THEN I WAS GUIDED chapter2

THEN I WAS GUIDED

Chapter 2

The Opinion of the Quran regarding the Companions 

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First of all, I must say that Allah - praise be to Him the Most High - commended, in many 

places in His Holy Book, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah who loved. obeyed and 

followed the Messenger without personal greed and without opposition or arrogance, and only wanted the acceptance of Allah and His Messenger; those Companions have pleased Allah and He pleased them, and that is the way for those who fear Allah. 

This group of the Companions are appreciated by the Muslims because of their attitudes 

towards the Prophet (saw) and their works with him, therefore they are liked and respected by all Muslims, and they are appreciated whenever people mention their names. 

My study does not concern itself with this group of Companions who are respected by both 

the Sunnis and the Shia, nor is it concerned, with those who were well known for their 

hypocrisy, and who are cursed by all Muslims, Shia and Sunnis, whenever their names are 

mentioned. 

However, my study is concerned with the group of Companions about whom the Muslims 

have expressed different views. There are verses in the Holy Qur'an where they are rebuked 

and threatened because of their attitudes in certain positions, and the Messenger of Allah 

(saw) warned them on many occasions, and warned other people about them. 

The outstanding differences between the Shia and the Sunnis is concerned with this group of 

Companions, because the Shia criticize their sayings and deeds and complain about their 

justice, whereas they are respected by the Sunnis, in spite of their contradictions. My study is 

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concerned with this group of the Companions because through it I will be able to reach the 

truth, or part of it. I say that, so that no one may think that I have neglected the Quranic verses which commend the Companions to the Messenger of Allah, and that I exposed the verses which criticize them. In fact through my research I discovered that some verses contain praise 

for the Companions, but if you read in between the lines you find that they contain criticism 

of them, and vice versa. 

I shall not write here about all the hard work that I have done in the past three years in 

preparing this study, but I will confine myself to some Qur'anic verses as examples, and not 

for any specific reason. For those who want to go further, I advise them to research and 

compare, as I did, in order that they may find the Right Faith by themselves, and through their own work. That is what Allah wants for everybody, and that is what the conscience of each individual wants. Thus, one would achieve an absolute conviction that will not be shaken by any storm. After all, the divine guidance which results from personal conviction is far better than that which comes as a result of external factors. 

Allah - the Most High - says in praise of His Prophet (saw): "And found you unable to see 

[the way] then He showed you the way" [Holy Qur'an 93: 7]. That is He found you searching 

for the truth, so He led you to it. 

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He also said: "And those who strive hard for Us, We will guide them in Our ways" [Holy 

Qur'an 29: 69]. 

1. The turning back verse 

Allah - the Most High - says in His Glorious Book: "And Muhammad is no more than a 

messenger, the messengers have already passed away before him, if then he dies or is killed, 

will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no 

means do harm to Allah in the least, and Allah will reward the grateful. " Allah, the Great, has 

told the truth [Holy Qur'an 3: 144]. 

This Qur'anic verse is clear about how the Companions will turn back upon their heels, and 

only a few will stand their ground, as the above Qur'anic verse indicated in the expression of 

Allah about them. Those who stand their ground and do not turn back are the grateful, for the grateful are only a small minority, as in the words of Allah- the Most High: "And very few of My servants are grateful" [Holy Quran 34: 13]. 

Also there are many sayings of the Holy Prophet (saw) which explain the "turning back", and 

we will refer to some of them, and even if Allah - the Most High - did not specify the 

punishment of those who turned back on their heels in this Qur'anic verse: He glorified the 

grateful who deserve His reward. However, it is important to know that those who turned 

back on their heels do not deserve the reward of Allah and His forgiveness, as has been 

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emphasized by the Messenger of Allah (saw) in many of his sayings, some of we will discuss 

- if Allah wills - in the course of this book. We could not explain the Qur'anic verse with 

reference to Tulayha, Sujah and al-Aswad al-Ansi, out of respect for the Companions, 

because the above-mentioned Companions have turned back and abandoned Islam, and even 

claimed the prophecy during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allahs who fought them and 

finally defeated them. Nor indeed can we explain the Qur'anic verse with reference to Malik 

Ibn Nuwayrah and his followers, who refused to pay Zakat (alms) in the time of the caliph 

Abu Bakr, for many reasons. They refused to pay al-Zakat (alms) and give it to Abu Bakr 

because they wanted to wait and see what happened, for they had accompanied the Messenger 

of Allah on his farewell pilgrimage, and voted for Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib at Ghadir Khum 

after the Messenger of Allah appointed him as Caliph after him, and indeed Abu Bakr himself 

voted for Ali. Therefore, they were astonished when a messenger from the caliph came to tell 

them the news of the holy Prophet's death and at the same time asked them to pay Zakat in the name the new caliph, Abu Bakr. It is a case in which history does not want to go too deep, for the sake of the Companion's honour. Furthermore, Malik and his followers were Muslims according to the testimony of Umar and Abu Bakr themselves and other Companions who disapproved of Khalid ibn al-Walid's killing of Malik. History testifies that Abu Bakr paid 

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compensation for Malik's death to his brother Mutammem out of the Muslim's treasury, and 

apologized for his killing. It is well established that the apostate must be killed, and no 

compensation be paid out of the Muslim's treasury for his killing, and no apologies issued for 

killing him. 

The important thing is that the "turning back" verse refers to the Companions who lived with 

the Messenger of Allah in al-Medinah al- Munawwarah, and indicates the immediate "turning 

back" after the Prophet's death. The Prophet's sayings explain all these things in such a clear 

way, that no one could doubt it. We shall deal with these matters soon, if Allah wills. History 

also testifies for the "turning back" that happened after the death of the Messenger of Allah, 

and when we view the events which took place among the ranks of the Companions we notice 

that only a few managed to come out unscathed. 

2. The Holy War [Jihad] Verse 

Allah - the Most High - said: "O You who believe, what (excuse) have you that when it is said 

to you: Go forth in Allah 's way, you should incline heavily to earth; are you contented with 

this world's life instead of the Hereafter? But the provision of this world's life compared with 

the Hereafter is but little. If you do not go forth, He will chastise you with a painful 

chastisement and bring in your place a people other than you, and you will do Him no harm; 

and Allah has power over all things" (Holy Qur'an 9: 38-39). 

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This Qur'anic verse is clear about the reluctance of the Companions to go and fight in the 

Holy War [Jihad], and how they chose to be content with the life on earth, in spite of their 

knowledge of its short duration. Their action warranted a rebuke and a threat from Allah - the 

Almighty - that a terrible torture was awaiting them, and that He would change them for 

others who were true believers. 

The threat to change them came in many Qur'anic verses which indicate clearly that they 

showed their reluctance to fight in al-Jihad- Holy War - more than once, and Allah- the Most 

High - says: "And if you turn back He will bring in your place another people, they will not 

be like you" (Holy Qur'an 47: 38).

Also the Almighty says: O You who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his 

religion, then Allah will bring a people, He shall love them and they shall love Him, lowly 

before the believers, mighty against the unbelievers, they shall strive hard in Allah's way and 

shall not fear the censure of any censurer, this is Allah's grace, He gives it to whom He 

pleases, and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing (Holy Qur'an 5: 54). 

If we want to investigate the Qur'anic verses which emphasize this issue and talk about the 

classification of the Companions, which the Shia advocate, then we would need a special 

book for it. The Holy Qur'an expressed all that in the most direct and eloquent way: Let there 

arise out of you a nation, inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding 

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what is wrong, and these it is that shall be successful. 

And be not like those who became divided and disagreed after receiving clear signs, and these it is that shall have a grievous chastisement. 

On the day, some faces will be white (lit up) and some faces will be black (in the gloom) , to 

those whose faces will be black (will be said): Did you reject the faith after accepting it? 

Taste then the chastisement for rejecting the faith. But those whose faces will be white, they 

will be in Allah's mercy, therein to dwell" (Holy Qur'an 3: 106-107). 

These Qur'anic verses, as every intelligent scholar knows, are addressing the Companions, 

and warning them of the division and disagreement among themselves after they have already been shown the Right Path. They also tell them that a great torture is awaiting them, and divide them in two groups: The first group: when they will be resurrected on the Day of 

Judgement, everyone of them would have a white face, and those are the grateful who deserve the mercy of Allah. The second group: when they will be resurrected on the Day of 

Judgement, everyone of them would have a black face, and those are the apostates, whom 

Allah - the Almighty - promised the great torture. 

It is well-known that the Companions were divided after the death of the Messenger of Allah. 

They disagreed among themselves to such an extent that they fought each other bloody wars which led to the regression and the backwardness of the Muslims and made them easy target for their enemies. The above Qur'anic verse could not be interpreted in any other way except that which is readily accepted by people. 

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3. The Submissiveness 

Allah - the most High - said: "Has not the time yet come for those who believe that their 

hearts should be submissive for the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the 

truth? And [that] they should not be like those who were given the book before, but the time 

became prolonged to them, so their hearts hardened, and most of them are transgressors". 

(Holy Qur'an 57: 16). 

In al-Durr al-Manthur by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, the author says: when the Companions of the 

Messenger of Allah (saw) came to al-Medinah and started to enjoy a higher standard of living 

after having lived through many hardships, they seemed to slow down, so they were punished for that, and hence the verse "Has not the time yet come for those who believe" was revealed. 

Another version of the story, which came from the Prophet (saw) , was that Allah- the Most 

High- found some reluctance in the Muhajereen seventeen years after the first revelation of 

the Holy Qur'an, and therefore Allah revealed the verse "Has not the time yet come for those 

who believe". If those Companions - who are the best people according to the Sunnis - did not 

feel humble before the name of Allah or His right revelation of seventeen years, so that Allah 

found them slowing down, and rebuked and warned them for their hardened hearts which 

were leading them to corruption, we cannot blame the people of Quraysh who only entered 

Islam in the seventh Hijri year after the conquest of Makkah. 

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These were some examples which I have selected from the Glorious Book of Allah which 

give us clear indications that not all the Companions were right, as the Sunnis believe. 

If we study the sayings of the Prophet (saw) , then we will find many more examples, but just 

to be brief, I shall refer to some of those examples and the interested reader may further his 

own knowledge if he so wishes.

The Opinion of the Messenger regarding the Companions 

1. The hadith of the Pool 

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: As I was standing, there came a group of people whom I 

recognized, and a man stood between the group and myself, then said: "Let us go. " I said, 

"Where to? " He said, "To Hell, by Allah! " I asked, "What have they done? " He answered, 

"They turned back after you had departed, and I expect only a few will reach salvation. "[15] 

The Messenger of Allah (saw) also said: 

I shall arrive at the pool before you, and he who passes by me will drink, and whoever drinks 

from it will never feel thirsty. There will come to me people that I know and they know me, 

but we shall be separated, then I shall say, "My companions. " An answer shall come, "You do 

not know what they did after you left. " Then I shall say, "Away with those who changed after 

me. " 

When we look deeply at the various sayings that have been referred to by the Sunnis in their 

books, we will have no doubt that most of the Companions changed or even became apostates after the departure of the Messenger of Allah, except a few who were considered to be the minority. The above sayings could not be applied to the third type [of Companions], for they 

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were the hypocrites, and the text states: I shall say, "My companions. " 

These sayings confirm and explain the Holy Qur'anic verses that we mentioned earlier on, 

which talked about their retreat and their apostasy and the terrible torture awaiting them. 

2. The hadith of the Competition of the World 

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: 

I lead you and am your witness, and by Allah I now look at my pool and have been given the 

keys to the treasures of the earth [for the earth's keys], and by Allah I am not worried that you become polythiest after me, but I am worried that you will compete for it" [16] 

The Messenger of Allah (saw) was right. They competed for this world to the extent that they 

fought against each other, and each party accused the other of blasphemy. Some of the 

famous Companions were eager to collect gold and silver, and historians such as al-Masudi in 

Muruj al-Dhahab" and al-Tabari and others stated that the wealth of al-Zubayr on its own 

came to fifty thousand Dinars and a thousand horses with one thousand slaves and many 

holdings in Basra al-Kufa Egypt and many other places [17]. 

The agricultural products from Iraq alone brought Talhah one thousand Dinars every day, and 

perhaps more than that. 

Abdul Rahman ibn Awf had one hundred horses, one thousand camels and ten thousand 

sheep. After his death, quarter of his wealth which was divided among his wives came to 

eighty four thousand Dinars. [18] 

Uthman ibn Affan left on the day of his death one hundred and fifty thousand Dinars apart 

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from an enormous wealth of land, cattle and villages. 

Zayd ibn Thabit left an amount of gold and silver that had to be broken by hammers! Apart 

from money and agricultural holdings which came to one hundred thousand Dinars. [19] 

These were just a few historical examples. since we do not want to go into detailed analysis of their importance at the moment, we only mentions them as a proof and support of the sayings, that they [these companions] were more interested in the present life.

The Opinion of the Companions about Each Other 

1. Their testimony that they themselves have changed the tradition of the Prophet 

Abu Saeed al-Khudari said: On the first days of 'Id al-Fitr [breaking the fast of Ramadan] and 

'Id al-Adha [celebrating the end of the Pilgrimage], the first thing the Messenger of Allah 

(saw) used to do was to say his prayers in the mosque, then he went to see the people, who sat in rows in front of him, and then he started to deliver advice or orders or even finalize 

outstanding issues, and after all that he would leave. Abu Saeed added: The situation 

continued to be like that, until one day, either Fitr or Adha, I went with Marwan, who was the 

governor of al-Medinah. When we arrived at the mosque, which had a new pulpit built by 

Kathir ibn al-Salt, Marwan headed for the pulpit (before praying) , so I pulled him by his 

clothes, but he pushed me and went up on to the pulpit. He addressed the people before he 

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prayed, so I said to him, "By Allah you have changed it. " He replied, "O Abu Saeed, what you 

know has gone. " I said, "By Allah, what I know is better than what I do not know. " Marwan 

then said, "People did not sit for us after the prayers, so I put [it] before the prayers". [20] 

I looked for the reasons which led those Companions to change the Sunnah [the tradition] of 

the Messenger of Allah (saw) , and found that the Umayyads (and most of them were 

Companions of the Prophet) and Muawiah ibn Abi Sufian (writer of the revelation, as he was 

called) in particular used to force people to swear at Ali ibn Abi Talib and curse him from the 

pulpits of the mosques, as most of the historians have mentioned in their books. 

Muslim, in his Sahih, wrote in a chapter entitled, "The virtues of Ali ibn Abi Talib", the 

following: Muawiah ordered his governors everywhere to take the curse [of Ali ibn Abi 

Talib] as tradition, and that all the speakers must include it in their speeches. When some of 

the Companions protested very strongly against such a rule, Muawiah ordered their killing 

and burning. Among the famous Companions who were killed at the order of Muawiah were 

Hijr ibn Adi al-Kindi and his followers, because they protested and refused to curse Ali, and 

some of them were buried alive. 

Abu al-Aala al-Mawdudi wrote in his book "Caliphate and Kingdom": Abu al-Hasan al-Basri 

said: Muawiah had four features, and if he had only one of them, it would have been 

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considered a great sin: 

1. Making decisions without consulting the Companions, who were the light of virtues. 

2. Designating his son as his successor. His son was a drunkard, corrupt and wore silk. 

3. He claimed Ziyad [as his son], and the Messenger of Allah said, "There is offspring for 

the honourable woman, but there is nothing for the whore. " 

4. His killing of Hijr and his followers. Woe unto him from Hijr and the followers of 

Hijr. [21] 

There were some good Companions who used to dash out of the mosque immediately after 

the prayers so that they did not have to listen to the speeches which always ended with the 

cursing of Ali. For that reason the Umayyads changed the tradition of the Messenger of Allah. 

They put the speech before the prayers, so that people listened to it against their will. 

What kind of Companions were these people! They were not afraid of changing the tradition 

of the Messenger of Allah, or even the laws of Allah, in order to reach their wicked and low 

objectives and to satisfy their sinister desires. They cursed a man whom Allah had kept 

cleansed and purified, and made it obligatory for people to pray for him in the same way as 

they prayed for His Messenger. Furthermore, Allah and His Messenger made it obligatory for 

people to love him, and the Prophet (saw) said, "Loving Ali is believing, and hating him is 

hypocrisy" [22]. 

But these Companions changed the rules and said, "We heard, but we disobey. " And instead 

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of loving him, praying for him and obeying him, they swore at him and cursed him for sixty 

years, as has been mentioned in the history books. 

Whereas the Companions of Moses plotted against Aaron and tried to kill him, some of the 

Companions of Muhammad killed his Aaron and pursued his sons and followers everywhere. 

They removed their names from the Diwan (account books of the treasury) and prohibited 

anyone to be named after them. As if that was not enough for them, they cursed him and 

forced the faithful Companions to do so unjustly and by force. 

By Allah! I stand astonished and perplexed when I read in our Sihahs how much the 

Messenger of Allah loved his "brother" and cousin Ali and how he put him above all the 

Companions, and even he said, "You are to me as Aaron was to Moses, but there will be no 

prophet after me. " [23] 

He also said the following things about Ali: 

"You are from me, and I am from you" [24]. 

"Loving Ali is believing, and hating him is hypocrisy" [25]. 

"I am the city of knowledge, and Ali is its gate" [26]. 

"Ali is the master of all the believers after me"[28]. 

"Whoever accepted me as his master, then he should also accept Ali as his master. O Allah be 

friendly with his friends, and be enemy to his enemy" [28] 

If we study all the virtues that the Prophet (saw) attributed to Ali, which have been mentioned and approved by our scholars in their books, then we would need to write a whole book. 

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So, how did the Companions ignore all these texts, swear at him, plot against him, curse him 

from the pulpits of the mosques and then fight against him and finally kill him? 

I tried in vain to find a reason for the behaviour of those people, but found nothing except the love of this life and the competition for it, in addition to the tendency to apostatize and turn back on their heels. I have also tried to attach the responsibility to a group of bad Companions and some hypocrites, but regrettably those were only a few among the famous and the important. The first who threatened to burn his house - with its inhabitants - was Umar ibn al- Khattab, and the first who fought him were Talhah, al-Zubayr, Aishah bint Abi Bakr - Umm al-Mumineen, Muawiah ibn Abi Sufian, Amr ibn al-'Aas and many others. 

I am astonished, and my astonishment will never end, and any responsible free thinker would 

agree with me, as to how the Sunni scholars agree on the righteousness of all the Companions and ask for the blessings of Allah to be upon them and pray for all of them without exception, 

although some of them say: "Curse Yazid, and no further. " But where is Yazid amongst all 

these tragedies which no religion or logic could approve? I appeal to the Sunni people, if they 

truly follow the Prophet's tradition, to ask themselves how they could accept somebody to be 

righteous when the laws of the Holy Qur'an and the Prophetic tradition judge him as being 

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corrupt, an apostate and an unbeliever. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "He who insults 

Ali, insults me. He who insults me, insults Allah. And he who insults Allah, Allah will throw 

him into Hell" [29]. If that is the punishment for those who insult Ali, one wonders about the 

punishment of those who fought him and ultimately killed him. What are our scholars' 

opinions regarding all these facts, or are their hearts locked solid?! Say, O God please protect 

us from the tricks of the devil.

2. The Companions even made changes in Prayers 

Anas ibn Malik said: I knew nothing during the lifetime of the Prophet (saw) better than the 

prayer. He said: Have you not lost what you have lost in it? Al-Zuhri said: I went to see Anas 

ibn Malik in Damascus, and found him crying, I asked him, "What is making you cry? " He 

answered, "I have known nothing but these prayers, and they have been lost. " [30] 

I would like to make it clear that it was not the followers who implemented the changes after 

all the intrigues and civil wars, rather it was the caliph Uthman who first made changed in the 

Prophet's tradition regarding the prayers. 

Also Umm al-Mumineen Aishah was involved in these changes. Al-Bukhari and Muslim, 

both stated in their books that the Messenger of Allah (saw) performed two prayers at Mina, 

and Abu Bakr after him, then Umar and Uthman who later performed four prayers. [31] 

Muslim also stated in his book that al-Zuhri asked 'Urwah, "Why did Aishah complete her 

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prayers during the journey? " He answered, "She improvised in the same way as Uthman 

did. " [32] 

Umar used to improvise and interpret the clear texts of the Prophet's tradition, and even the 

Holy Qur'anic texts. Like he used to say: two pleasures were allowed during the life of the 

Messenger of Allah, but now I disallow them and punish those who commit them, I tell the 

person who is in a state of ritual impurity, or cannot find water not to pray. That was in spite 

of the words of Allah - the Most High - in Surat al-Maidah: "If you do not find water, then 

use clean sand. " 

Al-Bukhari stated in his book, in a chapter which deals with ritual impurity: I heard Shaqiq 

ibn Salmah saying: I was with Abdullah and Abu Musa, and Abu Musa asked, "What do you 

say about a man who is unclean but cannot find water? " Abdullah answered, "He should not 

pray until he finds water. " Abu Musa then asked, "What do you think about what the Prophet 

said to Ammar [regarding the issue of impurity] when Ammar asked him? " Abdullah said, 

"For that reason Umar was not satisfied with [that]. " Abu Musa said, "Forget about what 

Ammar said, but what do you say about the Qur'anic verse? " Abdullah did not know what to 

say, but he justified his stance by saying, "If we let them do that, then whenever the water 

becomes cold, they avoid using it to clean themselves, and instead they use sand. I said to 

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Shaqiq, "Abdullah is most certainly hated for that. " He said, "Yes". [33] 

3. The Companions Testify against themselves 

Anas ibn Malik said that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said to al-Ansar: You will notice after 

me some great selfishness, but be patient until you meet Allah and His Messenger by the 

pool. Anas said: We were not patient. [34] 

Al-Ala ibn al-Musayyab heard his father saying: I met al- Bara ibn Azib - may Allah honour 

them both - and said to him, "Bless you, you accompanied the Prophet (saw) and you voted 

for him under the tree. " He said, "My son, you do not know what we have done after 

him" [35]. 

This early Companion, who was one of those who voted for the Prophet under the tree, and 

who received the blessing of Allah, for Allah knew what was in their hearts, testifies against 

himself and his companions that they did not keep the tradition. This testimony is 

confirmation of what the Prophet (saw) talked about and predicted in that his Companions 

would break with his tradition and fall back on their heels. 

How could any sensible person, after all this evidence, believe in the righteousness of all the 

Companions, as the Sunnis do? 

He who believes that, is definitely reversing the order of logic and scholarship, and there will 

be no intellectual criteria for the researcher to use in his quest for the truth.

4. The testimony of the Shaykhan against themselves 

In a chapter entitled "The virtues of Umar ibn al-Khattab", al-Bukhari wrote in his book: 

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"When Umar was stabbed he felt great pain and Ibn Abbas wanted to comfort him, so he said 

to him, "O Commander of the Believers, you accompanied the Messenger of Allah and you 

were a good companion to him, and when he left you, he was very pleased with you. Then 

you accompanied Abu Bakr, and you were a good companion to him, and when he left you, 

he was pleased with you. Then you accompanied their companions and you were a good 

companion to them, and if you left them, they would remember you well. " He said, "As for 

the companionship of the Messenger of Allah and his satisfaction with me, that is a gift that 

Allah- the Most High - has granted to me. As for the companionship of Abu Bakr and his 

satisfaction with me, that is a gift that Allah - Glory be to Him - has granted to me. But the 

reason you see me in pain is for you and your companions. By Allah, if I had all the gold on 

earth I would use it to ransom myself from the torture of Allah - Glory and Majesty be to Him 

- before I saw Him. [36] 

He has also been quoted as saying the following, "I wish I was my family's sheep. They 

would have fattened me up to the maximum. When they were visited by friends, they would 

have killed me and roasted part of me, and made qadid (meat cut into strips and dried) from 

the other part of it, then they would have eaten me, and lastly, they would have relieved me 

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with their bowle evacuation... I wish I had been all that, rather than a human being. " [37] 

Abu Bakr apparently said a similar thing to the above. He looked at a bird on a tree, then said, 

"Well done bird... You eat the fruits, you stand on the trees and you are not accountable to 

anybody nor indeed can anybody punish you. I wish I was a tree by the road, and that a camel would come along and eat me. then relieve me with his bowel evacuation... I wish that I had been all that, rather than a human being. " [38] 

He also said, I wish that my mother had not given birth to me... I wish I was a straw in the 

mud. [39] These are some texts that I used just as examples and not for any specific reason. 

And this is the Book of Allah which gives the good news to the worshippers of Allah who 

believe in Him: "Now surely the friends of Allah - they shall have no fear, nor shall they 

grieve. Those who believe and fear (Allah). They shall have good news in this world's life and 

in the Hereafter, there is no changing in the words of Allah; that is the great 

achievement" (Holy Qur'an 10: 62-64). 

Allah also says: " (As for) those who say, our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the 

angels descend upon them, saying, "Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the 

garden which you were promised. We are your guardians in this world's life and in the 

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Hereafter, and you shall have therein what your souls desire and you shall have therein what 

you ask for. An entertainment by the Forgiving, the Merciful" (Holy Our'an 41: 30-32). 

How could the two Shaykhs. Abu Bakr and Umar, wish that they were not from the human 

race, which Allah honoured and put it above all His creation? Even the ordinary believer, who 

keeps on the straight path during his lifetime, receives the angels to tell him about his place in 

heaven, and that he should not fear the torture of Allah, nor be depressed about his legacy in life, and that he has the good news while he is in this life before reaching the life Hereafter. 

Then how could the great Companions, who are the best of creation after the Messenger of 

Allah (so we have been taught) , wish they were excrement or a hair or a straw when the 

angels had given them the good news that they would go to heaven? They could not have 

wished to have all the gold on earth to ransom themselves from the torture of Allah before 

meeting Him. 

Allah - the Most High - said: "And if every soul that has done injustice had all that is in the 

earth, it would offer it for ransom, and they will manifestly regret when they see the 

chastisement and the matter shall be decided between them with justice and they shall not be 

dealt unjustly" (Holy Quran 10: 54). 

Allah also said: "And had those who are unjust all that is in the earth and the like of with it, 

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they would certainly offer it as ransom (to be saved) from the evil of the punishment on the 

day of resurrection; and what they never thought of shall become plain to them from Allah. 

And the evil (consequences) of what they wrought shall become plain to them, and the very 

thing they mocked at shall beset them" (Holy Qur'an 39: 47-48). 

I wish sincerely that these Qur'anic verses did not involve great Companions like Abu Bakr al- 

Siddiq and Umar al-Faruq... But I often pause when I read these texts so that I can look at 

some interesting aspects of their relations with the Messenger of Allah (saw) , and how that 

relation went through many turmoils. They disobeyed his orders and refused him his wishes, 

even in the last moments of his blessed and honourable life, which made him so angry that he 

ordered them all to leave his house and to leave him. I also recall the chain of events that took 

place after the death of the Messenger of Allah, and the hurt and lack of recognition that 

afflicted his daughter al-Zahra. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Fatimah is part of me, he 

who angers her angers me" [40]. 

Fatimah said to Abu Bakr and Umar: I ask you in the name of Allah - the Most High - did you 

not hear the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying, "The satisfaction of Fatimah is my satisfaction, 

and the anger of Fatimah is my anger, he who loves my daughter Fatimah loves me, and he 

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who satisfies Fatimah satisfies me, and he who angers Fatimah angers me? " They said, "Yes, 

we heard it from the Messenger of Allah (saw). " Then she said, "Therefore, I testify before 

Allah and the angels that you have angered me and did not please me, and if I meet the 

Prophet I will complain to him about you. "[41] 

Let us leave this tragic story for the time being, but Ibn Qutaybah, who is considered to be 

one of the great Sunni scholars, and was an expert in many disciplines and wrote many books 

on Qur'anic commentary. Hadith Linguistics, grammar and history might well have been 

converted to Shiism, as somebody I know once claimed when I showed him Ibn Qutaybah's 

book "History of the Caliphs". 

This is the type of propaganda that some of our scholars use when they lose the argument. 

Similarly al-Tabari was a Shi'ite, and al-Nisa'i, who wrote a book about the various aspects of 

Imam Ali, was a Shiite, and Taha Husayn, a contemporary scholar who wrote "Al-Fitnah al- 

Kubra" and other facts, was also a Shi'ite! 

The fact is that all of these were not Shiites, and when they talked about the Shia, they said all sorts of dishonourable things about them, and they defended the fairness of the Companions with all their might. But the fact is that whenever a person mentions the virtues of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and admits to the mistakes that were committed by the famous Companions, we say that he has become a Shiite. And if you say in front of them, when you mention the Prophet, "May Allah bless him and his Family" or say, "Ali, may Allah's peace be upon him" then you are branded a Shiite. According to that premise, one day, during a debate, I asked one of our scholars, "What do you think of al-Bukhari? " He said, "He is one of the leading authorities in Hadith (the Prophetic tradition) and we consider his book to be the most correct book after the mBook of Allah, as all our scholars agree. " I said to him, "He is a Shiite. " He laughed and said, "God forbid that Imam al-Bukhari be a Shiite. " I said, "Did you not say that whoever says Ali, 

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may Allah's peace be upon him, is Shiite? " He answered, "Yes. " Then I showed him and 

those who were with him al-Bukhari's book, and in many places when Ali's name appears, he 

put "May Allah's peace be upon him" as well as the names of Fatimah and al-Husayn. The 

man did not know what to say. [42] 

Let us return to the incident mentioned by Ibn Qutaybah in which Fatimah allegedly was 

angered by Abu Bakr and Umar. If I doubt the authenticity of that story, then I could not 

doubt the authenticity of al-Bukhari's book, which we consider to be the most correct book after the Book of Allah. As we have committed ourselves to the fact that it is correct, then the Shiites have the right to use it in their protestation against us and force us to keep to our 

commitment, as is only fair for sensible people. In his book, al-Bukhari writes in a chapter 

entitled "The virtues of the relatives of the Messenger of Allah" the following: The 

Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Fatimah is part of me, and whoever angers her angers me. " 

Also in a chapter about "The Khaybar Raid" he wrote: According to Aishah, Fatimah- may 

Allah's peace be upon her - daughter of the Prophet, sent a message to Abu Bakr asking him 

for her share of the inheritance of the Messenger of Allah, but he refused to pay Fatimah 

anything of it. Fatimah became so angry at Abu Bakr that she left him and never spoke to him 

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before her death. [43] 

The final result is one, al-Bukhari mentioned it briefly and Ibn Qutaybah talked about it in 

some detail, and that is: the Messenger of Allah (saw) is angry when Fatimah is angry, and he 

is satisfied when Fatimah is satisfied, and that she died while she was still angry with Abu 

Bakr and Umar. 

If al-Bukhari said: She died while she was still angry at Abu Bakr, and did not speak to him 

before she died, then the end result is quite clear. If Fatimah is "the leading lady among all the ladies" as al-Bukhari declared in the section al-Isti'dhan, and if Fatimah is the only lady in this nation whom Allah kept clean and pure, then her anger could not be but just, therefore Allah and His Messenger get angry for her anger. Because of that Abu Bakr said, "May Allah - the Most High - save me from His anger and Fatimah's anger. " Then he cried very bitterly when she said, "By Allah, I will curse you in every prayer that I do. " He came out crying and said, "I do not need your pledge of allegiance and discharge me from my duties. " [44] 

Many of our historians and scholars admit that Fatimah - may Allah's peace be upon her - 

challenged Abu Bakr in many cases such as the donations, the inheritance and the shares of 

the relatives, but her challenge was dismissed, and she died angry at him. However, our 

scholars seem to pass over these incidents without having the will to talk about them in some 

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detail, so that they could as usual, preserve the integrity of Abu Bakr. One of the strange 

things that I have read regarding this subject, is what one of the writers said after he had 

mentioned the incident in some detail: God forbid that Fatimah should claim something that 

does not rightly belong to her, and God forbid that Abu Bakr denied her rights. 

The writer thought that through this weak reasoning, he would be able to solve the problem 

and convince the researchers. He appears to be saying something similar to the following: 

God forbid that the Holy Qur'an should say anything but the truth, and God forbid that the 

sons of Israel should worship the calf. We have been plagued with scholars who say things 

that they cannot comprehend, and believe in the object and its antithesis, simultaneously. The point is that Fatimah claimed and Abu Bakr dismissed her claim, so she was either a liar - 

God forbid - or Abu Bakr treated her unjustly. There could be no third solution for the case, 

as some of our scholars would wish. 

Logical reasoning and traditional proofs prevent the Mistress of Ladies from being accused of 

lying, due to the confirmation of her father (s) in his saying: "Fatimah is a part of me, and 

whoever hurts her hurts me. " Hence, intuitively, whoever lies does not deserve this kind of 

statement (of honor) by the Messenger of Allah (saw). Therefore, the saying itself is a clear 

indication of her infallibility. The purification verse from the Holy Qur'an is another 

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indication of her infallibility, and it was revealed in her honour and the honour of her husband 

and her two sons, as Aishah herself testified [45]. Hence, there is nothing left for sensible 

people but to accept the fact that she was unjustly treated, and that she was easy to be branded a liar by somebody who was willing to let her burn unless the remaining people in her house came out to vote for him. [46] 

Because of all that, she - may Allah's peace be upon her - refused entry to Abu Bakr and 

Umar when they asked her permission. Even when Ali allowed them to enter, she turned her 

face to the wall and refused to look at them [47]. Furthermore, before she died, she asked to 

be buried secretly, and at night, so that none of them could be present at her funeral [48], and to this day, the grave of the Prophet's daughter is unknown. 

I would like to ask why our scholars remain silent about these facts, and are reluctant to look 

into them, or even to mention them. They give us the impression that the Companions are like 

angels, infallible and sinless, and when you ask them why the caliph of the Muslim's Uthman 

was murdered, they would say: It was the Egyptians - and they were not believers - who came and killed him, thus ends the subject with two words. 

When I had the opportunity to carry out research into history, I found that the main figures 

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behind the killing of Uthman were the Companions themselves, and that Aishah led them, 

calling for his death publicly and saying: "Kill Na'thal (the old fool) , for he was not a 

believer. " [49] 

Also we know that Talhah, al-Zubayr, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and other famous 

Companions besieged him in his house and prevented him from having a drink of water, so 

that they could force him to resign. Furthermore, the historians inform us that they did not 

allow his corpse to be buried in a Muslim cemetery, and that he was finally buried in "Hashsh 

Kawkab" without washing the corpse and without a shroud. 

O Allah, praise be to You, how could they tell us that he was unjustly killed, and that those 

who killed him were not Muslims. This is another case similar to that of Fatimah and Abu 

Bakr: Uthman was either unjustly treated, therefore we may pass judgement on those 

Companions who killed him or those who participated in his killing that they were criminal 

murderers because they unlawfully killed the caliph of the Muslims, and threw stones at his 

funeral, and humiliated him when he was alive and then when he was dead; or that the 

Companions killed him because he committed certain deeds which were not compatible with 

Islam, as the historical sources tell us. 

There is no third option, unless we dismiss the historical facts and accept the distorted picture 

that the Egyptians, who were not believers, killed Uthman. In both cases there is a definite 

rejection of the common belief that all the Companions were right and just, without 

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exception, for either Uthman was unjust or his killers were not just, but all of them were 

Companions, and hence our proposition becomes void. Therefore we are left with the 

proposition of the followers of Ahl al-Bayt, and that is that some of the Companions were 

right and some others were wrong. 

We may ask a few questions about the war of al-Jamal, which was instigated by Umm al- 

Mumineen Aishah, who played an important role in it. How could Umm al-Mumineen Aishah 

leave her house in which Allah had ordered her to stay, when the most High said: "And stay 

in your houses and do not display your finery like the displaying of the ignorance of 

yours" (Holy Qur'an 33: 33). 

We may also ask, how could Aishah allow herself to declare war on the caliph of the 

Muslims, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the master of all Muslims? As usual, our scholars, with 

some simplicity, answer us that she did not like Imam Ali because he advised the Messenger 

of Allah to divorce her in the incident of al-Ifk. Seemingly these people are trying to convince 

us that that incident - if it was true - namely Ali's advice to the Prophet to divorce Aishah, was 

sufficient for her to disobey the orders of her God and her husband, the Messenger of Allah. 

She rode a camel that the Messenger of Allah forbade her from riding and warned her about 

the barking of al-Hawab's dogs [50], she travelled long distances from al-Medinah to Mekka 

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then to Basrah, she permitted the killing of innocent people and started a war against the 

commander of the believers and the Companions who voted for him, and she caused the 

deaths of thousands of Muslims, according to the historians [51]. She did all that because she did not like Ali who advised the Prophet to divorce her. Nevertheless the Prophet did not 

divorce her so why all this hatred towards Imam Ali? History has recorded some aggressive 

stances against Ali that could not be explained and these are some of them. When she was on 

her way back from Mekka Aishah was informed that Uthman was killed, so she was 

delighted, but when she learnt that people had voted for Ali to succeed him she became very 

angry and said, "I wish the sky would collapse on the earth before Ibn Abi Talib succeeds to 

the caliphate. " Then she said, "Take me back. " Thus she started the civil war against Ali, 

whose name she never liked to mention, as many historians agree. 

Had Aishah heard the saying of the Messenger of Allah (saw): Loving Ali is believing, and 

hating him is hypocrisy? [52]. To the extent that some of the Companions used to say, "We 

recognized the hypocrites by their hatred of Ali. " Had Aishah not heard the saying of the 

Prophet: Whoever accepts me as his master, then Ali is his master? Undoubtedly she heard all 

that, but she did not like it, and she did not like mentioning his name, and when she learnt of 

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his death she knelt and thanked Allah. [53] 

Let us move on, for I do not want to discuss the life of Umm al-Mumineen Aishah, but I have 

tried to show how many of the Companions violated the principles of Islam and disobeyed the 

orders of the Messenger of Allah (saw) , and it suffices to mention the following incident 

which happened to Aishah during the civil war, and on which all historians tend to agree. It 

has been said that when Aishah passed by the waters of al-Hawab and heard the dogs barking, 

she remembered the warning of her husband, the Messenger of Allah, and how he prevented 

her from being the instigator of "al-Jamal" war. She cried, then she said, "Take me back. take 

me back! " But Talhah and al- Zubayr brought fifty men and bribed them, then made them 

testify that these waters were not al-Hawab's waters. Later she continued her journey until she reached Basrah. Many historians believe that those fifty men gave the first falsified testimony in the history of Islam. [54] 

O Muslims! You who have enlightened minds... assist us in solving this problem. Were these 

truly the honourable Companions, of whom we were always led to believe in their 

righteousness, and that they were the best people after the Messenger of Allah (saw)! How 

could they give a falsified testimony when the Messenger of Allah considered it to be one of 

the great sins, whose punishment is Hell. 

The same question crops up again. Who was right and who was wrong? Either Ali and his 

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followers were wrong, or Aishah and her followers and Talhah and al-Zubayr and their 

followers were wrong. There is no third possibility. But I have no doubt that the fair 

researcher would take Ali's side and dismiss Aishah and her followers who instigated the civil 

war that devastated the nation and left its tragic marks to the present day. 

For the sake of further clarification, and for the sake of my own satisfaction I mention here 

what al-Bukhari had to say in his book about the civil war. When Talhah, al-Zubayr and 

Aishah travelled to Basrah, Ali sent Ammar ibn Yasir and al-Hasan ibn Ali to al-Kufah. On 

their arrival, they went to the mosque and addressed the congregation, and we heard Ammar 

saying, "Aishah had gone to Basrah... and by Allah she is the wife of your Prophet in this life 

and the life hereafter, but Allah, the Most High, is testing you to know whom you obey: Him 

or her. " [55] 

Also al-Bukhari wrote in his book a chapter about what went on in the houses of the Prophet's 

wives: Once the Prophet (saw) was giving a speech, and he indicated the house where Aishah was living, then said, "There is the trouble... there is the trouble... there is the trouble... from 

where the devil's horns come out... " [56] 

Al-Bukhari wrote many strange things in his book about Aishah and her bad manners towards 

the Prophet to the extent that her father had to beat her until she bled. He also wrote about her 

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pretention towards the Prophet until Allah threatened her with divorce... and there are many 

other stories but we are limited by space. 

After all that I ask how did Aishah deserve all that respect from the Sunnis; is it because she 

was the Prophet's wife? But he had so many wives, and some of them were better than 

Aishah, as the Prophet himself declared [57]. Or perhaps because she was Abu Bakr's 

daughter! Or maybe because she played an important role in the denial of the Prophet's will 

for Ali, and when she was told that the Prophet recommended Ali, she said, "Who said that? I 

was with the Prophet (saw) supporting his head on my chest, then he asked me to bring the 

washbowl, as I bent down he died, so I cannot see how he recommended Ali [58]. Or is it 

because she fought a total war against him and his sons after him, and even intercepted the 

funeral procession of al-Hasan - Leader of the Heaven's youth - and prevented his burial 

beside his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, and said "Do not allow anybody that I do not 

like to enter my house. " 

She forgot, or maybe ignored the Messenger of Allah's sayings about him and his brother, 

"Allah loves those who love them, and Allah hates those who hate them," Or his saying, "I am 

at war with those who fight against you, and I am at peace with those who appease you. " And 

there are many other sayings in their honour. No wonder, for they were so dear to him! 

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She heard many more sayings in honour of Ali, but despite the Prophet's warning, she was 

determined to fight him and agitate the people against him and deny all his virtues. Because 

of that, the Umayyads loved her and put her in a high position and filled the books with her 

virtues and made her the great authority for the Islamic nation because she had half of the 

religion. 

Perhaps they assigned the second half of the religion to Abu Hurayrah, who told them what 

they wanted to hear, so they bestowed on him various honours: they gave him the 

governorship of al-Medinah, they gave him al-Aqiq palace and gave him the title of "Rawiat 

al-lslam" - the transmitter of Islam. He made it easy for the Umayyads to create a completely 

new religion which took whatever pleased them and supported their interests and power from 

the Holy Qur'an and the tradition of the Prophet. Inevitably, such a religion lacked any 

seriousness and became full of contradictions and myths, hence most of the facts were buried 

and replaced by lies. Then they forced the people to believe in these lies so that the religion of Allah became a mere joke, and no one feared Allah as much as they feared Muawiah. When we ask some of our scholars about Muawiah's war against Ali, who had been acknowledged by al-Muhajireen and al-Ansar, a war which led to the division of Islam into Sunnis and Shiites and left it scarred to this very day, they simply answer by saying, "Ali and Muawiah were both good Companions, and both of them interpreted Islam in his own way. However, Ali was right, therefore he deserves two rewards, but Muawiah got it wrong, therefore, he deserves one reward. It is not within our right to judge for them or against them, Allah- the Most High - said: "This is a people that have passed away, they shall have what they earned and you shall have what you earn, and you shall not be called upon to answer for what they did" (Holy Qur'an 2: 134). 

p: 169 

Regrettably, we provide such weak answers that neither a sensible mind nor a religion, nor 

indeed a law would accept. O Allah, I am innocent of idle talk and of deviant whims. I beg 

You to protect me from the devil's touch. 

How could a sensible mind accept that Muawiah had worked hard to interpret Islam and give 

him one reward for his war against the leader of all Muslims, and for his killing of thousands 

of innocent believers, in addition to all the crimes that he committed? He was known among 

the historians for killing his opponents through feeding them poisoned honey, and he used to 

say, "Allah has soldiers made of honey. " 

How could these people judge him as a man who worked hard to promote Islam and give him 

a reward for that, when he was the leader of a wrong faction? There is a well known Hadith of the Prophet, and most of the scholars agree its authenticity, "Woe unto Ammar.. he will be 

killed by the wrong faction. " And he was killed by Muawiah and his followers. 

How could they judge him as a promoter of Islam when he killed Hijr Ibn Adi and his companions and buried them in Marj Adhra in the Syrian desert because they refused to curse 

Ali ibn Abi Talib? 

How could they judge him a just Companion when he killed al-Hasan, leader of the Heaven's 

youth, by poisoning him? 

How could they judge him as being correct after he had forced the nation to acknowledge him 

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as a caliph and to accept his corrupt son Yazid as his successor, and to change the Shurah 

[consultative] system to a hereditary one? [59] 

How could they judge him as a man who had worked hard to promote Islam and to reward 

him, after he forced the people to curse Ali and Ahl al- Bayt, the Family of the chosen 

Prophet, and killed those Companions who refused to do so, and made the act of cursing Ali a 

tradition? There is no power but in Allah, the Most High, the Great. 

The question crops up over and over again. Which faction was right, and which faction was 

wrong? Either Ali and his followers were wrong, or Muawiah and his followers were wrong, 

and the Messenger of Allah (saw) explained everything. 

In both cases, the proposition of the righteousness of all the Companions does not hold 

ground and is incompatible with logic. There are many examples for all these subjects. and if 

I want to study them in detail and discuss them for all their aspects, then I would need 

volumes. But I wanted to be brief in this study so I mentioned a few examples, but thank 

Allah, for they have been enough to refute the claims of my people who froze my mind for a 

period of time, and prevented me from looking at the Hadith (prophetic tradition) and the 

historical events with an analytical view, using the intellect and the legal yard-sticks which 

the Holy Qur'an and the honourable Prophet's tradition taught us to do. 

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Therefore, I shall rebel against myself and rid myself of the dust of prejudice with which they 

engulfed me. I shall free myself from all the chains and fetters that I have been tied with for 

more than twenty years, and say, "I wish my people knew that Allah has granted me 

forgiveness and made me among the honourable people. I wish my people could discover the 

world they know nothing about. but nevertheless oppose.

The Beginning of the Change 

I stayed unsettled and perplexed for three months, even when I was asleep, my mind was 

overwhelmed by doubts and fears about myself regarding the Companions whose lives I was 

researching. I found many astonishing contradictions in their behaviour, because throughout 

my life I had received an education based on the respect and the veneration of those sages 

who would hurt anybody that spoke badly about them or disrespected them in their absence, 

even if they were dead. 

I had read once in "Hayat al-Haywan al-Kubra" by alDamiri [60]: There was a man riding in a 

Caravan with his friend, and during the journey he kept insulting Umar, and his friend tried to 

prevent him from doing so. When he was in the toilet, a black snake bit him, and he died 

immediately. When they dug his grave, they found a black snake inside it; they dug another 

one, and the same thing happened. Every time they dug a new grave, they found a snake 

inside it. Then a learned man told them, "Bury him anywhere you wish, even if you dig the 

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whole earth, you will find a black snake. This is because Allah wants to chastise him in this 

life before the hereafter, for insulting our master Umar. " 

Thus, while I was forcing myself through this difficult research, I felt fearful and confused, 

especially as I had learnt in al-Zaytuna that the best caliphs were Abu Bakr al-Siddiq then 

Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Farooq, whom Allah will use to divide right from wrong. After that 

comes Uthman ibn Affan Dhul-Noorayn, from whom the angels of the Merciful felt shy, and 

after him comes Ali ibn Abi Talib, the gate to the city of knowledge. After these four come 

the remaining six of the ten who were promised Paradise, and they are Talhah, al-Zubayr, 

Sa'ad, Sa'eed, Abdul-Rahman, and Abu Ubaydah. After them come all the Companions, and 

after we were recommended of the Holy Qur'anic verse "We do not differentiate between any 

of His messengers" as a premise on which we should base the assumption that we should not 

differentiate in our respect for all the Companions. 

Because of that I feared for myself, and asked my Lord for forgiveness on many occasions, 

and indeed I wanted to leave the issues that made me doubtful about the Companions of the 

Messenger of Allah, and then made me doubtful about my own religion. 

During that period, and throughout my conversations with a few learned people, I found manycontradictions that could not be accepted by sensible people, and then they started to warn methat if I continued with my research about the Companions, Allah would take His grace fromme and finish me off. 

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Their continuous stubbornness and their denial of whatever I said, coupled with my scientific 

mind and eagerness to reach the truth, forced me to resume the research, because I felt an 

inner force urging me to do so.

A dialogue with a Scholar 

I said to one of our scholars: When Muawiah killed the innocent and disgraced the 

honourable, you judge him as being an interpreter of Islam who got it wrong, and therefore 

has one reward. When Yazid killed the descendants of the Messenger and authorized the 

sacking of al-Medinah al-Munawwarah by his army, you judge him as an interpreter of Islam 

who got it wrong, and therefore has one reward. Some of you even said about him that "al- 

Husayn was killed by the sword of his grandfather. " Why should I not then interpret Islam 

through this study, which is forcing me to doubt the intentions of the Companions and to blow 

the cover of some of them. which would not be equated with killings done by Muawiah and 

Yazid of the Prophet's family? If I am right I deserve two rewards, and if I am wrong, I would 

have only one reward. However, my criticism of the Companions is not for the sake of 

insulting them or cursing them, but it is a means through which I hope to reach the truth. Who 

is the right group, and who is the wrong group. This is my duty and the duty of each Muslim, 

and Allah - praise be to Him - knows what is inside ourselves. The scholar then answered me, 

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' O my son, Ijtihad (the interpretation of Islamic religion) has not been allowed for some 

time. " 

l asked, "Who disallowed it? " 

He said, "The four Imams. " 

I said liberally, "Thanks be to Allah! Since neither Allah disallowed it, nor His Messenger or 

the rightly guided caliphs, whom we are ordered to follow, then there are no restrictions on 

me to interpret Islam, as they did. 

He said, "You may not interpret Islam unless you know seventeen disciplines, among them: 

Tafsir [commentary on the Holy Qur'an], Linguistics, Grammar, Sarf [Morphology], 

Rhetoric, Hadiths [ Prophetic traditions], History and others. " 

I interjected by saying, "My Ijtihad is not to show the people the rules of the Qur'an and the 

Prophet's tradition, or to be a religious leader of a new creed. Nay! All that I want to know is 

who is right and who is wrong. For example, to know whether Imam Ali was right or 

Muawiah, I do not need to master seventeen disciplines. All I need to do is to study the life 

and works of each one of them to know the truth. 

He said, "Why do you want to know all that? " "This is a people that have passed away; they 

shall have what they earned and you shall have what you earn, and you shall not be called 

upon to answer for what they did" [Holy Qur'an 2: 134] 

I asked, "Do you read Tusaloon [the Arabic word for Questioned] with Dammah [the vowel 

point upon the letter ta] or with Tasaloon with Fathah [the vowel] point a]? " 

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He said, "Tusaloon, with Dammah. " 

I said, Thanks be to Allah, if it was with Fathah, then there would be no research. As it is 

written with Dammah, then it means that Allah - praise be to Him - will not make us 

accountable for what they have done, similarly, He, the Most High, said,: "Each soul is 

pledged to what ever it has earned" [Holy Qur'an 74: 38]. 

Also He said: "There is nothing for man except what he has strived for. " [Holy Qur'an 53: 39]. 

And the Holy Qur'an urged us to know about the earlier nations and to learn lessons from 

their histories. Also, Allah told us about the Pharaohs, Haman, Nimrod, Quaroon, and about 

the early prophets and their nations, not for the sake of pleasure, but to show us what is right and what is wrong. As for your question as to why I want to know all that? Because it is 

important for me to know all that. Firstly, to know who is the friend of Allah. so that I may 

befriend him, and to know who is the enemy of Allah, so that I may oppose him, and that is 

what the Qur'an asked me, or indeed, ordered me to do. 

Secondly, it is important for me to know how I should worship Allah and draw near to Him 

by obeying His commands, in the way He - the Majesty - wants them to be, not as Malik or 

Abu Hanifah or any other interpreter of Islam wants them to be. 

p: 176 

I found that Malik does not prefer the saying of "In the name of Allah the most Merciful and 

the most Compassionate" during the prayers, whereas Abu Hanifah considers it a "must". 

Others say that the prayers are not valid without them. Because prayers are a pillar of Islam, if accepted other deeds would be accepted; but if they were rejected. other deeds would be 

rejected. Therefore, I do not want my prayers to be invalid. The Shiites say that during the 

ablution we must rub our feet with wet hands, whereas the Sunnis say that we must wash 

them. But when we read the Holy Qur'an we find "rub your hands and feet" which is clear 

about the rubbing. So how do you expect any sensible Muslim to accept this and reject the 

other without research and analysis? " 

He said, "You can take what you like from each creed, because all of them are Islamic creeds, 

and all of them came from the Messenger of Allah. " 

I said, l am afraid that I may become one of those about whom Allah said: 

"Have you then considered him who takes his low desire for his god and Allah has made him 

err having knowledge and has set a seal upon his ear and his heart and put a covering upon his eye. Who can then guide him after Allah? Will you not then be mindful? " [Holy Qur'an 

45: 23]. 

Sir, I do not think that all the four lslamic religious schools (Madhahib) are correct, as long as 

p: 177 

one of them allows something while the other forbids it; and it does not seem logical for one 

thing to be allowed and frobidden simultaneously. The Messenger of Allah (saw) did not 

question the rules of the Holy Qur'an because they are revelation: 

And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy. 

[Holy Qur'an 4: 82]. 

Because of the vast differences between the four religious Islamic schools, they cannot be 

from Allah or from His Messenger, for the Messenger did not contradict the Holy Qur'an. 

When the scholarly Shaykh found my argument logical and sound, he said, "I advise you, for 

the sake of Allah, that no matter how doubtful you may be, do not doubt the rightly guided 

caliphs, because they are the four pillars of Islam, if one of them collapses, the whole building 

will collapse. " 

I said, "God forbid Sir, but what about the Messenger of Allah if those people were the pillars 

of Islam? " 

He said, "The Messenger of Allah is that building He is the whole of Islam. " 

I smiled when I heard his analysis, and said, "I ask Allah for forgiveness, yet again! Sir, you 

are saying, indirectly, that the Messenger of Allah (saw) would not be able to stand without 

the support of those four, whereas Allah - the Most High says: "He it is Who sent His 

messenger with guidance and a true religion that He may make it prevail over all the 

religions; and Allah is enough for a witness" [Holy Qur'an 48: 28]. 

p: 178 

He sent Muhammad with the Message and did not involve any of the other four, or anybody 

else, and Allah said with regard to this: "We have sent among you a messenger from among 

you who recites to you Our communications and purifes you and teaches you the Book and 

the wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know. " [Holy Qur'an 2: 151]. 

He said, "That is what we have learnt from our religious leaders and teachers, and we did not 

argue about what they taught us, as you the new generation do today. You doubt everything, 

even the religion itself. This is one sign of the nearness of the Hour - that is the Day of 

Judgement - and the Messenger of Allah said: the Hour will come as a result of the evil in people. " 

I said, "Sir, why all this exaggeration? God forbid if I doubt the religion, I believe in Allah, 

Who is unique and Has no partner. I believe in His angels, Books and Messengers. I believe 

in our master Muhammad as His servant and Messenger, and that he is the best of all the 

prophets and the last of the messengers, and that I am one of the Muslims. So how could you 

accuse me of all that? " 

He said, "I accuse you of more than that, because you doubt our masters Abu Bakr and Umar, and the holy Prophet said: If the faith of my nation and the belief of Abu Bakr were put on a balance, the faith of Abu Bakr would have weighed heavier. The holy Prophet also said in 

p: 179 

honour of Umar: I was shown my nation, and each one of them was wearing a shirt that came 

to the chest, and I was shown Umar and he was pulling his shirt. They said: O Messenger of 

Allah! How do you interpret this? He said: The Religion. 

And you come today, in the fourteenth century (Hijri) and doubt the righteousness of the 

Companions and especially Abu Bakr and Umar. Don't you know that the people of Iraq are 

the people of disunity, blasphemy and hypocrisy! " 

What could I say to this man who claimed knowledge and scholarship, and who became so 

arrogant that he changed a well structured dialogue into a disordered talk full of lies and 

propaganda. He said it in front of people who admired him, and I noticed that their faces lit up 

with excitement and evil. 

I quickly went home and brought back two books, "al-Muwatta of Imam Malik" and "The 

Sahih of al-Bukhari". Then said, "Sir, what made me doubt Abu Bakr was the Messenger of 

Allah himself. " I opened al-Muwatta and read: He said to the martyrs of Uhud, "Those, I bear 

witness against. " Abu Bakr then said, "O Messenger of Allah, are we not their brothers? Did 

we not become Muslims as they did? Did we not fight as they did? " 

The Messenger replied, "Yes, but I do not know what you are going to do after me. " 

On hearing that, Abu Bakr cried bitterly and said, "We are going to alter many things after 

your departure. " [61] 

p: 180 

After that I opened the "Sahih" of al-Bukhari and read: Once Umar ibn al-Khattab came to 

Hafsah and found with her Asma bint Umays. When he saw her, he asked, "Who is she? " 

Hafsah answered, "Asma bint Umays. " Umar said, "Is she that Ethiopian? " Asma replied, 

"Yes. " He said, "We emigrated [that is to say from Mecca to Medinah] before you, so we are 

more entitled to the Messenger of Allah than you. " She became very angry, then she said, 

"No, by Allah, you were with the Messenger of Allah, who fed your hungry people and 

advised the ignorant among you; whereas we were in a foreign land, in Abyssinia, for the 

sake of Allah and His Messenger, and whenever I ate or drank anything, I remembered the 

Messenger of Allah (saw) and we were hurt, and we were frightened. By Allah I will mention 

this to the Prophet without Iying, adding anything or deviating from the subject. " When the 

Prophet came, she said, "O Prophet of Allah, Umar said such and such. " He asked, "What did 

you say to him? " She answered, "Such and such. " He said, "I am not more entitled to him 

than to you. " He and his companions had one emigration, but you, people of the ship, had two emigrations. " She said, "I found Abu Musa and the people of the ship coming to me in groups and asking me about the Hadith, very much delighted with what the Prophet (saw) had said to After having read the Hadiths, the looks on the faces of the scholarly Shaykh and that of the audience changed. They looked at each other and waited for the scholar, who was too shocked at what he had heard, to reply. All he did was to raise his eye brows, as a sign of astonishment and then said, "O my God grant me more knowledge. " 

p: 181 

I said, "If the Messenger of Allah (saw) was the first to doubt Abu Bakr, and did not bear 

witness against him, because the Messenger did not know what would happen after him; and 

if the Messenger of Allah did not approve of the preference of Umar over Asma bint Umays, 

but indeed preferred her to him; then it is within my right to doubt and not to have a 

preference for anybody until I know the truth. Evidently, these Hadiths contradict and nullify 

all the known Hadiths in favour of Abu Bakr and Umar, because they are more realistic than 

these which mention their alleged virtues. " 

The audience said, "How could that be? " I said, "The Messenger of Allah (saw) did not bear 

witness against Abu Bakr and said: I do not know what they will do after me! This sounds 

very reasonable. History has proved that, and the Holy Qur'an and history bear witness that 

they did change after him. Because of that Abu Bakr cried for he changed and angered 

Fatimah al-Zahra, daughter of the Messenger as we explained before, and he changed until he repented and wished that he was not a human being. As for the Hadith: If the faith of my 

nation and the faith of Abu Bakr were put on balance, the faith of Abu Bakr would weigh 

heavier", it is invalid and implausible. It is not possible for the faith of a man, who spent forty 

years of his life believing in polytheism and worshipping idols, to be greater than the faith of 

p: 182 

the entire nation of Muhammad, which has many God-fearing and pious people and martyrs 

and Imams, who spent all their lives fighting for the sake of Allah. 

How could Abu Bakr fit into this Hadith? If it was true, he would not, in later life have 

finished that he was not a human being. Further, if his faith was greater than the faith of the 

entire nation of Muhammad, Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah and the leading 

lady, would not have been angry at him or asked Allah to punish him in each prayer she 

prayed. " 

The scholar did not say anything, but some of the men said, "By Allah! This Hadith made us 

doubtful". Then the scholar said to me, "Is that what you wanted? You have made these 

people doubt their religion. " It sufficed me that a man from the audience replied by saying, 

"No, he is right. we have not read a whole book in our life, we followed you blindly and 

without any argument, and now it appears to us that what al-Hajj has been saying is right, and it is our duty to read and research! " Other people agreed with him, and that was a victory for truth and justice. It was not victory by force, but by logical deduction and proof. Allah says: "Say, bring your proof, if you are telling the truth" [Holy Qur'an 27: 64]. 

That is what encouraged me to undertake the study and opened the door for me, so I entered it 

in the name of Allah by Allah and tracing the footsteps of the followers of the Messenger of 

p: 183 

Allah. I hope that Allah, praise be to Him, the Most High, grants me success and 

enlightenment, for He promised to enlighten anyone who searches for the truth, and He does 

not break His promises. 

The study went on for three years, because I often re-read the books, right from the first page to the last. 

I read "al-Muraja'at" by Imam Sharaf al-Din several times, since it opened new horizons for 

me and enlightened me and pleased me for the love and the fellowship of Ahl al-Bayt. 

I read "al-Ghadeer" by Shaykh al-Amini three times because of the clear cut facts it 

contained. I also read Fadak in History" by al- Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and al- 

Saqifah" by Shaykh Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar, which explained so many vague issues. 

I read "al-Nass wal Ijtihad" - the Text and the Interpretation - and became more convinced. 

Then I read "Abu Hurayra" by Sharaf al-Din and Shaykh al-Mudira" by Shaykh Mahmud 

Abu Rayyah al-Misri, and learnt that the Companions who changed after the departure of the 

Messenger of Allah were two types. The first, changed the rules. because of its power and 

authority. The second, changed the rules by attributing false Hadiths to the Messenger of 

Allah. 

I read lmam al-Sadiq the four Madhhabs" by Asad Haydar and learnt about the differences 

between gifted knowledge and acquired knowledge. I also learnt about the differences 

between Allahs wisdom which He grants to whom He pleases, and the intrusion on 

knowledge and the belief of personal interpretation (of Islam) which kept the nation away 

from the spirit of Islam. 

I read more books by al-Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-Amili, and al-Sayyid Murtada al-Askari, 

and Al Sayyid Al-Khusi,and al-Sayyid al-Tabatabai, and Shaykh Muhammad Amin Zain al- 

Din, and al-Fayroozabadi, and Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mu'tazili in his commentary on "Nahj al- 

Balagha", and Taha Husayn's "al-Fitna al-Kubra". 

From the history books I read the following Annals written by al-Tabari, Ibn al-Athir, al- 

Masudi and al-Ya'qubi. And I read more, until I became convinced that the Shia Imamiyya 

were right. 

Thus, with the help of Allah, I boarded Ahl al-Bayt's ship and sought their fellowship, 

because I found - thanks be to Allah - the alternative to the Companions, who, to the best of 

my knowledge, regressed and only a few of them were saved. 

I exchanged them for the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, the Prophet's Family, whom Allah cleansed 

and purified and made it our duty to seek their fellowship. 

The Shiites are not, as some of our religious scholars claim, the Persians and the Magus 

whose power and glory were destroyed by Umar in al-Qadisiyyah war, and that is why they 

hate them! 

My answer to these who are ignorant is that following the creed of the Prophet's Family is not 

restricted to the Persians, for there are Shiites in Iraq, Hijaz, Syria, Lebanon, and all of them 

are Arabs. In addition to that, there are Shi'tes in Pakistan, India, Africa, America, and all of 

those are neither Arabs nor Persians. 

If we confine ourselves to the Shiites of Iran, the issue becomes clearers because I found that 

p: 185 

the Persians believe in the leadership of the twelve Imams, all of whom were Arabs from 

Quraysh from Bani Hashim, the family of the Prophet (saw). If the Persians were prejudiced 

and hated the Arabs, as some people claim, they would have been taken Salman al-Farisi as 

their Imam, for he was a great Companion and respected by both Shiites and Sunnis. On the 

other hand I found that most of the leading Sunni Imams were Persians, such as Abu Hanifa, 

al-Nisa'i, al-Tirmidhi, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Maja, al-Ghazali, Ibn Sina, al-Farabi and 

many others. If the Shiites were all Persians who rejected Umar ibn al-Khattab because he 

destroyed their power, then how can we explain the rejection of the Arabs who were not 

Persians? Therefore, this is an illogical claim. These people refused Umar because of his role 

in excluding the Commander of the Believers, Ali ibn Abi Talib, from the caliphate after the 

departure of the Messenger of Allah, and because of the tragic civil wars and decline of this 

nation. It is high time that the truth was unveiled to everv free-thinking scholar so that he may refute the allegation without any prior animosity. It is true that the Shiites, whether they were Arabs or Persians or any other nationality, followed closely the Qur'anic Texts and the 

tradition of the Messenger of Allah and his Family, and refused to accept the alternative 

despite the oppressive policies of the Umayyads and later the Abbasids for seven centuries. 

During that period, they pursued the Shiites everywhere; they killed them, they made them 

p: 186 

homeless, they denied them their rightful grants. they removed their cultural and intellectual 

heritage and they spread all sorts of rumours about them in order to keep people away from 

them. The legacy of these policies is still felt up to the present day. 

However, the Shiites stood their ground, remained patient and took the blame for their 

commitment to Allah and they are paying the price of their defiance to this very day. I 

challenge any of our religious scholars to enter a debate with their religious scholars without 

coming out of it overwhelmed by their enlightened way. 

Yes, I found the alternative, and thanks be to Allah Who guided me to this. because I would 

not he there without His Guidance. Thanks and praise be to Allah Who led me to the saved 

group, for which I was eagerly searching. 

I have no doubt that the commitment to Ali and Ahl al-Bayt is the commitment to the 

unbroken link - the link to Allah. There are many sayings by the Messenger of Allah agreed 

by all Muslims, which bear witness to that. The sensible mind is, perhaps, the best proof for 

anybody who is prepared to listen. Ali was the most knowledgeable companion and certainly 

the bravest, as the entire nation testified. This is a sufficient condition to support the lawful 

claim of Ali, alone and no one else, to the succession of the caliphate. 

Allah the Most High said: 'And their prophet said to them, "Surely Allah has raised Talut to 

be a king over you. " They said, "How can he hold kingship over us while we have a greater 

p: 187 

right to kingship than him, and he has not been granted an abundance of wealth? " He said, 

"Surely Allah has chosen him in preference to you, and He has increased him abundantly in 

knowledge and physique, and Allah grants His kingdom to whom He pleases, and Allah is 

Ample giving, knowing. " [Holy Qur an 2: 247]. 

And the Messenger of Allah said. "Ali is from me, and I am from Ali, and he is the master of 

every believer after me. " [63] 

Al-Zamakhshari said in some of his poetry: 

Doubt and differences have increased. Every one claims that he is the right way. But I have 

committed myself to: there is no other god but Allah. and my love to Ahmed (Muhammad) 

and Ali. A dog won the love of the companions of the cave, how could I be ever distressed 

with the love of the Prophet's Family. 

Yes I found the alternative, praise be to Allah. and I became a follower of - after the 

Messenger of Allah - The Commander of the Believers, master of all guardians, leader of the 

chosen elite, the victorious lion of Allah Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib; and the two masters of 

Heaven's youth, and the Prophet's two followers, Imam Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Zaki, 

and Imam Abu Abdullah al-Husayn; and the daughter of al-Mustafa (Muhammad) , mother of 

the Imams. the essence of the Message, she, for whom Allah feels angry if she is angered. the 

most honourable lady Fatimah al-Zahra. 

I have changed Imam Malik for the leader of all Imams, and teacher of the nation, Imam 

p: 188 

Ja'far al-Sadiq. 

I have committed myself to the nine infallible men from the posterity of al-Husayn, Imams of 

all Muslims and the good friends of Allah. I have changed the Companions who turned back 

on their heels, like Muawiah, Amr ibn al-As, al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, Abu Hurayra, Ikrima, 

Ka'b al-Ahbar and others, for the grateful Companions who never broke the promise they 

gave to the Prophet, like Ammar ibn Yasir, Salman al-Farisi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, al-Miqdad 

ibn al-Aswad. Khuzayma ibn Thabit - Dhu al-Shahadetain - and others, and praise be to Allah 

for this enlightenment. 

I have changed the religious leaders of my people, who discouraged us from thinking and 

whose majority followed the rules and the sultans, throughout time. I changed them for the 

devoted religious leaders of the Shia who never closed the opportunity for studying and 

interpreting Islam, and who neither rose to oppose nor submitted to the oppressive rulers. 

Yes, I changed dogmatic beliefs, full of contradictions for new enlightened and liberal ones 

based on logical deductions and reasoning. 

As they say now a days "I have washed my brain" of the dirt that had accumulated over thirty 

years; lies of the Umayyads. I purified it with the ideology of the infallibles, those whom 

Allah cleansed and purified. I have done that for the remainder of my life. 

O Allah... please let us live our lives following their footsteps, and let our nation follow their tradition, and gather us with them, for Your Prophet (saw) said: Man is placed together with 

p: 189 

those whom he loves. 

Thus I have returned to my origin. For my father and uncles used to talk to us about our 

family tree. and often told us that we were from al-Sada (plural of Sayyid: a descendant of the Prophet) who escaped from Iraq under Abbasid pressure and found refuge in North Africa 

until they settled in Tunisia where their marks remain up to the present day. There are many 

people like us in North Africa who are descendants from the purified posterity, and are called 

"Sada", but they went astray through the oppression of the Umayyads and the Ahbasids, and 

now they have nothing of the truth except the people's respect for them. Priase be to Allah for his guidance... and praise be to Allah for my enlightment and for opening my eyes to see the truth.

The Reasons behind the Enlightment 

1. The text regarding the succession to the Caliphate 

The reasons behind my enlightenment are many, but I shall only mention a few of them here: 

1. The text regarding the succession to the Caliphate 

I have committed myself, before embarking on this study, to never depending on any 

reference unless it is considered authentic by the two parties, and to discarding those 

references that are solely referred to by only one of the parties. 

Thus, I shall investigate the idea regarding the preference between Abu Bakr and Ali ibn Abi 

Talib, and that the succession of the caliphate was by written text [Dictate] for Ali, as the 

Shiites claim, and not by election and Shura [consultation] as the Sunnis claim. 

p: 190 

Any researcher in this subject, if he considers nothing but the truth, will find that the text in 

support of Ali is very clear, like the following saying by the Messenger of Allah: Whoever 

considers me his master, then Ali is his master. He said it at the end of the Farewell 

Pilgrimage, when it was confirmed that Ali would succeed, and many people congratulated 

him on that, including Abu Bakr and Umar who were among the well-wishers, and who were 

quoted as having said to the Imam, Well done, Ibn Abi Talib, overnight you have become a 

master of all the believers. " [64] 

This text has been agreed on by both Shiites and Sunnis, and in fact I have only referred in 

this study to some Sunni references. and not to all of them, for they are so many. 

If the reader wants more information, he may read "al- Ghadir" by al-Amini (thirteen 

Volumes) in which the writer classifies the sayings of the Prophet according to the Sunnis. 

As for the alleged popular election of Abu Bakr on "The Day of al-Saqifah" and his 

subsequent acclamation in the mosque; it seems that it was just an allegation without 

foundation. How could it be by popular agreement when so many people were absent during 

the acclamation? People like: Ali, al-Abbas, most of the house of Bani Hashim, Usama ibn 

Zayd, al-Zubayr, Salman al-Farisi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, Ammar 

ibn Yasir, Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman, Khuzayma ibn Thabit, Abu Burayd al-Aslami, al-Bura ibn 

Azib, Abu Ka'b, Sahl ibn Hanif, Saad ibn Ubada, Qays ibn Saad, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Jabir 

p: 191 

ibn Saad, Khalid ibn Saad, and many others. [65] 

So where was that alleged popular agreement? The absence of Ali alone from the acclamation 

is sufficient to criticize that meeting because he was the only candidate for the caliphate, 

nominated by the Messenger of Allah, on the assumption that there was no direct text 

regarding such a nomination. 

The acclamation of Abu Bakr was without consultation, in fact it took the people by surprise, 

especially when the men in charge of the Muslim affairs were busy preparing for the funeral 

of the Messenger of Allah. The citizens of al-Medinah were shocked by the death of their 

Prophet, and then they forced the acclamation [66] on the people. and even threatened to burn the house of Fatima if those who were absent from the acclamation refused to leave it. So how could we say that the acclamation was implemented through consultation and popular 

agreement? 

Umar ibn al-Khattab himself testified that that acclamation was a mistake - may Allah protect 

the Muslims from its evil -, and that whoever repeated it should be killed, or he might have 

said that if someone called for a similar action there would he no acclamation for him or for 

those who acclaimed him. [67] 

Imam Ali said about that acclamation: By Allah, Ibn Abi Quhafa has got it! And he knows 

that my position [regarding the caliphate] is like that of the pole in relation to the millstone! 

The torrent flows from me, and the bird will never reach me! [68] 

p: 192 

Saad ibn Ubada, a prominent man from al-Ansar, attacked Abu Bakr and Umar on the day of 

"al-Saqifah", and tried hard to keep them away from the caliphate, but could not sustain his 

efforts, for he was ill and unable to stand, and after al-Ansar paid homage to Abu Bakr, Saad 

said: "By Allah I shall never pay homage to you until I cast my last arrow at you, and pierce 

you with my lance, and attack you with my sword, with all the power in my hand, and fight 

you with all the members of my family and clan. By Allah, even if all the Jinns [invisible 

beings] and the human beings gathered to support you, I will never acclaim you, until I meet 

my God. " He never prayed with them, he never sat in their company, he never performed the 

pilgrimage with them, and if he found a group of people willing to fight them, he would give 

them all his support, and if somebody acclaimed him to fight them, he would have fought 

them. He remained thus until he died in Syria during the caliphate of Umar. [69] 

If that was a mistake (may Allah protect the Muslims from its evil) as Umar put it (and he was 

one of its architects, and knew what happened to the Muslims as a result of it) , and if that 

succession to the caliphate was illegal (as Imam Ali described it when he said that he was the 

lawful nominee for it) , and if that acclamation was unjust (as according to Saad ibn Ubada the 

p: 193 

leader of al-Ansar who left al-Jamaah because of it) , and if that acclamation was unlawful due 

to the absence of the leading figures of the Companions, including al-Abbas, the uncle of the 

Prophet, so what is the evidence and proof which supports the legality of the Abu Bakr's 

succession to the caliphate? 

The answer, is that there is no evidence or proof with the Sunnis and al-Jamaah. 

Therefore, what the Shiites say regarding this issue is right, because it has been established 

that the Sunnis have the text which proves the succession of Ali to the caliphate, but they 

deliberately misinterpret it to maintain the Companion's honour. Thus, the just and fair person 

has no choice but to accept the text, especially if he knows the circumstances that surrounded 

the case. [70] 

2. The disagreement between Fatimah and Abu Bakr 

The subject is agreed upon by the two parties, and the fair and sensible person has no choice 

but to judge Abu Bakr as being wrong, that is if he did not admit his injustice and bad 

treatment of the leading lady. 

Anyone who cares to follow the events of that tragedy and studies its various facts will 

recognize that Abu Bakr deliberately hurt al-Zahra and denied her argument so that she could 

not protest against him - supported by the texts of al-Ghadir and others - regarding the lawful 

right for her husband and cousin to the succession of the caliphate. There are many 

indications that have been mentioned by historians which lead us to believe in accounts of 

p: 194 

these events, this is one of them: 

Al-Zahra - may Allah's peace be upon her - went around the meeting places of al-Ansar, 

asking for support for her cousin and husband and they said, "O daughter of the Messenger of Allah, we have already acclaimed that man, and if your husband and cousin had approached 

us before him, we would have supported him. " Ali - may Allah honour his face - said, 

"Would I leave the Messenger of Allah (saw) in his house unburied and go to argue with 

people about his authority? " Fatimah said, "Abu al-Hasan did what was expected from him, 

and for what they did Allah will hold them responsible and accountable. " [71] 

If Abu Bakr was wrong, either unintentionally or through good-will, Fatimah al-Zahara would 

have persuaded him; but she was angry with him, because he refused to accept her argument and rejected her testimony and the testimony of her husband. She became so angry, she even prevented him in her will from being present at her funeral. When she died, her husband 

buried her secretly during the night. [72]

As for her secret burial (as) during the night, it is worth mentioning here, that during my years 

of research and investigation, I went to al-Medinah to check for myself certain points, then I 

discovered the following: 

Firstly, the grave of al-Zahra is unknown and nobody knows exactly where it is; some say it is 

in the Prophet's chamber, others say it is in her house opposite the Prophet's chamber, and 

p: 195 

there are people who think that it might be in al-Baqi', in the midst of Ahl al-Bayt's graves. 

This is the first fact that I deduced: al-Zahra (as) wanted the Muslims, through generations to 

come, to know why she asked her husband to bury her secretly during the night, and that not 

one of them attend her funeral! Thus, every Muslim could reach certain interesting facts 

when researching into historical events. 

Secondly, I discovered that the visitor who wants to visit Uthman ibn Affan's grave has to go 

a long way until he reaches the end of al-Baqi', and there he finds it by a wall. By contrast, he 

will find the burial places of most of the Companions at the beginning of al-Baqi', near the 

entry. Even Malik ibn Anas, the famous jurist, who was a follower of the Followers, is buried 

near the burial places of the Messenger's wives. It became clear to me what the historians 

meant when they said that he was buried in "Hash Kawkab". which was Jewish land, because 

the Muslims refused to bury him in the Baqi' of the Messenger of Allah. When Muawiya 

seized power, he bought that land from the Jews and included it in al-Baqi', so that it contains 

the grave of his cousin Uthman. He who visits al-Baqi' today will see this fact very clearly. 

It is astonishing to know that Fatimah al-Zahra (as) was the first of the Prophet's children to 

die after him, and at the most there were six months between the departure of the father and his daughter, and despite that, she was not buried beside her father. 

p: 196 

Fatimah al-Zahra, as I mentioned earlier, stated in her will that she should be buried secretly, 

therefore, she was not buried beside her father. But what about her son, al-Hasan, why was he not buried beside his grandfather? Aisha (Umm al-Mumineen) prevented that. When al- 

Husayn brought his brother to bury him by his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, Aisha 

rode a mule and went around saying, "Do not bury someone I do not love in my house. " Then, 

the houses of Bani Umayya and Hashim stood opposite each other ready to fight, but al- 

Husayn told her that he would only take the coffin of his brother around the grave of their 

grandfather then he would bury him in al-Baqi'. That was because Imam al-Hasan requested 

from his brother, that no blood should be shed for his sake. Ibn Abbas said a few verses 

regarding this event: 

"She rode a camel [73], she rode a mule [74], if she had lived longer, she would have ridden 

an elephant, you have the ninth of the eighth, and you took everything. " 

This is another interesting fact: How could Aisha inherit everything, when the Prophet had 

nine wives? Ibn Abbas transmitted to us: If the Prophet was not to leave any inheritance, and 

Abu Bakr bore witness to that and prevented al-Zahra from inheriting anything from her 

father, how then could Aisha? Is there any text which states that the wife could inherit, but not the daughter? Or was it perhaps politics that changed everything, so it denied the daughter everything, and gave the wife everything? 

p: 197 

It is worth mentioning here a story related to the subject of inheritance that has been cited by many historians: 

Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mutazili said in his commentary on Nahj al-Balagha: Aisha and Hafsa 

came to see Uthman, during his caliphate, and asked him to give them their shares of what 

they had inherited from the Messenger of Allah (saw). Uthman was stretched on the sofa, so 

he sat up and said to Aisha: You and that woman sitting next to you brought a man who 

cleansed himself with his urine and testified that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "We, the 

prophets, do not leave an inheritance. " If the Prophet truly did not leave any inheritance, why do you ask for it now, and if he left an inheritance, why did you deprive Fatimah of her legal share? After that, she left him feeling very angry and said: Kill Na'thal, for he has become an unbeliever. [75]

3. Ali was more entitled to the leadership 

One of the reasons which led to my enlightenment and ultimately made me leave the tradition 

[Sunna] of my forefathers was the comparison between the positions of Ali ibn Abi Talib and 

that of Abu Bakr, based on logical deductions and historical references. 

As I started in earlier parts of this book, I only included in my research the references which 

have been agreed on by both, the Shiites and the Sunnis. 

I searched in the books of both parties and found that only Ali received total support, and both Shiites and Sunnis agreed on his leadership in accordance with the texts they approved of. 

p: 198 

However there is neither support nor agreement on the leadership of Abu Bakr except by a 

small group of Muslims, and we have mentioned what Umar said about his succession to the 

caliphate. Furthermore. there are many virtues and good deeds attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib 

by the Shiites and cited as authentic references in the Sunni books. The sayings are full of the 

virtues of Ali, more than any other Companion ever received, and even Ahmed ibn Hanbal 

said: No one among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw) had more virtues than 

Ali ibn Abi Talib. [76] 

Qadi Ismail, al-Nasa'i and Abu Ali al-Naisaburi said: No Companion had as many virtues 

attributed to him as Ali. [77] 

We notice that the Umayyads tried hard to force people to curse him and insult him and not to 

mention any of his virtues, and even they prevented anybody from being named after him, but despite all that hatred, his virtues and good deeds (as) continued to spread. 

Regarding that Imam al-Shafi'i says: I am surprised about a man whose virtues were kept 

secret by his enemies, out of envy, and were kept secret by his followers, out of fear, but 

nevertheless, an enormous amount of them spread. " 

As for Abu Bakr, I searched in the books of the two parties, and found that the virtues 

attributed to him by the Sunnis were much less than that attributed to Ali. The virtues of Abu 

Bakr that have been mentioned in historical books were narrated either by his daughter Aisha, 

p: 199 

whose position vis-a-vis Ali is well documented, and she tried hard to support her father, even 

by fabricating sayings, or by Abdullah ibn Umar, who was never close to Ali, and he was one 

of those who refused to pay homage to Ali despite the popular support he had received. 

Abdullah ibn Umar used to say that the best people after the Prophet were Abu Bakr then 

Uthman, and after that everybody was equal [78]. Thus, he made Imam Ali like any other 

ordinary person, without preferences or virtues. 

What was Abdullah ibn Umar's attitude towards the facts that had been mentioned by the 

leading personalities of the nation that "No companion had as many virtues attributed to him 

as Ali". Had Abdullah ibn Umar not heard about even one of Ali's virtues? Yes, by Allah, he 

had heard and understood, but political intrigues tend to distort the facts. 

The virtues of Abu Bakr were also mentioned by Amr ibn al-'As, Abu Hurayrah, Urwa and 

Ikrima, and all of them hated Ali and fought him either with arms or by plotting against him 

and attributing virtues to his enemies. 

Ahmed ibn Hanbal said, "Ali had many enemies who searched hard to find a fault attributable 

to him, but they could not, so they brought a man whom Ali had-fought and battled with, and 

praised him because of their hatred towards Ali. " [79]. But Allah said: "Surely they will make 

a scheme, and I too will make a scheme so glad the unbelievers a respite: let them alone for a 

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while" [Holy Qur'an 86: 15-17]. 

It is a miracle from Allah - praise be to Him - that the virtues of Imam Ali spread after six 

centuries of oppression and injustice against him and Ahl al-Bayt, and the Abbasids were not 

less evil than their predecessor the Umayyads in their treatment of Ahl al-Bayt. The poet Abu 

Firas al-Hamdani wrote the following verses: 

What Banu Harb have done to them is nothing in comparison to what you did to them, 

How many times have you clearly violated the Religion? 

And how much of the Prophet's [family's] blood Has been spilt by you? 

You pretend to be his followers, but on your hands Is the blood of his purified sons. 

After having finished with all these sayings, and having came out from the darkness, I leave 

the last judgement to Allah, and there will be no more excuses from the people after all that. 

Despite the fact that Abu Bakr was the first caliph, and had all the power and authority, 

despite the bribes and gifts that the Umayyads gave to every one who praised Abu Bakr, 

Umar and Uthman, and despite all the alleged virtues and good deeds that they invented for 

Abu Bakr, which filled many books... despite all that, they did not amount to a fraction of the 

true virtues of Imam Ali. 

Furthermore, if we analyze the alleged sayings that were in favour of Abu Bakr, we find them 

incompatible with the historical facts, and no sensible man or creed could accept them. Earlier 

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on we explained the saying attributed to the Prophet: "If the faith of Abu Bakr and the faith of my nation is put on the balance, the faith of Abu Bakr will be heavier". 

If the Messenger of Allah was aware of this high degree of faith in Abu Bakr, he would not 

have appointed Usama to command the army; nor would he have refused to bear witness for 

him as he did for the martyrs of Uhud, and then said to him that he did not know what he was 

going to do after him", so that Abu Bakr [80] cried. In addition to that, the Prophet would not 

have sent Ali ibn Abi Talib to take "Surat Bara'a" from him and prevented him from 

transmitting it. [81] 

Nor would the Prophet have said in Khayber while presenting the flag: "Tomorrow I will give 

my flag to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, ever going forward and never 

retreating, Allah had tested his heart with the faith" then he gave it to Ali and no one else. 

[82] 

If Allah knew that Abu Bakr had such a high degree of faith, and that his faith exceeded the 

faith of all Muslims, Allah - praise be upon Him - would not have had to threaten him that He 

would spoil his work when he raised his voice above the Prophet's voice. [83] 

If Ali and the Companions who followed him knew that Abu Bakr had this high degree of 

faith, they would not have hesitated to pay homage to him. If Fatimah al-Zahra, the leading 

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lady, knew that Abu Bakr had this high degree of faith, she would not have been angry with 

him, nor would she have refused to talk to him or return his greetings, or cursed him in her 

prayers [84], and even banned him - according to her will - from attending her funeral. 

He who had such a degree of faith, and whose faith was greater than the faith of all Muslims. 

would not have regretted, in the last moments of his life, his attitude towards Fatimah, and his burning of al-Fuja'ah al-Salami and his succession to the caliphate [85]. Also, he would not 

have wished not to be a human being but to be a hair or animal droppings. Is this man's faith 

equal to, or even greater than the faith of the entire Islamic nation? 

Let us consider the saying: If I was taking a close companion, I would have chosen Abu Bakr. 

This saying is like the previous one. Where was Abu Bakr on the day of the small 

Brotherhood" in Mecca before the Hijra, and on the day of the great Brotherhood" in Medinah 

after the Hijra; when in both of them the Messenger of Allah (saw) chose Ali as his brother 

then said to him, You are my brother in this life and in the Hereafter" [86] and did not turn to 

Abu Bakr, thus depriving him of the brotherhood in the Hereafter and from the close 

companionship. I do not wish to go on about this subject, and it is sufficient to bring the 

above mentioned examples which I have found in the Sunni books. As for the Shiites, they do 

not recognize these sayings at all, and they have their own clear proof that they were invented some time after the death of Abu Bakr. 

If we leave the virtues aside and concentrate on the sins, we will never find a single sin 

committed by Ali that has been mentioned in historical books (both Shiite and Sunni) , 

whereas we find that many other people have committed sins and were mentioned in the 

Sunni books such as al-Sihah, the various books Sirah and annals. 

Thus, we find total agreement from both parties regarding Ali alone, also historical facts point 

out that the correct acclamation was for Ali alone. 

He abstained, but the Muhajireen and Ansar insisted on his acclamation; then when he was 

finally nominated, some people refused to pay homage to him, but he never forced them to 

change their minds. 

On the other hand we find that the acclamation of Abu Bakr was a "mistake" - as Umar ibn al- 

Khattab put it - "may Allah protect the Muslims from its evil. " The acclamation of Umar was 

based on a promise given to him by Abu Bakr. The acclamation of Uthman was a historical 

comedy: Umar nominated six people for the caliphate and told them to choose one candidate, 

and said if four agreed and two disagreed, then the two should be killed, however, if the six 

were divided into two equal camps, then the camp which was supported by Abdul Rahman 

p: 204 

ibn Awf should be considered. but if after a certain time passed and no agreement had been 

reached, the whole six should be killed. The story is long and rather strange, but the important thing is that Abdul Rahman ibn Awf chose Ali on the condition that he should rule in 

accordance with the Book of Allah [the Qur'an] and the tradition of His Messenger and the 

tradition of the two Shaykhs: Abu Bakr and Umar. Ali refused these conditions but Uthman 

accepted them, so he became caliph. Ali came out from the conference of the acclamation and 

knew in advance the result, and talked about it in his famous speech known as al- 

Shaqshaqiyya. 

After Ali, Muawiya took over the caliphate and changed it to a hereditary system within Bani 

Umayya, and after them came Bani al- Abbas where the caliphs succeeded one after the other either by personal nomination [from the previous caliph] or by means of force and seizure of power. From the beginning of the Islamic era until Kamal Ataturk - who abolished the Islamic caliphate - there has been no correct acclamation [87] except that for the Commander of the Believers Ali ibn Abi Talib.

4. The Prophetic traditions which indicate that Ali should be followed 

The prophetic traditions which persuaded me to follow Imam Ali were those I have read in 

the Sihahs of the Sunnis and were approved by the Shiites, and they have many more. But as 

usual I only referred to the prophetic traditions that have been agreed on by both parties, and here are some of them: 

p: 205 

A. The Prophetic tradition: "I am the city of Knowledge and Ali is its gate. " 

This tradition [88] alone should be sufficient to indicate the example that has to he followed 

after the Messenger of Allah (saw) because the educated man ought to be followed. 

Allah - the Most High - said: 

Say: "Are those who know and those who do not know alike? " 

[Holy Quran 39: 9] 

He also said: 

"Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not 

go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge? " [Holy 

Quran 10: 35] 

History has recorded many facts telling us that Ali was the most knowledgeable man among 

all the Companions and they used to consult him on every important matter, and we do not 

know of any event in which he declined to give his advice. 

Abu Bakr said, "May Allah never put me in a predicament that Abu al-Hasan cannot solve. " 

And Umar said, "If it was not for Ali, Umar would have perished. " [89] 

And Ibn Abbas said, "My knowledge and the knowledge of the Companions of Muhammad 

(saw) is but a drop in seven seas if compared with Ali's knowledge. " 

And this is what Imam Ali said about himself, "Ask me before you lose me. By Allah, if you 

ask me about anything that could happen up to the Day of Judgement, I will tell you about it. 

Ask me about the Book of Allah, because by Allah there is no [Qur'anic] verse that I do not 

p: 206 

know whether it was revealed during the night or the day, or whether it was revealed on a 

plain or on a mountain. " [90] 

Abu Bakr was once asked about the meaning of the word "Abb" [herbage] in the words of 

Allah, the Most High: 

"And fruits and herbage, A provision for you and for your cattle" [Holy Quran 80: 31-32] 

Abu Bakr replied, "Which sky would give me shade, and which land would carry me if I say 

something I do not know about the Book of Allah. " And this is Umar saying. "All people are 

more knowledgeable than I am, even women. " He was once asked about the meaning of a 

Qur'anic verse, and his reaction was to rebuke the man and beat him until he bled, then he 

said, "Do not ask about matters which may appear bad to you. " [91] 

Also he was asked about "al-Kalalah" but he did not know what it meant. 

In his "commentary", al-Tabari stated that Umar once said the following, "My knowledge of 

al-Kalalah is more valuable to me than owning a palace similar to those in Syria. " 

In one of his books, Ibn Maja quoted Umar as saying "There are three things, if they were 

explained by the Messenger of Allah, I would have loved them more dearly than anything in 

the world: Al-Kalalah, usury and the caliphate. " God forbid that the Messenger of Allah 

stayed silent on these subjects! 

B. The Prophetic tradition: O Ali! You hold in relation to me the same position as Haroon 

p: 207 

held in relation to Moses, except that there shall be no prophet after me. 

This tradition, as should be apparent to every sensible person, shows the special quality of the Commander of the Believers, Ali, which made him the right person to be the supporter, the guardian and the deputy [or successor] of the Messenger of Allah as Haroon was the 

supporter, guardian and deputy of Moses when he went to meet his God. There is also the 

position of Ali vis-a-vis the Prophet which is absolutely equal to the relation between Haroon 

and Moses, except for the prophethood, which was excluded in the same tradition. 

Furthermore, we find in the tradition the fact that Imam Ali was the best Companion, who 

only came second after the Messenger of Allah (saw). 

C. The Prophetic tradition: Ali is the master of all those of whom I am master. O Allah! Love 

him who loves him and hate him who hates him, help him who helps him, forsake him who 

forsakes him, and turn justice with him wherever he turns. 

This tradition alone is sufficient to reply to the allegations concerning the seniority of Abu 

Bakr, Umar and Uthman to Ali, who was appointed by the Messenger of Allah as the 

guardian after him of all the faithful. It is of no consequence for whoever tried to interpret the saying as the friend or the support in order to divert it from its original meaning so that the integrity of the Companions may be kept intact. The Messenger of Allah stood up in the 

p: 208 

terrible heat addressing the people, saying, "Do you witness that I have a prior right to and 

superior authority over all the faithful? " They replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah. " 

Thereupon he said, "Ali is the master of all those whom I am a master... etc. " This is a clear 

text indicating that the Messenger of Allah had appointed Ali as his successor to lead the 

nation [of Islam], and the fair and sensible person could not but accept this interpretation and 

refuse that of the others, thus preserving the integrity of the Messenger of Allah before 

preserving the integrity of the Companions. Those who give an alternative interpretation to 

the saying are in fact ridiculing the wisdom of the Messenger of Allah, who gathered the 

multitude of people, in that unbearable heat, to tell them that Ali was the friend and supporter of the faithful. And what do those, who misinterpret the text in order to preserve the integrity of their masters, say about the procession of congratulation that the Messenger of Allah organised for Ali? It started with the wives of the Messenger, the mothers of the faithful, then Abu Bakr and Umar came and said to him, "Well done Ibn Abi Talib, Overnight you became the guardian [master] of all the faithful. " 

In fact all the historical evidence gives clear indications that those who misinterpret the above 

tradition are liars. Woe to those who wrote what they wrote, and woe to them for what they 

are writing. Allah - the Most High - said. "... a party of them most surely conceal the truth 

p: 209 

while they know it" [Holy Qur'an 2: 146]. 

D. The Prophetic tradition: Ali is from me and I am from Ali and no one can discharge my 

duty except myself or Ali. 

This honourable tradition [92] is another clear indication that Imam Ali was only one whom 

the Messenger authorized to discharge his duties. The Messenger said it on the day of the 

great pilgrimage when he sent Ali with Surat Bara'a instead of Abu Bakr, who came crying 

and asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Reveal something for me. " The Messenger answered, 

"My Lord ordered me that nobody can discharge my duty except myself or Ali. " 

There is another supporting tradition that the Messenger of Allah, said on another occasion in 

honour of Ali, "O Ali! You will show them the right path when there will be dissension 

among them after me. " [93] If nobody could discharge the Messenger of Allah's duty except 

Ali, and if he was the one who would show them the right path after dissension appeared 

among them after him; then how could a person who did not know the meaning of "al-Abb" 

and "Kalalah" be more senior to Ali? This is sadly one of the tragedies that have been 

inflicted on our nation and prevented it from doing the duties that Allah has chosen for it. We 

could not blame Allah or the Messenger of Allah or the Commander of the Believers Ali ibn 

Abi Talib for that, but the blame falls squarely on those who rebelled and changed, and Allah 

p: 210 

- the most High - said: "And when it is said to them, "Come to what Allah has revealed and to 

the Messenger. They say, "That on which we found our fathers is sufficient for us. " What!

Even though their fathers knew nothing and did not follow the right way" [Holy Qur'an 

5: 104]. 

E. The Prophetic tradition of the House on the day of Warning. 

The Prophet of Allah (saw) said, indicating Ali. This is my brother, my trustee and my deputy 

[caliph] after me, so listen to him and obey him. " [94] 

The Life of Muhammad by Hasanyn Haykal, First Edition (Section on: And admonish 

your nearest, your kinsmen) 

This is yet another correct tradition cited by many historians at the beginning of the prophetic 

mission, and considered as one of the Prophet's miracles. However, political intrigues 

distorted the facts. Then there is no wonder that the oppression which took place then is 

coming back again in our lifetime. For example, Muhammad Husayn Haykal reproduced the 

saying in its entirety in his book "The Life of Muhammad", (Page 104, First Edition 1334 

Hijri). From the Second Edition onward, the part of the tradition where the Prophet says, "He 

is my trustee, my deputy [caliph] after me" has been removed. 

Also, in al-Tabari's commentary [Tafsir], Volume 19. Page 121, when the Prophet says "My 

trustee and my deputy [caliph]" was changed to "This is my brother etc. etc", but they failed 

to recognize that al-Tabari had cited the tradition in its entirety in his Annals Volume 2, Page 

p: 211 

319. Look how they change the words and distort the facts... they want to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah is spreading His light. 

During my investigation I wanted to see the truth, so I searched for the first edition of "The 

Life of Muhammad". and after some hard work - praise be to Allah - found it, although it cost 

me considerably. The important thing is that I looked at the distortion and became convinced 

that the evil people are trying the best they can do to remove the facts. because there is strong evidence in the hands of their "enemies". 

When the fair investigator comes across such a blatant distortion, he will no doubt begin to 

keep away from them and become convinced that they have no evidence except lies and 

distorted facts. They hire writers to whom they give money, titles and false university degrees in order to write for them books and articles through which they insult the Shiites and accuse them of blasphemy, while at the same time they defend the position, even if it is unjust, of some of the Companions who turned on their heels and exchanged right for wrong after the departure of the Messenger of Allah. 

Allah says: "Even thus said those before them, the like of what they say; their hearts are all 

alike. Indeed We have made the verses clear for a people who are sure. " [Holy Quran 2: 118]

The correct Prophetic Traditions which indicate the fact that it is Compulsory to follow the Ahl al Bayt

1. The Prophetic tradition of the two weighty things 

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The messenger of Allah (saw) said, 

O People, I leave amongst you two things which if you follow, you will never go astray. They 

are the Book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt [family]. 

He also said: The messenger of my God is about to come to me and I shall answer. I am 

leaving with you the two weighty things: The first is the Book of Allah, in which you find 

guidance and enlightenment, and the people of my household. I remind you, by Allah, of the 

people of my household... I remind you by Allah of the people of my household. " [95] 

If we examine with some care this honourable tradition, which has been cited by the Sihahs of 

the Sunnis and al-Jamaah, we will find that the Shiites alone followed the two weighty things: 

"The Book of Allah and honourable members of the Prophet's Household". On the other hand, 

the Sunnis and al-Jamaah followed the saying of Umar "The Book of Allah is sufficient for 

us", but I wish they had followed the Book of Allah without interpreting it in their own ways. 

If Umar himself did not understand the meaning of al-Kalalah and did not know the Qur'anic 

verse regarding the Tayammum and other rules, so how about those who came later and 

followed him without the ability to interpret the Qur'anic texts? 

Naturally they will answer me with their own quoted saying, and that is: "I have left with you 

the Book of Allah and my tradition [Sunnah]. " [96] 

p: 213 

This tradition, if it were correct - and it is correct in its general meaning - would correspond to 

the tradition of the two weighty things, because when the Prophet (saw) talked about his 

Household (Ahl al- Bayt) he meant that they should be consulted for two reasons. Firstly, to 

teach the tradition [Sunnah], or to transmit to people the correct tradition because they are 

cleared from telling any lies, and because Allah - praise be to Him - made them infallible in 

the purification verse. Secondly, to explain and interpret the meanings and aims of the 

tradition, because the Book of Allah is not enough for guidance. There are many parties who 

claim to follow the Qur'an but in actual fact they have gone astray, and the Messenger of 

Allah said, "How many are the readers of the Qur'an whom the Qur'an curses!. The Book of 

Allah is silent and could be interpreted in various ways, and it contains what is vague and 

what is similar, and to understand it we have to refer to those who are well endowed with 

knowledge as regards the Qur'an, and to Ahl al-Bayt, as regards to the Prophet's traditions. 

The Shiites referred everything to the infallible Imams of Ahl al-Bayt [the Prophet's 

Household], and they did not interpret anything unless it had a supporting text. 

We refer in every case to the Companions, whether it concerns Qur'anic commentary or the 

confirmation of the Sunnah and its explanation, and we know about the Companions and their 

interpretations and their personal opinions vis-a-vis the clear texts, and there are hundreds of them, so we cannot rely upon them after what they have done. 

p: 214 

If we ask our religious leaders, "Which Sunnah do you follow? " They answer categorically, 

"The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah! " 

But the historical facts are incompatible with that, for they claim that the Messenger of Allah 

said, "Take my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me. Hold firmly 

to it. " But the Sunnah they follow is often the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and 

even the Messenger's Sunnah which they claim to follow is in fact transmitted by those 

people. 

However, we read in our Sihahs that the Messenger of Allah prevented them from writing his 

Sunnah so that it was not confused with the Qur'an. Abu Bakr and Umar did the same thing 

during their caliphate, we therefore have no proof for the saying, "I left you my Sunnah" [97] 

The examples that I have cited in this study - besides many that I have not mentioned - are 

enough to refute this saying, because there are elements in the Sunnah of Abu Bakr, Umar 

and Uthman which contradict and negate the Prophet's Sunnah, as is so apparent. 

The first incident that took place immediately after the death of the Messenger of Allah, 

which the Sunnis as well as the historians recorded, was the argument between Fatimah al- 

Zahra and Abu Bakr regarding the alleged saying, "We, the prophets, do not leave an 

inheritance, all that we leave behind should go to charity. " 

Fatimah denied and refuted this saying, with the support of the Book of Allah, and protested 

p: 215 

against Abu Bakr's allegation and said that her father, the Messenger of Allah, could not 

contradict the Book of Allah which was revealed to him, for Allah - praise be to Him the 

Most High - said: '-Allah enjoins you concerning your children. The male shall have the equal 

of the portion of two females... " (Holy Qur'an 4: 11). 

This Qur'anic verse is general and is applicable to prophets and non-prophets alike. 

She also protested with the following words of the most High: "And Sulaiman was Dawood's 

heir" (Holy Qur an 27: 16) , and both of them were prophets. 

Allah - Glory be to Him - also said: "... Grant me from Thyself an heir, who should inherit 

from me and inherit from the children of Yaqub, and make him, my Lord, one with whom 

You are well pleased" (Holy Qur'an 19: 5-6). 

The second incident that involved Abu Bakr during the early days of his caliphate, which the 

Sunni historians recorded, was his disagreement with the nearest of all people to him, Umar 

ibn al-Khattab. The incident evolves around Abu Bakr's decision to fight those who refused to 

pay Zakat [alms] and kill them, but Umar protested and advised him not to fight them because 

he had heard the Messenger of Allah saying: I have been ordered to fight the people until they say, "There is no other god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. " And he 

who says it can keep his wealth to himself and I have no right to his [blood], and he is 

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accountable to Allah. 

This is a text cited by Muslim in his Sahih: "The Messenger of Allah (saw) gave the flag to 

Ali on the Day of Khayber, and Ali said, "O Messenger of Allah, what am I fighting them 

for? " The Messenger of Allah replied, "Fight them until they testify that there is no other god 

but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and if they do that then they will 

prevent you from killing them and taking their wealth, except by justice, and they will be 

accountable to Allah. " [98] 

But Abu Bakr was not satisfied with this tradition and said, "By Allah, I will fight those who 

differentiate between the prayers and Zakat because Zakat is justly charged on wealth. " And 

also said, "By Allah if they refuse me a rope which they used to give to the Messenger of 

Allah. I will fight them for it. " After that Umar ibn al-Khattab was satisfied and said, "As 

soon as I saw Abu Bakr determined I felt very pleased. " 

I do not know how Allah could please somebody who is preventing the tradition of the 

Prophet. This interpretation was used to justify their fight against Muslims although Allah had 

prohibited making war against them, and Allah said in His Glorious Book: 

O You who believe! When you go to war in Allah's way, make investigation, and do not say 

to any one who offers you peace, "You are not a believer. " Do you seek the goods of this 

world's life? But with Allah there are abundant gains, you too were such before, then Allah 

conferred a benefit on you; therefore make investigation surely Allah is aware of what you 

do" (Holy Qur'an 4: 94).

Those who refused to give Abu Bakr their Zakat did not deny its necessity, but they only 

delayed it to investigate the matter. The Shiites say that these people were surprised by the 

succession of Abu Bakr, and some of them had been present with the Messenger of Allah at 

the Farewell Pilgrimage and had heard the text in which he mentioned Ali ibn Abi Talib. 

Therefore they decided to wait for a while until they obtained a clarification as to what had 

happened, but Abu Bakr wanted to silence them lest they spoke the truth. Because I do not 

reason with nor protest against what the Shiites say, I will leave this issue to somebody who is interested in it. 

However, I should not forget to note here that the Messenger of Allah (saw) had an encounter with Tha'alabah who asked him repeatedly to pray for him to be rich and he promised Allah to give alms. The Messenger of Allah prayed for him and Tha'alabah became so rich that his sheep and camels filled al-Medinah, and he started to neglect his duties and stopped attending the Friday Prayers. When the Messenger of Allah sent some officials to collect the Zakat, he refused to give them anything saying that it was a Jiziah [head tax on free non-Muslims under Muslim rule] or similar to it, but the Messenger of Allah did not fight him nor did he order his killing, and Allah revealed the following verse about him: 

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"And there are those of them who made a covenant with Allah. If He gives us out of His 

Grace, we will certainly give alms and we will certainly be of the good. But when He gave 

them out of His Grace, they became niggardly of it and they turned back and they 

withdrew" (Holy Qur'an 9: 75-76). 

After the revelation of the above Quranic verse. Tha'alabah came to the Messenger of Allah 

crying and asked him to accept his Zakat, but the Messenger of Allah refused to accept it, 

according to the story. 

If Abu Bakr and Umar were following the tradition of the Messenger why did they allow the 

killing of all these innocent Muslims just because they refused to pay the Zakat? 

As for those apologists who were trying to correct Abu Bakr's mistake when he interpreted 

the Zakat as a just tax on wealth, there is no excuse for them nor for Abu Bakr after 

considering the story of Tha'alabah who with held the Zakat and thought of it as "Jiziah". 

Who knows, perhaps Abu Bakr persuaded his friend Umar to kill those who refused to pay 

the Zakat because otherwise their call would have spread throughout the Islamic world to 

revive al-Ghadir's text in which Ali was confirmed as successor [to the Messenger of Allah]. 

Thus Umar ibn al-Khattab wanted to fight them, and it was he who threatened to kill and burn 

those who remained in Fatimah's house in order to extract the acclamation from them for his 

friend. 

The third incident which took place during the early days of Abu Bakr's caliphate in which he 

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found himself in disagreement with Umar, and for which certain Qur'anic and Prophetic texts 

were interpreted, was that of Khalid ibn al-Walid who killed Malik ibn Nuwayrah and took 

his wife and married her on the same day. Umar said to Khalid, O enemy of Allah, you killed 

a Muslim man, then you took his wife... by Allah, I will stone you. " [99] 

But Abu Bakr defended Khalid, and said, "O Umar, forgive him, he made a mistake, but do 

not rebuke him. " 

This is another scandal that history has recorded for a prominent Companion, and when we 

talk about him, we talk with respect and reverence, we even gave him the title 'The ever 

drawn sword of Allah. " What can I say about a Companion who did all that? Who killed 

Malik ibn Nuwayrah, the honourable Companion, leader of Bani Tamin and Bani Yarbu, 

famous for his courage and generosity, and furthermore the historians tell us that Khalid 

killed Malik and his followers after they put down their arms and stood together to pray. They 

were tied by ropes and with them was Leyla bint al-Minhal, wife of Malik, who was 

considered to be one of the most beautiful Arab ladies of her time, and Khalid was captured 

by her beauty. Malik said, "O Khalid, send us to Abu Bakr and he will be our judge. "And 

Abdullah ibn Umar together with Abu Qutadah al-Ansari intervened and urged Khalid to send 

them to Abu Bakr, but he refused and said, "Allah will never forgive me if I do not kill him. " 

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Malik then turned to his wife Leyla and said, "This is the one who will kill me. " After that 

Khalid ordered his execution and took his wife Leyla and married her that very night. [100] 

What can I say about those Companions who trespassed on what Allah deemed to be 

forbidden; they killed Muslims because of personal whims and permitted themselves to have 

women that Allah had forbidden us to have. In Islam, a widow cannot be wed by another man 

before a definite period of time had elapsed, and this period of time has been specified by 

Allah in His Glorious Book. But Khalid followed his whims and debased himself, for what 

would this period of time ['Iddah] mean to him after he had already killed her husband and his 

followers despite the fact that they were Muslims. Abdullah ibn Umar and Abu Qutadah have 

testified to this, and the latter became so angry about Khalid's behaviour that he returned to al-Medinah and swore that he would never serve in an army led by Khalid ibn al-Walid. [101] 

As we are talking about this famous incident, it is worth looking at what Haykal said in his 

book "al-Siddiq Abu Bakr" in a chapter entitled "The opinion of Umar and his reasoning on 

the subject matter": Umar, who was an ideal example of firm justice, saw that Khalid had 

dealt unjustly with another Muslim man and took his widow before the end of her ['Iddah], 

therefore he should not stay in command of the army. So that no such incident would be 

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repeated again and spoil the affairs of the Muslims and give them a bad name amongst the 

Arabs, he said, "It is not right to leave him unpunished after his affair with Leyla. " 

Let us suppose that it was right that he passed a judgement on Malik but got it wrong, which 

was something Umar would not permit, what he had done with his widow alone would have 

meant that he had to be brought to justice. Furthermore, being the "sword of Allah" and the 

commander of the victorious army, did not give him the right to do what he had done, 

otherwise people like Khalid would abuse the law. Worse still, they would be bad examples 

for all Muslims on how to respect the Book of Allah. Thus Umar kept the pressure on Abu 

Bakr until he recalled Khalid and rebuked him. " [102] 

May we ask Mr. Haykel and his like from our scholars, who would compromise in order to 

preserve the honour of the Companions: Why did Abu Bakr not bring Khalid to justice? And 

if Umar was an ideal example of firm justice, as Haykel puts it, why did he only remove him 

from the command of the army, and not bring him to justice so that he would not be a bad 

example for all Muslims of how to respect the Book of Allah, as he said. And did they respect 

the Book of Allah and discharge the laws of Allah? Nay! It was politics! It does wonders, it 

changes the truth and throws the Qur'anic texts over the wall. 

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Some of our scholars tell us in their books that the Messenger of Allah (saw) once became 

very angry when Usamah tried to mediate on behalf of an honourable woman accused of 

stealing, and the Messenger said, "Woe unto you! Do you mediate about one of the laws of 

Allah? By Allah if it was Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad, I would cut her hand. He 

destroyed those before you because they would let the thief go if he was an honourable 

person, but would bring him to justice if he was a weak one. " How could they be silent about 

the killing of the innocent Muslims, and the marriage of their widows on the same night 

despite the tragic loss of their husbands? I wish they had remained silent! But they try to 

justify Khalid's misdeed by inventing various virtues for him, they even called him "The ever 

drawn sword of Allah" I remember being surprised by a friend of mine, who used to like 

joking and changing the meaning of the words, when I mentioned the virtues of Khalid ibn al- 

Walid during my days of ignorance and called him "The ever drawn sword of Allah". He 

replied, "He is the crippled sword of the devil! " 

I was surprised then, but after my research, Allah has opened my eyes and helped me to know the true value of those who seized the caliphate, changed the laws of Allah and violated the boundaries of Allah. 

There is a famous story about Khalid which happened during the lifetime of the Prophet who 

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sent him on a mission to Bani Judhaymah to call them to Islam, but did not order him to fight 

them. But they did not declare their Islam very well, instead they said, "We are turning to... 

we are turning [to Islam]". As a result Khalid started to kill them and took prisoners from 

them, and pushed them towards his friends whom he ordered to kill those prisoners. But some 

of his friends refused to do what they were told because they realized that these people had 

been truly converted to Islam, and they went back and told the Prophet what had happened. 

He said. "O Allah I am innocent of Khalid's deed. " He said it twice [103], then sent Ali ibn 

Abi Talib to Bani Judhaymah with money to pay compensation for their dead and for the loss 

of their wealth, even down to a dog. The Messenger of allah stood up and faced the Qiblah 

[the direction of al- Ka'ba] and raised his hands to the sky then said, 'O Allah, I am innocent 

of Khalid's deed three times". [104] 

May we ask where the alleged fairness of the Companions, which these people claim to have 

had is? If Khalid ibn al-Walid who is considered to be one of our greatest military leaders 

was the sword of Allah, does that mean that Allah drew his sword to kill the innocent 

Muslims and to violate the integrity of people? There is a clear contradiction here, because 

Allah forbids the killing of human beings and prohibits the committing of vile deeds, but 

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Khalid seems to have drawn the sword of injustice to kill innocent Muslims and to confiscate 

their wealth and to take their women. 

There is a blatant lie and a clear deception. Praise and thanks he upon You, our God... 

Blessed be You the Most High... Praise be upon You, You did not create the skies and the 

earth and what is in between them unjustly. These are the doubts of those who blaspheme. 

Woe to those who committed blasphemy, for Hell is awaiting them. How did Abu Bakr, who 

was the caliph of the Muslims, allow himself to listen to all these crimes and be silent about 

them? Moreover he asked Umar to stop attacking Khalid and was very angry at Abu Qutadah 

because he protested strongly about Khalid's action. Was he convinced that Khalid had passed a judgement but got it wrong? What excuse could be given to those corrupt criminals who violated human integrity and claimed to have passed judgement. I do not think that Abu Bakr was trying to pass judgement on Khalid who Umar ibn al-Khattab called "The enemy of 

Allah". Umar thought that Khalid should be killed because he had killed an innocent Muslim, 

or be subjected to a hell of stones because he had committed adultery with Leyla, the widow 

of Malik. But nothing like that happened to Khalid, rather he defeated Umar because he had 

the full support of Abu Bakr who knew the whole truth about Khalid more than anybody else. 

Historians have recorded that after this terrible misdeed, Abu Bakr sent Khalid on a mission 

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to al-Yamamah, from which he came out victorious and subsequently married a girl from 

there in the same way as he had Leyla, before the blood of those innocent Muslims and the 

blood of the followers of Musaylama had dried. Later, Abu Bakr rebuked him about what he 

had done and used stronger words than those he used during the affair of Leyla [105]. 

Undoubtedly, this girl's husband was killed by Khalid who took her for himself, in the same 

way as he had Leyla, the widow of Malik. It must have been so, otherwise Abu Bakr would 

not have rebuked him using stronger words than the previous event. The historians mention 

the text of the letter which Abu Bakr sent to Khalid ibn al-Walid in which he said, "O Ibn 

Umm Khalid. Upon my life you are doing nothing but marrying women, and in the yard of 

your house there is the blood of one thousand two hundred Muslims yet to dry! " [106]. When 

Khalid read the letter, he commented, "This must be the work of al-A'sar" meaning Umar ibn 

al-Khattab. 

These are the strong facts that made me shun these types of Companions, and their followers who support them and defend them eagerly and invent various texts and stories to justify the deeds of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Khalid ibn al-Walid, Muawiyah, Amr ibn al-As and their brethren. O Allah! I am innocent of the deeds and the sayings of those people who opposed Your rules, violated Your prohibitions and trespassed on Your territories. I am innocent of their followers and their supporters despite their full knowledge of the latter's misdeeds. 

p: 226 

Forgive me for my previous support for them because I was ignorant and Your Messenger 

said, "He who does not know [the ignorant] cannot be excused for his ignorance. " 

O Allah! Our leaders have led us astray and veiled the truth from us and presented us with 

distorted pictures of those renegade Companions and led us to believe that they were the best people after Your Messenger. There is no doubt that our forefathers were victims of the 

deception and the intrigues of the Umayyads and later the Abbasids. 

O Allah! Forgive them and forgive us hecause You know what is in our inner souls. They 

loved and respected those Companions out of goodwill assuming that they were supporters of 

Your Messenger, may Your blessings and peace be upon him and upon those who love him. 

You know, my Lord their and our love for the purified family, the Imams whom You 

cleansed and purified. and at their head. the master of all Muslims. the Commander of the 

Believers, chief of the singularly radiant, Imam of all those who fear Allah. our lord Ali ibn 

Abi Talib. 

O Allah! Let me be one of their followers who have committed themselves to their cause 

amd followed their path. Let me be on their ship and help me to hold on to their strong link. 

Let me enter their doors and assist me in dedication to their love, help me to follow their 

words and their deeds, and let me be grateful to their virtues. O Allah! Let me be with them, 

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for Your Prophet (saw) said, "Man is assembled together [on the day of Judgement] with 

those whom he loves. "

2. The Prophetic tradition of the Ship 

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 

Behold! My Ahl al-Bayt are like the Ark of Noah, whoever embarked in it was saved, and 

whoever turned away from it was drowned. [107] 

He also said, My Ahl al-Bayt are like the Gate of Repentance of the children of Israel; whoever entered therein was forgiven. [108] 

Ibn Hajar cited the above tradition in his book "Al-Sawa'iq al-Mahriqa" and gave the 

following commentary: The idea behind comparing them with the Ark [ship] is to say that 

whoever loves them and reveres them as a sign of his gratitude for their graces, and whoever is guided by their learned people, will be saved from the darkness of contradictions. On the other hand whoever decides to stay behind, will sink in the sea of ingratitude and will be destroyed in the wilderness of tyranny. The reason for comparing Ahl al-Bayt with the Gate of Repentance is that Allah - the Most High - made the Gate of Repentance [the Gate of 

Jericho or Jerusalem] a sign of His forgiveness. Similarly, Ahl al-Bayt are the means of 

Repentance for this nation. 

I wish I could ask Ibn Hajar if he was one of those who went on board the ship and entered 

the door and was guided by the religious leaders [Ulama], or was he one of those who order 

what they do not do in practice. and contradict their belief. There are many of those unfair 

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people when I ask them or argue with them they say. "We are in a more favourable situation 

vis-a-vis Ahl al-Bayt and lmam Ali than others, we respect and appreciate Ahl al Bayt and 

nobody can deny their graces and their virtues. " 

Yes, they say with their tongues what is not in their hearts, or they respect them and 

appreciate them but follow and imitate their enemies who fought them and contradicted them, 

or even perhaps on many occasions do not know who Ahl al-Bayt are, and if you ask them 

who Ahl al-Bayt are, they answer you immediately, "they are the Prophet's wives from whom 

Allah kept the dirt away and purified them. " When I addressed the question to one of those 

people, he solved the puzzle by giving me the following answer, "All the Sunni people and al- 

Jama'ah follow Ahl al-Bayt. " I was surprised and said, "How could that be? " He answered, 

"The Messenger of Allah said that we should take half of our religion from this Humayra, 

meaning Aisha, therefore we took half of the religion from Ahl al-Bayt. " 

On this basis one could understand their respect and appreciation for Ahl al-Bayt, but when 

you ask them about the twelve Imams they would only know Ali, al-Hasan and al-Husayn 

from them, and they would not accept the Imamate of al-Hasan nor al-Husayn. Besides, they 

respect Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan who poisoned al-Hasan and killed him [they call 

Muawiyah "The writer of the Revelations"], and they also respect Amr ibn al-As in the same 

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way as they respect Imam Ali. 

This is nothing but contradictions and confusion and an attempt to cover the right with the 

wrong and the light with darkness. For how could the heart of the believer contain the love of 

Allah and the devil at the same time, and Allah said in His Glorious Book: "You shall not find 

a people who believe in Allah and the Latter day befriending those who act in opposition to 

Allah and His Messenger, even though they were their (own) fathers, or their sons or their 

brothers or their kinsfolk; these are they into whose hearts He has impressed faith and whom 

He has strengthened with an inspiration from Him: and He will cause them to enter gardens 

beneath which rivers flow abiding therein; Allah is well-pleased with them and they are wellpleased with Him; these are Allah's party: now surely the party of Allah are the succesful 

ones. (Holy Qur'an 58: 22). 

Allah also said: "O You who believe! Do not take My enemy and your enemy for friends. 

Would you offer them love while they deny what has come to you of truth? " (Holy Qur'an 

60: 1). 

3. The Prophetic tradition: "He who wishes to live like me. " 

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Who ever wishes to live and die like me, and to abide in 

the Garden of Eden after death should acknowledge Ali as his patron and follow Ahl al-Bayt 

after me, for they are my Ahl al-Bayt and they have been created out of the same knowledge 

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and understanding as myself. Woe unto those followers of mine who will deny the Ahl al- 

Bayt their distinctions and who will disregard their relationship and affinity with me. May 

Allah never let them benefit from my intercession. " [109] 

As you can see, the above tradition is one of those clear sayings which do not require any 

interpretation, nor indeed gives any scope for the Muslims to choose, rather, it eliminates any 

excuse. If he does not follow Ali and acknowledge Ahl al-Bayt, the Prophet's Family he will 

be deprived of the mediation of their grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (saw). It is worth 

noting here that at the early stage of my research, I felt doubtful about the authenticity of this tradition and I thought it carried a great threat to those who are not in agreement with Ali and Ahl al-Bayt, especially when the tradition does not allow any scope for interpretation. I 

became rather worried when I read the book "Al- lsabah" in which Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani 

gives the following commentary on the tradition: "... I based the tradition on what Yahya ibn 

Ya'la al-Muharibi had said, and he is feeble. " In fact Ibn Hajar removed some of the doubt 

that remained in my minds for I thought that Yahya ibn Ya'la al-Muharihi fabricated the 

tradition and could not be a reliable transmitter. But Allah - Praise be to Him the Most High - 

wanted to show me the whole truth. I read a hook entitled Ideological discussions on the 

writings of Ibrahim al-Jabhan [110]. This book clarified the situation and it became apparent 

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to me that Yahya ibn Ya'la al-Muharibi was a reliable transmitter of Hadith and the two 

Shaykhs, Muslim and al-Bukhari. depended on what he transmitted. I myself followed his 

case and found that al-Bukhari cited a few traditions transmitted by him regarding the batttle 

of al-Hudaybiyah, and they were put in Volume 3, Page 31. Muslim also cited a few traditions 

in his Sahih Volume 5 in a chapter entitled "The Boundaries" Page 119. Even al-Dhahabi, 

with all his restrictions, considered him a reliable transmitter, together with the Imams of al- 

Jurh and al-Ta'deel (criteria applied to Hadiths to find out the reliable and unreliable 

transmitter) , and of course the two Shaykhs [Muslim and al-Bukhari] used him as a reliable 

reference. So why all this intrigue, falsification and deception about a man who was 

considered to be a reliable transmitter by the authors of al-Sihah? Is it because he told the 

truth regarding the necessity to follow Ahl al-Bayt, and was therefore branded by Ibn Hajar as feeble and weak? 

It seems that Ibn Hajar was unaware of the fact that his writings would become subject to the security of some highly dedicated scholars and that he would be accountable to them for all what he had written. These scholars were able to uncover his prejudice and ignorance because they were guided by the light of the Prophet and Ahl al-Bayt. 

I realized later that some of our scholars try hard to cover the truth so that the affairs of the 

Companions and the caliphs, who were considered to be their leaders and mentors, remain 

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unknown. We see them trying to interpret the correct tradition in their own ways and give 

them different meanings, or they deny the traditions that contradict their creed, even if they 

were mentioned in their own books and Sihahs. At times they remove half or one-third of the 

prophetic tradition to replace it with something else! Or they may throw doubts about the 

reliable narrators [of the tradition] because they raise issues that are not to their liking, and on a few occasions they publish them in the first edition [of a book] but remove it from the 

subsequent editions without giving any indication to justify their action, in spite of the full 

knowledge of the intelligent readers as to why the saying has been removed! 

I have become aware of all these things after conducting meticulous research and 

investigation, and I have convincing proof to support what I am saying. I wish they would 

stop giving me all these excuses to justify the actions of those Companions who turned back 

on their heels, because their views seem to contradict each other and contradict the historical 

fact. I wish they would follow the just path, even if it was a bitter one, then they would leave their minds and the minds of others in peace. 

They claim that some of the early Companions were not reliable transmitters of the Prophet's 

tradition, therefore they removed what they did not like, especially if these traditions included 

some of the last instructions of the Messenger of Allah before his death. 

p: 233 

Al-Bukhari and Muslim both write about the fact that the Messenger of Allah advised three 

things on his death-bed: 

l Remove all the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula 

l Reward the delegation in the same way as I have done and the narrator then said, "I 

forgot the third. " [111] 

It is possible that those Companions who were present at the death-bed and heard the three 

instructions forgot the third one, when we know that they used to learn by heart a whole epic 

after hearing it once? No. It is politics that forced them to forget it and not to mention it again. 

This is indeed another of those comedies organized by the Companions, because there is no 

doubt vhat the first instruction of the Messenger of Allah was to appoint Ali as his successor, 

but the narrator did not recite it. 

The person who is involved with the investigation about this issue will inevitably sense the 

undoubtable recommendation for the succession of Ali despite all the attempts to cover it or 

to remove it. Al-Bukhari cited it in his Sahih in a chapter entitled "Al-Wasaya" [The Legacies 

or the Recommendations], Muslim also cited it in his Sahih and said that the Prophet 

recommended Ali for the succession in the presence of Aisha [112]. Look how Allah shows 

His light even if the oppressors try to cover it. 

I repeat here what I said before; if those Companions were not reliable enough to transmit the recommendations of the Messenger of Allah, then we cannot blame the followers and those who came after them. 

p: 234 

If Aisha, the mother of the faithful, could not bear mentioning the name of Ali and could not 

wish him any good - as Ibn Sa'd writes in his Tabaqat [113], and al-Bukhari in his Sahih in a 

chapter entitled "The illness of the Prophet and his death", and if she prostrated herself to 

thank Allah when she heard the news of Ali's death, then how can we expect her to mention 

the recommendation in favour of Ali, when she was known, publicly and privately, for her 

animosity and hatred towards Ali and his sons and towards all the Family of the Prophet. 

Behold! There is no might or power except in Allah the Most High, the Great.

Our misfortune regarding Ijtihad against the texts 

I gathered through my research that the misfortune which has befallen the Islamic nation has 

been due to the Companions' interpretation of Islam against the clear texts. Thus they violated the ordinances of Allah and obliterated the Tradition, and the religious scholars and leaders who followed their example often contradicted the Prophetic Texts if they did not comply with what one of the Companions had done before them. At times they even contradicted the Qur'anic Texts, and I am not exaggerating here, and I mentioned earlier in this book the case concerning the "al-Tayammum" verse. Despite the fact that there is a clear text in the Book of Allah as well as in the Messenger's tradition about Tayammum, they still took the liberty of interpreting it, and said that one should abandon the prayers if there was no water. Abdullah ibn Umar justified this interpretation in the way we have encountered elsewhere in this hook. 

p: 235 

One of the first Companions to open the door of Ijtihad [interpretation] was the second Caliph who used his discretion vis-a-vis the Qur'anic Texts after the death of the Messenger of Allah 

(saw) to stop the shares of those whose hearts inclined (to truth) , although Allah had made its payment compulsory out of the Zakat, and said, "We do not need you. " 

As for his interpretation of the Prophetic texts, they are numerous, and on many occasions he contradicted the Prophet himself when he was alive. We have indicated in another chapter his opposition during the peace treaty of al-Hudaybiah, and how strongly he opposed the writing of the Messenger's last recommendation and said that the Book of Allah was sufficient. There is another incident involving the Messenger of Allah and Umar which shows clearly the 

latter's mentality and how he allowed himself to argue and oppose the Messenger. The 

incident was about spreading the good news of Heavens. The Messenger of Allah sent Abu 

Hurayrah with the instruction that whenever he met a man who is absolutely convinced that 

"There is no other god but Allah" he was to give him the good news that he would end up in 

Heaven. Abu Hurayrah duly went out to spread the good news until he met Umar who 

prevented him from continuing his mission and beat him as he lay on the ground. Abu 

Hurayrah went back crying to the Messenger of Allah and told him about his encounter with 

Umar, so the Messenger asked Umar, "What made you do that? " Umar replied by asking the 

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question,"Did you send him to spread the good news of Heaven to whoever convincingly 

believes that there is no other god but Allah! " The Messenger of Allah said, "Yes. " Umar then 

said, "Do not do that, because I fear that all the people will rely on there is no other god but 

Allah. " 

We also have his son Abdullah ibn Umar who feared that people would rely on al- 

Tayammum, so he ordered them to abandon the prayers. I wish they had left the texts as they are and that they had not changed them with their futile interpretations which could only lead to the eradication of the Islamic laws, the violation of Allah's sanctity and the division of this nation into various creeds and warring factions. 

Looking at the various stances that Umar took regarding the Messenger of Allah and his 

Tradition we could deduce that he never believed in the infallibility of the Messenger; and he 

thought of him as any other man subject to right or wrong. Thus came the opinion adopted by 

the Sunni scholars and al-Jamaah that the Messenger of Allah was infallible as regards the 

transmitting the Holy Qur'an, but that apart from that he was like any other human being, 

sometimes wrong and sometimes right. 

Some ignorant people claim that the Messenger of Allah (saw) accepted the temptations of 

the devil in his home. Once he was lying on his back surrounded by women playing their 

tambourines and the devil sat joyfully next to him until Umar came, then the devil ran away 

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and the women hid their tambourines under their seats. The Prophet said to Umar, "As soon 

as the devil saw you, he left by a different way from the way you came in. " 

It is not therefore surprising that Umar has his own views on the religion and allowed himself 

to argue with the Messenger of Allah about political issues as well as religious ones, as we 

explained before regarding the good news about Heaven. From the idea of Ijtihad and using 

one's own opinion vis-a-vis the texts, a group of Companions, led by Umar ibn al-Khattab, 

started gathering force, and we saw on "The Day of Misfortune" how they supported Umar's 

point of view rather than the clear text. We can then also deduce that it was the same group 

that did not accept the "al-Ghadir" text in which the Prophet (saw) made it clear that Ali 

would be his caliph [successor] over all the Muslims, and that they waited for the right 

opportunity to reject it when the Prophet died. The meeting at "al-Saqeefah" and the 

subsequent election of Abu Bakr was a result of that Ijtihad, and when they completed their 

control over the affairs, people started to forget about the Prophetic texts regarding the 

succession to the caliphate and started to interpret everything. They challenged the Book of 

Allah, they violated the boundaries and changed the rules. There was the tragedy of Fatimah 

al-Zahra after the tragedy of her husband and his removal from the caliphate. There was also 

the tragedy in the payment of Zakat and the interpretation of that case despite the clear texts. 

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Then came the succession of Umar to the caliphate which was an inevitable result of Ijtihad, 

because Abu Bakr implemented his own interpretation of the situation and dropped the Shura 

[the consultative council] which always used to help him with the running of the caliphate's 

affairs. After that Umar came and made things even worse, he permitted things which were 

forbidden by Allah and His Messenger [114] and forbade what Allah and His Messenger had 

permitted [115]. 

When Uthman came to power after Umar, he went a long way in al-Ijtihad, and did more than 

any on his predecessors had done, until his opinions started to affect political and religious 

life generally, thus leading to the revolution, and he paid with his life as a price for his Ijtihad. 

When Imam Ali took charge of the Muslims' affairs he encountered great difficulties in trying 

to persuade people to go back to the honourable Prophetic Tradition and the Holy Qur'an, and 

tried his best to rid Islam from all the new innovations, but some people shouted loudly, 

"Behold! Umar's Tradition! " 

I am convinced that those who fought and contradicted Imam Ali (as) did so because he 

forced them to go back to the correct texts. Thus he eradicated all the new innovations and 

interpretations that had been attached to the religion for the previous quarter of a century to 

which people had become accustomed, especially those who had their own whims and greeds 

and who used the wealth of Allah and the people for their own ends, and deprived the 

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ordinary folks of the basic rights of Islam. 

We always find that self-opinionated individuals tend to favour Ijtihad because it allows them 

to reach their end by any means to hand, and the texts appear as barriers in their way and 

prevent them from achieving their goals. 

It is worth noting here that Ijtihad may have its followers among the ordinary people, at any 

time and at any place simply because it is easy to implement and has no firm commitments. 

Because the text demands commitments and lacks freedom, politicians tend to call it 

theocracy, which means the rule of Allah; but Ijtihad, with its freedom and its lack of 

commitment, is called democracy, meaning the rule of people. The men who met in al- 

Saqeefah after the death of the Prophet (saw) decided to abolish the theocratic government 

which was established by the Messenger of Allah on the basis of the Qur'anic texts, and 

changed it to a democratic government chosen by the people. However, these Companions 

were not aware of the word "democracy", for it is not an Arabic word, but they knew the 

"Shura" system [116]. 

Those who do not at present accept the text regarding the succession to the caliphate are the proud supporters of "democracy", claiming that Islam was the first to adopt such a system, and they are the supporters of Ijtihad and reforms, and today they are considered to be the nearest possible thing to the western system, and that is why the western governments glorify them and call them the progressive and tolerant Muslims. 

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The Shiites, who support theocracy or the government of Allah, refuse Ijtihad vis-a-vis the 

text, and differentiate between the rule of Allah and the Shura. They do not see any 

connection between the Shura and the Texts, but their main concern is about Ijtihad and the 

Shura in issues that do not have texts.

We see that Allah - praise be to Him - chose His Messenger Muhammad but He still said to 

him: "And consult them about the matter" (Holy Qur an 3: 159). 

As for the choice of the leaders of the people, Allah said: "And your Lord creates and chooses 

whom He pleases, to choose is not theirs" (Holy Qur'an 28: 68). When the Shiites advocate for 

the succession of Ali to the caliphate after the Messenger of Allah, they are actually 

committing themselves to the text, and when they discredit some of the Companions, they do 

it with regard to a few who replaced the text with Ijtihad and thus lost the rule of Allah and 

His Messenger and opened a wound in Islam that has not yet healed. 

As a result we find the western governments and their thinkers despise the Shiites and call 

them religious fanatics and reactionaries because they want to go back to the Qur'an which 

rules that the thief should have his hands cut off, and the adulterer should be stoned, and urge people to go and fight in the name of Allah, but all that is haughtiness and barbarism, as far as they are concerned. 

Throughout this study I started to comprehend the reason why some of the religious leaders of the Sunni tradition and al-Jamaah closed the gate of Ijtihad as far back as the second Hijri 

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century. Perhaps they predicted the repercussions of Ijtihad on the Islamic nation from 

misfortunes to bloody civil wars, and how it would change a nation, about which Allah said, 

"You are the best nation that has come out to the people" to a nation of warring factions 

where anarchy rules and eventually turns from Islam to the Jahiliya [pre-Islamic period]. 

Ijtihad continued with the Shiites, as long as the texts remained intact and nobody could 

change them, and what helped them in that was the Twelve Imams who inherited their 

grandfather's knowledge, and used to say that there was no problem that did not have Allah as its judge and that the Messenger of Allah (saw) had made it clear. 

We also understand that when the Sunni traditionists and al-Jamaah followed the Companions 

who undertook Ijtihad and prevented the writing of the prophetic tradition found themselves 

compelled, due to the absence of the texts, to use personal interpretation, Qiyas [analogy], 

Istishab [association], as well as closing the field of Dhara'i [pretext] and many other 

measures. 

We also understand that the Shiites gathered around Imam Ali, who was the gate to the city of knowledge, and he used to say to them, "Ask me about anything, for the Messenger of Allah taught me about one thousand [doors] of knowledge, each one of which opens one thousand more doors. " [117]. But the non-Shiites gathered around Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan who knew little about the Prophetic Tradition. 

After the death of Imam Ali. the leader of the unjust faction became the commander of the 

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believers, and he abused Islam through the implementation of his own personal opinions, 

which caused more damage to Islam than anybody else before him. But the Sunni traditionists 

and al-Jamaah say that he was "The writer of the Revelations", and that he was one of the 

outstanding scholars in the interpretation of Islam. How could they judge him like that when 

he was the one who poisoned al-Hasan ibn Ali, leader of Heaven's youth? Perhaps they say, 

"This was an aspect of his Ijtihad [interpretation], but he got it wrong! " 

How could they judge his Ijtihad, when he was the one who took the nation's acclamation for 

himself by force, then gave it to his son Yazid after him, and changed the Shura system to a 

hereditary one? 

How could they judge his Ijtihad and give him a reward, when he was the one who forced 

people to curse Ali and Ahl al-Bayt, the offspring of the Prophet, in every mosque, so that it 

became a followed tradition for sixty years? 

And how could they call him "The writer of the Revelations" since the revelation came upon 

the Messenger of Allah (saw) for twenty-three years, and Muawiyah was a polytheist for the 

first eleven years of them, and later, when he was converted to Islam, did not live in Medina 

(for we could not find any historical reference to support that) , whereas the Messenger of 

Allah (saw) did not live in Mecca after al-Fath [the conquer of Mecca by the Muslims]? So 

how could Muawiya manage to write the Revelation? 

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Behold! There is no power except in Allah, the Most High, the Great. And the question comes 

back, yet again: which group was right and which one was wrong? Either Ali and his 

followers were wrong or Muawiyah and his followers were wrong. 

The Messenger of Allah (saw) explained everything. but some of those who claim to follow 

the tradition got it wrong, for it has become apparent to me through the research that the 

people who defend Muawiyah could only be the followers of Muawiyah and the Umayyads 

and not, as they claim, the followers of the Prophetic Tradition [Sunnah]. If we observe their 

positions, we find that they hate the followers of Ali, and celebrate the Day of Ashura as 

being a festival and defend the Companions who hurt the Messenger of Allah during his 

lifetime and after his death, and always correct their mistakes and find justifications for their 

actions. 

How could you love Ali and Ahl al-Bayt and at the same time you bless their enemies and 

their killers? How could you love Allah and His Messenger and at the same time defend those 

who changed the rules of Allah and His Messenger and interpret these rules in their own way? 

How could you respect those who did not respect the Messenger of Allah and accused him of 

Hajr and criticized his leadership? 

How could you follow religious leaders that have been appointed by the Umayyads and the 

Abbasids for political reasons, and leave other religious leaders although the Messenger of 

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Allah pointed out their number [118] and their names [119]. 

How could you follow somebody who did not know the Prophet very well and leave the gate 

to the city of knowledge, whose relation to the Messenger was the same as the position of 

Harun to Musa? 

Who was the first to use the term Ahl al-Sunnah [Sunni Traditions] and al-Jamaah? I have 

searched through the history books and found that they agreed to call the year in which 

Muawiyah seized power "the year of al-Jamaah". It was called thus because the nation 

became divided into two factions after the death of Uthman: The Shia of Ali and the followers 

of Muawiyah. When Imam Ali was martyred and Muawiyah seized power after his pact with 

Imam Hasan which enabled him to become commander of the believers the years was then 

called "al-Jamaah". Therefore the name Ahl al-Sunnah [Sunnah Traditionists], and al-Jamaah 

indicates the Sunnah [tradition] of Muawiyah, and the agreement on his leadership, and does 

not mean the followers of the Sunnah [tradition] of the Messenger of Allah. 

The Imams and other members of Ahl al-Bayt, who are the descendants of the Messenger of 

Allah, know more than anybody else about the Sunnah [tradition] of their grandfather and 

what it entails, for as the proverb goes. The people of Mecca know its paths better than 

anyone else. But we opposed the Twelve Imams whom the Messenger of Allah mentioned in 

his sayings and followed their enemies. Despite our acknowledgement of the tradition in 

which the Messenger of Allah mentioned twelve caliphs, all of them from Quraysh, we 

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always stop at the four caliphs. Perhaps it was Muawiyah who called us Ahl al-Sunnah and al- 

Jamaah, meaning the agreement on his Sunnah [tradition] in which he made it compulsory to 

curse Ali and Ahl al-Bayt. This continued for sixty years until Umar ibn Abdul Aziz - may 

Allah be pleased with him - stopped it. Some historians inform us that the Umayyads 

themselves plotted to kill Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, and he was one of them, because he killed 

the Sunnah, which was the cursing of Ali ibn Abi Talib. 

O my people! Let us go - guided by Allah, the Most High - and search for the truth and rid 

ourselves from that blind prejudice, because we are the victims of the Abbasids and the victims of the dark history and the intellectual barrenness which we have been subjected to 

for a long time. Undoubtedly we are the victims of the cunning and the shrewdness of people 

like Muawiyah, Amr ibn al-As, al-Mughirah ibn Sh'bah and others. Research into our Islamic 

history in order to reach the absolute truth and Allah will reward you twice. Let us hope that 

we can unite this nation which was stricken by the death of its Prophet and then became 

divided into seventy-three factions. 

Let us unite this nation under the banner of "There is no other god but Allah, and Muhammad 

is the Messenger of Allah" and to follow Ahl al-Bayt, whom the Messenger of Allah 

commanded us to follows and said, "Do not be in front of them, for you will perish, and do 

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not keep away from them, for you will perish, and do not teach them, for they know more 

than you do? " [120] 

If we do that, Allah will lift His anger from us, and He will change our fear to peace and 

tranquillity. and will enable us to rule on this earth, and will make His friend Imam al-Mahdi - 

may peace be upon him - appear to us, since the Messenger of Allah promised us with his reappearance to fill the earth with peace and justice after it had been filled with injustice and 

oppression... thus Allah will complete, through him, the enlightment of the whole world.

An Invitation to friends to join the Research 

The change was the beginning of a spiritual happiness for me, and I sensed an inner silence 

with great joy for the right creed that I had discovered, and had no doubt that it was the true 

Islam. I felt ecstatic and proud of myself for what Allah had granted me from His guidance 

and direction. I could not bear the silence and the secrecy about what was going on inside me, and I said to myself, "I have got to tell the truth to people. " "Talk about the graces of your Lord", and it is one of the greatest graces, or indeed, it is the greatest grace in this world and the life hereafter, and "he who keeps silent about the truth is a dumb devil" and "after the truth there is nothing to go astray " 

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What made me convinced that I should spread this truth was the innocence of those Sunni 

traditionists and al-Jamaah who love the Messenger of Allah and Ahl al-Bayt, and all what 

needs to be done is to remove that mist which was made by history and then they would 

follow the right path, and that is what happened to me personally. 

Allah, the Most High, said, "... You too were such before, then Allah conferred on you a 

benefit" (Holy Qur'an 4: 94). 

I invited four of my colleagues who taught with me at the institute, two of them taught 

Religious Education, the third taught Arabic and the fourth taught Islamic Philosophy. None 

of the men came from Gafsa, rather, they came from Tunis, Jammal and Susah. I invited them 

to investigate with me this dangerous subject, and made them feel that I was not so sure about the meanings of certain things, and I expressed some anxiety and doubt about some matters. 

They accepted my invitation and decided to come to my house after work. After they arrived, 

I let them read "al-Murajaat", and suggested to them that its author claimed many strange 

things about Islam. The book aroused the interest of three of them, as for the fourth who 

taught Arabic, he abandoned us after four or five meetings, saying, "The west now is 

exploring the moon, and you are still researching into the Islamic Caliphate. " 

Within a month we finished the book, and the three friends were enlightened and I supported 

them and helped them along the way and gave them all that I had accumulated from 

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experience and knowledge during the years of investigation. I started to taste the sweetness of guidance and became very hopeful about the future. Frequently, I invited friends from Gafsa who I used to know through the mosque's school or the Sufi orders in addition to some of my faithful students. A year passed, and praise be to Allah, we became a large number. We were all friends of Ahl al-Bayt. We are the friends of their friends, and the enemy of their enemies,we celebrate their festivals and mourn during Ashura. 

Two of my early letters which carried the news of my enlightenment were sent to al-Sayyid al- 

Khu'i and al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, during the festivity of al-Ghadir, which we 

celebrated for the first time in Gafsa. Everybody got to know about my conversion to Shiism 

and that I was calling people to follow Ahl al-Bayt, and all sorts of accusations and rumours 

started to go around the country. I was accused of being an Israeli spy working to make 

people doubt their religion, that I cursed the Companions and was planning to cause 

disturbances among the people... etc. In the capital Tunis I approached two friends, Rashid al-Ghannushi and Abdul Fattah Moro, who expressed strong opposition to my ideas. and in a 

conversation that took place in Abdul Fattah's house I said that as Muslims, we ought to reread our hooks and look again at our history, and I gave Sahih al-Bukhari as an example, for it contains materials that any sensible person would find difficult to accept. They became very angry with me and said, "Who are you to criticize al-Bukhari? " I did my best to persuade 

p: 249 

them to be involved in the research, but they refused, saying, "If you yourself have become 

Shii, that is your business, but do not try to convert us to Shiism. We have a more important 

task than that: namely to resist the government which does not work according to Islam. " 

I answered by saying, "What is the use? If you come to power, you will do more than they aredoing now, because you do not know the true Islam. " Thus our meeting ended with a state of aversion between us. 

Some people from The Muslims Brotherhood ran a campaign against us, because they were 

not aware at that time of the Islamic Trend Movement, and started to spread rumours among 

their ranks that I was a government agent and that I was encouraging Muslims to doubt their 

religion in order to keep them away from the main issue: namely resisting the government. 

Gradually people started to make us feel isolated, especially the young members of the 

Muslims Brotherhood and the Shaykhs who follow Sufi ways, and we experienced difficult 

times, living like strangers in our own homes and among our own brothers. But Allah - praise 

be to Him - changed our situation for the better, and many young people from various cities 

came to see us to investigate the truth, and I tried my utmost to persuade them, and as a result many young men were able to see the light; they were from Tunis, Kayrawan, Susa and Sidi Bu Zayd. During my summer visit to Iraq I travelled through Europe and met friends in 

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France and Holland and discussed the subject with them, and praise be to Allah, they too saw 

the light. 

I was absolutely delighted when I met al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr at his house in Holy 

Najaf where he was surrounded by a group of learned people. He introduced me to them as 

being the seeds of Shi'ism (following Ahl al-Bayt) in Tunis. He also told them that he had 

cried when he first received my letter which carried the news that we had celebrated the 

festival of al-Ghadir, and how I complained about the difficulties we were facing including 

malicious rumours and isolation. 

Al-Sayyid said: It is inevitable that we pass through difficult times because the path of Ahl al- 

Bayt is a difficult one. A man once came to see the Prophet (s. a. w. ) and said to him, "O 

Messenger of Allah, I love you. " He replied, "Then expect many tribulations. " The man said, 

"I love your cousin Ali. " He replied, "Then expect many enemies. " The man said, "I love al- 

Hasan and al-Husayn. " He replied, "Then get ready for poverty and much affliction. " What 

have we paid for the cause of justice for which Abu Abdullah al-Husayn (as) paid his life and 

the lives of his family's members and companions; and for which the Shiis along the path of 

history have paid and are still paying up to the present day as a price for their allegiance to 

Ahl al-Bayt? My Brother, it is inevitable that we go through difficulties and give sacrifices for 

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the cause of justice, and if Allah helped you in guiding one man to the right path, it is worth 

the whole world and what is within it. 

Al-Sayyid al-Sadr also advised me against isolating ourselves and ordered me to get even 

closer to my Sunni brothers whenever they wanted to keep away from me, and to pray behind them so that there would be no rupture in relations, and to consider them innocent victims of distorted history and bad propaganda, because people are the enemy of what they do not 

know. 

Al-Sayyid al-Khu'i also advised me on the same lines, and al-Sayyid Muhammad Ali al- 

Tabatabai al-Hakim had always sent us letters full of advice that had a great influence on 

enlightened brothers. 

My visits to the Holy City of Najaf and its learned people became more frequent, and I 

committed myself to spend each summer holiday near Imam Ali and attend the lessons of al- 

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, from which I reaped great benefits. I also promised myself 

to visit the graves of all the twelve Imams. and Allah helped me to realize my wish for I was 

even able to visit the grave of al-Imam al-Rida which is situated in Mashhad, on the borders 

between the U. S. S. R. and Iran. There I met some of the most outstanding scholars, from 

whom I benefited a great deal. 

Al-Sayyid al-Khu'i, whom we follow in our religious affairs, gave me permission to use 

Khums and Zakat to help our enlightened group, and to give them what they needed regarding books and grants and many other things. I also was able to establish a small library which contained some important references connected with the research which belonged to both parties [Sunnis and Shiis]. I called it "Ahl al-Bayt Library" and benefited many people, praise be to Allah. 

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Fifteen years ago Allah doubled my joy when the clerk to the city council of Gafsa agreed to 

naming the street where I live "Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) Street". I would like to take this 

opportunity to thank him for that honourable gesture, for he is one of the hard-working 

Muslims and has a great respect and love for Imam Ali, and I presented him with "al- 

Murajaat" by Sharaf al-Din. He and our group have mutual respect and love for each other, so may Allah reward him well and grant him whatever he wishes.

There were some wicked people who tried to remove the street's sign, but all their attempts 

were in vain. and Allah willed it to stay where it was, and we received letters from all over the 

world carrying the name of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib's street, whose honourable name blessed 

our good city. 

In accordance with the advice of Ahl al-Bayt (as) and the advice of the learned scholars of the holy city of Najaf we are determined to keep in touch with our brothers from the other 

madhahibs and have maintained our relation with al-Jamaah by praying together. Thus people 

started asking us about our prayers, ablution and our beliefs.

The Guidance of Truth 

In a small village in the south of Tunisia, during a wedding ceremony, an old lady sat in the 

middle of a group of ladies listening to them talking about a married couple. The lady 

expressed her astonishment about what she heard, and when she was asked why, she said that she had breast-fed both when they were babies. The ladies spread the news quickly among their husbands who investigated the matter. The woman's father testified that the old lady had actually breast-fed his daughter, and the man's father also testified that his son was breast-fed by the same old lady. 

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Inevitably the two tribes were agitated by the news and started fighting each other, and each tribe accused the other of being the cause of this tragedy which would bring the wrath of Allah on them. What made it worse was the fact that that marriage had taken place ten years earlier and had produced three children. As soon as the woman heard the news she fled to her father's house and refused to eat or drink anything, and she attempted suicide for she could not bear the shock of being married to her brother and giving birth to three children without knowing the real situation. 

As a result of the clashes between the two tribes, many people were injured until one 

particular Shaykh intervened and stopped the fighting and advised them to consult the learned scholars and ask them for their opinion in the matter and hopefully they could reach a 

solution. 

The people concerned embarked on their journey around the big town asking the learned 

people for a solution to their problems. However every time they explained the case to a 

learned scholar and asked him for advice, he told them that the marriage was void and the 

couple should be separated for as long as they lived, in addition to freeing a slave or fasting 

for two months and various other legal opinions. 

Eventually they arrived at Gafsa and asked the learned people there but the answer was the 

same, because all the Malikis prohibit the marriage between a couple if they were fed even 

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one drop of milk from the same woman. They do so by following Imam Malik who treated 

milk and alcohol on the same level and said, "When a great quantity of whatever makes you 

drunk is prohibited, then a small amount of it must also be prohibited. " Thus, marriage 

between a couple who were breast-fed with one drop of milk from the same woman must be 

prohibited. One of the men who was present at the hearing told them privately to come and 

see me, and he said to them, "Ask al-Tijani on these matters for he knows all the Madhhabs, 

and on many occasions I had seen him arguing with these learned scholars and beating them 

with his logical reasoning. " 

That is what the husband of that woman told me when I took him to my library where he told 

me the whole case in detail, and said to me, "Sir, my wife wants to commit suicide and our 

boys are neglected and we do not know how we can solve this problem, and people led us to 

you hoping that you might have an answer to our problem, especially since I see all these 

books in your possession, which I have never seen before in my life". 

I brought him some coffee and thought about the case for a little while then I asked him about 

the number of times that he was breast-fed from that old woman. He said, "I do not know, but my wife was breast-fed by her twice or three times and her father testified that he took his daughter two or three times to that old woman. " 

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I said if that is right, then there is no problem and your marriage is legal and valid. " The poor 

man fell on me kissing my hands and head, saying, ' May Allah bring you good news for you 

opened the gates of peace to me. " Before even finishing his coffee or asking me for any 

reference, he asked permission to leave my house and hurriedly went out to tell his wife and 

children and the rest of his family about the good news. 

But the day after he came back with seven men and introduced them to me saying, "This is 

my father, this is my father-in-law, the third is the mayor of the village, the fourth is the Imam 

of the Friday prayers, the fifth is the religious adviser, the sixth is the chief of the tribe and the seventh is the headmaster of the school, and all of them came to investigate the case of the breast-feeding and how you considered the marriage to be valid. " 

I took the whole party to the library, and greeted them and offered them coffee for I expected a lengthy debate with them. 

They said, "We came to discuss with you how you legalized a marriage in which the couple 

were breast-fed from the same woman. Such a marriage has been forbidden by Allah in the 

Qur'an and by His Messenger who said that it [marriage] is forbidden between a couple who 

have been breast-fed (by the same woman) in the same way as it is forbidden between a 

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couple who are related (brother and sister). Imam Malik has forbidden it too. " 

I said, "Gentlemen, you are eight and I am one, and if I speak to all of you, I will not be able 

to convince you and the discussion might well lose its aim. I suggest you choose one man 

from among you to discuss the matter with me, and you will act as an arbitrator between us. " 

They liked the idea and chose the religious advisor as their representative because they 

thought he was more knowledgeable and more able than anybody else. The man started his 

deliberation by asking me how I allowed something that had been forbidden by Allah, His 

Messenger and by all the Imams. 

I said, "God forbid! I never did such thing. But Allah forbade the marriage [in case of 

common breast-feeding] by stating it briefly in a Qur'anic verse and did not specify the 

details, rather, He left it to His Messenger to explain how and how much. " 

He said, "Imam Malik forbids the marriage when one drop of milk has been taken through 

breast-feeding. " 

I said, "I know that. But Imam Malik is not an absolute authority over all Muslims, and what 

do you say about the opinions of other Imams? " 

He said, "May Allah he pleased with them, they all followed the steps of the Messenger of 

Allah. " 

I said, "What is then your reasoning before Allah about following Imam Malik who 

contradicted a text by the Messenger of Allah (saw)? " 

He looked bemused and said, "Praise be to Allah! I did not know that Imam Malik could 

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contradict the Prophetic texts. 

The rest of the men looked even more puzzled and were amazed at my daring criticism of 

Imam Malik, which they had never heard before. I continued by asking, "Was Imam Malik 

one of the Companions? " 

He replied, "No. " I asked, "Was he one of the Followers? " He replied, "No, but he followed 

the earlier Followers. " I asked, "Who is nearer, him or Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib? " He replied, 

"Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib was one of the rightly guided caliphs. " One of the men added, "Our 

master Ali (a. s. ) is the gate to the city of knowledge. " I said, "Why did you leave the gate to 

the city of knowledge and follow a man who was neither a Companion nor a Follower, and he 

was born after the civil war and after the city of the Messenger of Allah had been sacked by 

Yazid's forces who killed the best of the Companions and violated all aspects of human 

morality and changed the Messenger's tradition to some heretical doctrines of their own make. 

How could then for any man have confidence in these Imams who pleased the authorities 

because they preached in accordance to their policies? " 

Another man started talking saying, "We heard that you are a Shii, and that you worship 

Imam Ali. " His friend who sat next to him kicked him and said, "Be quiet, are you not 

ashamed of yourself saying that to such a learned man? I have known many learned scholars 

in my life, but I have never known any of them to possess a library like this one. Furthermore, 

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this man's argument is based on knowledge and he sounds sure about what he is saying. " I 

answered, "Yes, that is right, I am a Shii, but the Shiis do not worship Ali, but instead of 

following Imam Malik, they follow Imam Ali because he is the gate to the city of knowledge, 

as you yourselves said.

The religious adviser asked, "Did Imam Ali permit the marriage between couples who have 

been breast-fed by the same woman? " 

I answered, "No, he forbids it if the babies were breast-fed fifteen full and consecutive times 

by the same woman, or what could produce flesh and bone. " 

The woman's father was very pleased to hear what I had said, and his face lit then he said, 

"Praise be to Allah! My daughter was breast-fed on two or three occasions by that old 

woman. The saying of Imam Ali is a solution to our predicament and a mercy on us from 

Allah after we had lost hope. " 

The religious adviser said, "Give us the authentic reference to the saying [of Imam Ali] so 

that we may feel satisfied. I gave them "Minhaj al-Salihin" by al-Sayyid al-Khu'i, and he read 

aloud the chapter concerning breast-feeding and what it entails. 

The men were very pleased, especially the husband, who was afraid that I might not have the reference. They asked me to lend them the book so they could take it to their village and use it as a reference for their reasoning. I lent them the book, then they left me full of praises and apologies. 

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As soon as they left my house they met a sinister man who took them to some wicked 

religious leaders and they for their part frightened them and warned them that I was an 

"Israeli agent" and that the book "Minhaj al-Salihin" was all lies, that the people of Iraq were 

blasphemous and hypocrites, that the Shiis were "Majus" who permitted the marriage between brothers and sisters and that was why I allowed that man to continue with his marriage to his "sister" - having been breast-fed by the same woman. In the end they persuaded the men to change their minds and forced the husband to take legal action with regard to his divorce in mGafsa's Magistrate court. The judge asked them to go to the Capital Tunis and approach the Mufti of the Republic, for he might have a solution to the problem. The husband left for the Capital and waited there for a whole month until he was able to have an interview with him. 

During the interview the husband explained the case in detail then the Mufti asked him about 

the religious scholars who accepted the marriage as being correct and legal. He told him that 

none of them thought so except one called al-Tijani al-Samawi. Al-Mufti took a note of my 

name and said to the husband, "Go back to your village and I shall write to the judge in 

Gafsa. " 

Shortly after that a letter from the Mufti of the Republic arrived, and the husband's lawyer 

read it and found that the Mufti ruled that the marriage was void. 

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The husband who looked very tired and exhausted, was informed by his lawyer about the 

content of the letter. He later came to see me and apologized for all the inconveniences that he had caused me. 

I thanked him for his feelings towards me, but expressed my surprise regarding the Mufti's 

rule to consider the marriage in this case as void. I also asked him to bring the Mufti's letter to 

the Magistrate court in Gafsa so that I could publish it in the Tunisian press and show that the 

Republic's Mufti did not really know much about the four Islamic Madhhabs and did not 

understand the jurisdical difference between them regarding the issue of brotherhood by 

breast-feeding. 

However, the husband told me that he could not see the file on his case, and therefore was 

unable to bring me the letter, then he departed. 

A few days later I received an invitation from the judge asking me to bring the book and other 

proofs that allow the marriage between two people who have been breast-fed by the same 

woman. I chose a number of references and prepared the chapters regarding brotherhood by 

breast-feeding, so that I could produce the evidence quickly. 

I went to the court at the agreed time and I was received by the clerk who took me to the 

judge's office, and I was surprised to see the District Magistrate and the Republic's Attorney 

as well as three other judges. I noticed that the judges were wearing their official regalia, as if they were sitting to pass judgement, I also noticed that the husband was sitting at the end of the court room, facing the judges. 

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I greeted everyone, but they looked at me with disdain, and when I sat the chief judge asked 

mew "Are you al-Tijani al-Samawi? " I answered, Yes He asked, "Are you the one who passed 

a judgement in which you legalized the marriage in this case? " 

I answered, "No I did not pass a judgement, rather, the Imams and the religious scholars of 

Islam passed that judgement by accepting the marriage as being correct and legal. " 

He said, "That is why we summoned you, and you are now in the dock. If you cannot support 

your claim with the appropriate proof, then we will have to send you to prison, and you will 

never come out of here a free man. " 

I knew then that I was actually in the dock, not because I had passed a judgement on that 

particular case, but because some of those sinister religious leaders had told the judges that I 

was a troublemaker and that I cursed the Companions and campaigned for the support of Ahl 

al-Bayt. The chief judge asked them to bring two witnesses against me then he would have 

the authority to throw me in prison. 

In addition to that, the Muslim Brotherhood took advantage of my judgement in this case and 

spread rumours that I had legalized the marriages between brothers and sisters. and that is, as they claimed, what the Shiis believe! 

I became absolutely sure about that when the chief judge threatened to throw me in prison, so I was left with nothing but to challenge him and to defend myself with all my courage, and I 

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said to the chief judge, "Can I speak frankly and without any fear? " 

He replied, "Yes you can do that, for you have no lawyer. " 

I said, "First of all, I would like to say that I have not appointed myself to pass judgement 

[Fatwa] but this is the woman's husband before you, so ask him. He came to my house and 

asked me, and it was my duty to provide him with whatever information I had. I asked him 

how many times his wife had been breast-fed by that old lady, and when he said that it was 

only on two occasions, I gave him the answer according to Islamic law. I was not trying to 

interpret Islam, nor indeed was I trying to legislate. " 

The chief judge said, "What a surprise! Now you claim that you know Islam and that we do 

not know it! " 

I replied, "God forbid! I did not mean that. But everyone here knows the Maliki Madhhab 

stops here. What I did was to search in the other Islamic Madhahibs and find a solution to this 

case. " 

The chief judge asked, "Where did you find the solution? " 

I said, "Sir, may I ask you a question before I answer? " 

He replied. "Ask what you like. " 

I asked, "What do you say about the Islamic Madhahib? " 

He replied, "They are all correct for they all follow the teachings of the Messenger of Allah, 

and there is mercy in their differing. " 

I said, "Well, have mercy on this poor man [pointing to the woman's husband] who has been 

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away from his wife and children for the past two months, when one of the Islamic Madhahib 

has a solution for his problem. " 

The chief judge reacted angrily, "Give us your proof and stop all this nonsense. We allowed 

you to defend yourself now you have become a lawyer defending others. " 

I took from my briefcase a book entitled "Minhaj al-Salihin" by al- Sayyid al-Khu'i, and said, 

"This is the Madhhab of Ahl al-Bayt, and in it there is the absolute proof. " 

He interjected by saying, "Forget about the Madhhab of Ahl al-Bayt, we do not know it, and 

we do not believe in it. " I was expecting such an answer, so I had brought with me, after 

having done some research, a number of references from the Sunni Traditionists and al- 

Jamaah, and I arranged them according to my knowledge. I put Sahih al-Bukhari in the first 

line, then Sahih Muslim then "al-Fatawa" by Mahmoud Shaltoot then "Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid" by Ibn Rushd then "Zad al-Maseer fi Ilm al-Tafseer" by Ibn al- 

Jawzi and many other Sunni references. 

When the chief judge refused to look at al-Sayyid al-Khu'i's book, I asked him which books 

he trusted. 

He said, "Al-Bukhari and Muslim. " 

I took Sahih al-Bukhari and opened it at the specific page, then said, "Here you are Sir, read 

it. " 

He said, "You read it. " 

I read, "So and so told us that Aishah, the mother of the believers, said that the Messenger of Allah (saw) in his lifetime only prohibited the marriage, if the couple were breast-fed on five 

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occasions or more by the same woman. " 

The chief judge took the book from me and read it himself then gave it to the Attorney 

General, and he too read the Hadith then he passed the book to the other judges. In the 

meantime I showed the chief judge Sahih al-Bukhari, pointing out to him the same Hadith, 

then I opened "al-Fatawa" by al-Azhar's Shaykh Shaltoot who mentioned the differences 

between the Imams about "breast-feeding" issue, some of them prohibited the marriage if the 

breast-feeding was on fifteen occasions, others said seven or even five except Malik who 

contradicted the text and prohibited the marriage if there had been one drop of milk taken by 

the couple from the same woman. Shaltoot added, "I tend to favour the middle solution and 

say seven or more. " 

After having looked at the references, the chief judge turned to the woman's husband and said to him, "Go now and bring your father-in-law to testify that your wife was breast-fed twice or three times by the old woman, then you can take your wife with you today. " 

The poor man was delighted. The Attorney General and the other judges excused themselves 

and left the court, and when I was alone with the chief judge he apologized to me and said, 

"Forgive me for the wrong information I have been given about you, now I know that they are biased and envious people who wish to harm you. " 

I was very glad to hear about that quick change of heart and said, "O, Sir, Praise be to Allah 

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Who made me victorious through you. " 

He said, "I heard that you have a great library, and have you got "Hayat al-Haywan al-Kubra" 

by al-Damiri? " 

I said, "Yes. " 

He asked, "Could you lend me the book, for I have been looking for it for the past two years? " 

I said, "It is yours Sir, whenever you want it. " 

He said, "Have you got time to come to my library sometimes, so we could discuss various 

issues, and hopefully I may benefit from you. " 

I said, "God forbid! I will benefit from you. You are more senior to me, both in age and in 

position. However, I have four days off-duty during the week, and I am at your service then. " 

We agreed to meet every Saturday, for he did not have court hearings on that day. After he 

asked me to leave with him the Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim and "al-Fatawa" by 

Mahmud Shaltoot to copy the relevant texts from them, he stood up and saw me out of his 

office. 

I came out full of joy and thanking Allah, praise be to Him for that moral victory. I entered 

the court full of fear and threatened with imprisonment, but came out with the chief judge 

becoming a good friend of mine and asking me to meet him for discussion so that he could 

benefit from me. It is the grace of Ahl al-Bayt's way. It does not let down those people who 

keep to it, and it is a safe refuge for whoever comes to it. 

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The woman's husband talked about what happened to the people of his village, and the news 

spread to the neighbouring villages when the wife returned to her husband's house, and the 

case ended with the marriage being legal. The people started saying that I was more 

knowledge able than anybody even the Republic's Mufti. 

The husband came to my house with a big car and invited me and my family to his village and 

told me that the people there were waiting for me and they would slaughter three calves to 

celebrate the occasion. I apologized to him for mot being able to accept his invitation because 

I was busy in Gafsah and told him that I would visit them some other time if Allah wished. 

The chief judge also talked to his friends and the case became famous. Thus, Allah prevailed 

on the cunning of those wicked people, some of them came to apologize, others were 

enlightened by Allah and became one of the faithful This is truly the grace of Allah. He gives 

it to whoever He likes. Allah is the Most Gracious. 

Our last word is to say: Thanks be to Allah, Lord Of Creation, and may Allah bless our 

master Muhammad and his purified Household.