ

who rush anxiously to be near You

وَأَدْنُوَ مِنْكَ دُنُوَّ الْمُخْلِصِينَ

And I may be near you like the sincere ones who are near You

وَأَخَافَكَ مَخَافَةَ الْمُوقِنِينَ

And I may fear You like those firm believers who fear You

وَأَجْتَمِعَ فِي جِوَارِكَ مَعَ الْمُؤْمنِينَ

And I may join in the assembly of the faithful near You.

Section 20

اللَّهُمَّ وَمَنْ أَرَادَنِي بِسُوٍء فَأَرِدْهُ

O Allah! Wish him ill who wishes ill for me.

وَمَن كَادَنِي فَكِدْهُ

And plot against him who plots against me

وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنْ أَحَسَنِ عَبِيدِكَ نَصِيباً عِنْدَكَ

And make me one of the most excellent of Your slaves

وَأَقْرَبِهِم مَّنْزِلَةً مِّنْكَ

And the nearest to You,

وَأَخَصِّهِمْ زُلْفَةً لَّديْكَ

and those in close proximity,

فَإِنَّهُ لا يُنَالُ ذَلِكَ إِلاَّ بِفَضْلِكَ

For that cannot be attained without Your favour,

وَجُدْ لِي بِجُودِكَ

Be generous to me with Your generosity,

وَاعْطِفْ عَلَيَّ بِمَجْدِكَ

And extend Your grace towards me by Your glory

وَاحْفَظْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ

And protect me by Your mercy.

وَاجْعَل لِّسَانِي بِذِكْرِكَ لَهِجاً

Let my tongue speak in remembrance of You

وَّقَلْبِي بِحُبِّكَ مُتَيَّماً

Let my heart be filled with Your love

وَّمُنَّ عَلَيَّ بِحُسْنِ إِجَابَتِكَ

Be kind to me with favourable acceptance

وَأَقِلْنِي عَثْرَتِي

Reduce my mistakes

وَاغْفِرْ زَلَّتِي

And forgive my sins

فَإِنَّكَ قَضَيْتَ عَلَى عِبَادِكَ بِعِبَادَتِكَ

For You have ordered Your worship for Your servants,

وَأَمَرْتَهُم بِدُعَائِكَ

Commanded them to ask from You

وَضَمِنتَ لَهُمُ الإِجَابَةَ

And assured them that they would be answered.

فَإِلَيْكَ يَا رَبِّ نَصَبْتُ وَجْهِي

So upon You, my Lord! I have turned my face and towards You,

وَإلَيْكَ يَا رَبِّ مَدَدتُّ يَدِي

My Lord! I have extended my hand

فَبِعِزَّتِكَ اسْتَجِبْ لِي دُعَائِي

Therefore (in the name) of Your honour, accept my prayer

وَبَلِّغْنِي مُنَاي

And make me attain my hopes

وَلا تَقْطَعْ مِن فَضْلِكَ رَجَائِي

And by Your favour, do not cut short my hopes

وَاكْفِنِي شَرَّ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ مِنْ أَعْدَائِي

And protect me from the evil of my enemies from among the Jinn and men!

يَا سَرِيعَ الرِّضَا

O He! whose pleasure is quickly achieved!

اغْفِرْ لِمَن لا يَمْلِكُ إِلاَّ الدُّعَاءَ

Forgive one whose only wealth is in prayer?

فَإِنَّكَ فَعَّالٌ لِّمَا تَشَاءُ

For You do, what You will!

يَا مَنْ اسْمُهُ دَوَاءٌ

O He! whose name is a remedy,

وَذِكْرُهُ شِفَاءٌ

Whose Remembrance is a cure!

وَطَاعَتُهُ غِنًى

And whose obedience is wealth!

ارْحَم مَّن رَّأْسُ مَاِلهِ الرَّجَاءُ

Have mercy upon him whose capital is hope

وَسِلاَحُهُ الْبُكَاءُ

And whose weapon is tears

يَا سَاِبغَ النِّعَمِ

O You, who has abundant blessings

يَا دَافِعَ النِّقَمِ

And removes misfortunes,

يَا نُورَ الْمُسْتَوْحِشِينَ فِي الظُّلَمِ

O Light of those who are lonely in the darkness!

يَا عَالِماً لا يُعَلَّمُ

O Knower! Who was never taught!

صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

Bless Muhammad and his family;

وافْعَلْ بِي مَا أَنتَ أَهْلُهُ

do with me what is worthy of You

وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالأَئِمَّةِ الْمَيَامِينَ مِنْ آلِهِ

And bless his messenger and the holy Imams of his household

وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيماً كَثِيراً

And give them abundant peace Ameen

Abbreviations of the Authorities Referred to in This Work

A.D. - Abu Dawood - Sunan of.

A.F. - Abul Futh - Commentary, Tafsir.

A.F. - Abul-Fida.

A.K. - Asim al-Kufi.

A.N. - Abu-Naim.

A.R. - Alaihir Rahma.

A.P. - Agha Pooya (Hujjat ul-Islam Ayatullah Hajj Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi).

A.Y. - Abdullah Yousuf Ali’s Translation of the Holy Qur’an.

Br. - Tafsir-Burhan (Arabic)

Bd. - Baidavi Tafsir - Muhammad Nasiruddin Abdullah Al-Baidavi.

B.G. - Bhagavat Gita (Hindu).

Bh. - Baihiqi.

B.H. - Badsha Hussain’s Translation of the Holy Qur’an (Eng.).

Ch. - Chapter.

C.S. - Islam’s Attitude towards Women and Orphans – by C. - Soorma.

D.A1. - Durr al-Manthur (Tafsir) (Arabic) Jalaluddin Suyuti.

D.P. - Dhama Padam (Buddhist Scripture).

EHI. - Early History of Islam - S.S. Husayn 1933 Edn.

F.A. - Maulvi Farman Ali’s Translation (Urdu).

F.B. - Fathul-Bari.

F.R. - Faqruddin Razi.

G.S. - Ghulam Sarwar’s Translation of Holy Qur’an (English).

H. - Hitti’s History of the Arabs.

H.H. - Hayatul-Ha’iwan.

HI. - History of Islam - Zakir Husayn.

H.Q. - Holy Qur’an.

HS. - Habibus-Siyar.

H.S. - History of the Saraseens - Amir Ali’s.

H. W. - Haqiqatul Wahi - Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian.

I At. - Ibn-Athir.

IM. - Ibn Majah - Sunan of.

I.A. - Ibn-Asakir.

I.D. - Ibn-Dawood Sunan

I. J. - Ibn Jarir Tabari - Commentary - Tafsir.

IKh. - Izalatul-Khifa.

ImM. - Imam Malik.

I.M. - Ibn Mas’ud.

Is. - Istee’aab.

IT. - Itqan of Jalaluddin al-Suyuti.

JT. - Jama al-Tirmizi.

K. - Tafsir al-Kashshaf.

KU. - Kanzul Ummal.

M. - Mishkat.

M.A. - Maulvi Muhammad Ali’s Translation of the Holy Qur’an (English)

M.B. - Majma’ul-Biyan. (Tafsir-Arabic)

Md.N. - Madaarijun-Nubuwwah.

MIH. - Musnad al-Imam-Ahmad Ibn Hambal.

ML. - Mawahibul-Ladunniya.

MM. - Managib al-Murtazavi.

MML. - Mawatta of Malik.

M.N. - Ma’aarijun Nubuwwah.

MnN. - Minhajun-Nubuwwat.

Mq. - Maqbool Ahmad’s Translation (Urdu).

M.S. - Manhajus Sadiqeen (Tafsir) (Persian).

Mus. - Mustadrak.

V. - There is a note to this Verse.

N.J.D. - N.J. Dawood’s translation of the Holy Qur’an (Egyptian).

Ns. - Nisai.

N.T. - New Testament.

O.A. - Obaidullah Amratsari.

O.T. - Old Testament.

P. - Pickthall’s Translation of the Holy Qur’an (English).

Pl. - Palmer’s Translation of the Holy' Qur’an (English).

P.R. - Please Refer.

RA. - Ruazatul-Ahbab.

Rh.A. – Rahmatu Allah alayh.

Rd. - Rodwell’s translation of the Holy Qur’an (English).

R.F. - Refer to Fiqh.

Rinv. - Refer to the immediately next verse.

RN. - Riazun Nazarah.

Rnv. - Refer to note to the Verse.

RS. - Rawdatus-Safa.

RV. - Reference used before any Number of the Verse.

R.Z. - Fakhruddin Razi.

Rnt. - Refer to the New Testament of the Bible.

S. - Safi (Tafsir)

S.B. - Sahih Bokhari.

S.F. - Siratul Farooq.

S.l. - Spirit of Islam - Amir Ali’s.

SI. - Sale’s Translation of the Holy Qur’an (English).

S.M. - Sahih Muslim.

S.Mh. - Sawique-Mohriqa.

SAI. - Siratul-Muhammadiya.

S.T. - Sharhe Tajrid.

T.A. - Tarikh al-Ahmadi.

IB. - Tabari - History of.

Th. - Tabarani.

TH. - Tafsir al-Husayny - of Kamaluddin Husayn Kashifi.

Th. - Sa’labi.

Th. - Tafsir al-Tha’lubi.

T.K. - Tafsir al-Kabir.

T.Kh. - Tarequl-Khamees.

T.Kl. - Tarikhul-Khulafa.

Tr. - Tirmizi.

UB. – Umdat ul-Byan - commentary by Maulvi Sayyid Ammar Ali.

UG. – Usd ul-Ghaba.

V. - Verse.

V. - Verse of the same Sura.

IF.M. - William Muir’s - Life of Muhammad.

Z. - Zamakhshari - Commentary - Tafsir.

A Note For The Reader

A Note Of Caution Essential For The Readers Of The Holy Qur’an

Every sincere seeker of the Quranic truth, before he proceeds to read the Holy Book, should first know, remember and keep in view the declaration of the Holy Prophet:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: إني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي فإنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض.

‘Verily I leave amidst you the Two Weighty (important) things, the Book of God (the Qur’an) and my Itrat, Ahl Al-Bayt. If ye hold fast to these Two, never will ye get astray’, never will these Two be separated from each other, until they both return unto me at the Cistern (of’ Kawthar’)’ 1

Thus, after the Holy Prophet, the correct meaning or interpretation of the Qur’an can be had from the Ahl Al-Bayt and from none else.

About the nature of its contents, the Qur’an itself cautions its readers saying:

هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ

“He (God) it is Who hath revealed the Book (Quran) to you, some of its verses are decisive’, they are the essence of the Book and others are ambiguous’, so as for those in whose hearts is perversity, they follow the part of it which is ambiguous, seeking to mislead, (people) and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation, but none knows its interpretation except God and those who are firmly established in knowledge” (3:7).

Besides the ambiguous verses called the ‘Mutashabihaat’ there are also the Alphabetical Symbols called the ‘Huroof al-Muqatta’aat’ with which some of the Surahs (i.e. the Chapters) of the Qur’an begin. The meaning of the ‘Mutashabihaat’ and the ‘Huroof al-Muqatta’aat’ is known to God and those entrusted by God, with the interpretation of this divinely coined code. The strict secrecy maintained through the ambiguity of certain verses and the symbolic code, is obviously purposeful, for Otherwise, any purposeless use of any ambiguity and the aimless employ of the isolated meaningless letters, does not at all become of the Authority, which is All-Knowing and All-Wise, and when the object of the revelation of the matter is nothing but guidance.

Besides the very act of securing the information as such a closely guarded secret, undoubtedly suggests that the knowledge so much secured, must be too high to be given out to an ordinary man, and too important to be entrusted to one and all of the members of the human race as a whole. It is a known fact that matters of extra ordinary import and of special value meant for any particular use, can only be entrusted to the chosen and the trusted ones.

Thus, the Qur’an has secured with the Ahl Al-Bayt who are endowed with the knowledge of the Holy Book, in its fullness so that the knowledge contained in it may be administered to the people according to the respective levels of their intellect and understanding. The famous Persian poet says:

“Ba Kharabaat nasheenan ze karaamaat malaaf

Har sukhan jai wa har nokta makaani daarad”

Utter not matters of higher knowledge to the vagabonds

Every word has a place, and every letter has a position.

Man left to himself since his birth, can never by himself know who is who and what is what in his very immediate environment. With this personal dependence and the individual incapacity, man naturally needs someone already educated to educate him.

Thus, the All-Merciful Lord sent His own inspired or educated ones i.e. His Apostles to educate mankind in every age, in the different parts of the earth, by preaching the Word of God to enable them to live a healthy life on earth. The apostles of God treated their people with full regard to the individual differences in the native endowments and the respective levels of intellect and understanding among their followers. The great mystic poet Rumi says:

“Bar sima al-raast har tan cheer neest

To’ma al-har morghaki anjeer neest?”

To hear the truth, every ear is not fit (as)

The food of every bird is not one and the same.

The phenomena of the individual differences in the native endowments, play its role in the people of every age, and the same is true with the followers of the Holy Prophet. Though some people moved very closely with the Holy Prophet, but what was given to one companion, was not given to the other. Though there were many companions, but of them all, only about Salman the Holy Prophet said: “As Salman minna Ahl Al-Bayt” i.e. Salman is of us, the Ahl Al-Bayt.

The Holy Prophet did not go away from the world leaving the Book of God containing the ambiguous passages and the alphabetical symbols for man in his search for the knowledge contained in it, to wander bewildered with the imaginary wishful conjectures and fanciful conflicting interpretations of the matter in it. The Holy Prophet under the command from the Lord:

يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ

“‘O!’ (Our) Prophet (Muhammad) convey thou that which hath been sent down unto thee, and if thou doeth it not thou hast not conveyed His (God’s) message (at all). Verily God will protect thee from the (mischief of) the people, verily God guideth not the disbeliever people’’ (5:67).

Declared Ali Ibn Abu Talib to be in his place, the Commander of the Faithful (Muslims) saying:

مَنْ كَنَّتْ مَوْلَاَهُ فَهَذَا عَلِيُّ مَوْلَاِهِ

“Man kunto Mawla, fa hadha Aliyun Mawla”

i.e., Of whomsoever I am the master, this Ali is his master. 2

Besides this declaration about Ali, there are numerous other traditions of the Holy Prophet about the unique position of Ali next only to the Holy Prophet, and the one concerned with knowledge is:

أنا مدينة العلم و عليّ بابها

‘Ana Madinat ul-‘Ilm, wa Aliyun Babuha’

I am the City of knowledge, and Ali is its Gate. 3

Thus, the position of Ali was openly made known by repeated declarations about his identity with the Holy Prophet so that those who sincerely desired knowledge from the Holy Prophet may have it from Ali.

In view of the importance of the Qur’an and the nature of the knowledge contained in it, the Holy Prophet had announced to the Muslims the aforesaid tradition saying that he has left the Qur’an and his Ahl Al-Bayt, who will not be separated from each other, and if the Muslims remain attached to these Two, they will never get astray.

It needs only common sense for anyone to know that if a mere book had been sufficient for the guidance of mankind, the Almighty God Who created the heavens and the earth, could have sent down a book from heaven and there would never have been any necessity of anyone coming with it as an apostle of God, to suffer that which every one of the holy men suffered in this world. Moses came with the ‘Tora’ (the Pentateuch - The Scripture given to him) to explain its contents and suffered horrible persecution. To explain the teachings of Moses and for further guidance towards their practical value, there came another apostle of God called Jesus to be ridiculed and tortured by the people who disbelieved both in the Commandments as well as in the Apostle Jesus himself.

Similarly, had the Qur’an alone been sufficient for the guidance of the human race and if it had been revealed for any independent use without any guide towards its secrets, it would never have contained the alphabetical symbols which evidently and undoubtedly are secret codes, and it would have comprised only of plain verses without the ambiguous ‘Mutashabihaat’ the knowledge of which has been announced to be with the ‘Rasikhoona fi ‘l-‘Ilm’ those deeply established in knowledge, with even the names of the hinted custodians of the knowledge to remain concealed. The secrecy about the names of those who possessed the secured knowledge, also suggests the importance of the contents.

If the identity of the trusted ones had been let known openly to one and all, there was either the risk against their holy lives, or it may be a test for man to seek after them aided with their identification given in the Holy Book. And if the mere recitation of the Qur’an had by itself been sufficient for the guidance of mankind, i.e., if the Book of God by itself had been sufficient as was imagined by someone who said ‘Hasbuna Kitab Allah’, the Holy Prophet, having concluded his ministry or mission, would have quietly departed from this world or would have at the most declared that he was leaving behind him only the Book of God. But his saying that he leaves the Holy Book with his Ahl Al-Bayt establishes the fact that the Holy Book by itself would never be understood fully.

Now it is left to the sincerity of the seekers of the knowledge of the Qur’an to have it only from the agency or the source authorised by God and the Holy Prophet viz., the Ahl Al-Bayt and never from any other self-assumed authority.

Every one of the educated worlds, knows it well that there are imitators in every field and the imitators in the religious field are more dangerous for they ruin the interest of man both in this life and the life hereafter as well. Since the imitators in the religious field are very difficult to be made out by ordinary men, the great mystic poet Rumi cautions man saying:

‘Aiy basa iblees Adam Tal’at ast

Pas bahar dasti nashaayad daad dast’

Often times Satan appears in human form; Thus, (one should not give his) hand

in every hand that seems to be human.

The common man among the Muslims is generally misled by the term ‘Sahabi ar-Rasul’ (the Companion of the Holy Prophet). It must be known that all ‘Sahabas’ (companions) were not equal in their faith in God and the faithfulness to the Holy Prophet. Abu Jehl is also called a ‘Sahabi ar-Rasul’ and the Muslim world knows what kind of man he was, and Salman al-Farsi was also a ‘Sahabis’. Can these two be ever compared as equals, by anyone with common sense, among us? Besides there can never be any comparison between the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, the purified ones by God Himself, and the companions, all of whom were once sinners before embracing Islam, some of them were hidden enemies and some opportunists who deserted the Holy Prophet and left the Muslim ranks and took to their heels in the most trying and crucial phases of the battles for the faith. Hence let not the title ‘Sahabi’ mislead anyone, to mean that whatever, he says to be necessarily true or correct.

Thus, let us not worry ourselves with others, but be content with the guidance, the Holy Prophet has blessed us with and be concerned with the source of the Ahl Al-Bayt, to have the blessings of the knowledge of the Qur’an for the Holy Prophet has definitely said that by remaining attached to these Two. never, never will we get astray.

There is another important point which every sincere seeker of the Qur’anic knowledge, needs to know and remember, that mere knowledge of the syntax and the etymology of the Arabic language does not qualify or warrant anyone to be also the authentic source of the correct interpretation of all the contents of the Qur’an. Besides the open announcement by God Himself that the Book revealed by Him contains the ambiguous ‘Mutashabihaat’ the knowledge of which is with Him and those deeply established by Him in knowledge, there is another caution issued by God Himself:

إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ

“Most surely, it is an Honoured Qur’an” (56:77).

فِي كِتَابٍ مَكْنُونٍ

“In the Book that is Hidden” (56:78).

لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ

“Touch it not save the purified ones” (56:79).

Let us ask the Qur’an itself as to who the purified ones are, so that we may confidently resort to them for the correct knowledge of the Final Word of God, for God has promised to guide those who strive in His way:

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا

“And those who strife in Us, We certainly show them Our ways” (29:69).

The Qur’an directs us to the following verse:

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا

“Verily, Verily, willeth God to keep away from you every uncleanliness, ‘O’ Ahl Al-Bayt! and to purify you, a thorough purifying” (33:33).

Thus, the announcement of the Holy Prophet saying that he has left the Qur’an with the Ahl Al-Bayt fully agrees with the above declaration of the Lord.

In the light of the above guidance from the Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet, it is undoubtedly established that none, but the Ahl Al-Bayt can teach mankind the correct meaning of the Qur’an as willed by God and desired by the Holy Prophet, and only that which the Ahl Al-Bayt would say about the Qur’an will be correct and everything other than that, will be fanciful conjectures motivated with some selfish end or other.

Having declared the truth about the correct source of the knowledge of the Qur’an one can only quote the following verse of the Holy Book to every seeker of the Qur’anic knowledge:

إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا

“Verily We have shown him (man) the (right) way; Let him be grateful (and accept it) or let him be ungrateful (and reject it)” (76:3).

1. Tafsir al-Kabir, Tafsir Durr al-Manthur and many others.

2. Mishkat; Khasais; Nisai; Rawdhat al-Ahbab; Rawdhat as-Safa; Musnad al-Itnam Ahmed Humbal; Suyooti etc.

3. Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala as-Sahihayn, Vol.3, p. 126; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Isti’ab, Vol.3, p. 1102.

Topic Tags:

Qur'anic Exegesis (Tafsir) [8]

Beliefs and Doctrine [9]

Author(s):

Mirza Mahdi Pooya [2]

S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali [3]

Publisher(s):

Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an [4]

Source URL: https://al-islam.org/holy-quran-final-testament-introduction-mirza-mahdi-pooya-sv-mir-ahmad-ali

Links
[1] https://www.addtoany.com/share
[2] https://al-islam.org/person/mirza-mahdi-pooya
[3] https://al-islam.org/person/sv-mir-ahmad-ali
[4] https://al-islam.org/organization/tahrike-tarsile-quran
[5] https://al-islam.org/printpdf/book/export/html/178858
[6] https://al-islam.org/printepub/book/export/html/178858
[7] https://al-islam.org/printmobi/book/export/html/178858
[8] https://al-islam.org/tags/tafsir
[9] https://al-islam.org/tags/beliefs