 
Sahaba 'The Blessed'

**Written by** Ahmad Fârûqî

Published by Hakîkat Kitâbevi at Smashwords

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CONTENTS

The Sahâba 'Alaihim-Ur-Ridwân'

Ijtihâd

Translation Of The First Volume, 251st. Letter

Fifteenth Letter Of The Second Volume Of Maktûbât

Note

The Event Of Kerbelâ

A Biography Of Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî Ahmad Fârûqî Serhendî

A Biography Of Sayyid Abdulhakîm Efendi

The Two Most Beloved Darlings Of Muslims (Introduction)

The Two Most Beloved Darlings Of Muslims (Hadrat Abû Bakr And Hadrat 'Umar)

Supplementary Chapter — 1 —

Supplementary Chapter – 2 –

First Volume, 56th Letter

Second Volume, 38th Letter

Second Volume, 29th Letter

Second Volume, 45th Letter

Second Volume, 61st Letter

Second Volume, 62nd Letter

The Earliest Fitna In Islam Introduction

The Earliest Fitna In Islam

Superiorities Of Sahâba 'The Blessed'

Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'Radiy-Allâhu 'Anh'

Eightieth Letter

First Volume, 177th Letter

First Volume, 178th Letter

First Volume, 228th Letter

First Volume, 230th Letter

Second Volume, 89th Letter

A Piece Of Advice

Conversion Of The Hijri Lunar Year İnto The Christian Year

FOOTNOTES (1-15)

FOOTNOTES (16-27)

FOOTNOTES (28-47)

FOOTNOTES (48-61)

FOOTNOTES (62-78)

FOOTNOTES (79-89)
Bismi'llâhi'r-Rahmâni'r-Rahîm

There are very many books teaching Islam. The book **Maktûbât** , written by Imâm Rabbânî and consisting of three volumes, is the most valuable. Next after that book is another book with the same title, **Maktûbât** , and consisting of three volumes, yet written by Muhammad Ma'thûm (Imâm Rabbânî's third son and one of his most notable disciples). Hadrat Muhammad Ma'thûm states as follows in the sixteenth letter of the third volume of his Maktûbât: "Imân means to believe both of the facts stated in the (special expression of belief called) Kalima-i-tawhîd, which reads: Lâ ilâha il-l-Allah, Muhammadun Rasûlullah." In other words, being a Muslim requires also belief in the fact that Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' is the Prophet. Allâhu ta'âlâ sent him the Qur'ân al-kerîm through the angel named Jebrâ'îl (Gabriel). This book, the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** , is the Word of Allah. It is not a compilation of Hadrat Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' personal views or of statements made by philosophers or historians. Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' made a tafsîr of the Qur'ân al-kerîm. In other words, he expounded it. His expoundings are called **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. Islam consists of the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** and **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. The millions of Islamic books worldover are the expoundings of the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** and **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. A statement not coming from the Qur'ân al-kerîm cannot be Islamic. The meaning of Îmân and Islam is to believe the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** and **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. A person who denies the facts stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîm has not had belief in the Word of Allah. Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' conveyed to his Sahâba the facts which Allâhu ta'âlâ had stated to him. And the Sahâba, in their turn, conveyed those facts to their disciples, who in their turn wrote them in their books. People who wrote those books are called **scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat**. Belief in those books of Ahl as-Sunnat, therefore, means belief in the Word of Allah, and a person who holds that belief is a Muslim. Al-hamd-u-lillah, we are learning our faith, (Islam,) from books written by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, and not from fallacious books fabricated by reformers and freemasons.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: **"When fitna and fesâd become rife among my Ummat** (Muslims), **a person who adheres to my Sunnat will attain thawâb** (blessings, rewards in the Hereafter) **equal to the total sum of the thawâb that will be given to a hundred people who have attained martyrdom."** Adherence to the Sunnat is possible only by learning the books of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. The scholars affiliated in any one of the four Madhhabs of Muslims are **scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat**. Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa Nu'mân bin Thâbit was the leader of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. The anti-Islamic campaigns which the British had been carrying on for centuries for the purpose of Christianizing at least one Muslim ended in outright failure. In their search for new methods to achieve their goal, they established the masonic lodges. Masons deny Hadrat Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' words as well as all heavenly religions, and such basic religious facts as Rising after death, and existence of Paradise and Hell.

SAHÂBA

'The Blessed'

By Ahmad Fârûqî

"The Sahâba and the Ahl-i Bayt always loved each other"

ATTENTION

The pure life led by each and every one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm (Sahâba) sets an example for us to follow. We should imitate them and try to deserve love of Allâhu ta'âlâ. A Muslim who follows in their footsteps will obey the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ and the laws of the state. It is sinful to disobey the commandments, and a crime to violate the law. A perfect Muslim will not commit sins or crimes. To be a 'Muslim' means to be a 'good person'. He will know that Muslims are brothers. He will love his nation and his national flag. He will be good to all other people. He will never harm non-Muslims, tourists or disbelievers. He will not attack their property, lives, chastity or honour. He will admonish wrongdoers. He will not cheat or doublecross anyone. He will never quarrel. He will treat others with a smiling face and a sweet tongue. He will always work. He will learn his religion and science well. He will teach them to his children and to his acquaintances as well. He will not backbite others or gossip. He will always say useful things. He will earn a living through halâl (canonically legitimate) means. He will not impinge on anyone's rights. A Muslim who has acquired these qualities will be loved by Allah as well as by people. He will lead a life in comfort and peace.

My youth has gone by like a sweet dream, weep, oh, my eyes!  
Weeping's made me a lunatic, the grave would lead me homewise!

THE SAHÂBA  
'alaihim-ur-ridwân'
INTRODUCTION

Beginning with Basmala, this book is written in the name of Allah! The best refuge is in the name of Allah! His blessings are beyond all calculations; Most Compassionate, Most Forgiving is Allah!

Allâhu ta'âlâ created Paradise and Hell beforehand. Preordaining, in the eternal past, that He would fill both of them with men and genies, He declared this fact in His Books. As there have been believing and good people deserving Paradise since (the first man andProphet) Âdam 'alaihis-salâm', there have also been faithless, unwise and wicked people who have been committing the evils which will carry them to Hell. These two groups of people will go on occupying the earth till Doomsday. The number of angels is incomparably greater than that of men, and they are all faithful and obedient. Men, by contrast, are more rarely faithful than they are faithless, disobedient and transgressive.

Good people and wicked ones have always tried to annihilate each other, the wicked have also attacked one another and lived in distress and anxiety throughout history. Believers have performed jihâd in order to discipline unbelievers and to guide them to true faith and thereby to endless bliss, and to steer mankind to a happy and peaceful life in this world and the next. Unbelievers, on the other hand, have established dictatorial regimes, wherein a minor group abuses the weak and the inferior in order to lead a life of debauchery and dissipation and to satisfy their voluptuous desires. And, in order to conceal their evils, harms and disservices, they have attacked Prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' and the religions they brought because they established the principles of ethics, virtue and integrity. In some centuries these attacks were pressed with deadly weaponry, and sometimes they were made in clandestine warfare, which included false propaganda, mischief-making, raising social commotions, subversion, undermining religions from within, and destroying Islamic states from the within.

Likewise, the luminous Islamic religion, which is a guide to salvation and improvement and a -beacon to material and spiritual progress, and which was revealed to our master, the final and the -highest Prophet Muhammad Mustafâ 'sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam', whom Allâhu ta'âlâ created as the most superior, the most beautiful and the most honourable one of the entire mankind worldover in all respects, and chose and sent him as the Prophet to all nations, was subjected to the same treatment. Faithless, immoral and lecherous people not only attacked His religion in crusading expeditions, which included all sorts of torment and barbarity, but also strove hard to dupe Muslims by disguising themselves as Muslims, making mendacious and misleading oral and written statements, setting brothers against one another and thereby demolishing Islam from within. The damage caused by their seditionary endeavours howls of their success.

Subversive activities among Muslims date back to the time of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân', when a Yemeni Jew, who had professed to embrace Islam and changed his name to Abdullah bin Saba', sowed the first seeds of discord among Muslims. He started a diabolical trend. He attempted to vilify the Sahâba, who were the companions of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. The heresy invented by the Jew was called the Rafidî sect, an appellation which has ultimately changed into the Shiite sect. His example was followed by many an enemy of religion, who invented many a heresy under the cloak of religious men and misled millions of Muslims out of the true course.

The Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had foretold about this deplorable catastrophe that was going to befall his Umma (Muslims), with the following statements: "My Umma will part into seventy-three different groups. Seventy-two of them will swerve from the right path and end up in Hell. One group will abide by my and my Sahâba's path." This group of the right path has been called Ahl as-sunna(t).

The earliest of these heretical sects, the Râfidî sect, which is the worst, too, reappears from time to time and spreads among ignorant communities, and the faithless fan it to exploit it as a weapon. That this sect is a non-scientific assortment of distorted facts and events reinforced with some misinterpreted Koranic verses and Prophetic utterances manifests itself in the so-called book Husniyya, one of their recent publications, in the booklets which they sometimes hand out to uneducated people at the entrances of mosques, and in the statements they make. Naming a few valuable books is one of the stratagems that they use to make their absurdities believable, although they cannot cite a single line from those authentic books. When uneducated people hear the names of those books, they believe these people. Their absurd and unsound slanders, and the true tenets of belief explained in the light of Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs by the scholars of (the right path called) Ahl as-Sunnat, are collated under the adjudication of authentic documents in the book Ashâb-i-kirâm (Sahâba 'The blessed'), by Sayyid Abdulhakîm Effendi 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh'. During the printing of this book, a list of the biographies of the two hundred and sixty-five celebrities mentioned in the book was appended in alphabetical order for the purpose of informing our dear readers about them. The Turkish original, Ashâb-i-kirâm, of our book 'Sahâba the Blessed' was printed in 1982 for the first time. Allâhu ta'âlâ has now blessed us with the lot of realizing its twenty-second edition, (and also this first edition in English).[]

May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless Muslims with reading this book with unbiased attention and thereby learning the true path!

Muslims on the earth today have parted into three groups. The first group are Muslims who follow the path led by the Ashâb-i-kirâm. They are called the Ahl as-Sunnat, or the Sunnî Muslims (Sunnites), or the Firqa-i-nâjiyya (the group to be saved from Hell). In the second group are the enemies of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. They are called Râfidîs, or Shiîs (Shiites), or Firqa-i-dâlla(heretical group). The third group are inimical towards the Shiites as well as towards the Sunnites. They are called Wahhâbîs, or Nejdîs, which comes from the Arabian province Nejd, the birthplace of their heresy. The third group are also called the Firqa-i-mel'ûna (the accursed group). Indeed, it is written in our (Turkish) books Kıyâmet ve Âhıret and Se'âdet-i Ebediyye, (and also in our publications in English, such as Advice for the Muslim, and in the fourth chapter ofThe Sunnî Path,) that they call Muslims 'disbelievers'. Our Prophet has accursed a person who calls a Muslim 'disbeliever'. The breaking of Muslims into these three groups was contrived by Jews and British plotters.

Any person who indulges in the sensuous desires of his nafs and has an evil heart will go to Hell, regardless of the group he belongs to. Every Muslim should continually say the words, "Lâ ilâha il-l-Allah," in order to purify himself of the unbelief and sinfulness which are inherent in his nature, -this act of purification is termed 'Tazkiya-i-nafs'-, and also the words, "Astaghfirullah," in order to purify his heart from the disbelief and sinfulness which he contracted from his nafs, from the devil, from evil company or from harmful and subversive books. If a person obeys the (commandments and prohibitions of the) Sharî'at, his prayers will certainly be accepted. Not performing (the daily prayers called) namâz, looking at women who have not covered their bodies properly or at other people who expose those parts of their body that must be covered, and consuming goods that have been earned through (an illegal way called) harâm, are symptoms of a person's disobeying the Sharî'at. Such a person's prayers will not be accepted.

THE SAHÂBA  
'alaihim-ur-ridwân'

If any person thanks and praises any other person in any manner at any place at any time and for any reason, all this thanks and praise belong to Allâhu ta'âlâ by rights. For, He, alone, is the creator, the educator, the trainer of everything and the maker and the sender of every goodness. He, alone, is the owner of power and authority. To say that a certain person 'created a certain thing' would mean to attribute 'creation' to someone other than Allâhu ta'âlâ, which in effect would, like praising a fly for having constructed an apartment house or for driving, be a squalid sin, not to mention the derision it would provoke against the person concerned.

May all benedictions and good wishes be on **Muhammad** 'alaihis-salâm', His Prophetand Darling, on his Ahl-i-Bayt (immediate relatives), and on all his Ashâb (Companions) 'ridwânullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în'!

Nişancızâde Muhammed bin Ahmed 'rahima hullâhu ta'âlâ', the author of the grand tome of history entitled **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** , states as follows: "The Sahâba have been described in various ways. It is written in **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** that a Believer who saw our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' at least for a moment, or who talked with him at least for a moment, if he was a blind person, as the Prophet was alive and after he had been appointed as the Prophet, is called a **Sâhib** or a **Sahâbî** , regardless of his age at that blessed moment. When they are more than one, they are called **Ashâb** , or **Sahâba** , or **Sahb**. A person who was a disbeliever when he saw the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and became a Believer after the Prophet's passing away, or a person who was a Believer when he saw him and reneged Islam –may Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us against it– after the Prophet's passing away, is not a Sahâbî. Ubaydullah bin Jahsh and Sa'laba bin Abî Khâtib were among the Sahâba, but afterwards they reneged Islam. According to scholars, if a person who reneged Islam (after the blessed event that had made him a Sahâbî) became a Muslim once again, he is still a Sahâbî." Wahshî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' also was one of the Sahâba, and he passed away as a Sahâbî. The phrase that reads as "Wahshî (wild, untamed both in name and in body," in the well-known book entitled Muhammediyye means his state before converting to Islam. Why shouldn't Washî have been a Sahâbî while other people became Sahâbîs by joining the Believers and seeing only once the blessed face of our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' after an eighty years' life as unbelievers? Also Jinnîs who have these qualifications are Sahâbîs.

The book of explanations entitled **Hadîqat-un-nadiyya** , written by Abdulghanî Nablûsî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', is very valuable. It was printed in Istanbul in 1290 [A.D. 1873]. Its first part was reproduced by offset process in 1400 [A.D. 1980]. It is written as follows on its thirteenth page: "A jinnî or a human being who met the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' after having become a Believer and who is known to have died as a Believer is called a Sahâbî. According to this definition, a blind person as well as a person who did not see for more than a moment, are Sahâbîs. An angel cannot be a Sahâbî. When the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away, there were more than one hundred and twenty-four thousand Sahâbîs. They were all learned, mature and noble people."

All religious authorities say in consensus that the Sahâba 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' are the third best and highest creatures after Prophets 'alaihimussalawâtu wa-t-taslîmât' and angels. A Muslim who saw Rasûlullah (Messenger of Allah) 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' at least once is much higher than those who did not see him, including Weys al-Qarânî, (who did not see him, either). When the Sahâba entered Damascus, Christians who saw them admired them and said, "These people are higher than the apostles of Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm'." Abdullah ibni Mubârak 'rahima hullâhu ta'âlâ', one of the greatest scholars in this religion, said, "The dust that drifted into the nostrils of the horse that Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was riding as he accompanied Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' was a thousand times higher than 'Umar bin 'Abdul'azîz, (who was not a Sahâbî).

The virtues of the Sahâba 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' are cited in a number of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs.

It is purported in Sûra Âl-i-'Imrân: " **Of the entire human** **race, you are the best umma and the best community**." In other words, "You are the second best people after Prophets."

Sûra Tawba purports: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ is pleased with those Sahâbîs who, born and living in the blessed city of Mekka as they were, migrated to the illuminated city of Medina, as well as with those Muslims who have been following their example in goodness. And they, too, are pleased with Allâhu ta'âlâ. Allâhu ta'âlâ has prepared Gardens of Paradise for them**."

As is purported in Sûra Anfâl, Allâhu ta'âlâ addresses to His beloved Prophet: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ and Believers who follow you will suffice for you**." At that time the Ashâb-i-kirâm were very few in number. However, their grades in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ being very high, they were said to be adequate in spreading Islam.

It is purported in Sûra Fat-h: " **Muhammad** 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' **is theProphet of Allâhu ta'âlâ, and all those people who are with him** , [i.e. all the Ashâb-i-kirâm,] **are harsh towards the unbelievers. Yet they are compassionate and tender towards one another. You will see most of them making the rukû'** (bowing with both hands on knees during the performance of prayer called namâz or salât) **or making the sajda** (prostration during namâz) **. They beg Allâhu ta'âlâ to give all people all sorts of goodness and superiority in this world and the next. They also wish for ridwân, i.e. that Allâhu ta'âlâ be pleased with them. It will be seen on their faces that they have been making the sajda very much. These facts about their states and honours have been stated in the Torah as well as in the Injîl** (the original,genuine Bible revealed to Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm') **. As is stated in the Injîl, they are like crops. As a flimsy sprout appears from the soil, becomes thicker and taller, likewise, they were few in number and weak, yet they spread far and near in a short time. They filled everywhere with lights of îmân. As others marvel at a sprout's growing in a short time, likewise, as these people's beautiful manners and fame spread over the earth, those who saw it were astonished and they admired them, while unbelievers became angry**." The fame stated in this âyat-i-kerîma covers not only those Muslims who were among the Ashâb-i-kirâm when it was revealed, but also those who would join those most fortunate Believers afterwards. It is a known fact that Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' also was a Sahâbî who rendered great services to the spread of Islam. Like any other Sahâbî, he, too, is included in these praisals showered on them by Allâhu ta'âlâ.

The following hadîth-i-sherîfs telling about the greatness and the high grades of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' are written on the three hundred and twenty-sixth (326) page of the book entitled **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** :

1– " **Do not speak ill of any of my Ashâb. Do not say something that would not be worthy of their honour! I swear in the name of Allâhu ta'âlâ, whose power holds my nafs, that if any one of you paid gold as huge as the mount Uhud in the name of alms, he would not earn thawâb** (blessings, rewards that a Muslim will be given in the Hereafter for the pious acts he has done in the world) **equal to the amount earned by one of my Ashâb for paying one mudd**." Giving alms is an act of worship. The thawâb earned for acts of worship is dependent on the purity of intention. This hadîth-i-sherîfshows how pure the hearts of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were. [Mudd means 'menn', which is equal to two ritls, or 260 dirham-i-shar'î, or 875 grams. Sadaqa-i-fitr (the alms that a Muslim rich enough has to pay poor Muslims on the 'Iyd day after the holy month of Ramadân)[] is half a sâ' (at least), which makes two mudds, or 1750 grams of wheat.]

2– " **Each and every one of my Ashâb is like the stars in the sky. Adapting yourself to any one of them will guide you to love of Allâhu ta'âlâ**." In other words, if you act in accordance with the advice given by any one of them, you will be walking along the right way. As the stars help people out in the sea or in a desert to find the direction they have to follow, so those who follow the directions given by these people will be walking in the right path.

3– " **Fear Allâhu ta'âlâ that you should speak ill of my Ashâb! After me, do not use them as targets of your evil** **purposes! Do not feel grudge against them by following your nafs! Those who love them do so because they love me. Those who dislike them do so because they dislike me. Those who hurt them with their hands and tongs will have hurt Allâhu ta'âlâ** (by doing so) **, which is an offence that will incur exemplary punishment without any delay**."

4– " **The most useful and the best of the** (Muslim) **people of all times are the people of my time,** [which means all the Ashâb-i-kirâm] **. Next to them are the Believers of the second century** (after me) **, and next are those of the third century**."

5– " **The fire of Hell will not burn a Muslim who has seen me, nor any** (Muslim) **who has seen those who have seen me**."

Ahmad ibn Hajar Haytamî Makkî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' was one of the greatest scholars of the Islamic religion. He lived in a time when India, (his country,) was rich in scholars and Walîs and the sun of Islam had reached the height to enlighten the entire world. Yet there were still some heretics whose hearts had been blackened with ignorance and egoistic personal ambitions and who therefore were vilifying the Ashâb-i-kirâm, so much so that their bigotry had driven them beyond the boundaries of decency. Fortunately, however, it happened to be the time of Humâyûn Shâh 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', the Indian Sultân, a deeply pious sovereign who was extremely respectful to scholars. He was a champion of justice and benevolence, an adroit statesman under whose administration each and every personality would receive the due treatment, and a generous benefactor of Muslims. He was the founder of the Jurjânî state in India and the son of Bâbur Shâh 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ'. Scholars of that happy time came together and resorted to Hadrat Ibn Hajar for the silencing of the heretics. Upon this, he wrote two huge books containing explanations about the virtues of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. With authentic documents, proofs and testimonies, he gave the lie to the enemy. The following are the English translations of two of the hadîth-i-sherîfs written in **Sawâ'iq-ul-muhriqa** , one of the books:

6– " **Allâhu ta'âlâ chose me from among the Qoureish tribe, the noblest people, and selected the best people as companions for me. He chose a few of them as my viziers** **and my assistants in communicating Islam to people. And he singled out some of these few as my As-hâr, i.e. my relatives through marriage. May those who abuse them or slander them or swear at them be accursed in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ,and in the view of all angels and men! On the Rising Day Allâhu ta'âlâ will reject their fard and sunnat acts of worship**." [Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were both his viziers and his as-hâr. For, the former was the father of Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ', one of the Azwâj-i-mutahhara (the Blessed Wives of the Messenger of Allah), and the latter was the father of Hafsa 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ', (another one of the Blessed Wives). Also Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was a brother of our Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' blessed wife Umm-i-Habîba 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', and also his father Abû Sufyân and his mother Hind 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' were among the as-hâr. These three people are therefore included in this hadîth-i-sherîf.]

7– The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the same book:

" **Protect my right concerning the affection** (I feel) **for my Ashâb, for my relatives, for those who help me, and for those who follow the path I have shown! Those who protect my right of Prophethood by loving them: Allâhu ta'âlâ will protect them against harms and disasters in this world and the next. Allâhu ta'âlâhates those people who disregard my right of Prophethood by hurting them. So near is the time when Allâhu ta'âlâ will torment the people He hates**."

These hadîth-i-sherîfs show clearly that we should love and respect each and every one of the As-hâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. We should believe that the combats among them were intended to carry out the commandment of Allâhu ta'âlâ. None of those who joined those combats had any ambitions for position, fame or money. They all meant to carry out the commandment of an âyat-i-kerîma and a hadîth-i-sherîf.

When 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' attained martyrdom, all the Muslims elected Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' Khalîfa. The first thing Hadrat Khalîfa tried to do was to re-establish peace. Most of the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' demanded of the Khalîfa that he arrest the murderers of Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as soon as possible and retaliate on them. Among the people who supported this view were two of the 'Ashara-i-mubashshara,[] i.e. Talha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was related to our master the Prophet'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' by the seventh grandfather in retrospect and who had joined the Believers during the earliest days of Islam and had undergone very cruel torments inflicted by the unbelievers, –for instance, the unbelievers would tie him and Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' to a post in order to prevent them from performing namâz-, (and he and Khâlid ibn Zayd abâ Ayyûb al-Ansârî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' were brothers of the Hereafter,) and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'; and our Mother Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', who had attained the honour of being praised in the Qur'ân al-kerîm by Allâhu ta'âlâ and who had been ourProphet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' darling till death separated them. Yet the Khalîfa said, "The country is still in turmoil. If I start now, it may escalate the fitna and may perhaps cause a second catastrophe. Let me put down the insurrection first, and then I will carry out the retaliation, which is a commandment of Allâhu ta'âlâ[]. The other party was of the ijtihâd that any delay would "make it quite impossible to find the murderers and carry out Islam's commandment. Now is the best time to do it."

Talha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was one of the holders of the former ijtihâd, had not joined the Holy War of Bedr because he had been in Damascus for some duty, yet he had joined all the other Holy Wars. In the War of Uhud, for one, he had undergone various tortures in the way of Allâhu ta'âlâ. He had shielded Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' with his own body and had carried our master 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' on his back up to the rocks under a shower of arrows.

It is reported on the authority of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' that Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Talha and Zubayr are my neighbours in Paradise**." Zubayr bin Awwâm 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was the son of Hadîja-t-ul-kubrâ's[] 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' brother, and his mother was Safiyya, a paternal aunt of our master 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. He was fifteen years old when he embraced Islam during the earliest days of Islam. He was the first person to draw a sword in the way of Allâhu ta'âlâ. In other words, he was the first Islamic officer. At the most dangerous moments of most of the Holy Wars, he fought before the Messenger of Allah, which cost him many a wound. Our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Every Prophet has a hawârî** (apostle) **. My hawârî is Zubayr**." Two of the six people whom 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' named as the people whom he thought would be worthy of succeeding him as Khalîfa as he was about to pass away were Talha and Zubayr. Zubayr was very rich and had sacrificed all his wealth for the sake of the Messenger of Allah.

These great persons insisted positively that qisâs (retaliation) be made immediately because their ijtihâd showed so. At that time, the ijtihâd performed by the As-hâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' led them to three different conclusions. The ijtihâd of one group agreed with that of the Khalîfa, while another group were of the ijtihâd concordant with that of the other party. There was yet a third group whose members preferred silence. Each and every one of these people had to act upon his own ijtihâd and not to follow someone else. People in the first and second groups increased in number. Meanwhile, a Jew named Abdullah bin Saba' incited the difference into a warlike situation, which ended in the events called Basra and Jamal (Camel).

In those days Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was in Damascus, as the governor of the territory. Being of the ijtihâd concordant with that of the third group, he did not let Muslims under his administration take part in the combats. Owing to his policy, all the Muslims living there led a life of comfort and peace. However, when Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' invited the Damascenes, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' reconsidered the situation in the light of a number of hadîth-i-sherîfs and reached a new ijtihâd agreeing with that of the other party. The Khalîfa was about to make an agreement with the Damascenes, when the Jews intruded their Zionist finger into the matter, inflaming the two parties to the warfare known as the combats of Siffîn.

In those wars, the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' never thought of hurting one another, wreaking vengeance on one another, or attaining caliphate, sovereignty, high positions or wealth; all they endeavoured to do was to carry out Islam's commandment, on which they had different ijtihâds. A number of documentary accounts of the wars expose the fact that even during the wars they exchanged letters, counselled one another and extended best wishes to one another. For instance, during the war of Siffîn, Constantine II, the emperor of Byzantium, was harassing the Muslim cities along the border. Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' wrote him a letter that said: "If you do not stop this molestation right away, I will make peace with my master, assume commandership of his army, be there and burn your cities, making you a swineherd." It was amidst those same commotions when Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', the Khalîfa, addressed to a mass audience, saying, "Our brothers disagree with us. This does not make them sinners or disbelievers. It is their ijtihâd that is different." As they fought against each other, one party said, "My brother," about the other, while the other party said, "My master," about the former. Their fights were on account of different ijtihâds and were not intended to seize power, to acquire wealth, or to achieve fame. Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated that a mujtahid with the correct ijtihâd would receive two to ten blessings whereas the mistaken one would be given one. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm were mujtahids. And it is fard (obligatory) for each mujtahid to act upon his own ijtihâd.

Abû Zur'at-ir-râzî, one of the great teachers who added to Imâm-i-Muslim's education 'rahimahumallâhu ta'âlâ', states as follows in a book of his: "A person who belittles or vilifies the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' is a zindiq.[] Muslims should know the enemies of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' as their own enemies, and they should feel deeper antipathy towards them than they do towards the enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt. While they do not accurse or even criticize Abû Jahl, who was an arch enemy of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and perpetrated the bitterest torments and persecutions against him, they look on Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who attained praisals and affections on the part of the Messenger of Allah 'salla-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', as an enemy of the Ahl-i-bayt, vilify and accurse that blessed person - May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us against that abominable misdeed! What kind of faith is that, and what kind of Muslims are they? The Ashâb-i-kirâm are the people who conveyed to us the fact that Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' is the Prophet of Allâhu ta'âlâ and that the Qur'ân al-kerîm is the heavenly book thatAllâhu ta'âlâ revealed to him. Denying the greatness and the rectitude of the Ashâb-i-kirâm is synonymous with rejecting the information they conveyed to us, (which is Islam;) it goes without saying, therefore, that people who will do so will demolish their own faith."

Ibn Hazm says that all the Ashâb-i-kirâm are Ahl-i-Jannat (People of Paradise). ForAllâhu ta'âlâ declares about them, as is purported in an âyat-i-kerîma, " **I shall grant them high grades**." It is purported in the Sûra Hadîd, " **We have promised Husnâ, i.e. Paradise to all of them**." And in the Sûra Anbiyâ, " **I made them People of Paradise in the eternal past, before I created anything. Hell is far from them**." These âyat-i-kerîmas show that all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' are Ahl-i-Jannat. None of them shall be close to fire of Hell. For they have been given the good news (that they shall go to) Husnâ, i.e. Paradise.

Moreover, as is written in the three hundred and twenty-seventh (327) page of the same book, Mir'ât-i-kâinât, the following information exists in all the books of Aqâ'id (books telling about the tenets of creed): There are definitely authentic documents showing that it is wâjib for all Muslims to know all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' as great people, to have an optimistic opinion about all of them, to believe that they were all pious and just Muslims, not to criticize any of them, not to feel hostility against any of them, and not to have a bad opinion about some of them as if it were a requirement to be fulfilled to perfect your love for the rest.

Allâma Sa'daddîn Taftâzânî 'rahima hullâhu ta'âlâ' states in his books **Sharh-i-aqâ'îd** that the wars that took place among the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were based on religious reasons. If the statements criticizing them are in contradiction to adilla-i-qat'iyya (definitely authentic documents), i.e. âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs, people who make those statements become disbelievers. If not so, they become sinful, heretical and aberrant people.

The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya: " **Be quiet when you hear the names of my Ashâb 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'! Do not make statements that would not go with their honour!** "

It would not befit Muslims to make statements that would not go with the honour of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'ridwânullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în'. Their combats were not based on bad reasons or evil intentions. Company with the best and the highest of mankind 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', which meant a lifetime illuminated with his blessed lectures and counsels, had purified and enlightened their nafses and souls, purging their hearts of all sorts of rancour and strife. Because each and every one of them had attained the grade of ijtihâd, it was obligatory and wâjib for them to act upon their own ijtihâd. When their ijtihâds disagreed, the right course for each of them to follow was to act upon his own ijtihâd and not to follow the others. Their disagreements, as well as their agreements, were the requirements of the right way and had nothing to do with the desires of the nafs.

Some people stigmatize those who fought against Imâm-i-Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as disbelievers. However, more often than not there were differences of ijtihâd also between our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and some of the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. These differences did not make them sinful. When Jebrâîl (Archangel Gabriel) 'alaihis-salâm' came (to rectify any possible mistakes), no message (in the nature of reproof) was sent (through him). Then, could those blessed people be blamed for disagreeing with Imâm-i-Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' in ijtihâd? Could they ever be called disbelievers? In fact, the ones with the disagreeing ijtihâd were in the majority, and they were mostly greater ones of the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'; among them were the beloved ones of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', as well as those who had been blessed with the good news that they were People of Paradise. Could they ever be criticized or called disbelievers? It is these people who conveyed to us almost half of Islam's religious knowledge. To impute any fault to them means to undermine half of the religion. None of Islam's great authorities has ever done anything that would mean disrespect to those great people. Leaders of the four Madhhabs[] and greater ones of the Sôfiyya-i-aliyya[] deemed those people as great and exalted.

Islam's second most correct book after the Qur'ân al-kerîm is (the tremendous book of hadîth-i-sherîfs entitled) **Bukhârî-i-sherîf**. Shiites agree with this fact. This very book, Bukhârî-i-sherîf, contains all the hadîth-i-sherîfs that were conveyed by any one of the Sahâbî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. The wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' did not bring any harm to the authenticity and truthfulness of their reports. This book, (Bukhârî-i-sherîf, that is,) as well as all the other books of Hadîth, contains hadîth-i-sherîfs conveyed by Hadrat Alî as well as those conveyed by Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. The wars they fought against one another did not devalue their reports. Books contain reports from the ones who were with Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' as well as reports from those who sided with Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. Had Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and those who were with him had a venial offense, the hadîth-i-sherîfs they conveyed would not have been written in books. None of the religious scholars took it into consideration to have agreed with Imâm-i-Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as a criterion in their selections of hadîth-i-sherîfs. It should be added, however, that Imâm-i-Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was the rightful side in these wars. Yet those who did not agree with his ijtihâd cannot be said to have erred. For, many of the Sahâba and the Tâbi'în, and some of the highest scholars, including leaders of our Madhhabs, disagreed with Imâm-i-Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' in a number of matters that needed ijtihâd. If it were to be taken for granted that Imâm Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' ijtihâd was always correct, all this number of great religious authorities would not have disagreed with him in their ijtihâd. In some matters, even Hadrat Alî himself 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' admitted ijtihâds that were discordant with his ijtihâds.

The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the three hundred and twenty-seventh (327) page of **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** :

" **Beat those people who vilify my Ashâb and those who** **make statements offensive to their honour**."

Imâm-i-Jalâladdîn Suyûtî[] quotes the following hadîth-i-sherîf in his book **Jâmi'us-saghîr:** " **Allâhu ta'âlâ will forgive my Ashâb for the mistakes they will make after me. For, no other people did the service equal to theirs to Islam**." The followinghadîth-i-sherîf is written in the same book: " **I shall do shafa'ât** , (i.e. I shall intercede in the Hereafter) **for everybody. Yet I shall not intercede for those who vilify my Ashâb**."

It is written in Khulâsa-t-ul-fatâwâ: Those who swear at Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' become disbelievers. Those who say that Imâm-i-Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was higher than the two Khalîfas, (i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar,) become people of bid'at and dalâlat. They have dissented from the Ahl as-sunna, which in its turn is something that will cause them to go to Hell.

It is written in the same page, i.e. in the three hundred and twenty-seventh (327) page (of the book Mir'ât-i-kâinât) that Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated: "It is one of the symptoms of (being among) the **Ahl as-sunna(t) wa-l-jamâ'a(t)** to hold Abû Bakr and 'Umar higher and to love 'Uthmân and Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. Holding the first two Khalîfas higher while cherishing the other two is peculiar to people who have saved themselves from Hell. That the first two were higher was stated by all the Ashâb-i-kirâm and conveyed by all the Tâbi'în to the imâms of our Madhhabs, who in their turn wrote it in their books. It is an established fact, for instance, that Imâm-i-Shâfi'î and Abul Hasan Esh'arî 'rahima-humallâhu ta'âlâ' stated that Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were the highest Muslims in this Umma(t). Another positively known fact is that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was occupying the office of caliphate when he said to the notables around him that "Abû Bakr and 'Umar were the highest of this Umma." Imâm-i-Zahabî and Imâm-i-Bukhârî 'rahima-humallâhu ta'âlâ' reported that they had heard thehadîth-i-sherîf, " **After me, Abû** **Bakr and 'Umar** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' **are the highest of this Umma** ," from Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Moreover, Abdurrazzâq Lâhijî, a Shiite scholar, acknowledges that these two (Khalîfas) are the highest, and adds, "Could I leave Imâm Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' way and follow my own opinion although I know that he is so high and say that I love him? For, he stated that Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were superior to him." Abdurrazzâq bin Alî Lâhijî was a professor in the city of Qum. He passed away in 1051 [A.D. 1642].

During the caliphates of Hadrat 'Uthmân and Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', mischief and public disturbances were on the increase and people were mostly uneasy and hurt. Therefore, it was made a requirement of being in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at to love these two Khalîfas; thereby the Ashâb-i-Khayr-ul-bashar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were defended against ignorant people's calumniations and Muslims were protected against the peril of feeling hostility against the Khalîfas of our master theProphet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. As is seen, it is one of the requirements of being in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at to love Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as well. Yet, love also has its limitations. If a person exceeds the limitations in his love of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', calumniates the Ashâb of our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and thereby dissents from the path led by the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the Tâbi'în-i-izâm and the Salaf as-sâlihîn[], he is called a heretic. Nor are those wretched people who are devoid of loving Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' in the Ahl as-sunna, for it is a requirement of being in the Ahl as-sunna. They are called **Khwârij** (Khârijîs). If those who claim to love Ahl-i-bayt loved all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as well, everything would be quite all right. If they admitted that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were based on benevolent reasons and good intentions, they would be in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at and would be immune from being **Ahl-i-bid'at**. It is a characteristic trait of the **Ahl as-sunnat** to embellish one's respect and high esteem for all the Ashâb-i-kirâm with one's affection for the Ahl-i-bayt. Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **If a person loves my Ashâb, he does so because he loves me. And enmity against them is enmity against me**." Then, why should one not love the Ahl-i-bayt? All the Ashâb-i-kirâm loved one another and the Ahl-i-bayt as well. The Sunnîs have deemed the love of Ahl-i-bayt as a part of îmân. They have said that dying as a Believer is dependent upon the potency of this love.

It is written as follows in the three hundred and twenty-seventh [327] page of the book **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** : Our scholars classify the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' in three groups: The first group are the **Muhâjirîn** , i.e. those Muslims who migrated to Medina from Mekka or elsewhere until the conquest of Mekka. Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were two of the greatest ones of the Muhâjirîn.

The second group, called **Ansâr-i-kirâm** , were those Muslims living in the blessed city of Medina or in its vicinity. They were honoured with the title Ansâr (Helpers) on account of the help they offered to our master, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. **Khâlid ibn Zayd abâ Ayyûb al-Ansârî** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was one of the greatest Ansâr. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf conveyed by Imâm-i-Tirmuzî: " **On the Rising Day each of my Ashâb will rise from his grave and, leading the Believers of the country where he passed away and showering haloes and lights on them, he takes them to the square of Arasât**." Accordingly, all the Believers in Istanbul will come to the place of judgement behind Hadrat Khâlid 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and under his light.

The third group were the people who embraced Islam in Mekka or elsewhere upon the conquest of the blessed city or afterwards; they are Sahâbîs, although they are neither Muhâjirs nor Ansâr. Mu'âwiya and 'Amr ibn al-Âs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' are two of the greatest ones in this group.

Imâm-i-Wâqidî states: Of all the Sahâbîs who passed away in Kûfa (today's Najaf), Abdullah ibn Awfâ was the last one. The last one to pass away in Damascus was Abdullah bin Yasr. The last one of those who passed away in Medîna-i-munawwara was Sahl bin Sa'd; he was ninety-five years old when he passed away. Enes bin Mâlik was the last one to pass away in Basra. Abu-t-tufayl Âmir, who was the last one of those who passed away in Mekka-i-mukarrama, was at the same time the last of them all; he passed away in the hundredth year of the Hijrat (Hegira).

All the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', with the exception of a few close relatives of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', were younger than the Messenger of Allah. Although the number of Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Ashâb is not exactly known, he went to Mekka with ten thousand people and to the Holy War of Tabuk with a seventy-thousand-strong army, while ninety-thousand people accompanied him in his Farewell Hajj. More than one hundred and twenty-four thousand Sahâbîs were still alive at the time of his passing away.

There are numerous books rendering correct accounts about the virtues and values of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. The book **Usud-ul-ghâba** , by Shaikh Shams-ud-dîn Alî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', contains biographies of more than seven thousand and five hundred Sahâbîs; it was translated into European languages. The correct ones among the books telling about the Islamic history are the ones written by Wâqidî, by Ibn Khaldûn, and by Ibn Hillighâ 'rahima humullâhu ta'âlâ'. These books contain nothing that would be incompatible with Islam or Islamic manners about the Sahâba-i-kirâm. Meyers Lexicon, a technical encyclopaedic dictionary in German, gives an appreciative disquisition on the importance of the Islamic civilization in its four hundred and seventy-eighth (478) page and reports that "The history of Wâqidî telling about the Holy Wars was translated into German in 1882 by Welhausen. Ibn Sa'd, a disciple of Wâqidî, wrote about the life of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' and the lives of his Ashâb 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. His book, of nine volumes, was translated in 1921 by Sachau. The history of Ibn Khaldûn, which consists of seven volumes, was translated in 1858 by Qutemere." A passage beginning in the four hundred and seventy-eighth page of the book Meyers Lexicon, and also the passage below the entry 'Islam' were read and translated in the presence of the great Islamic scholar Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî Efendi 'quddisa sirruh'; he expressed his appreciation.

The history books in Turkish telling about the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' are mostly translated versions of the history books that were written during the Abbasid domination and which, therefore, reflect the time's trends and preferences. That is why the accounts given about such blessed people as Hadrat Âisha, Mu'âwiya, Talha, Zubayr and other Sahâbîs in those books carry some fault-finding aura about them. None of Islamic governments succeeding the Umayyads and the Abbasids attempted to sabotage the Sunnî credo, and the Turks hold best for our argument. Owing to them, the credo has survived to our time.

Ibn Hajar-i-Makkî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' states as follows in the beginning of his book: O you Muslim, whose heart is full with the love of Allâhu ta'âlâ and with the love ofRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'! Your first duty is to mix the love of our Prophet's 'alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm' Ashâb-i-kirâm with the love of the Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî in your heart. As we love the Ahl-i-bayt because they are Rasûlullah's descendants, so we should love the others because they are his Ashâb (Companions). For, the honour that the Ashâb-i-kirâm attained is very high. Others cannot attain that honour. An essential of that honour is that the blessed looks of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' penetrated into them, giving them spiritual support and help. Others do not have this exclusive merit. None of the later comers attained their perfections and vast learnings or the (spiritual property called) haqîqat which they inherited from our master, the Prophet'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Every Muslim has to know them all as just, pious and learned Muslims and as Walîs and mujtahids. Allâhu ta'âlâ gave them the good news that He would forgive them for any possible mistake on their part. An âyat of the Qur'ân al-kerîmpurports, " **Allah** 'jalla jalâluh' **is pleased with them all. Also, they are pleased with Allâhu ta'âlâ**." To blame or vilify any one of the Sahâba-i-kirâm means to deny this âyat-i-kerîma. There is no doubt that Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is one of the notables of the Sahâba-i-kirâm with respect to genealogy. He is a very close and intimate relative of our master 'alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm', both through genealogy and through nikâh.[] Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' praised his finesse and beneficence. Honours such as Islam, sohbat, kinship and relationship through nikâh came together in his person; each of these honours would in itself be enough to cause one to be close to Rasûlullah in Paradise. When the honours of finesse, knowledge and caliphate are added to them, a person with understanding and with an average degree of peace, faith, piety and belief in his heart would save us any extra words in this respect.

Imâm-i-Rabbânî Ahmad Fârûqî Serhendî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' states as follows in the thirty-sixth letter of the second volume of his masterpiece, **Maktûbât** : One of the symptoms of Ahl as-sunnat is to believe that the Shaikhayn, i.e. Abû Bakr as-siddîq and 'Umar ul-fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' are the highest ones (of the Sahâba) and to love the two sons-in-law (of Rasûlullah), i.e. 'Uthmân and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Tâbi'în-i-izâm said in unanimity that the Shaikhayn were higher. Those who had not attained the honour of seeing the blessed face of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and yet who were lucky enough to see a few Sahâbîs, are called the **Tâbi'în**. Having seen the Sahâba-i-kirâm made these people great in this religion. The statements of the Ashâb and the Tâbi'în were conveyed to us by our scholars. For instance, Muhammad bin Idris Shâfi'î, the leader of the Shâfi'î Madhhab, and Abul Hasan Alî Esh'arî, one of the leaders of the Ahl as-sunna, state that it is a definite and absolute fact that Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' are higher than all the other Ashâb. One day during his caliphate Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' said to a large audience: "Abû Bakr and 'Umar are the highest of this Umma."

As is written in the twelve-volumed book of history by Imâm-i-Muhammad Zahabî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', Muhammad bin Ismâ'îl Bukhârî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', the author of the Bukhârî-i-sherîf, which is the most authentic book of Hadîth and is considered to be the basis of the Islamic religion, states: Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated, "The best member of this Ummat, after our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', is Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. The second best is 'Umar, and after him comes someone else." When his son said, "And it is you," he replied, "I am one of the Muslims."

So many are the reports testifying to the superiority of Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' that it has become an indisputable fact. Denying this fact is comparable to disignoring the existence of the sun. People who do so must be either vulgarly ignorant or blind or imbecilic. Abdurrazzâq, one of the eminent Shiite scholars, saw that there was no reason to deny the realities and acknowledged the superiority of the Shaikhayn. Imâm-i-Rabbânî states as follows:

Imâm 'Umar's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' ten-year caliphate and the first six years of Imâm 'Uthmân's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' twelve years in the office make up a period of welfare and rest; throughout that period, not only were the Islamic rules and rites carried out perfectly in all the Muslim countries, but also the Islamic world made considerable territorial gains. In fact, the entire Arabia and a large section of Africa became parts of the Muslim land, Tripolitania, Fîzân, Benghazi, Tunisia, Algeria, Fes, Morocco, Damietta, Zeyyad, Aden, San'â, Assyria, Bahrain, Hadhramaut, Qatif, Nejd, Iraq entirely, India, Sind, China, Samarkand, Hîva, Bukhâra, Turkestân, Iran and Caucasus found themselves under the sway of Islam, and the Islamic flag was carried to positions before the city walls of Istanbul. Because the inhabitants of the countries conquered mostly enthused over the honour of converting to Islam, the Muslim population rapidly soared to numbers well above millions. This non-stop territorial enlargement, doubled with the express increase of population, lay the groundwork for an abrupt meeting of a variety of different cultures, which meant differring ideas, thoughts, customs and understandings. Some irreligious impostors lost no time in provoking the most sensitive extremes in these diverse cultures into such situations as would make clashes and conflicts irretrievable, and fomenting an insurrection against the Khalîfa. Therefore, the last six years of the caliphate of 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was a period of confusions and upheavals. Sad to say, the gentle and tender elements that were prevalent in the blessed Khalîfa's nature would not let him take the draconian measures to put a timely end to the chaos, so that thirteen thousand of the rebels took the liberty of besieging the blessed city of Medîna and demanding that the Khalîfa should retire. Imâm 'Uthmân's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' answer was: "I will not just doff the attirement that the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' made me put on," which was a decision perfectly agreeable with the common ijtihâd of the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' and the Tâbi'în-i-izâm. Yet it was impossible to dissuade the rebels. Thus the horrifying martyrdom took place on the eighteenth day of Zilhijja in the thirty-fifth year of the Hijrat. Some people annually celebrate that day. After him, Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' became Khalifa, rightfully and by a unanimous vote of all the Muslims.

Since differences, controversies and hostilities among the people of those vast territories were on the increase during the times of these two Khalîfas, affection towards these two blessed sons-in-law was made indicative of one's being in the group of Ahl as-sunnat. This was intended to close a possible gap whereby the ignorant could transgress the bounds of deference due to the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. Then, joining the group of **Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at** , the people blessed by our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' with the good news of Paradise, requires feeling affection for Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. A person devoid of this affection is not Ahl as-sunnat or Ahl al-Jannat. Such people are called **Khawârij**. There are also people, however, who squander this affection due to Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' on criticizing or cursing one or all of the Ashâb-i-kirâm on the presumption that it is an essential condition for this affection. These people are aside from the way guided by the Ashâb-i-kirâm, by the Tâbi'în-i-izâm and by all the greatest scholars. They are called **Râfidî** s. 'Râfidî' means 'dissenter', or 'dissident'. These people have dissented from the Ahl as-sunnat. 'Ahl as-sunnat' means 'people who follow the moderate and correct way.' By neither disliking Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' nor misusing the affection due to him, they have protected themselves against excess in one direction or the other.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', the leader of the Hanbalî Madhhab, quoted the following hadîth-i-sherîf on the authority of Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': Imâm Alî said: The Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **Yâ Alî! You are like Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm'. Jews became his enemies. They calumniated his blessed mother Hadrat Maryam. And Christians overestimated him. They extolled him to heights that were above his real position. In other words, they called him Son of Allah**." After reporting this hadîth-i-sherîf, Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated, "On account of me, two groups of people have been doomed to destruction. One group will love me too much and ascribe to me things that I do not have. The others will feel hostility towards me and spread various slanders about me." This hadîth-i-sherîf compares the Khawârij to Jews, and people who are hostile to the Ashâb-i-kirâm to Christians.

As we have stated already, the number of the Ashâb-i-kirâm is above one hundred and twenty-four thousand. This is a number equal to the number of Prophets 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât'. Each of them represents a Prophet. Abû Bakr as-siddîq represents Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', 'Umar ul-Fârûq represents Mûsâ (Moses) 'alaihis-salâm', 'Uthmân-i-zinnûrayn represents Nûh (Noah) 'alaihis-salâm', Alî-y-yul-murtadâ represents Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm', and Hadrat Mu'âwiya represents Dâwûd (David) 'alaihis-salâm' 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în'. We know that Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm' was created without a father, which is something without the law of causation but within the power ofAllâhu ta'âlâ, that he was raised up to heaven, and that he will descend to earth and land in Damascus, which, again, is something outside of the law of causation. The known facts about his birth, life and ascension gave rise to three different beliefs concerning him. One group of people developed too high an opinion about him, calling him 'God' -may Allâhu ta'âlâ protect against that belief- and saying that God had entered him and that he was the Son of God. This group are Christians.

Another group, seeing the extraordinary events about him, demoted him to extremely low grades far below his noble person, and said that his father was not known -may Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us against saying so-. This group are Jews.

Others, the third group, that is, knew that the extraordinary facts about him were all within the endless power of Allâhu ta'âlâ and had hikmats (hidden divine causes) about them; this group believed that he was only a human and a Prophet. The path taken by this group is correct. These extraordinary events concerning Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm' were told clearly and in detail in the (original) Torah. The facts about these three groups and their beliefs are written at a number of places in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. Islamic scholars learned these facts from the Qur'ân al-kerîm and explicated them in detail in their books. Because the Sahâba-i-kirâm also knew these facts well, Muhammad the Sarwar-i-'âlam and the Sayyid-i-awlâd-i-Âdam 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' said to Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was his paternal uncle's son and also his son-in-law and also his spiritual brother: " **You are like Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm'**." This hadîth-i-sherîf spread among the Ashâb-i-kirâm. This hadîth-i-sherîf was one of the hadîths telling about unknown things, and its truth manifested on Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' during his caliphate. At that time people parted into three groups. One group overestimated Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and said that Allah had entered Imâm Alî and his children -may Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us against that belief-, and others claimed that Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was the Prophet but Jabrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' had by mistake revealed the Qur'ân al-'azîm-ush-shân to Muhammad 'alaihis-salât-u-wa-s-salâm'. A third group deviated from the right path by holding Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' superior to the other three Khalîfas as well as to all the other Sahâba. The first group's belief (concerning Hadrat Alî) is like the belief that Christians hold about Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm'.

The second group of people marred their own belief by casting aspersions on Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and tarnishing his honourable reputation. This group are called **Khawârij** (Khârijîs). The hatred they felt against Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and his innocent progeny caused them to swerve from the right way. These people are like Jews. The third group are the people who have known Imâm Alî and his children and household and all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as they are described in the hadîth-i-sherîfs of the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. These people with the correct îmân (belief) are called the **Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at**. They are the only group to be saved from Hell. Of the people who fought against Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'; Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', who was the beloved wife of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and at the same time the blessed daughter of Abû Bakr as-siddîq; Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', who were among the ten people called Ashara-i-mubash-shara because they had been given the good news that they would go to Paradise; and Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was a brother-in-law of our master the Fakhr-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' because he was the brother of our blessed mother Umm-i-Habîba 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', –who in her turn was one of the blessed wives of the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'–, and at the same time his secretary of wahy, (i.e. the trustworthy person whose duty was to write theâyat-i-kerîmas revealed to the Messenger of Allah,) were the greatest members of the Ashâb-i-kirâm.

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Observe my right of prophethood by loving my Ashâb. Allâhu ta'âlâ will protect and help those people who observe my right in this manner, in everything they are involved in. Allâhu ta'âlâ dislikes those who do not observe my right of prophethood. The time when they shall suffer punishment is quite imminent**."

He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **People are increasing in number, and my Ashâb are becoming less and less numerous and, inversely, more and more valuable. Do not curse my Ashâb! May Allah accurse those who curse my Ashâb!** "

He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf:

" **Do not criticize or try to vilify any of my Ashâb! I swear on the name of Allah, under whose power I live, that if one of you gave a piece of gold as big as the mount of Uhud in the name of alms he would not earn thawâb equal to the blessings that one of my Ashâb would be given for alms worth one mudd** [two ritls, or 260 dirham-i-shar'î, or 1209.6 gr] **of barley**."

He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf:

" **How lucky for those who saw me, and how lucky for those who saw those who had seen me, and how lucky for those who saw those who had seen those who had seen me! All those people are so lucky and so happy. Their destination, Paradise, is the best place**." Those who saw the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' are the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'ridwânullâhi alaihim ajma'în'. Those who saw them are the **Tâbi'în** , and people who saw the Tâbi'în are the **Taba'i tâbi'în**. Two of the Tâbi'în are Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa and Imâm Mâlik, (the learders of the Hanafî and Mâlikî Madhhabs, respectively). And two of the Taba'i tâbi'în are Imâm Shâfi'î and Imâm Ahmad, (the leaders of the Madhhabs called Shâfi'î and Hanbalî, respectively).[]

The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the book **Sawâiq-ul-muhriqa** , by Ibn Hajar-i-Makkî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ':

" **Allâhu ta'âlâ chose me from among the entire mankind. He bestowed on me all superiorities and goodnesses, and chose Ashâb** (Companions) **for me. From among my Ashâb, He chose me relatives and assistants. If a person loves and respects these people for me and for my prophethood, Allâhu ta'âlâ will protect him against Hell. If a person disregards my right by disliking, criticizing or hurting them, Allâhu ta'âlâ will burn and torment them with the fire of Hell**."

The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the same book:

" **Allâhu ta'âlâ chose me from among all people. He chose the best people as my Ashâb and relatives. After them many people will appear and they will criticize my Ashâb and my relatives. By casting aspersions on them, they will try to malign them. Do not sit with such people! Do not eat and drink with them! Do not give them your daughters or accept their daughters in marriage!** " This hadîth-i-sherîfshows that we must love and respect all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'.

Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states, " **After me, Muslims will part into seventy-three different groups. Seventy-two of them will go to Hell, and only one group will enter Paradise**." This one group, called **Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at** , are those people who follow the way guided by our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and by his Ashâb. Leaders of our four Madhhabs and the great scholars educated by them are the people who learned this way from the Ashâb-i-kirâm, carried it safely throughout centuries, and made it reach us. It is these same great scholars, again, who say that one of the conditions for being in the Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat and a distinguishing symptom indicative of being so is to love all the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Hadîth-i-sherîfs show that it is necessary to say nothing but goodness about the Ashâb-i-kirâm, to respect them, to know all of them as great, and to say, " **radiy-Allâhu 'anh** ", when the name of any one of them is mentioned. Especially the Muhâjirîn, who migrated from Mekka-i-mukarrama to Medina-i-munawwara; the Ansâr, who met the Muhâjirîn in Medîna and granted them asylum and extended their warmest hospitality to them; the fourteen hundred Sahâbîs, who promised allegiance to our master the Prophet'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' under a tree and who sacrificed all their existence for his sake; the Sahâbîs who joined the Holy War of Bedr and those who attained martyrdom in the Holy War of Uhud deserve profoundest reverence. The Ummat-i-Muhammad 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' (Muslims) have reached a consensus on that these people (the Sahâba) are very exalted. What devolves on us Muslims is to think of the meritorious and self-sacrificing services they rendered to the Islamic religion and to pronounce the benediction ' **radiy-Allâhu 'anhum** ' on them all. For, they were the pioneers and guides in the Islamic religion. It is them who took the lead in following our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', in spreading his religion over the world and making it known to all, who took the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ from His Prophet and brought them to us, and who strengthened the foundation of the Islamic religion. It is them who made Islam reach every country. It is them who spread Allâhu ta'âlâ's religion over His lands and among His human slaves. Is there a blessing greater than the **Islamic religion** that has reached us? All of us must be always thankful to them for their goodnesses. The acts of grudge, enmity, vilification and malediction perpetrated against the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' and based on concoctions, lies, slanders and false stories, which did not exist in times closer to that of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and which appeared afterwards, are all the soot and grime of the earliest sedition manufactured by Abdullah bin Saba'. It is wâjib[] for us all to keep away from these corybantic movements and the like.

We should believe in the fact that the wars among the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were based on religious considerations, rather than being the consequences of evil purposes or maleficent intentions. From the religious, logical, traditional and historical points of view, we have no business to comment on whether their actions were right or wrong or to pass judgment on their preferences. Anything that is overtly disagreeable with or contradictory to the Qur'ân al-kerîm or hadîth-i-sherîfs is kufr (disbelief). What makes an act or behaviour heretical, sinful or corrupt, however, is not necessarily in overt and direct contradiction to them. Then, it is not something religiously permissible to criticize or malign Mu'âwiya or other people like him 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. For, they are all in the group of Sahâba-i-kirâm whom Allâhu ta'âlâ and our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' praises. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **May people who malign or curse any one of my Ashâb be accursed in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ and angels and all people!** " It is not something sinful not to curse the devil, who is accursed. The wisest policy is not to curse any creature. Nor is it anything advisable to curse Yazîd or Hajjâj.

The Muslims in the group of **Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at** esteem and love each and every one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'; then, why should one presume that they do not love Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' despite his multifarious relationships to our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wasallam', -he was his paternal first cousin, son-in-law, and spiritual brother-, and in the face of the fact that he was praised in so many hadîth-i-sherîfs that no other Sahâbî attained an equal number of praisals? Such an ignorant presumption, alongside its slanderous implication, would mean to deliver love of Hadrat Alî into Shiites' possession.

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has commanded me to love four people. So I love them**." When he was asked who they were, he explained, " **Alî is one of them; Alî is one of them; Alî is one of them; and** (the others are) **Abû Zer, Mikdâd and Salmân**."

Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' commanded the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în' to be brotherly with one another. Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' came to the Huzûr-i-sa'âdat and said, "Yâ Rasûlallah (O Messenger of Allah)! Why didn't you make me anyone's brother?" Upon this the Prophet stated, " **You are my brother in the world and in the Hereafter**."

One day Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' related: Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said to me, " **He who loves you is a Believer. He who dislikes you is only a munâfiq** []."

Abû Sa'îd-i-Hudrî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated: "The criterion by which we knew Believers from munâfiqs was based on sympathy and antipathy for Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'."

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: "I am the city of knowledge. Alî is the gate to the city." Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' related: I was very young when Rasûl-i-akram 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' wanted to send me as a judge to Yemen. I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I am young yet. How can I be a judge for the people there?" He put his blessed hand on my chest and invoked, " **Yâ Rabbî** (O my Allah)! **Give hidâyat** (guidance) **to his heart and thebât** (firmness, perseverance) **to his tongue!** " It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Alî is the most eligible for judgeship and the most knowledgeable of you**." It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **It is an act of worship to look at Alî. A person who has hurt Alî has hurt me, so to speak**." It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Affection towards Alî is affection towards me. And affection towards me is affection towards Allâhu ta'âlâ. Enmity towards Alî is enmity towards me. And enmity towards me is enmity towards Allâhu ta'âlâ**." It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ ordered me to give my daughter Fâtima in marriage to Alî.Allâhu ta'âlâ created each prophet's progeny through him, yet He creates my progeny through Alî**." In another occasion he stated, " **Îmân** (belief) **has its symptoms: Its first symptom is to love Alî. Alî is the guide of the good. A person who helps Alî will attain help himself. Those who try to cause trouble to Alî incur their own destruction. Paradise is in love with three people: Alî, Salmân and Ammâr**." It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **A munâfiq's heart will never share the combined love for the following four people: Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, and Alî**." 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'.

All the hadîth-i-sherîfs written so far were translated from the book **Manâqib-i-Chihâr Yâr-i-ghuzîn** , by Hadrat Sayyid Ayyûb. The book, which renders a perfectly long and elaborate account of the greatness of the four Khalîfas and of all the Ashâb-i-kirâm, is in Turkish; it was printed in 1325, and reproduced in 1998 (A.D.). We importantly recommend that those who understand Turkish read it.

Affection towards Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is symptomatic of being in (the group of) Ahl as-sunnat. And it is wrong to say that affection towards him necessitates disaffection towards the other three Khalîfas. To dislike another Sahâbî or a few other Sahâbîs for the purpose of showing affection towards him means to deviate from the right course. Imâm-i-Shâfi'î 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ stated in a distich:

If they call those who love Alî 'Shiites',  
Know, you, o humans and genies, I am a Shiite.

Both Shiites and Sunnites profess love of Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' Âl and Ahl-i-bayt (household and children). What makes them different is that one group love the other Sahâba as well, whereas the other group do not. The Ahl-i-bayt and the Âl-i-Abâ, or the Âl-i-Rasûl 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', are loved above all by the Ahl as-sunnat.

The book **Manâqib-i-Chihâr Yâr-i-ghuzîn** , from the four hundred and fortieth [440] page onwards, enlarges on the greatness of the Ahl-i-bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. The first episode reads as follows:

Allâhu ta'âlâ says to the Ahl-i-bayt, i.e. Imâm Alî, Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ, Imâm Hasan and Imâm Husayn, in the Qur'ân al-kerîm: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ wishes to remove all sorts of deficiency and dirt from you, and He wills to clean you with perfect purification**." The Ashâb-i-kirâm asked, "O the Messenger of Allah! Who are the Ahl-i-bayt?" At that moment Imâm-i-Alî joined them. The blessed Prophet took him under his blessed overcoat. Then he sent for Hadrat Fâtima. When she came, clad as she was properly and in a manner compatible with Islam's prescription, he took her under his blessed overcoat, too. The next comer was Imâm-i-Hasan. He took him to his one side; and taking the final comer, Imâm-i-Husayn, to his other side, he stated " **Here, these are my Ahl-i-bayt**." These blessed people are also called **Âl-i-Abâ** or **Âl-i-Rasûl** 'ridwânullahi 'alaihim ajma'în'.

It is related as follows in the ninth episode in the two hundred and forty-first [241] page of the same book: Imâm-i-Hasan and Imâm-i-Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' became ill at a very young age. When the children recovered health, their father and their mother Fâtimatuzzahrâ and their servant Fidda began to fast. The first day, they were about to have (the diner called) iftâr[], when some orphans came to the door. Giving all the food to the orphans, they began the next day's fast without eating anything. The second day's food also was dispensed with, this time to some very poor people who had knocked on the door at the same hour as the orphans had done the previous evening and asked for something to eat "for Allah's sake." So the third day's fasting began, hungry as they were. The third evening's visitors were some slaves, who, too, were given all the day's food lest they should go back empty-handed. Upon this, an âyat came down; it purported, **"These people have kept their vows. With the fear of the Rising Day, which is long and perpetual, they have given their food which they liked so much and hungered so strongly for to very poor people, to orphans and slaves. They said, 'It is for the sake of Allah that we give this food to you to eat. We expect nothing in the name of gratitude on your part. Nor do we demand anything in return.' Therefore, Janâb-i-Haqq** (Allâhu ta'âlâ) **has blessed them with the drink called sharâb-i-tahûr** (purest drink)."

Affection towards the Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî causes salvation at the time of death, which means to migrate to the Hereafter with îmân (as a Believer). Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states in a hadîth-i-sherîf, " **My Ahl-i-bayt are like Nûh's (Noah's) 'alaihis-salâm' ark. He who follows them will attain salvation. He who lags behind will perish**."

The Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî have myriad virtues and perfections, which would cost an endless list to attempt to make a tally of. It is beyond the human power to tell about them or to praise them. The values and greatnesses they possess are best understood from the âyat-i-kerîmas. Imâm-i-Shâfi'î puts it so beautifully: "O you the Ahl-i-bayt-i-Rasûl! Allâhu ta'âlâ commands in the Qur'ân al-kerîm to love you. The greatness of your value and your high grades can be imagined from the fact that (a daily ritual prayer called) namâz[] performed without a benediction pronounced on you will not be acceptable. Your honour is so great that Allâhu ta'âlâsalutes you in the Qur'ân al-kerîm."

It is farz for every Believer to love the Ahl-i-bayt. It causes one to die with îmân. Some people with unsound wisdom and narrow reasoning capacities make a mistake in this subject. They say that love requires antipathy towards the beloved one's enemies, (which is right). Presuming that Âisha-i-siddîqa, Mu'âwiya, Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' were enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt because they fought against the Ahl-i-bayt, -although they did so in consequence of their ijtihâd-, they nurse a grudge against those great people. Thereby they deviate from the right course. In fact, as it becomes clear in the light of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs, those wars between the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Ahl-i-bayt did not ensue from worldly ambitions such as position and fame. They were based on difference of ijtihâd. When they met, their aim was not to make war, but to reach an agreement. It was the plotting and intrigue carried on by the Jew named Abdullah bin Saba' and his accessaries that inflamed the event so that it escalated into a warlike situation. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm loved the Ahl-i-bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. Not to believe so, i.e. to think that the Ashâb-i-kirâm were hostile to the Ahl-i-bayt, means to deny the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. The âyat-i-kerîmas andhadîth-i-sherîfs show the fact that the Ashâb-i-kirâm established their capital of îmân out of their love of Ahl-i-bayt.

Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' served as a writing secretary in the presence of our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Abû Nuaym states that Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was one of the writing secretaries of Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', that he had beautiful handwriting, and that he was eloquent, gentle, and dignified. Zayd bin Thâbit 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' states that Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' wrote the Wahy (âyat-i-kerîmas) brought by (the Archangel) Jebrâîl and Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' letters. Then, he was a person whom the Fakhr-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' trusted. Does this high position not indicate how exalted he was? Do those people who criticize and malign that great person not denigrate, by doing so, someone to whom the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' entrusted the business of writing the Qur'ân al-kerîm? To try to evade this question with the prevarication that afterwards he took a turn for the worse would be even a more insolent felony. For, the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was the Sultân of 'Ilm al-ladun, i.e. he was made to know (by Allâhu ta'âlâ) everything that would happen as well as all that had happened; how could it ever be supposed, then, that he did not know about a future treason?

There is not a single Muslim unaware of Abdullah ibn Mubârak's high grade in knowledge. He was a religious imâm (leader). He was quite advanced in every branch of knowledge. He had accumulated in his person all the branches of scientific knowledge as well as those of the traditional knowledge. He was possessed of profound knowledge in fiqh (knowledge teaching Islam's commandments, prohibitions, practices, daily transactions, etc.), in adab (Islamic manners and rules of behaviour), in nahw (Arabic grammar), in lughat (an extensive branch in linguistics that includes sub-branches such as lexicon, syntax, semantics, etc.), fesâhat (rhetoric), belâghat (eloquence, belles lettres), shejâ'at (bravery, valor), furûsiyyat (horsemanship), sehâ (beneficence), and karam (generosity, kindness). He was steady with midnight prayers of namâz (called tahajjud). He made hajj[] various times and joined numerous Holy Wars against the enemies of religion. At the same time, he was a great merchant and dispensed a hundred thousand gold coins to the poor yearly. He feared Allâhu ta'âlâ very much. He avoided the harâm and doubtful things. He offered financial help to his friends and people who were in straights and ran for their rescue when they were in trouble. He did many a generous kindness to great religious luminaries such as Sufyân-i-Sawrî, Sufyân bin Uyayna, Fudayl bin Iyâd, Ibn Sammâk, and Mesrûq. His practices were always in concordance with his theory. His learnings were a perfect reflection of Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' teachings. Mawlânâ Abd-ur-Rahmân Jâmî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' praises Abdullah bin Mubârak very highly and explains his superiority with examples in his book **Shawâhid-un-nubuwwa** , which he wrote in the Fârisî language. The so highly praised, great scholar states as follows: "The dust that went into the nostrils of the horse that Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' rode as he accompanied Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' is a thousand times as good as 'Umar bin Abd-ul-'azîz'." What other words do you think would be needed to confute the obdurate claims?

Whenever the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said, " **Sami' Allâhu liman hamidah** ," in (the bowing position called) rukû' as he conducted namâz in jamâ'at, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who stood in the first line, would add, " **Rabbanâ laka-l-hamd**." This expression won (the Prophet's) approval and approbation, and to say so was established as a sunnat till the end of the world. Such a great attainment! Given the aforesaid comparison wherein the name of Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' evokes a praisal of such a great Islamic scholar as Abdullah ibni Mubarak, whose physical and spiritual superiorities have been acknowledged by all the religious leaders, what could be so futile as groping for evidence to prove to the contrary, as these ignorant, self-indulgent and obstinate people do?

Enemies of Islam who try to mislead the younger generations profess love of Ahl-i-bayt. If their love of Ahl-i-bayt contained itself within its precincts, if they were not inimical towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm, if they respected the Ashâb-i-kirâm and believed that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were based on ijtihâd and reflected their unselfish religious zeal, then they would be clear of the anathema that makes them people without a certain Madhhab. For, dislike for the Ahl-i-bayt makes one a **Khârijî**. Dislike felt towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm means heresy. On the other hand, if you love and respect the Ahl-i-bayt and all the Ashâb-i-kirâm, you are in the group of **Ahl as-sunnat**. This means to say that to be a person without a certain Madhhab means to feel antipathy towards some of our Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Ashâb-i-kirâm. And to be a Sunnî Muslim means to protect yourself against this antipathy and love all of them. A person with firm îmân, a sound reasoning and an adequate realization of the greatness of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' will know that to love is better judgement than being hostile to them. Because he loves our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', he will love each and every one of them. In fact, as we have already stated, it is declared in ahadîth-i-sherîf, " **Affection towards them originates from affection towards me. And hostility to them is because of hostility to me**."

It is hard to understand why these people should think that the Sunnî Muslims are inimical towards the Ahl-i-bayt. As we have stated in the previous pages, it is the Sunnî Muslims who say that dying with îmân, (as a Believer, that is,) is dependent on loving the Ahl-i-bayt.

Imâm-i-Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' states as follows in the thirty-sixth (36) letter: This faqîr's (my) father was deeply learned in the zâhirî (physical) and bâtinî branches of knowledge. [Bâtin means something pertaining to the heart.] He always advised and encouraged to love the Ahl-i-bayt. He said that affection towards them would be of great help in dying with îmân. This faqîr (I) was with him as he was passing away. As his consciousness of this world grew weaker towards his last breath, I reminded him of his recurrent advice and asked him about the effect of that love. Amidst those difficult moments he had the zeal to say, "I am bathing in an ocean of affection for the Ahl-i-bayt." I immediately made hamd-u-thenâ (thanks and praise) to Allâhu ta'âlâ. Love of Ahl-i-bayt is a capital for the Ahl as-sunnat. This capital will be the source of all the earnings in the Hereafter. People who do not know the Ahl as-sunnat do not recognize the temperate, equable and true love cherished by these great people and, equating this modest and fair love with antipathy, they lend themselves to an overdose of love. They stigmatize the Ahl as-sunna as Khârijîs. These wretched people do not know that there is a reasonable and moderate type of love between excessive love and absence of love. And the right one is usually the medial and central one. This center of right and justice has devolved on the Ahl as-sunnat. May Allâhu ta'âlâ lavish rewards on those great people for their toil! Âmîn.

It is paradoxical that the people who exterminated the Khawârij and wreaked the Ahl-i-bayt's vengeance on them were in the group of Ahl as-sunnat. Do they think the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims are Shiites? Do they call those who love the Ahl-i-bayt 'Shiites'? It is odd of them to call the Ahl as-sunnat 'Shiites' when it suits their purposes, and 'Khawârij' when it does not. They are so ignorant that when they hear expressions articulating love of Âl-i-Muhammad 'alaihi wa 'alâ âlihi-s-salâtu wa-s-salâm' from the Awliyâ among the Ahl as-sunnat, they think that these people are Shiites. As a matter of fact, Ittilâ'ât-i-Hefteghî, a Persian periodical that was issued regularly in Teheran during the Second World War, concocted a number of ridiculous stories in its attempt to prove that most of the Sunnî scholars and Awliyâ, including Sa'dî Shirâzî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', who was a member of the Qâdirî order, were not among the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims. Naturally, it received the answer it deserved: mockery. In fact, as he himself (Sa'dî Shirâzî) stated in his writings, and as it is written in the book **Kâmûs-ul-a'lâm** , by Shams-ad-dîn Sâmi Bey, he had received a full spiritual degree from Shihâbuddîn Suhrawardî, who in turn had been a disciple educated and graduated with a full spiritual degree by Ghaws-i-a'zam Sayyid Abdulqâdîr Geylânî. In other words, he had acquired his spiritual degree in Tasawwuf from the great luminaries of Ahl as-sunnat. His lifetime, more than four score and ten years, contains a military career in the wars against the crusades.

These ignorant people call some blessed Sunnî scholars 'Khârijîs' on the grounds that they prohibit from an excessive and harmful affection for the Ahl-i-bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' and try to establish an all-embracing affection that includes also love of the other three Khalîfas.[] Shame on these two groups of ignorant people, and shame on them thousands of times! How do they dare make such unsuitable statements? We consign ourselves to Allâhu ta'âlâ's protection against such excessive and dangerous affection and against the calamity of disaffection.

Excessive and dangerous affection is to say, as they do, that affection for Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' necessitates hostility towards the other three Khalîfas. One must be reasonable and think well; what kind of affection could it be to stipulate hostility towardsRasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Khalîfas, who were his representatives? How could it ever necessitate cursing the Ashâb of the Best of Mankind? 'alaihi wa âlihi wa ashâbihi-s-salawâtu wa-t-tehiyyât'. They blame the Ahl as-sunnat for synthesizing love of Ahl-i-bayt with respect and deference to Rasûlullah's Ashâb, for not harbouring ill will towards any one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' or maligning them on account of the wars and tumults among them, and for knowing all of them as virtuous people whose hearts were free from vices such as jealousy and prejudice. Because the scholars of Ahl as-sunna 'rahima-humullâhu ta'âlâ' esteem our master the Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' company and his words highly, they have a very high opinion of the great and valuable people who attained the honour of attending his sohbat (company, togetherness) and hearing the effective words, which were a source of flavour and life for ears and hearts. Yet they distinguish between the right ones and the mistaken ones. They know, however, that the base motives such as worldly ambitions, sensuous desires and bigotry had no business in their mistakes, which were purely based on ijtihâd and re'y. The Ahl as-sunnat Muslims will have to feel animosity, so to speak, against those great religious guides of ours, the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' to win these aberrant people's approval. The Khârijîs, on the other hand, want you to be inimical towards the Ahl-i-bayt 'alaihim-ur-ridwân', who are Hadrat Muhammad's 'alaihi wa 'alâ âlihi-s-salâtu wa-s-salâm' household and closest relatives so that they will be pleased with you. Yâ Rabbî (O our Allah)! After You guide us to the right way, protect us from going wrong and deviating from the right way! We will perish if we are left to ourselves. Bless us with Your Mercy from Your endless Treasury of Compassion! You, alone, are the true, magnanimous Benefactor who gives all sorts of goodness to everybody without any return!

As we have explained, according to the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat, the Ashâb-i-kirâm parted into three groups (with respect to ijtihâd). One group had reached the conclusion after their ijtihâd, which was based on authentic documents, that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was right. The other group, whose ijtihâd also was based on other authentic documents, were of the opinion that the other party was right. The authentic documents whereon the third group's ijtihâd was based led them to the conclusion that no party had a clearcut ascendancy over the other (with respect to their ijtihâd). Each and every one of these three groups had to act upon their own ijtihâd. Accordingly, the first group had to support Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. By the same token, the second group had to help the other party, as their ijtihâd necessitated to do so. What was correct for the third group to do was not to interfere at all, for it would have been incompatible with their ijtihâd to give preference to one party over the other. Then, all three groups acted upon their own ijtihâd. They did what was necessary and wâjib for them to do. Which one of them can ever be criticized or castigated for that? Imâm-i-Shâfi'î and 'Umar bin 'Abd-ul-'azîz state, "Since Allâhu ta'âlâ has protected us from smearing our hands with their blood, we should protect our tongues from interfering with their business!" This statement shows that it would be wrong for us even to say that one party was right and the other party was wrong. For, a mujtahid will be given a blessing even when he is mistaken; that blessing is for his ijtihâd and painstaking investigation.

When the ijtihâds of two mujtahids disagree with each other, each mujtahid has to consider his own ijtihâd to be right and the other one's ijtihâd wrong. For instance, bleeding nullifies ablution in the Hanafî Madhhab; yet it does not, in the Shâfi'î Madhhab. Certainly, one of them is correct and the other one is incorrect. However, can there be more than one correct side in the same issue? This is a rather deep and complicated matter. Considering that only one of them is correct, the others should be wrong in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ; yet Allâhu ta'âlâ gives two to ten blessings to the correct side, and one blessing to the erroneous sides each, in addition to the kindness of forgiving them their error. There are also scholars who say that it is possible for there to be more than one (contradictory but at the same time) correct answers for the same matter. For instance,it was a canonical rule in the dispensation of Âdam 'alaihis-salâm' for girls to marry their brothers, which was, inversely, harâm (forbidden) in the dispensations of the prophets 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât' who came after him; both of these opposite tenets, however, were the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ. Since there cannot be mistakes in the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ, both of the commandments are correct. The former was a commandment dictated to Âdam 'alaihis-salâm' and his ummat, whereas the latter was an injunction granted to the other prophets and their ummats, and both of them were suitable for the ummats they concerned. What is correct for every mujtahid is his own re'y and ijtihâd. An ijtihâd is right and correct for the Muslims of the Madhhab which it belongs to. Then, there are more than one correct ways. Therefore, a person who follows one of the (four Islamically accepted) Madhhabs cannot claim that the Muslims of the other (three) Madhhabs are in the wrong way or that their ijtihâd, (which makes their Madhhab different from his own,) is a wrong way. As is seen, every mujtahid has to act upon his own ijtihâd. The ultimate divine causes and the ulterior benefits underlying this divine rule are elucidated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, which reads as follows: " **My Ummat's** (Muslims') **reaching different conclusions in their ijtihâd ensues from Allâhu ta'âlâ's extensive compassion** ," which points to a vast area of conveniences that Muslims can utilize without having to overstep the bounds of Islam. For instance, if a person in the Hanafî Madhhab has a bleeding that he cannot stop, it will be difficult for him to renew his ablution, which will be continually broken on account of the continual bleeding. He can overcome the difficulty by transferring himself to, or by only imitating, the Shâfi'î Madhhab, (which is based on the ijtihâd, in this respect, that bleeding will not break one's ablution). By the same token, if a person in the Hanafî Madhhab has his teeth filled or crowned without any darûrat to do so, his ghusl[] will not be accepted in his Madhhab. This person will absolve himself from the state of canonical uncleanliness (janâbat) by adapting himself, (in matters pertaining to ghusl, ablution and other acts of worship whose acceptability is dependent on ghusl and ablution,) to the Shâfi'î Madhhab, (whose ijtihâd says that washing inside the mouth is not one of the precepts of ghusl). On the other hand, the difficulties encountered in the Shâfi'î Madhhab in matters such as nikâh,[] talâq, and zakât[] are surmounted by adapting yourself to the Hanafî Madhhab.

Likewise, the dilemmas faced in matters pertaining to water[] by people in the Hanafî and Shâfi'î Madhhabs are resolved by adopting the conveniences offered in the Mâlikî Madhhab. There are many other examples for the conveniences (to be utilized owing to the existence of [four, as of today,] different Madhhabs). For instance, during a journey, people in the Hanafî Madhhab may adapt themselves to the Shâfi'î Madhhab and perform early and late afternoon prayers, and evening and night prayers, at the same time, respectively. For, when a person in the Hanafî Madhhab performs namâz on a moving ship or train, his namâz becomes nullified if he loses his standing position in the direction of Ka'ba because of the change of directions on the course followed by the ship or train. The teachings offered by the Islamic scholars about the utilization of the other (three) Madhhabs are written at length in the Turkish book **Se'âdet-i-ebediyye** , (a part of which has been translated into English and published in fascicles under the title **Endless Bliss** ).

It is the greatest blessing of Allâhu ta'âlâ for a person to love the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân', to be attached to them, and to yearn for a life-style imitative of theirs, for they are the most valuable and select group strained out of the entire mankind. Since it is stated, " **A person will be with the people he loves** ," in a hadîth-i-sherîf, those who love them will be with them, and very close to the positions they occupy in Paradise.

The scholars of Ahl as-sunna 'rahima-humullâhu ta'âlâ' have realized by means of the documentary evidences they had obtained that Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was right and that the other party were mistaken in their ijtihâd. In fact, since it was a mistake made in ijtihâd, no one has the right even to make a comment. Then, how can anyone ever say that they were guilty and accursed people? They performed ijtihâd, which was a religious commandment. They exerted themselves and did their best. The conclusion they reached was the truth in their eyes. Their disagreeing with each other was like the disagreements (with respect to some religious practices) among the leaders of the (four) Madhhabs. As we have stated earlier in the text, Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' said, "Our brothers do not agree with us. They are not disbelievers. Nor are they sinful at all. For they have ijtihâds and findings that protect them against disbelief and sinfulness." Some people traduce those who fought against Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Scholars, on the other hand, state that Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was right, although they do not fault-findingly comment on the ijtihâd of the other party. They do not censure, or even criticize any one of them. Our master, the Khayr-ul-besher (the Best of Mankind) 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', stated, " **Fear Allâhu ta'âlâ if you should say anything about my Ashâb!** " He repeated this statement several times in order to stress its importance. At another occasion he stated, " **Each of my Ashâb is like a star in the sky. If you follow any one of them, you will attain salvation**." There is a great number of hadîth-i-sherîfs emphasizing the value, the greatness and the highness of each Sahâbî. Then, we should hold all of them as valuable and exalted people, and we should know that all their actions, including those which appear to be mistakes, were the fruits of beautiful intentions. This is the Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat.

Some people have overstepped the bounds of moderacy in this matter. They say that those who fought against Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' were disbelievers. They do not feel shame at hurling the bitterest invectives at the greatest religious leaders. If their purpose were to state that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had been right and the other party had been mistaken, following the way led by the Ahl as-sunnat would suffice for that purpose. They would not have to curse or castigate those great paragons of the religion, which is quite incompatible with Islam. Indeed, the course these people have been pursuing in the name of religion appears to consist in cursing the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the blessed Companions of our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', which is sheer irreligiousness. What kind of a religion can something be if its basic act of worship is to swear at ourProphet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Khalîfas? Throughout long centuries, several people in the world have fabricated various falsities and swerved from the right way by adhering to heresies. Of all those heretics, no group have equalled Shiites and Khârijîs in their race to get away from Islam. What share from the right way could be considered due to people whose credo is based on a systematic vituperation of Islam's spiritual élite? This group consists of twelve sub-groups; all of them hold the belief and say that the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' were disbelievers. They mention them with the most offensive and slanderous language. They deem it as an act of worship to curse three of the four Khalîfas. When they learn the hadîth-i-sherîfs admonishing about the torment that be inflicted on such people in Hell, they think that others are meant by such people. Would they know the consequence of the course they have been following and ceased from their attitude; how beautiful it would be if they desisted from their animus towards our master the Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Ashâb-i-kirâm! Likewise, Christians call themselves 'Îsawîs' (followers of Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm'), while Jews are Mûsawîs (followers of Mûsâ 'alaihis-salâm') in their own view. Neither group calls itself 'disbelievers'. Both groups are wrong; they are all disbelievers.

Enmity against the Ashâb-i-kirâm was invented by a Jewish convert named Abdullah bin Saba'. Although it was forgotten in the course of time, Shâh Ismâ'îl Safawî rekindled it and spread it over the world, thus inflicting a gaping wound on the Islamic religion and causing an abyss in the Islamic world. The ancestry of this man, who founded the State of Safawiyya in Iran in 907 [1501 A.D.], can be traced back to Safiy-ad-dîn Ardabilî, his sixth grandfather, a pious Muslim in the (chain of Islamic scholars called) Sôfiyya-i-aliyya, and who had received a full spiritual degree from Muhammad Geylânî. Safiy-ad-dîn's great grandson, Junayd, was deported from Ardabil by the ruler of the Akkoyunlu State, Mirzâ Jihân Shâh, who had been alarmed by the huge number of his disciples and followers. He came to Diyâr-i-Bakr, in southeastern Turkey, and received asylum from Hasan (the Tall), the ruler of the Karakoyunlu State. Later he married Hasan the Tall's sister. Also, his son, Khaydar, married Hasan the Tall's daughter. Shâh Ismâ'îl's father and later his brother were killed. Afterwards he took revenge for his father, established a government in Tabriz, Iran, and proclaimed overt enmity towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm. In order to mislead Muslims easily, he claimed to be a descendant of Imâm Mûsâ Kâzim 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', one of the Twelve Imâms All the Muslims living in Iran up until his time had been Sunnî Muslims. He was a notorious sadist whose cruelties include the spitting and roasting alive of Shirwanshah, whose sole offense was to have been the third ruler of the State of **Dirbandîya** , to the west of Caspian Sea, because the earlier rulers of that state had exterminated the fitna and fasâd (mischief and instigation) provoked by his father, and his putting all the Sunnî Muslims to the sword when he invaded Tabriz.

Before Shâh Ismâ'îl's heretical movement, which is the only dirty passage blemishing Islam's history, not a single word critical of the Ashâb-i-kirâm had been heard from any scholar or teacher or disciple at any lecture or conference in any school or madrasa in any of the Islamic countries. Scholars of the Hanafî Madhhab had not given their approval even for cursing Yazîd. Only, a few people who had been misguided had taken an overrating attitude towards the Ahl-i-bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. Yet they had not said anything incompatible with Islam or Islamic manners about the Sahâba-i-kirâm. In underrating the value of the Ahl-i-bayt, Abbasids were ahead of Umayyads.

Shâh Ismâ'îl, whose reign coincides with that of Yavuz Sultân Selîm Khân 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', exploited the religion as a means for his political purposes and did his best to mislead Muslims out of the way of Ahl as-sunnat in order to achieve his goals. Sending his men out far and near, he smeared Muslim countries with his heresies. Because the Bektâshî order was in the hands of the ignorant in those days, the heresy easily caught on in the Bektâshî convents. So the convents were closed for the purpose of protecting the country from the nuisance. The remnants of the convents scattered around, found asylum in other convents here and there, and carried on their activities, this time in a clandestine way and in a sporadic frequency. They began to imbue the naive and gullible Anatolian Muslims coming to the convents with the noxious idea that love of the Ahl-i-bayt necessitates enmity towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm. The convent leadership, (wherein the leaders are called shaikhs,) mutated into a legacy that passed from the father on to the son, which in turn meant its mostly being occupied by incompetent, heedless and unlearned people, who were totally unaware of the Sunnî creed and therefore fell easy prey to the dissemination of the corrupt credo. They related false stories reflecting their heretical views and base worldly ambitions and interests in the name of historical accounts of the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. They distorted the facts and events. They concocted abominable tales. They misinterpreted âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. In the course of time the ugly credo tunneled its way into all the dervish convents, so that there was almost no dervish convent left unstained with the smudges of the Shiite heresy.

During the entire Umayyad period, except for the times of a few of the Khalîfas such as Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', his grandson Mu'âwiya II, and 'Umar bin Abd-ul-'azîz, the detestable practice of vilifying the Ahl-i-bayt and fabricating lies that were not worthy of their high grades was rife among the Muslims. The Abbasid dynasty, on the other hand, had no members knowledgeable enough to perform ijtihâd, and the candidates for caliphate tried to seize the office only for worldly purposes; this state of affairs offered a misleading example for the time's historians, so they wrote about the events among the Ashâb-i-kirâm by likening them to those among the Abbasid Khalîfas. Also, they calumniated, blemished and misrepresented the Umayyad Khalîfas.

Perhaps these people identify the Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' with themselves. They think that those exalted people also were inimical towards Hadrat Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. They imagine their own hypocritical, double-faced persons in their visualization of those great people. They surmise that the widely known friendship between Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and the other three Khalîfas must have been a mere façade to mask some inner political considerations and that his apparent affection and homage towards them must have been insincere and hypocritical. So ambivalent an attitude. If these people loved the Ahl-i-bayt really because they lovedRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', they would inevitably feel animosity towards his enemies. In fact, their vituperation of his enemies would necessarily be more acrid than all this scurrility they have been waging against the postulated enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt. No one has heard any one of these people curse or swear at Abû Jahl, who was Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' arch enemy and who continuously hurt and tormented his blessed body and delicate soul. On the other hand, they do not hesitate to curse and cast the dirtiest aspersions on Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was the most beloved companion of the messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and whose great and exalted person attained many a praise in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs; and this they do only because they suppose he was an enemy of the Ahl-i-bayt. What kind of a religion is it that they have been practising in the name of Islam? May Allah protect us against a belief based on the supposition that Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were hostile to the Ahl-i-bayt. If these unconscionable people only did not begrime the names of the greatest ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' in the maledictions they have been pronouncing against the enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt, there would be no difference between them and the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims, who, too, feel animosity towards the enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt and say that they are evil and base people. Another thing that makes the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims good people is that they have not given their sanction to those who will curse in name a certain disbeliever or villain, with the hope that the person concerned may have become a Muslim or made tawba, although they approve of a condemnation directed towards disbelievers en masse. The few disbelievers they curse in name are the ones who are certainly known to have died as unbelievers, -may Allah protect us against such a destiny! These people, on the other hand, do not feel shame to curse Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhuma'. They speak ill of the greater ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. May Allâhu ta'âlâ guide them to the right way!

They differ from the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims in the following two important points:

1– The first difference is that the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims say that all four Khalîfas were rightly-guided and their caliphates were rightful. For, our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **After me, there will be a thirty-year period of caliphate**." This is one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs foretelling about future events. The thirty-year period was over by the end of the caliphate of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. This hadîth-i-sherîf refers to the (first) four Khalîfas whose caliphates were in correct order. These people, by contrast, do not believe in the righteousness of the caliphates of the (first) three Khalîfas. They say, "The first three caliphates were obtained by force. No one but Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had the right to become Khalîfa. Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' homage and obedience to the other three Khalîfas were a requirement of (the dissimulative policy called) **taqiyya** , which means that he had to do so, though unwillingly." These words of theirs show that they think that the Ashâb of the Best of Mankind behaved mendaciously and hypocritically towards one another. According to these people, "Those who loved Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and the ones who were against him pretended to have sympathy for one another for years, they hid the antipathy in their hearts, and they dissembled their enmity by acting friendly." According to them, all the Ashâb-i-kirâm, who were educated and matured in the blessed sohbat of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', were "deceitful, mendacious and double-faced people. They hid what really was in their hearts and dissembled affection, which their hearts did not feel at all." Accordingly, they must have been "the worst of this Ummat (Muslims)," and Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' sohbat must have been "the worst of all the sohbats and lessons," since the wickednesses imputed to them would have been communicated by him. According to these people, the era of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' must have been "the worst era," since it is allegedly an era wherein "animus, vengeance and hypocrisy prevailed." However, Allâhu ta'âlâ declares, as is purported in the Fat-h sûra of the Qur'ân al-kerîm: " **They are always compassionate towards one another**." May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us against such heretical beliefs!

If the predecessors of this Ummat had all the so-called wickednesses, could their successors have anything in the name of goodness? Have these people not seen or heard of the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs telling about the superiority attained by attending the sohbat of our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and about the goodness and value of this Ummat? Or do they not believe them although they have heard of them? It is those great people who taught us the Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs. If the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' were wicked people, wouldn't something learned from them be wicked, too? Is their real purpose under the cloak to undermine the religious faith and thereby to destroy Islam? Pretending to love the Ahl-i-bayt, they are trying to annihilate Islam. If they only spared some value at least for the ones who had loved Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and exempted them from the shame of hypocrisy that they impute to them all! If the Ashâb-i-kirâm, some of whom, they allege, loved

Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and the others did not, had pretended to get along together and hidden the alleged vices of mendacity, grudge and hypocrisy, how could they ever have had any goodness at all? How could their words ever be believable? They speak ill of Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and swear at him. They are unaware of the fact that to censure him means to censure half of Islam's teachings. As is stated by our superiors who have attained the grade of ijtihâd in religious scholarship, there are three thousand hadîth-i-sherîfs communicating Islam's teachings. In other words, three thousand Islamic rules, (termed ahkâm-i-shar'iyya,) have been conveyed by way of sunnat. Fifteen hundred of these three thousand hadîth-i-sherîfs have been reported on the authority of Abû Hurayra. Then, to vilify him means to vilify half of the ahkâm-i-shar'iyya. Imâm-i-Muhammad bin Ismâ'îl Bukhârî states that more than eight hundred people reported hadîth-i-sherîfs that they had heard from Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Each and every one of those eight hundred people was either a Sahabî or a Tâbi'. Four of them are Abdullah bin Abbâs; Abdullah bin 'Umar; Jâbir bin Abdullah; and Enes bin Mâlik 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în'. The statement censuring Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', which these aberrant people report, is not a hadîth-i-sherîf. It is a mere concoction. On the contrary, the hadîth-i-sherîf praising him for his deep learning and his broad comprehensive capacity is (among those most authentic groups of hadîth-i-sherîf termed) mashhûr[]. First, imagine such a great person guilty of hostility towards Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', and then, hurl a torrent of invectives against him as a form of punishment; what a rank injustice! This aberration is consequent upon an overdose of sympathy. It may cost them their îmân. Their allegation also bears the construction that Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' "pursued the two-faced policy of tacit consent." How will they explain away the praises he lavished on the Shaikhayn, i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'? What will they do in the face of his statements, which he made in the presence of several people during his caliphate and which emphasized the previous three Khalîfas', (i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr's, Hadrat 'Umar's and Hadrat 'Uthmân's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în',) eligibility for the office? In fact, if they answer that he deliberately did not say that caliphate had been his right or that the previous three Khalîfas had occupied the office unjustly, then what compelled him to emphasize their eligibility for the office and to acknowledge their superiority to him? Furthermore, how will they construe thehadîth-i-sherîfs telling about the superiority of the first three Khalîfas, and what other construction will they suggest about the hadîth-i-sherîfs giving the good news of Paradise to other Sahâbîs? As a matter of fact, they cannot permissibly say that our master theProphet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was also two-faced. Prophets have to state the facts. And even furthermore, what will they say about the âyat-i-kerîmas praising those great people? Will they blame Allâhu ta'âlâ, too?

Allâhu ta'âlâ declares in the Qur'ân al-kerîm, as is purported in the sûras Tawba, Mâida, Mujâdala, and Bayyina, " **We are pleased with all their doings. And each and every one of them is pleased with Allâhu ta'âlâ**." That means to say that they both loved and were loved.

It is purported in the sûras A'raf and Hijr, " **We, 'azîm-ush-shân, have removed ghil and ghish from their hearts**." It means, "We have exterminated such vices as grudge, treachery and animus towards one another in their hearts." That means to say that no Sahâbî could possibly have harboured any jealousy or any grudge against any other Sahâbî. These vices had already been uprooted and thrown away from their hearts. All of them had attained (the grade called) Haqq-ul-yaqîn. The wars and struggles among them were based on ijtihâd. Since every one of them had to act upon his own ijtihâd, none of them can be blamed.

Jenâb-i-Haqq (Allâhu ta'âlâ) declares to His Rasûl-i-ekrem (the Prophet) 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', as is purported in the Anfâl sûra, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ and those Believers who adapt themselves to you will suffice for you**." At that time the number of the Ashâb-i-kirâm was quite small. A careful reflexion on the meaning of the âyat-i-kerîma will reveal the greatness and highness of the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. Accordingly, each and every one of them would have been of adequate help in the Sarwar-i-'âlam's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' task of propagating the Islamic religion over the world. Allâhu ta'âlâ places their name beside His Own Name, and declares, "I am sufficient for you, and these people will serve as the manifestation of My sufficiency. In appearance, they will be sufficient for you, and you will need no one else."

Jenâb-i-Haqq declares, as is purported in the sûra of Fat-h, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ is pleased with those Believers who have paid homage to you** , [that is, who have promised that they will do all your commandments unconditionally,] **under the tree**." Those people were the Sahâba-i-kirâm. And He adds, " **And He gives them Sekîna** , [i.e. serenity and firmness to their hearts,] **and He knows their love, sidq** (faithfullness) **and ikhlâs** (true attachment) **to you, and He blesses them with the good news that He will reward them with a fat-h** (conquest) **and a victory which is very close**." Thisâyat-i-kerîma points to the promise made under a tree called Sidra, or Sumra, at the peace agreement of Hudaybiya. As is seen, it is stated (in the Qur'ân al-kerîm) that each and every one of the Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' had attained ridâ-i-ilâhî (love and approval of Allâhu ta'âlâ), that their hearts were pure and true and blessed with Sekina, and that they would be rewarded with Fat-h-i-qarîb (conquest which is very close); all these blessings clearly testify about the greatness of their grade and honour.

Another âyat-i-kerîma of Fat-h sûra purports, " **Those who have made homage to you** , i.e. those who have promised with solemn resolution that they will keep you company in your Holy Wars and Jihâd and in your endeavours to propagate the Islamic religion, to admonish My slaves and to guide them to the right way; **they have made mubâye'a** (a covenent) **with Allah jalla shânuhû**."

Another âyat-i-kerîma purports, " **They love Allâhu ta'âlâ. And Allâhu ta'âlâ loves them, too**." As is seen, all the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' had attained a grade where one loves Allâhu ta'âlâ and is loved by Him.

It is purported in Tawba sûra, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ is pleased with the inhabitants of Mekka-i-mukarrama, who have been called Muhâjirîn, with the inhabitants of Medîna-i-munawwara, who have been called Ansâr, and with those who follow them in goodness. And they, too, are pleased with Allâhu ta'âlâ**." Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was one of the great ones and notables of the Sahâba who lived in Mekka-i-mukarrama.

The sublime meaning of the seventy-second âyat of Anfâl sûra is: " **All these people have furnished a dwelling for the Prophet 'alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm' among themselves and helped and supported him in his spreading the Islamic religion**." As Imâm Mâlik 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated, during the conquest of Damascus, the Damascene Christians acknowledged, "The Ashâb (Companions) of your Prophet are better than our Apostles. For, their names are mentioned and they are praised in the Torah and in the Gospels."

Imâm Mâlik 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' took the above âyat-i-kerîma of the sûra-i-Fat-h as a basis for his conclusion that those who disliked the Ashâb-i-kirâm would become disbelievers. Imâm Shâfi'î 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' also reached the same conclusion.

As these âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs show, Allâhu ta'âlâ and His Messenger 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' recognized all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as 'âdil (just, pious, righteous) people. When a group of people are good in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ and in the eyes of His Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', what could be the importance of others' not recognizing them as good people, and how could it ever harm the fact that they are good people? Supposing that the Sahâba-i-kirâm were not praised in âyat-i-kerîmas andhadîth-i-sherîfs, certain facts about them, e.g. that they supported Islam and helped our master the Prophet 'alaihis-salâtu wassalâm' at the sacrifice of their property, lives, parents and children and the firmness of their îmân, would suffice to show clearly that they all were 'âdil Muslims, and we would still have to know them as such. This is the Madhhab held by the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat.

So many are the hadîth-i-sherîfs stating the great virtues, the high grades, the honours and the ranks of the Sahâba-i-kirâm that it is impossible to cite them one by one. The hadîth-i-sherîfs stated about all of them would make up huge volumes of books. Let us state some of them:

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated:

" **All my Ashâb are luminous like stars, both as a community and individually. If you adapt yourself to any one of them and follow the way he guides, you will attain** **love of Allâhu ta'âlâ, which is the true salvation, perfection and felicity for the human race**." It is for this reason that our religious leaders, the Islamic superiors, adopted the statements, the behaviours and the actions of each of the Sahâba-i-kirâm as documents and exemplary models. What our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' means in this hadîth-i-sherîf is this: "If you recognize any one of my Ashâb as the imâm (leader) of your Madhhab, adapt yourself to his guidance, act upon his ra'y and ijtihâd, and follow the way he guides, then you will be following the right way." Hence, they were all mujtahids. Each and every one of them had attained the knowledge, the high grade, the perfection and luminosity of heart that would enable them to extract from âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs those religious teachings that had not been explained with overt clarity in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. It is for this reason that, whenever the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was to send his Sahâbîs abroad on the mission of teaching Islam to other people, -in fact, many Sahâbîs were sent overseas for the same purpose-, he would usually give them the following advice: "You will most probably encounter new events and situations for which you will not find overtly explained solutions in the Qur'ân al-kerîm or in the hadîth-i-sherîfs. First, minutely study the âyat-i-kerîmas (that you want to utilize to extract solutions for the questions and problems you encounter), taking into consideration all their aspects such as their delâlat (denotations, significations, connotations), ishârat (indications, signs), rumûz (symbols, ciphers), ifâda (phraseology, expression), the affirmative and contradictory meanings they convey, and the obligations that their commandments include, and then act upon the rules you will extract, telling other people to follow your example!" This is the duty of mujtahids. He likened each of the Sahâba-i-kirâm to a star, for people who have lost their ways out in the open seas, in mountains, on hills and in dales, in wildernesses and deserts, and people who need to know the direction of qibla or other directions find their way owing to stars and their light. After the time of happiness, (i.e. the time of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam',) the **Khulafâ-ir-râshidîn** (the earliest four Khalîfas, namely, Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în') and all the other Sahâbîs knew one another as mujtahids. None of them said that the others' ijtihâds were wrong. Likewise, most of the Tâbi'în-i-kirâm attained the grade of ijtihâd owing to the education and training they received in the sohbats and lessons of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. By the same token, their sohbats and lessons raised some of their successors, the Taba'i tâbi'în, to the grade of ijtihad. Imâm-i-a'zam Abû Hanîfa, Imâm Mâlik, Imâm Shâfi'î, Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imâm Awzâî, Sufyân-i-Sawrî, Sufyân bin Uyayna, and Dâwûd-i-Tâi were only a few of them. Their number became lower and lower in the course of time, so that by the end of the third (Islamic) century scholars knowledgeable enough to fulfil the requirements for performing ijtihâd could no longer be raised. Meanwhile, the Madhhabs of most of the earlier mujtahids were forgotten, and only four of them survived; they are today's four valid Madhhabs; the names of their leaders (imâms) were Imâm-i-a'zam, Imâm Shâfi'î, Imâm Mâlik, and Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. After them, no one has attained the rank and grade (of ijtihâd). Therefore, today's Muslims have only four choices of Madhhabs; they have to adopt only one of them.

May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless people who do not believe in the Madhhabs with discernment sound enough to see the facts in the face of the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs of which we have paraphrased only a few! Everybody knows that hypocrisy is a sign of villainy. Can a Sahâbî ever be said to have been a hypocrite, especially if he was (Hadrat Alî, whose nickname was) Lion of Allah, who was among the greatest ones? It would not be something anomalous for them to say that he kept the truth secret for a couple of days for some social or other reasons. Yet it would be a vicious and ignoble slander against the Lion of Allah to impute to him a thirty-year-long quiescence that could have been indicative of treacherous motives and to say that he lived in hypocrisy for such a long time. It is said (by scholars) that venial sins develop into grave sins when they are committed continuously. One should imagine the gravity of committing continuously for thirty years a sin that is symptomatic of wicked and hypocritical motives. If they had been aware of the monstrosity of their allegation and admitted the superiority of the Shaikhayn (Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar), they would have been saved from that awkward situation of having so perfidiously debased the blessed name of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. This would have been the milder one of the two vexatious choices in their view. Another point we would like to stress is that acknowledging the superiority of the Shaikhayn would by no means connote an intention to disparage Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' or to deny his caliphate. Nor would it in the least mar his high grade in Wilâyat or his ranks of hidâyat and irshâd. In contrast, their allegation that he followed a two-faced policy strips him of all these virtues and honours. For, two-faced behaviour goes only with hypocrites, with liars and swindlers, who are the basest people.

It had been foretold in hadîth-i-sherîfs that the Shaikhayn (Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar) would take the office of caliphate, and even that their graves would be beside that of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Those who are interested in thehadîth-i-sherîfs uttered in praise of Abû Bakr as-Siddîq and 'Umar-abnil-Khattâb and 'Uthmân-abnil-Affân and Alî-y-ibni-Abî Tâlib 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'; I recommend that they read the Turkish book **Manâqib-i-chihâr Yâr-i-ghuzîn** , which was printed in Istanbul in the hijrî years twelve sixty-four (1264) and thirteen twenty-five (1325).
The Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states about Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' as follows: " **With the exception of prophets** 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-s-salâm', **the sun has not risen or set over a person superior to Abû Bakr**. He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **I have poured into Abû Bakr's** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' **chest all the knowledge that Allâhu ta'âlâ poured into my chest**."

The Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states as follows in one of thehadîth-i-sherîfs in praise of 'Umar-abnil-Khattâb 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': " **If another prophetwere to come after me 'Umar** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' **would be** (that) **prophet**." Our Prophet'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' asked Jebrâîl (the Archangel Gabriel) about the grade of Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. "(The Angel) **Jebrâîl as I am, were I to state all the virtues and perfections that 'Umar is endued with, beginning to recount them one by one by the time when the universe was created, I would not have completed my account of them at the time of Doomsday** ," was the Angel's answer. However, all the superiorities of Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' would add up to only one of the superiorities that Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was graced with.

It is stated as follows in one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs praising Imâm 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': " **Every prophet has a companion in Paradise. 'Uthmân will be my companion there**." It is stated as follows in one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered to describe the high grade of Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': " **Alî's** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' **closeness to me is identical with the closeness of the prophet Hârûn** (Aaron) **to Mûsâ** (Moses) **'alaihis-salâm'**." Hârûn 'alaihis-salâm' was Mûsâ's 'alaihis-salâm' brother, vizier, and assistant. That the people who deny the Madhhabs have misinterpreted and distorted these hadîth-i-sherîfs is explained in the book **Documents of the Right Word** , which also provides the answers they deserve. Imâm Ahmad ibn Hanbal states that no other Sahâbî has the number of hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered about him equal to that of the hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered about Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'.

2– The second difference is that the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims state that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were intended not for worldly gains but for the establishment of truth. They know that all the Ashâb-i-kirâm were far from vices such as grudge and animus. For, all the Ashâb-i-kirâm had attained perfect purity owing to the sohbat and guidance of the Best of Mankind, and vices such as grudge and animus had been extirpated from their hearts. Each and every one of them had attained the grade of ijtihâd. Since every mujtahid had to act upon his own ijtihâd and finding, they would necessarily disagree on points whereon their ijtihâds turned out differently, and it would be correct for every one of them to follow his own ijtihâd. Then, their disagreements as well as their agreements were correct. Their disagreements did not stem from their sensuous desires and ambitions or from their nafs-i-ammâra. They were the natural fruits of differing ijtihâds.

**Ijtihâd** means to bring a covert (Islamic) commandment to light by comparing the unclearly stated commandments to those which are stated clearly. This work is commanded in the âyat-i-kerîmas reading as, " **Fa'tabirû...** " and " **Was'alû ahl-az-zikri...**." These âyat-i-kerîmas purport to "Apply all your physical, mental and spiritual energy to derive Islamic rules by comparing matters that do not exist in the Qur'ân al-kerîm or in thehadîth-i-sherîfs to those which these sources contain."

It is stated as follows in the book **Mîzân** : There are quite a number of âyat-i-kerîmas commanding the work of ijtihâd. The blessed meaning of the forty-fourth âyat-i-kerîma of the Nahl sûra is, " **So that you should explain what We have revealed to thee...**." And the blessed meaning of the fifty-ninth âyat-i-kerîma of Nisâ sûra is, " **Consult to the Book of Allah and to the hadîths of the Messenger!** " Thisâyat-i-kerîma commands to perform ijtihâd.

Of the disciples of Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa, the most eminent ones of those who had attained the grade of ijtihâd were Imâm Abû Yûsuf, Imâm Muhammad, Imâm Zufar, and Ibn Nujaym 'rahima humullâhu ta'âlâ'. They disagreed with Imâm a'zam only in a few matters. They acted upon their own ijtihâds in those matters. For it was farz (fard) for them to act upon their own ijtihâds in those matters, and they were not permitted to follow Imâm a'zam's re'y and ijtihâd.

By the same token, each and every one of the Sahâba-i-kirâm was a mujtahid in every sense of the word, and therefore it was farz for them to act upon their own re'y and ijtihâd in matters that were not clearly stated in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. So they did not adapt themselves to the re'y and ijtihâd of those Sahâbîs who, they knew, were superior to them. For this reason, throughout the lifetime of the Sarwar-i-'âlâm 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and also during the caliphates of the Khulafâ-ir-râshidîn (the four earliest Khalîfas, namely Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în'), those blessed Sahâbîs who were sent out to distant countries on the mission of teaching Islam would be told to make qiyâs (analogy, comparison) in matters without clear explanations in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. For instance, when the Most Honourable of the entire creation assigned Mu'âz bin Jabal 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as the governor of Yemen, he questioned him, " **What will be the basis of your decisions and orders there?** " "I shall act upon the Book of Allâhu ta'âlâ," was the latter's answer. Then the blessed Prophet proceeded, " **What will you do when** (you encounter matters whose solutions) **you cannot find in the Qur'ân al-kerîm?** " This time, Mu'âz bin Jabal was ready with the answer, "I shall adopt the hadîth-i-sherîfs of the Prophet of Allâhu ta'âlâ 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' as the guiding principles and laws whereon to base my decisions, and act upon his statements, manners and behaviours." The Best of Mankind pressed on, " **What will you do if you cannot find a clear answer among Rasûlullah's utterances, either?** " The reply was, "I shall act upon my own ijtihâd without going beyond the area drawn by âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs." When the Rasûl-i-ekrem 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' heard these answers, he paid hamd and thanks to Allâhu ta'âlâ for the knowledgeability and greatness Mu'âz bin Jabal 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was endued with. This event is written in books on the branch termed Usûl-i-fiqh, in Menâr and in its annotation Ibn Melek 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ'.

A group of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' fought against Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum' because their ijtihâd differed from his ijtihâd. Shiites call those people 'disbelievers'. They curse them with all sorts of abominable invectives because those people fought. Yet the fact is that the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' had had ijtihâds different from that of our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' in several matters whose solutions required ijtihâd. They had not been blamed for those different ijtihâds of theirs. Nor had they been told to recant their ijtihâds by the angel who had brought down the Wahy afterwards.

Then, can those who disagreed with Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' in ijtihâd ever be called 'disbelievers'? Can the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' ever be blamed for this? Quite a number of Muslims disagreed with him in ijtihâd. And they were mostly the greater ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm; in fact, some of them had been blessed with the good news that they would go to Paradise. It is not something easy to call them 'disbelievers' or even to criticize them. It was these great people who conveyed to us half of the Islamic religion. Wouldn't aspersions cast on them be destructive of half of the religion? How can these great people ever be spoken ill of despite the fact that no Islamic scholar has refused a single hadîth-i-sherîf quoted by any one of them? All the hadîth-i-sherîfs they communicated have been accepted by all the learned Muslims regardless of their rank positions and branches in the Islamic sciences. The second most authentic Islamic book after the Qur'ân al-kerîm is (the book entitled) **Bukhârî-i-sherîf**. Shiites believe so, too. This faqîr, [i.e. Imâm-i-Rabbânî himself,] heard Ahmad Tabtî, an eminent Shiite scholar, acknowledge the fact that after the Kitâbullah (the Book of Allah, the Qur'ân al-kerîm) Bukhârî is the second most authentic book. That book contains hadîth-i-sherîfs conveyed by those (of the Ashâb-i-kirâm) who did not follow Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as well as by those who followed him. The wars among them did not by any means damage their justice and rectitude. The book quotes hadîth-i-sherîfs on the authority of Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as well as those on the authority of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Had there been any obscurities or blameworthy aspects about Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' or his quotations, the blessed compiler (of the book Bukhârî-i-sherîf) would not have written in his book any hadîth-i-sherîfs on the authority of him. The early Islamic scholars and the experts of hadîth always did so, i.e. they fully trusted in the authenticity of all the hadîth-i-sherîfs conveyed by all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' and, holding the disagreements that had taken place among them above themselves, they indiscriminately wrote in their books all the hadîth-i-sherîfconveyed by all of them. Having disagreed with Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' (on the part of the Sahâba) was not a sin or a fault in their view. It must be known well that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was not necessarily right in all the (other) matters whereon he disagreed with the others. Nor were those who disagreed with him always wrong. It is true that he was right in (the disagreements that were fomented into) the so-called wars. Yet this does not mean that he must have been always right. In fact, it was by no means a rare event that the greater ones of the Tâbi'în and the religious leaders did not follow him and acted upon their own ijtihâds. If the right had always been on his side, no one would have disagreed with his ijtihâd. For instance, Qâdî Shurayh 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', one of the greater ones of the Tâbi'în and an upper-class mujtahid, did not base his judgement on his ijtihâd and refused Imâm Hasan's testimony. Other mujtahids also followed Qâdî Shurayh's example and did not accept sons as witnesses for their fathers. In many other occasions, ijtihâds disagreeing with that of the exalted Imâm (Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh') were preferred. Our conscientious readers are quite aware of these facts. Then, it is not something sinful to have disagreed with Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' ijtihâd. Nor is it permissible to censure those who did so.

Âisha-i-Siddîqa 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was the darling of Allâhu ta'âlâ's darling. She was so beloved to our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' that he would always have her with him. He passed away in her room, in her bed, and with his blessed head on her lap. He was buried in her musk-smelling room, and he has been there ever since. Aside from all these superiorities and values, she was a great scholar and a mujtahid. Our master the Prophet'alaihis-salâtu wassalâm' had left to her the task of teaching others half of the religion. Whenever the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' encountered a puzzling question, they would come to her, ask her and learn the answer from her. It is something incompatible with Islam to criticize and cast abominable aspersions on such an exalted and blessed person, who had attained the highest honours such as Siddîqa and Mujtahida, only because she did not agree with the Emîr [Alî] 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. A person who believes our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' will not utter such words. As Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was our Prophet's sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' son-in-law and paternal first cousin, likewise Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was his zawja-i-mutahhara (one of his pure wives), and a most beloved one, too.

Until a couple of years ago, whenever this faqîr [Imâm-i-Rabbânî means himself] gave food to miskîns (very poor Muslims), I had been making my niyyat (intention for a certain act of worship, e.g. charity) to (present the blessings earned by means of the charitable act to) the souls of the Ahl-i-abâ. In other words, I used to send the blessings to the souls of Alî, Fâtima, Hasan and Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' as well as to the soul of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. One night I had a dream. In the dream, I saw the Fakhr-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and made salâm to him. He would not take my salâm, and turned his face away from me, stating, " **I ate my meals in Âisha's house. Those who wanted to send me food would send it to Âisha's house**." I realized that the blessed Prophet's turning his face away from me was because I had not added Hadrat Âisha's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' name to the blessings that I had been pronouncing on the souls of the aforesaid blessed people after distributing food (to poor Muslims). From then on, I have added Hadrat Âisha, and even all the Zawjât-i-mutahhara (the blessed wives of the Prophet) into my niyyat. Ever since, I have been adding the names of all the Ahl-i-bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' into my prayers. For, those people, too, (i.e. the Zawjât-i-mutahhara,) were among the Ahl-i-bayt. Then, distress caused to Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' through (something done against) Hadrat Âisha-i-Siddîqa would be deeper than that caused through Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. Any person with common sense and reason will know this fact well. Indeed, these words of ours are intended for those who love and respect Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' because they love and respect our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. If a person loves him directly, without the sake of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' in between, then we have no words to say to him; he will not take advice. His purpose is to demolish Islam and to defile Islam's tenets.

These people want to eliminate Muhammad 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', to establish a new religion without him, to love and attach themselves directly to Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. As a matter of fact, the annals of humanity teem with depictions of tyrants and dictators with a number of idiotic lackeys and hangers-on around them toadying and trying to ingratiate themselves with the hope of worldly advantages. All those flatterers, and the people they lackeyed to and made partners to our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and even to the Creator, Allâhu ta'âlâ, in greatness, tumbled down, their bodies rotting, putrefying, and degenerating into noisome sights. Their dirty souls went straight to Hell, the place of torment and retribution for the unrestrained life they had led in the world and for the insults they had flung at Islam. They saw that they had been wrong.

It is an act of disbelief, aberration and heresy to turn away from Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' and to hold someone else above him and more beloved than him. Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' hates people who do so. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', including Hadrat 'Uthmân and Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum', are loved for the sake and love of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. For, it is stated (in a hadîth-i-sherîf), " **He who loves them, does so because he loves me. And their enemy, is so because he is my enemy**."

Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were two of the greatest Sahâbîs and were also among the (people who were blessed with the good news that their destination was Paradise and who have been called) Ashara-i-mubashshara. How can one ever censure them despite the fact that they were given the good news that they would go to Paradise? To curse them means to curse yourself. As 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was about to pass away, he nominated six people he thought eligible for caliphate and recommended that one of them be chosen for the office. He himself could not make a choice among those six people. Two of those six great people were Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. Both of them relinquished their right of candidature in favour of the other four. Talha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was the kind of person who sacrificed and slew his own father on account of his impudent behaviour towards the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Allâhu ta'âlâ praises him for that behaviour in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. As for Zubayr (radiy-Allâhu 'anh'; theProphet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' reports that his murderer is in Hell. Those who censure and curse him are no less wicked than his murderer. Both of them are among the greatest Islamic luminaries and are very much beloved of all Muslims.

How could one ever find justification for belittling the Ashâb-i-kirâm in the face of the fact that they worked night and day and beyond the limits of human energy in their championship of the cause of Islam and in their enthusiasm to support the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'? They sacrificed their property in the way of Allâhu ta'âlâ. They left their relatives, families, children, homes, houses, streams, fields and trees for the love of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. They gave priority to his blessed body over their own, and to love of him over their affection for their property and progeny. They are the people who attained the honour of having kept company with the Best of Mankind, whose sohbat, i.e. company, togetherness, embellished them with such blessings and high grades as have never fallen to others' lot. They eye-witnessed miracles and wonders. They observed blessings and pieces of knowledge which others have never had the chance to know of. They were endued with such purity of heart and spiritual maturity as no one after them has ever been given. Mountains of gold others paid in the name of charity would not deserve even half the next-worldly blessings and rewards that those most fortunate people earned by giving a handful of barley as alms. Allâhu ta'âlâpraises them as follows in the Qur'ân al-kerîm: " **I am pleased with them. And they, in turn, are pleased with Me**." People who nurse a grudge and enmity towards them are described as "kâfirûn (disbelievers, unbelievers)," at the end of Sûra-i-Fat-h. Then, enmity towards them should be avoided with the same dread as one would feel towards becoming an unbeliever. The excessive affection which those blessed people felt towards the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' made them beloved to him. They cannot be criticized for having disagreed on some matters and having acted upon their own ijtihâd. Their disagreement was intended to find the truth and (to obey the commandment telling each and every one of them to act upon his own ijtihâd and) not to adopt someone else's ijtihâd. By the same token, it would have been wrong for Imâm Abû Yûsuf to have followed Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa, (who was his teacher) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', after having attained the grade of ijtihâd. It was correct of him to follow his own ra'y. Imâm Shâfi'î 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' would follow his own ra'y instead of adopting the ijtihâds of the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. He always considered it the right way to make a judgement in accordance to his own ra'y and not to follow any Sahâbî's ijtihâd, regardless of who the Sahâbî was and how great he was, including the Siddîq-i-a'zam (Hadrat Abû Bakr) and Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. Since it was possible and permissible for any mujtahid not to adopt the words (ijtihâds) of a Sahâbî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', why should the Sahâba-i-kirâm be held culpable for having disagreed on matters of ijtihâd or for having discussed those matters among themselves? From time to time, the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' did disagree with the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' on some matters (whose solutions necessitated the onerous job) of ijtihâd, and they were not condemned, reprehended or criticized for having disagreed with our master 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'; nor were they prohibited from doing so. If Allâhu ta'âlâ had been displeased with those disagreements on the part of the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum', certainly He would have prohibited them from doing so and would have declared that He would torment those who were responsible for the disagreements. As a matter of fact, He warned and reprehended some of them for talking loud with the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'.

For the same matter, when the blessed Prophet consulted with the Sahâba-i-kirâm about what they should do with the prisoners captivated in the Holy War of Bedr, they offered differing opinions. 'Umar-ul-Fârûq and Sa'd ibn Mu'âz 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were of the opinion that the captives should be killed. The other Sahâbîs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' said, "Let's demand a ransom for their release." The Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' accepted the second opinion and set the captives free. Upon this an âyat-i-kerîma was revealed to state that the first opinion would have been correct.

Realizing the greatness of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' and what the Madhhabs are, requires knowing well what ijtihâd is.

Do not take pride in your property;  
Nor at all say, "There is none else like me!"

It takes an adverse wind to winnow away all that's yours,  
Rendering an abandoned chaff of thee.

IJTIHÂD

'Ijtihâd' means 'to endeavour hard, to exert oneself, and to work as hard as one can'. The purpose in performing ijtihâd is to work hard and to try to derive new rules from theQur'ân al-kerîm by analogy, i.e. by comparing the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs with hidden meanings to overtly stated ones. For instance, the blessed meaning of the âyat-i-kerîma commanding to obey your parents is, " **Do not say, 'Fie on you', to them!** " No mention is made to battery or invective. Since the exclamation "Fie on you," which is by far milder than these forms of maltreatment, is expressed literally, mujtahids have deduced by ijtihâd that it must certainly be harâm (forbidden) to beat or curse or insult one's parents. Likewise, the Qur'ân al-kerîm literally prohibits consumption of wine, without naming the other hard drinks. The reason for the prohibition of wine is that it blurs one's mind and suspends one's mental activities, as is understood from the (Arabic) expression used in the âyat-i-kerîma.[] Hence, mujtahids have deduced by way of ijtihâd that all sorts of drinks carrying the features that cause wine to be forbidden must be forbidden as well; so they have stated that all sorts of intoxicants are harâm. Allâhu ta'âlâ commands to 'do ijtihâd' in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. It is understood from various âyat-i-kerîmas that scholars of high grade and profound knowledge have been enjoined that they should perform ijtihâd. Then, ijtihâd is (an Islamic commandment called) farz enjoined on people in possession of full authority, eligibility and expertise, i.e. those who have the ability and capacity to understand the rules and matters hidden in the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs whose meanings cannot be understood clearly, by way of analogy, deduction and induction from their significations, tenors of discourse and denotations.

Being worthy of the grade of ijtihâd requires a number of conditions and qualifications to be fulfilled. First of all, it is necessary to have full knowledge of the higher linguistic and literary branches of the Arabic language in addition to a perfect commitment of the entireQur'ân al-kerîm to memory; to know the ma'nâ-i-murâdî (the intended meaning), the ma'nâ-i-ishârî (the denotative meaning), the ma'nâ-i-zimnî (the implied meaning), the ma'nâ-i-iltizâmî (the preferential meaning) of âyat-i-kerîmas; to know when and for what reason and about what each âyat-i-kerîma was revealed and whether it is kullî (general) or juz'î (special, particular), nâsikh (abrogating) or mansûkh (abrogated), muqayyad (limited) or mutlaq (absolute, unrestrained), in addition to many other facts about them; to know how they were derived from the qirâ'at-i-sab'a and qirâ'at-i-'ashara and qirâ'at-i-shâzza; to know by heart all the hadîth-i-sherîfs in the (six grand books of hadîths called) Kutub-i-sitta and in the other books of hadîth; to know when and why each hadîth-i-sherîf was uttered and the extent of its comprehension; to know the contextual and the temporal order of hadîth-i-sherîfs, (i.e. what hadîth-i-sherîfs preceded and followed what others,); to know the matters they concern; to know the events whereon they were uttered; to know the names and biographies of their conveyors and reporters; to master the methods and rules of the Islamic science called fiqh; and to have an extraordinary spiritual wisdom and an illuminated and pure heart and conscience equipped with light of îmân and tranquility to learn and understand the twelve basic sciences, the symbols and signs of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs and their apparent and spiritual explanations.[] These sublime qualifications and faculties are the requirements and conditions of the rank of ijtihâd. However, people with such powerful mental faculties and virtues could be trained and educated only with the blessing of sohbat, which rose with our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and attained its zenith in his time, termed the 'Asr-i-sa'âdat (Era of Happiness), preserving its impetus during the centuries of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the Tâbi'în, and the Taba'i tâbi'în. As time plodded along leaving the Era of Happiness farther and farther behind, thoughts and ideas were polluted, heresies appeared, and scholars in possession of these superior and valuable merits became fewer and fewer, completely dwindling away by the end of the fourth (Islamic) century. These facts are written with clarity in the books **Mîzân-ul-kubrâ** , **Radd-ul-muhtâr** , and **Hadîqa**.

The blessed meaning of the âyat-i-kerîma reading as **Fa'tabirû** is: " **O, you, owners of wisdom! In matters beyond your mental capacity, adapt yourself to those who know them and who have attained full penetration in the depths of those matters**."

The exalted people who have attained the grade of ijtihâd have to act in accordance to their own ijtihâd. They cannot adapt themselves to other mujtahids' ijtihâds. In fact, this rule applied to cases of the same nature during the lifetimes of prophets 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-s-salâm', too; any one of the sahâbîs (companions) of a prophet would act in accordance to his own ijtihâd even when his ijtihâd was contrary to that of his prophet. A question may arise at this point. Did prophets 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-s-salâm' perform ijtihâd, too? Yes, they, too, made ijtihâd by comparing the commandments which Allâhu ta'âlâ did not state overtly to those which He stated overtly. However, what made their ijtihâd, which was naturally susceptible to erring, different from others' ijtihâd was that it was at the same time susceptible of correction; that is, when their ijtihâd led them to an incorrect conclusion, Allâhu ta'âlâ would immediately send Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' and rectify their error by way of Wahy. In other words, prophets' 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wassalam' ijtihâd would never remain incorrect. For instance, the ijtihâd performed by the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and some of the Sahâba-i-kirâm concerning the policy that should be followed with the prisoners captivated in the Holy War of Bedr turned out to be at loggerheads with the ijtihâd of 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and a few other Sahâbîs. Upon this an âyat-i-kerîmaarrived and thereby Allâhu ta'âlâ declared to them that Imâm 'Umar's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' ijtihâd was correct. Likewise, the Sûra **Abasa** was revealed for the correction of an error of ijtihâd. [Tafsîr-i-Husayn Kâshifî.] Another example is Hadrat 'Umar's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' ijtihâd for the elucidation of the delicate situation involved in when our master, the blessed Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' ordered (the Sahâbîs around him) to bring him an inkpot and a pen as he was about to pass away; this event will be dealt with later in the text.

After the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', scholars of high grade were raised; among them were the four widely known leaders (of Madhhabs, namely, Imâm-i-a'zam Abû Hanîfa, Imâm-i-Mâlik, Imâm-i-Shâfi'î, and Imâm-i-Ahmad bin Hanbal), and other scholars who performed ijtihâd within the Madhhabs (of the previous four leaders); a few of them were Imâm Abû Yûsuf, Imâm Muhammad, Imâm Zufer, Ibn Nujaym, Imâm Râfi'î, Imâm Nawawî, Imâm Ghazâlî, and others of the same generation. As the distance between the time lived in and the 'Asr-i-sa'âdat (Era of Happiness) gradually widened, other links were added to the twelve chains of narration whereby hadîth-i-sherîfs were being conveyed and reported, so that it was being a matter demanding considerable thought to make a choice among the chains of narrations and the untold number of narrators. The difficulty involved worsened with time and, by the end of the fourth Islamic century, it was no longer possible to train and educate any scholars with the capacity to perform ijtihâd. From then on Muslims have had to make a choice among the aforesaid four leaders (imâms) and adapt themselves to his Madhhab.

Some of the assiduous saboteurs of Islam, who do not seem to understand the subtleties of Islam despite all their shrewdness, have been campaigning against the statement that "the gate to ijtihâd has closed." They attack it in their books and conferences. Yet their breath reeks of alcohol as they speak on the platforms and their addled brains produce ludicrous sophisms provoking derision on the part of the audience. Al-hamdulillah (Gratitude and praise be to Allah), the pure and limpid ocean of young souls, overcast under the clouds of apostasy hanging over the Islamic world, are being illuminated by the sporadic lights of the sun of truth.

Since ijtihâd is an act of worship, i.e. a commandment of Allâhu ta'âlâ, no mujtahid can say, "It is wrong," about another mujtahid's ijtihâd. For, each mujtahid's ijtihâd is right and correct in his own view. For instance, Imâm Shâfi'î 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' said, "If a person dislikes the ijtihâd and ra'y of Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', may he be accursed in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ, (and may he be deprived of His Compassion,)" although he was not in the Hanafî Madhhab. Statements made by Imâm Abû Yûsuf and Imâm Muhammad and the other (great scholars called) imâms and in disagreement with those of Imâm a'zam do not show that they disliked or rejected him. They are intended to express (the conclusions they had reached by way of) ijtihâd. They were obligated to state (the results of) their ijtihâd. The Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' would command his blessed Sahâbîs he was to send out to distant countries to consult to theQur'ân al-kerîm in case of quandaries and to act in accordance to their own ra'y[] and ijtihâd in matters whose ready-made solutions could not be found in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. He would advise them not to adapt themselves to others' ra'y and ijtihâd even if they were superior to them in knowledge and mental capacity.

By the same token, Imâm Abû Yûsuf and Imâm Muhammad 'rahima-humallâhu ta'âlâ' would act in accordance to their own ijtihâds rather than adapting themselves to the ra'y and ijtihâd of Hadrat Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa 'rahmatullâhu 'alaihim', their teacher and master as he was. Indeed, Imâm a'zam 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', their educator, was superior to them in knowledge and mental dimensions.

The differences among the four Madhhabs are the fruits of that mandatory research. Whereas bleeding will break the ablution of a Muslim in the Hanafî Madhhab it is not an event nullifying ablution in Imâm Shâfi'î's ijtihâd. If a person in the Shâfi'î Madhhab performs namâz without renewing his ablution though, say, one of his hands is seen to have been bleeding, no one in the Hanafî Madhhab can say that he has performed namâz without an ablution. For, what he has done is congruent with the ijtihâd of the leader of the Madhhab he has been following. By the same token, if a person in the Hanafî Madhhab performs namâz without renewing his ablution although his bare hand, etc. has (even for a moment) contacted the skin of a woman, [who is not one of those eighteen women whom Islam has eternally forbidden him to marry,][] no one in the Shâfi'î Madhhab can blame him for having made namâz without an ablution. In fact, our imâms, [i.e. the greatest Islamic scholars,] disagreed with one another in quite a few technicalities in matters pertaining to ablution, to namâz, to nikâh (marriage contract prescribed by Islam), to inheritance, to wills and testaments, to talâq (divorce, dissolution of marriage), to crimes and murders, to (business transactions such as) buying and selling, and in many other matters. All these disagreements were based on ijtihâd. None of them said, "They are wrong," about any other's statements.

Similarly, the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în' disagreed with one another in a number of matters; yet none of them said that any other's ijtihâd was wrong; nor did it ever occur to them to accuse one another of aberration or wrongdoing. For instance, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', the time's Khalîfa, sent a Muhtadî,[] and a Sahâbî for company, to Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was in charge of the Bayt-ul-mâl (Treasury Department in an Islamic State), and ordered him, (through the Sahâbî,) to pay him his share of zakât (from the Bayt-ul-mâl). His purpose was to encourage the muhtadî to become a Muslim. Yet 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' would not give him anything in the name of zakât. Later, when Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' asked 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' why he would not pay him zakât despite the âyat-i-kerîma commanding payment of zakât to people in that group, called muallafa-i-qulûb, the latter's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' answer was, "The commandment intended to soften the hearts of disbelievers (by paying them a share from zakât) was valid at a time when disbelievers were excessively wicked and before the realization of the victory promised by Allâhu ta'âlâ. But now Muslims are in the ascendant and disbelievers are weak and defeated. It is no longer necessary to win disbelievers' hearts by means of property." He went on with two quotations, first quoting the âyat-i-kerîma invalidating the commandment enjoining payment of zakât to the group of disbelievers called **muallafa-i-qulûb** , and then adding the hadîth-i-sherîf called Mu'âz. This disagreement between the ijtihâd of Imâm 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and that of the Siddîq-i-a'zam (Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', the Khalîfa,) should not be construed as rejection of his order. It was merely a statement of his ijtihâd in his capacity as the director of the Bayt-ul-mâl, [where Muslims' money and property had been consigned to his care]. Indeed, Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' did not blame him for that ijtihâd of his. On the contrary, that event added new material to the facts whereon his ijtihâd had been based, so that he and all the other Sahâba-i-kirâm joined Hadrat 'Umar's ijtihâd. Imâm Rabbânî exemplifies the differences of ijtihâd between the Ashâb-i-kirâm and Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' with the following event, in the ninety-sixth (96) letter (of his book **Maktûbât** ):

One day, as the time of his passing away seemed to be quite close, our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' ordered, " **Fetch me some paper. I'll write something for you!** " Some of the people being there said, "Let's give him a piece of paper," while another group were of the opinion that they should not do so. 'Umar-ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was in the second group. "The Book of Allâhu ta'âlâ will suffice for us," he said. Some people are still criticizing and maligning him on account of that event. They would not be doing so if they knew the essence of the matter. Indeed, 'Umar-ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' knew that the Wahy (revelation of the Qur'ân al-kerîm) had already come to an end, that Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' would no longer bring any news from heaven, and that there was no other way than ijtihâd and ra'y for inferring new rules. The things that Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was to write at that moment were facts that could be found by way of ijtihâd. They could be found by other mujtahids as well, since Allâhu ta'âlâ had commanded to " **Perform ijtihâd!"** After a moment's reflection over all these facts, 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' knew that they should avoid exacerbating the very difficult and painful situation Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was in. Considering that the ijtihâd which others would perform would be quite adequate, he said, "The Qur'ân al-kerîm will be sufficient for us." He meant to say that the Qur'ân al-kerîm was a source adequate for others to base their ijtihâds on. In fact, as is inferable from his mention of the Qur'ân al-kerîm alone, the rules intended to be written (by the Messenger of Allah) were to be the conclusions of an ijtihâd based on theQur'ân al-kerîm, rather than on hadîth-i-sherîfs; that was what he understood from the manners and modes (of the situation wherein the Messenger of Allah uttered his aforesaid order). Then, Hadrat 'Umar's preventing others from bringing paper was a fruit of the mercy and compassion ingrained in his nature and activated by his anxiety not to tire and pester Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', who was already suffering the agonizing pains of the illness (of death). Besides that, the blessed Prophet's asking for paper was not a formal commandment, but an urge of compassion that he felt to save others from the trouble of ijtihâd. Otherwise, if it had been a commandment, he would have insisted on his demand for paper instead of changing his mind upon the diversity of opinion among his Ashâb 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', since it would have been necessary to deliver a commandment.

**Question** : At that moment 'Umar-ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' also said, "Let's see if he is talking subconsciously." Why did he make that remark?

**Answer** : Imâm-i-Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' answers this question as follows: 'Umar-ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' thought that that utterance (of Rasûlullah's) could be a kind of raving which was said unintentionally in a fever. As a matter of fact, his (the Prophet's) words, " **I'll write...** ," support that likelihood, since Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had never written anything throughout his lifetime. Furthermore, his utterance contained also the final clause of purpose: " **... lest you should deviate from the right course after me!** " How could there have been logic in talking about deviating from the right course since Islam had already reached perfection, the blessing had been completed, and Allâhu ta'âlâ had been pleased? If 'deviation from the right course' was still a likelihood with all that perfection and completeness, what could be written to stop it at a stroke? What could be written to prevent a deviation which something written in twenty-three years was supposed to have failed to anticipate? 'Umar-ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' concluded from these reasonings that Rasûlullah's statement had been made unconsciously, which was only human. Some of the Sahâbîs said, "Let's ask him," while others objected to the idea and said that they should not disturb him, so the voices were being raised. Upon this, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' warned, " **Get up, and do not dispute with one another! It is not something good to dispute in the presence of the Prophet**." He did not repeat his former request. Nor did he ask for a pen or paper.

If the disagreements between the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' and our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' on matters to be derived by way of ijtihâd had been based on arbitrary options and personal prejudices, the Sahâbîs responsible for the disagreements would have become apostates. [May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect all of us from such perdition!] They would have gone out of Islam. Indeed, any behaviour disrespectful towards the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', regardless of its degree, is an act of disbelief. We trust ourselves to Allâhu ta'âlâ's protecting against such a grave offence. The fact, however, was that those disagreements were the fruits of their endeavours to carry out the commandment (which said), " **Fa'tabirû** ," (in the Qur'ân al-kerîm). As a matter of fact, it is an error and an act of violation for a person who has attained the grade of ijtihâd to follow someone else's ijtihâd in matters whose solutions necessitate ijtihâd. However, ijtihâd is not practicable in rules that are clearly stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîm or in hadîth-i-sherîfs. It is farz for every Muslim to obey such rules.

In conclusion, we would like to say briefly that all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' led a life far from ostentation, always trying to purify their hearts and habits, and free from anxiety to have themselves liked by others. They paid no attention to outward appearance and held essence and truth of highest importance. Their essential concern was to do Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' commandments and to avoid hurting him. They sacrificed their parents, their children and their families for the sake of that Sarwar. Their belief in him was so strong and so true that they would drink his spit before it touched the ground, as if it were autumnul rain. When he had a haircut or trimmed his beard, they would jump for the clippings and catch them before they fell on the ground, for the honour of carrying one of his hairs was more valuable to them than crowns and thrones. Khâlid bin Walîd 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', a hero who devastated the stupendous Roman armies and conquered many fortresses and countries, said that he owed all his victories to the **saqal-i-sherîf** [] he had been carrying on his head.

These (blessed hairs that are called) saqal-i-sherîf are keepsakes handed down from one generation to another and devoted to mosques. They are visited on holy days. It is a widely known fact, and an evidence for their strong belief in and true attachment to that Sarwar, that whenever he had himself bled they would drink his blood. If those great people, who are quite far from dirty habits such as lies and slanders, are heard to have said something that appears to be unseemly towards him, we should interpret them with good will and attain salvation by thinking of the purpose rather than of the words.

**Question** : When the ahkâm-i-ijtihâdiyya (rules derived by way of ijtihâd) may be erroneous, how can we ever trust the ahkâm-i-shar'iyya (rules of the Sharî'at, Islam) coming from Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'?

**Answer** : Prophets' 'alaihim-us-salâm' ahkâm-i-ijtihâdiyya develops into ahkâm-i-shar'iyya afterwards. In other words, it is not possible for prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' to remain in error. After mujtahids employ their ijtihâd in the ahkâm-i-ijtihâdiyya and the differences appear, Allâhu ta'âlâ declares the correct conclusion. Thereby the truth becomes known. As a matter of fact, all the ahkâm-i-ijtihâdiyya derived during the lifetime of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was subjected to the correction of the Wah-y that was revealed on the spot, so that there is not a single doubtful one among them. Then, all the ahkâm (Islamic rules, principles and commandments) coming from the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' are true. All of them are guaranteed, since they were all declared by way of Wah-y (revelation of âyat-i-kerîmas). The purpose for the commandment of ijtihâd in this category of rules, (in the ahkâm-i-ijtihâdiyya, that is,) although the truth about them would be declared afterwards, was to give mujtahids a chance to attain higher grades and more blessings. Not so is the case with the ahkâm-i-ijtihâdiyya derived after our master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'; they are not guaranteed; they are based on assumptions and, therefore, doubtful. Although it is necessary to do them, he who denies them will not become a disbeliever. However, if a person denies a rule (a commandment, a prohibition, a principle or a tenet) whereon the ijtihâds of all mujtahids are in agreement with one another, he becomes a disbeliever.

In short, we should illuminate our hearts with reverence and affection towards the Ahl-i-bayt and have a high opinion about all the Sahâba-i-kirâm without discrimination against any one of them 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. We should observe each and every one of them in the high rank and grade assigned to him by our master, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'! We should believe that the disputes and wars among them were based on good intentions and accepted reasons, and we should not blame or criticize any one of them!

Imâm Shâfi'î and Imâm Ahmad 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' said, "As our hands were not smeared with their blood, so let us not imbrue our tongues (by censuring them)!" Then, we should know all the Sahâba-i-kirâm as pure and innocent people because they were the disciples of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and we should hold the belief that it is necessary to love them very much and to respect them deeply. All the Sahâba-i-kirâm, the Tâbi'în-izâm, the Taba'i tâbi'în, the mujtahids, the mutakallimîn (scholars in the branch of Islamic knowledge called Kalâm), the fuqahâ (scholars in the Islamic science called Fiqh), the muhaddithîn (scholars of Hadîth), the mufassirîn (scholars of Tafsîr), and all the pious Muslims in this Ummat held this same belief.

This right path is the madhhab and the belief of the zumra-i-nâjiyya (group of salvation) called Ahl as-sunnat wa-l jamâ'at. When a person attends the lessons of one of the Awliyâ of this noble Ummat (Muslims) for a couple of days, the beautiful merits and virtues treasured in that Walî's heart and soul will assimilate him in such fruitful manner as the spiritual benefits he will reap from the Walî's sohbat (having been together with him) will not have any comparable equivalents among all the imaginable worldly blessings; then, how could there ever be found a grain of sense in believing the statements made, or the books written, by those malignant people whose confined mental capacities cannot reach beyond the periphery of their vicious earthly life, and then visualizing base and ugly motives behind the disagreements and wars among the Ashâb-i-kirham? Indeed, the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' felt excessive affection for the Rasûl-i-akram 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', so much so that for his sake they would sacrifice their lives, their property, their possessions, their children, their wives, their parents and their homelands. Attending his sohbat for a long time, they had been acculturated with all the features, traits and patterns of the most beautiful moral values innate in the constitution of our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', and their selves, hearts and nafses had been purified from all sorts of evils and basenesses. Such inappropriate statements and opinions about the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', who were the Companions of our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', are never permissible.

Those poor people who say or write so; don't they know that enmity towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm is no different from direct enmity towards the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'? By blaming them they are blaming the Fakhr-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. It is for this reason that the eminent scholars of our religion said, "Any behaviour disrespectful towards or critical of our Prophet's 'alaihis-salâtu wassalâm' Ashâb means denial of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'."

The events (wars) of Jamal and Siffîn cannot be grounds for blaming them. Neither party (in either of those two wars) became sinful; perhaps both parties earned blessings. Indeed, as is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, a mujtahid who reaches a wrong conclusion in his ijtihâd deserves one blessing, whereas he would be given two to ten blessings if he found the truth by way of ijtihâd. There is no doubt about the fact that the disagreements among them had nothing to do with hidden motives or worldly ambitions; they were the results of disagreeing ijtihâds. Imâm Abdulwahhâb Sha'rânî states as follows in his (abridged version which he entitled) **Muhtasar** of the book **Tazkira** by Imâm (Abû Abdullah) Muhammad (bin Ahmad) Qurtubî: "The wars and disagreements between Mu'âwiya and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were a religious matter arising from disagreements of ijtihâd. They were not intended for worldly gains. In other words, they were not after sultanate or sovereignty; why should they be criticized, then? Indeed, they must be commended for their disagreements, since they were done for religious purposes." Imâm Qurtubî and Abdulwahhâb Sha'rânî are among the great notables of Islam. As is revealed in the same book, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Later** , [i.e. after me,] **fitna will arise among my Ashâb and they will fight one another. Jenâb-i-Haqq will forgive them, on account of the sohbat they have had with me. No one will be forgiven for the fitna that will arise among the Muslims** (of the generations) **that will come after them**." For, they are not Sahâbîs; they have not been blessed with (Rasûlullah's) sohbat. Everyone will be resurrected and taken to the place of judgement (in the Hereafter) in the company of the people they have loved in the world. All the Sahâba-i-kirâm loved the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' very much.

It is understood from a hadîth-i-sherîf quoted in the same page that people killed from both parties as well as their killers are people of Paradise. All of them were great mujtahids. If a mujtahid's ijtihâd indicates a conclusion different from that of another mujtahid with a higher grade in the science of ijtihâd, he has to follow his own ijtihâd. It is not correct for him to follow the other's ijtihâd. Imâm-i-Abû Yûsuf and Imâm-i-Muhammad were Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa's disciples; and Abû Sawr and Muzanî were Imâm Muhammad Shâfi'î's disciples; these people had quite a number of ijtihâds in disagreement with their masters' ijtihâds. There are many things which are halâl (permitted) in their ijtihâd and harâm (forbidden) in their master's ijtihâd, and vice versa. They cannot be considered sinful or erroneous (on account of those disagreements). No one (no scholar) has (considered or) said so. For their disagreements were the results of ijtihâd. They were mujtahids, too. Likewise, each and every one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm was a mujtahid. All of them, from Wahshî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' to Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', and including Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', were mujtahids. Each of them had attained the honour of being blessed with the purifying and heart-penetrating looks and benedictions of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. For instance, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had been blessed with this benediction which he (the Best of Mankind) had pronounced on him: " **Yâ Rabbî** (O my Rabb)! **Make him hâdî and mehdî**!" 'Hâdî' means 'he who has attained the right path, the true guidance'. And 'mehdî' means 'person who guides others to the right path'. If thought is given to the matter, it will be seen that this benediction implies the highest grade, both in the world and in the Hereafter. To doubt about it means to assert that a benediction pronounced by the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' may not be accepted (by Allâhu ta'âlâ). As the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' cited the names of the greater ones of the Sahâba, he stated about Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', " **He is the most merciful one of my Ummat**." And his description of Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was: " **He is the most halîm** (clement, gentle, mild, patient) **and the most generous of my Ummat**." Due consideration will give a clear idea about the heights that these two valuable attributes reach.

Ibn Hajar-i-Makkî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' wrote as follows in the twenty-seventh page of his book **Tat-hîr-ul-jenân** : Abdullah ibn Abbâs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' states as follows: (One day) Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' came to our master, the Prophet 'alaihis-salâtu wassalâm', and said, "O Muhammad 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'! I recommend Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' to you. Trust him in having the Qur'ân al-kerîm written." He wrote in the same page: One day the Rasûl-i-akram 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' visited Umm-i-Habîba 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', his blessed wife, in her room. At that moment, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was asleep with his head on his sister Umm-i-Habîba's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' lap. Upon seeing them in this manner, the Rasûl-i-akram 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' asked, " **Yâ Umm-i-Habîba! Do you love your brother so much?** " When our blessed mother replied, "I do love my brother very much," Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' observed, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ and His Messenger love him, too**."

It is written in the same book: Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had the honour of having attained close relationship with our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. For, his sister Umm-i-Habîba 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was one of the blessed wives of our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'.

Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states in one of his hadîth-i-sherîfs: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has promised me that the families who gave me their daughters in marriage and the families I gave my daughters to, will be with me in Paradise**."

Another hadîth-i-sherîf informing about the virtues of Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is this: Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said to Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': " **When you become ruler, i.e. Khalîfa, do your duty well!** " Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated (later), "It was when I heard this hadîth-i-sherîf that I began to feel wish and enthusiasm for caliphate. For this hadîth-i-sherîf gave me the good news that I was going to be Khalîfa." The Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' foretold that Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was going to become Khalîfa later. This prediction is one of the Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' mu'jizas (miracles). Because Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' firmly believed that this hadîth-i-sherîf would definitely prove true, he was awaiting the time for its realization. However, its correct time was after Imâm Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' passing away, and even after Imâm Hasan's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relinquishing the office (of caliphate) to him. Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' acted too soon, attempting to realize his wish after the war which Âisha and Zubayr and Talha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' fought against Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', which was a mistake because it was premature. However, since his mistake was a result of ijtihâd, he cannot be blamed for it.

As is written in the same book, the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' took counsel with Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. He asked them, " **Tell me your opinions**!" He said it twice. They said, "Allâhu ta'âlâ and His Messenger 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' know everything better." Then he (Rasûlullah) sent for Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. When Hadrat Mu'âwiya came to the place, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said, " **Take** (counsel with) **Mu'âwiya in your businesses. He is staunch and trustworthy**."

In another hadîth-i-sherîf he pronounced this benediction: " **Yâ Rabbî! Equip Mu'âwiya with knowledge and judgement! Grant him a high rank and position in Muslim countries! Facilitate the performance of his orders! Protect him against torment**!" 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' praised Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and appointed him governor of Damascus to replace his (Mu'âwiya's) dead brother Yazîd, -who had been appointed governor after the conquest of Damascus by Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'-, and did not dismiss him from office throughout his ten-year caliphate. His governorship continued during the caliphates of Imâm Alî and Imâm 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', too; those two blessed Khalîfas would not dismiss Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' from office. During that long period, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was always popular among the people living within his jurisdiction and no one voiced a complaint against him, whereas governors of other provinces had numerous files of complaint lodged against them.

Sayyid Abdulqâdir Geylânî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', the ghaws-i-a'zam and also one of the greatest leaders in the (succession of scholars called) Sôfiyya-i-aliyya, enlarges on the caliphates of Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, Alî, and Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' in the fifty-fourth page of the first chapter of the book **Ghunya-t-ut-tâlibîn** , which he wrote in order to teach Islam to all Believers and to rectify their credal misunderstandings, and adds: [When Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' passed away, Imâm Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', anxious to prevent bloodshed among Muslims and to maintain public peace, relinquished his right of caliphate to Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and went under his command. From that day on, Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' caliphate was rightful and sahîh (legal according to Islamic law). So, the meaning which the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had purported in his hadîth-i-sherîf, " **This son of mine is sayyid, i.e. great. Through himAllâhu ta'âlâ will conciliate between two great parties of Muslims** ," manifested itself. As is seen, Imâm Hasan's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' homage made Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' caliphate compatible with Islam and put an end to the disagreement between the two parties of Muslims. The Tâbi'în, the Taba'i tâbi'în, and all the Muslims worldover recognized Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' as Khalîfa. The Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf (to Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'), " **When you become Khalîfa, behave gently and manage well!** " And in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **The Islamic mill will work continuously for thirty-five or thirty-seven years**!" Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' used the word 'mill' (in this hadîth-i-sherîf) in order to symbolize Islam's power and firmness. The first thirty years of the period mentioned covers the times of the earliest four Khalîfas and that of Imâm Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum', and the remaining five or six or seven years is the duration of time wherein Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was Khalîfa. His caliphate lasted nineteen years and a few months.]

There is a newly printed Turkish version of the book **Ghunya**.

It is written in the third page of the second volume of **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** : "Hadrat Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' father was Abû Sufyân, and his fifth father in retrospect, 'Abd-u-Menâf, was at the same time one of the grandfathers of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu' anh' was born nineteen years before the Hegira. He and his father joined the Believers on the very day when Mekka-i-mukarrama was conquered. He was tall, white-complexioned, beautiful and handsome, and majestic. He was one of Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' scribes entrusted with the duty of writing copies of the Qur'ân al-kerîm, whereby he attained many a benediction on the part of the Messenger of Allah. He was also honoured with the good news that he would become Khalîfa. One day, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was riding an animal with Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' behind him on the back of the animal, and they were talking, when he (the Prophet) pronounced this benediction on him: " **Yâ Rabbî! Give him much knowledge and mildness**!" It is written in all books of history that he was a topic of public talk on account of his great wisdom, keen intellect, compassionate tenderness, unstinting generosity, finesse, and mildness. The innumerable folk-tales about his forbearance and clemency were compiled in two huge books in Arabic. Four geniuses were raised in Arabia: Hadrat Mu'âwiya; 'Amr ibn al-Âs; Mughîrat-ebn-Shu'ba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'; and Ziyâd bin Ebîh. Many scholars stated that he was extremely majestic, valiant, prudent, determined, and merciful, so that he had been created, as it were, so as to be an administrative authority. In fact, whenever 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' saw him he would say, "This person is an Iranian Shâh." He would never reject a personal request, and would always give much more than the amount asked from him. One day, when Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' told him about his debts, he gave him eighty thousand gold coins. He appointed 'Amr ibn al-Âs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' as governor of Egypt and donated to him two-years' revenues obtained from Egypt.

His elder brother Yazîd, governor (of Palestine) in Damascus appointed by 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', appointed Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' to act for him (as governor of Palestine) in the event of his death. 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', the Khalîfa, made him permanent governor upon Yazîd's passing away. Hadrat 'Uthmân, Alî and Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' did not dismiss him from office. In the forty-first year of the Hegira, he became Khalîfa rightfully and in a manner suitable with Islam, which was approved by all the people living in Muslim countries. That year was called **Âm-ul-jamâ'a**. When he became Khalîfa, he began to make jihâd against the disbelievers in Africa. A year later he sent a commander named Abdurrahmân (with an army) to Sijistân [Seistan], to the east of Iran, and the next year another army to Sudan, and conquered those places from disbelievers. In the forty-fourth year (of the Hegira) he conquered the city of Kabul, and shortly afterwards his army under the command of Muhallab conquered India and Samarkand. Muhallab was a great hero who went into a number of combats against the Khawârij later and thereby prevented their spread. In the forty-fifth year Afriqiyya [Tunisia] was conquered. The great and tough combats engaged in China in the forty-seventh year cost Muslims quite a number of martyrs, and joining the Holy War in Cyprus in person, he realized the conquest of the island.

For a number of long years Cyprus remained in the hands of Muslims. It is written in the fifth page of the final section of the book **Akhlâq-i-alâî** , "The island of Cyprus holds many graves belonging to people who were among the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Tâbi'în-i-izâm. As a matter of fact, Umm-i-Hirâm 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', Enes bin Mâlik's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' maternal aunt, is buried there." One day, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' slept in her house. He woke up, smiling. She asked, "O the Messenger of Allah! Why are you smiling?" The blessed Prophet's answer was: " **O Umm-i-Hirâm! I saw** (in my dream) **some of my Ummat boarding ships and going out for Holy War against disbelievers**!" Umm-i-Hirâm requested, "O Messenger of Allah! Pray for me so that I be one of them!" So our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' pronounced this benediction: " **Yâ Rabbî! Make her one of them!** " During the time of Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', Umm-i-Hirâm and her husband boarded one of the ships bound for Cyprus and went there. In Cyprus she fell down from the horse she was riding and attained martyrdom. The second conquest of Cyprus was accomplished in 828 [1425 A.D.], by the Egyptian Sultân Eshref Tatar. And it was conquered for the third time in 978 [1570 A.D.] by Sultân Selîm Khân II. After the Treaty of Berlin, it was left to England only in the administrative dimensions. In the fiftieth year (of the Hegira) Hadrat Mu'âwiya sent his son Yazîd out for the conquest of Istanbul. A considerable number of Sahâbîs in the army under Yazîd's command, including Khâlid ibn Zayd abû Ayyûb al-Ansârî 'alaihim-ur-ridwân', attained martyrdom in Istanbul. The peace treaty bilaterally signed stipulated that Byzantium would pay a tax annually. In the year fifty-four another army of the Khalîfa (Hadrat Mu'âwiya) under the command of 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyâd, [not ibn Zayyâd, one of the Abbasid Khalîfas,] crossed the Asiatic river Oxus on camels and conquered Bukhâra. Islam spread all over Asia and Africa. Qudus-i-sherîf (the blessed city of Jerusalem), a place formerly conquered by 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', had fallen into the hands of disbelievers afterwards. Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' recaptured it. In short, ourProphet's invocation, " **Yâ Rabbî! Make Mu'âwiya dominant everywhere!** " met with Divine Acceptance and he was dominant over all those countries from Kairouan in (Tunisia) Africa to Bukhâra in Asia, and from Yemen to Istanbul. He was liked and respected by all people. The Ahl-i-islâm (all Muslims) were enjoying the luxuries of a life of comfort and abundance. He would dress smartly, ride graceful horses, and lead a life of pleasures, without violating the limitations of a lifestyle drawn by Islam, which was a blessing of moderation he had attained owing to the sohbat of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and the benedictions that the Best of Mankind had pronounced over him. He took utmost care to avoid wrongdoing and cruelty. After a long-term career as a governor in Damascus, -four years under Hadrat 'Umar, twelve years under Hadrat 'Uthmân, five years under Hadrat Alî, and six months under Hadrat Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'-, he became Khalîfa over all Muslim countries in a canonical and legal way upon Hadrat Hasan's relinquishing his right of caliphate, and stayed in office for nineteen years. He passed away when he was seventy-nine years old, in the sixtieth [60] year of the Hegira. He was buried in Damascus. He had been respectfully keeping some hair and nail clippings belonging to our master, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. He requested in his last will that those blessed clippings be put on his mouth and eyes after his death in order to benefit from their blessedness. He had three sons, named Abdurrahmân, Yazîd, and Abdullah; and four daughters, named Hind, Ramala, Safiyya, and Âisha."

It is stated as follows in the translation rendered by the poet Mahmûd Abdulbâqî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' of the book **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** , written by Imâm Ahmad bin Muhammad Qastalânî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', a scholar of Egypt: "According to ibn Is-hâq, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' served as a governor for twenty years in Damascus and as Khalîfa for twenty years. Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal states that Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' pronounced this benediction on him: ' **Yâ Rabbî! Teach Mu'âwiya knowledge and calculation! Protect him from Hell!** ' He is renowned for his duty to write copies of the Qur'ân al-kerîm."

Muhammad Shamsaddîn Sâmi Bey states as follows in **Qâmûs-ul-a'lâm** : "Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was one of the eminent Sahâbîs. His father Abû Sufyân and his (elder) brother Yazîd and his mother Hind embraced Islam on the day when Mekka was conquered. He had joined the Believers earlier, secretly for fear of incurring his father's fury. He and his father were true and staunch Muslims; they fought in positions ahead ofRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Abû Sufyân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' lost one of his eyes in the Holy War of Tâif, and he lost his other eye in the Holy War of Yermuk in the thirteenth year (of the Hegira) during the caliphate of Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq. One of the honours that Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was blessed with was that he served as a secretary to our master, the Fakhr-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. When Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' sent an army to Damascus, he (Hadrat Mu'âwiya) and his elder brother Yazîd fought under the command of Khâlid bin Walîd 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. In the forty-first [41] year of the Hegira, in the city of Qûfa, homage was paid to him as Khalîfa, and thereafter he served as Khalîfa for twenty years. Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was extraordinarily wise, extremely intelligent, perfectly eloquent, strongly influential, and soothingly soft-spoken. He was very patient, clement, kind and generous. When the time's Khalîfa, the Fârûq-i-a'zam ('Umar) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' honoured Damascus, the city wherein Hadrat Mu'âwiya's fixed abode of governorship was located, he entered the city in his usual, plain and modest attire, which had won him universal admiration especially among his Roman counterparts, and when he saw Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' in his tidy and elegant appearance, he exclaimed, "This man is like one of the Shâhs of Iran." As long as Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' held office as Khalîfa, he rendered great services for the propagation and promotion of Islam and conquered many countries. Islamic scholars quoted numerous hadîth-i-sherîfs on the authority of him in their books, [which is a cogent evidence for his greatness and for the fact that he was believed and trusted.] He requested (in his last will) that after death his body be wrapped in a shirt, a keepsake from the Fakhr-i-kâinât 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', and intered with the nail clippings that he had been keeping as blessings from our master, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', on his eyes and mouth."

Ahmed Cevdet Paşa of Lowicz 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', a renowned scholar who rendered a great service to Islam by preparing the highly valuable book entitled **Majalla** and at the same time the author of the most dependable twelve books of Ottoman History, states as follows in the hundred and ninety-second page of the seventh chapter of his **Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ** (History of Prophethood): In the sixtieth year of the Hegira, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', after delivering the (Friday sermon called) Khutba, made this short speech: "O Muslims! It has been a rather long time that I have been reigning over you. I have made you tired of myself. And I am tired of you, too. I am being eager to part with you. And you are eager to part with me, too. Yet the Khalîfas that will succeed me will be no better than I have been. As a matter of fact, my predecessors were better than me. If a person wishes to attain Allâhu ta'âlâ, Allâhu ta'âlâ, in turn, will wish him to attain Him. Yâ Rabbî! I wish to attain Thee. And I pray Thee that it be Thine Will also that I attain Thee! And do bless me with eternal felicity!" Then he became ill. He sent for his son Yazîd and gave him this advice: "My son! I have saved you from a multitude of expeditions and journeys. I have provided facilities for all your future activities. I have made everybody obedient to you. I am leaving you such tremendous property as has not fallen to anyone else's lot. Watch over the people of Hidjâz, for they are your origins. They are the most respectable people that will come to you. Keep an eye on the people of Iraq, too! Even if they should request that you dismiss a civil servant daily, do so! Take good care of the people of Damascus, too, for they are your supporters. Have them come back to Damascus when their mission (out of Damascus) is over. Otherwise, staying too long in other countries will cause degeneration in their moral values. There are three people likely to be your rivals. One of them, Abdullah bin 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ', is a devoted worshipper. When others pay homage to you, he will pay homage, too. Husayn bin Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' is a noble but light person. People of Qûfa may provoke him to rise against you. When you achieve a victory over him, forgive him! He is our relation. He has plenty of rights over us. He is a grandson of our master, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. As for Abdullah bin Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'; he is like a lion. Protect yourself very well against him."

He made the following statements towards his passing away: "When I die, liberality and generosity also will die with me. Gates of benefaction will be closed for many people. People who ask (for something) will be empty-handed." "I wish I had been a Qouraishî living in the village of Zî Tuwâ and not a Khalîfa!" He passed away in the month of Rajab 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. He was tall, white-complexioned, majestic, extremely patient, and tender-hearted. His tenderness was a topic for public talk. One day, a man entered his presence and hurled very nasty and vicious insults at him. He did not even answer him. When he was asked (by people around him) if he ought to have the patience to stand that, too, he replied, "We will not concern ourselves with others' words unless they mean harm to (what's under) our realm." This is a shining example of the freedom of speech he granted to his people. He is the founder of the first social organization of Muslims. In addition, he established an interurban postal system. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had remarked, "Don't you ever entertain a negative opinion about Hadrat Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' administration! If you lose him, you will see heads appear from the back!"

'Amr ibn al-Âs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', well-known for his valour and superior intellect and one of the Sahâbîs who fought against Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', passed away on the night previous to the 'Iyd-i-fitr in the forty-third [43] year of the Hegira. That night he wept with grief. His son asked him, "Why are you weeping? Are you afraid of death?" He said, "No, I'm not afraid of death? Yet I'm afraid of what I'm going to experience after death. I've led three different stages of life. Formerly, I was a disbeliever. I was an arch enemy of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. If I had died then, I would definitely have gone to Hell. Then I became a person with the deepest feelings of shame towards the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. If I had died then, everybody would be congratulating me. They would think I had gone to Paradise and they would say about me, 'He was honoured with Islam and he died as a good person.' Later I became a governor and assumed administration of millions of people, which meant to take on a responsibility concerning the rights of all that lot of people. I do not know in what state I am now. Do not weep for me after my death! Carry my janâza (to my grave) silently! Do not put stones or trees on my grave!" Making tawba and istighfâr, (i.e., repenting for his sins and invoking Allâhu ta'âlâ for forgiveness,) he passed away. He had conquered Egypt and served as the governor of Egypt for four years during the time of Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', four more years in the time of Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', and two more years in the time of Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'.

Imâm-i-Ghazâlî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ', the Hujjat-ul-islâm, relates the following episode in the three hundred and thirty-first [331] page in the chapter about sehâ [generosity] of his book **Kimyâ-i-sa'âdat** , which is in Persian: Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' made a visit to Medîna-i-munawwara and, as he was proceeding along one of the streets, Hadrat Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' came from behind and said, "I am in debt. Help me!" So he (Hadrat Mu'âwiya) gave an order and Hadrat Hasan was given a camel load of gold, i.e. eighty thousand coins of gold.

Alî bin Amrullah 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' relates the following episode in the chapter captioned Îsâr of his book **Akhlâq-i-Alâî** : Îsâr means 'patience of giving something that you need to someone else.' Abdullah bin Ja'far Tayyar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' was the most famous one of generous Muslims 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had profound sympathy for him. He would give him a yearly salary, which was ten million dirhams of silver. Yet the latter would distribute all that money to poor and needy Muslims, to orphans and widows, so much so that he would find himself in debt by the end of the year. When Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was asked why he gave him that much money and caused him to waste the state's treasury, he replied, "I do not give that property to Abdullah. I give it to the poor people living in Medina-i-munawwara. Go ahead and make an investigation if you like!" So they conducted an investigation and saw that the state treasury was being spent properly because he was giving all the money to poor Muslims and orphaned children and his own family was living a frugal existence. The Khalîfa's strategy, vigilance and generosity won their admiration.

What is written so far in the book **The Sahâba** 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' consists of a few passages summarized from the books of great Islamic authorities. In the light of these facts which are stated unanimously by the greatest Islamic scholars, we should not believe the oral or written fibs invented by heretical trash from Hurûfî[] convents or some dervishes who do not even concern themselves with (the basic acts of Islamic worship such as) ablution and (the daily prayers called) namâz! We should save ourselves from the eternal perdition and sorrow by holding fast to the principles of belief and worship taught in the books written by scholars of Ahl as-sunnat! Yes. It is farz and necessary for all people of both sexes to learn Islam, tenets of belief and acts of worship. Yet we should learn them not from books written for certain purposes at drinking bouts or from those translated from books written by enemies of religion, but from the teachings of the scholars of our (four) Madhhabs!

Some people say, "No Muslim has named his child 'Mu'âwiya'. This indicates a general aversion to this name and to the person who possessed this name." This reasoning is faulty. Even an ignorant person would only jeer at it. Shiyt, Hûd, Shuayb, Alyasa' are a few of the names of great prophets 'alaihi-s-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât', and Bâqir and Hasan Askarî are the names of two of the twelve imâms, who were descended from Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'; on the other hand, names such as Bara', Aws, Iyâs, Buhayr, Basbasa, Tamîm, Sa'laba, Seqaf, Jabr, Hâris, Hâtab, Hârisa, Hubâb, Haram, Hurays, Hasîn, Hârija, Hâbbab, Hubayd, Hiras, Huraym, Hallâd, Hunays, Hulayd, Hawwât, Hawli, Zukays, Râfi', Reb'î, Ruhayla, and Rafâ'a belonged to people who were among the three hundred and thirteen great Islamic warriors (who fought against the unbelievers in the Holy War of Badr and who are therefore called the) Ashâb-i-Badr and were blessed with the good news that they would go to Paradise. These names, and many others which would be impractical for us to cite one by one, are not used by Muslims today. Would this be sufficient grounds for classifying the owners of these names among 'people disliked' in defiance of the fact that they were the greatest prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' and the most beloved ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm? In fact, that the owners of these names were all higher than Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', and that they are darlings of all Muslims, is a reality as obvious as the sun. It is a dangerous kind of ignorance not to like Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'; and not to know him is therefore at one's own peril. Accordingly, sophistries of this sort, which are intended to vilify him and to mislead the younger generation, serve merely to exploit that ignorance and thereby to rekindle the ignominious slander.

We do not have any kinship or acquaintance with those Sahâbîs 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' who fought against Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. In fact, the wars among them are a source of grief for us. Yet we have been commanded to love them because they were the Ashâb of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. We have been commanded not to hurt any one of them and not to feel enmity towards them. We love them because we love ourProphet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. We avoid all sorts of feelings and actions that would imply hostility towards them or (that would) be offensive to their souls. Any behaviour offensive or inimical towards them will reach and hurt our master, the Prophet'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. However, we distinguish between the rightful and the mistaken parties. That is, Hadrat Amîr (Alî) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was right. And those who were against him made a mistake (in their ijtihâd). Any comments beyond this limitation would be at least misbehaviour.

Ismâ'îl Kemâleddîn Karamânî 'rahima-hullâhu ta'âlâ' writes as follows in his explanation of the book **Sharh-i-'aqâ'id** : Imâm Alî 'karram-Allâhu wajhah' stated, "Our brothers do not listen to us. They are not disbelievers. They are not sinful, either. For they are doing what they understand of Islam." It is not a sin to err in ijtihâd. Nor does it deserve to be blamed. We should think that they are the Ashâb (of the blessed Prophet) and we should know them all as good people!

May Allâhu ta'âlâ keep us all in the right way! There are some people who have learned their religion from history books that were concocted later. Because these people are quite unaware of the books written by great religious authorities and have not even heard of Islam's documentary sources and proofs, they blindly talk and write about what they imagine in the name of Islam. May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us from hearing what they say, from reading what they write, and from believing their lies! Âmin. Those who have îmân and who have tasted the flavour inherent in îmân will embrace the words and writings derived from the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat 'rahima-humullâhu ta'âlâ'. They will enjoy hearing and reading them. They will hate and keep away from the words and writings of those ignorant people who pass themselves as religious men.

Imâm-i-Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' ends the thirty-sixth letter of the second volume (of his **Maktûbât** ) as follows: Let us conclude our letter about the Sahâba-i-kirâm 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în' with some laudatory reports about the **Ahl-i-Bayt-i-Rasûl** 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam':

Sayyid-i-kâinât 'alaihi wa 'alâ âlihi-s-salawâtu wa-s-salâm' stated, " **If a person loves Alî** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', **he does so definitely because he loves me. If a person behaves inimically towards him, he does so definitely because he** (that person) **is my enemy. He who hurts him, definitely hurts me** (by doing so). **And he who hurts me, definitely** **hurts Allâhu ta'âlâ** (by doing so)."

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has commanded me to love four people, and He has intimated** (to me) **that He loves them**." When the Messenger of Allah was requested to name those four people, he explained, " **Alî is one of them; Alî is one of them; Alî is one of them** ; (the others are) **Abû Zer, Mikdâd, and Salmân**." It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **It is an act of worship to look at Alî's** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' **beautiful face, and perhaps even at his blessed body, with affection**." Berâ' bin Âzib 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: One day, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', seated as he was, stated, " **Yâ Rabbî! I love Hasan** (my elder grandson)!" 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'.

Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: One day, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was with Imâm-i-Hasan, when he first looked at us and then turned his blessed looks towards Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', saying, " **This son of mine is a sayyid and effendi. I hope and expect that Allâhu ta'âlâ will reconcile two groups of Muslims through him**."

Usâma bin Zayd 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: One day I saw our master, the Prophet'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', with Hasan and Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' sitting on his blessed lap. He stated: " **These two are my sons and my blessed daughter's sons. Yâ Rabbî! I love them**. (Please, You, too,) **love them, and love also those who love them**!"

Enes 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: The Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was asked whom he loved best among his Ahl-i-bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. He stated, "(I love) **Hasan and Husayn** (best)." 'radiy-allâhu 'anhumâ'.

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Fâtima** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' **is a part from me. He who angers her will have hurt me** (by doing so)." Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said to Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': " **Fâtima is more beloved than you are to me. And I hold you in higher esteem than I do her** , [which means, 'You are more valuable to me']!"

According to a narration on the authority of Hadrat Âisha, whenever they (the Ashâb-i-kirâm) wanted to present a gift to our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', they would bring it only when the blessed Messenger was in the blessed and pure room of Âisha Siddîqa 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', and thereby they would try to attain our blessed Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' sympathy through the intercession of that cherished mother of ours. Another narration coming from Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' reads as follows: The Zawjât-i-tâhirât (the Blessed Wives) of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' parted into two groups. Hafsa and Safiyya and Sawda and I were in one group, while Umm-i-Salama and the others made the other group 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhunna'. That second group communed among themselves and chose Umm-i-Salama as their spokeswoman to enter the blessed Prophet's presence and request that the Ashâb-i-kirâm bring their gifts wherever Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' happened to be instead of awaiting the time when he would honour Âisha-i-Siddîqa's room with his blessed presence. The honourable Prophet expressed his annoyance as follows: " **Do not hurt me. The Wahy comes to me only when I am covered with Âisha's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' clothes.** " As a matter of fact, revelations of the Qur'ân al-kerîm never happened as he was in the beds of his other Blessed Wives. He would be sent Wahy only when he was in Hadrat Âisha's bed 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhunna'. Upon hearing this, Umm-i-Salama 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' pledged never to hurt Rasûlullah again and craved for forgiveness. On another occasion, the Messenger of Allah inquired of Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', who had undertaken the spokeswomanship of the group: " **O my daughter! Why don't you love someone who is beloved to me? Isn't my darling your darling as well**?" When Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' said, "Yes," the Best of Mankind stated, " **Then, love her, too!** "

Another report on the authority of Âisha-i-Siddîqa 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' reads as follows: "I would feel upset whenever I heard our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', mention the name of Khadîja 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', although I had never seen her. Because he loved her very much, he would send presents to her family. Sometimes I would say, jokingly, "Is Khadîja 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' the only woman in the world? Aren't there others as well?" He would cite the good qualities she had had and he would say, " **She was so good, and I had children from her!** "

Abdullah ibn Abbâs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' related: Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Abbâs is from me, and I am from him!** "

He stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, " **There is vehement torment awaiting those who hurt me on account of my family!** "

Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' reports: Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **The good ones among you are those who will be good towards my Ahl-i-bayt after me**." Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' reports: Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **In the Hereafter I shall intercede for those who are good to my Ahl-i-bayt!** " Again, Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' reports: Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **People who will pass the bridge of Sirât without their feet slipping are those who love my Ahl-i-bayt and my Sahâba**."

Yâ Rabbî! For the sake of Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' and her sons, bless us with the lot of migrating to the Hereafter with îmân (as Believers)! Only bless us with the fortune of holding fast to the skirts of Âl-i-Rasûl[] 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', and then accept or refuse our prayers.

The passage below is the translation of the seventeenth letter in the book entitled **Maqâmat-i-Mazhariyya**. The book was written by Abdullah Dahlawî, a great Walî and one of the true Islamic scholars of India. He passed away in Delhi in 1240 [1824 A.D.]. He lies beside his master, Mazhar Jân Jânân. The book, in Persian, contains a biography of Mazhar Jân Jânân and twenty-four letters written by him. Mazhar Jân Jânân passed away in 1195 [1781 A.D.], when he was eighty-four years old. He is in Delhi, beside the mosque he had built 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihimâ':

The scholars of the Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat relate the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm in a manner that would become the high honours possessed by those great people. As a matter of fact, those great people were praised as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **The best people are those who live with me**." As for the disagreements among those great people, whose reasons are beyond their comprehension; they consign them into the knowledge of Allâhu ta'âlâ, thus avoiding a possible animadversion on the pure people of that auspicious century. All the scholars who were educated in the Islamic sciences of Hadîth and Fiqh during the earliest three (Islamic) centuries, although those three centuries had been praised (in hadîth-i-sherîfs) as 'auspicious centuries' and, being quite close to the time of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the scholars educated therein had firsthand knowledge concerning the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the matters and situations they had been involved in, -in fact, they stated that Alî Murtadâ's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' opponents had been wrong-, warned that it would never be permissible to speak ill of any one of them. As a matter of fact, the combats and reciprocal denunciations between the troops of Damascus and Baghdâd were only a matter of a couple of days and were based on differences of ijtihâd, and those pure people did not entertain any bad opinions about one another, let alone looking on one another as disbelievers. The so-called fitna dates back to the martyrdom of 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', the Amîr-ul-mu'minîn, (Imâm Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' predecessor in caliphate). By the time when the wars started, the Ashâb-i-kirâm had parted into three groups. One group sided with the Khalîfa, Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', who was right. The second group were on the side of the Amîr of Damascus. The third group did not join any of the two parties. Scholars of Hadîth and mujtahids in the science of Fiqh held all three groups of the Sahâba equal in their business of compiling the hadîth-i-sherîfs reported on the authority of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, for they believed that their words were valuable and true. If they had considered one of the three groups as disbelievers or wrongdoers, they would have rejected their reports, instead of using them as authentic documentary sources in their employment of ijtihâd and derivation of Islamic rules. To malign any one of those three groups means, in effect, to demolish Islam from within. Conversely, not to criticize those great people engenders a benefit to Islam and symbolizes high esteem concerning the sohbat, the company, of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. The irrefutable argument that "the relatives of the Messenger of Allah deserve highest esteem" would merely be an inapposite statement of the plain truth in the face of the fact that none of the relatives of the Messenger of Allah called the Sahâbîs who fought against them 'disbelievers'. Yes, people who fight one another will normally dislike and censure one another. Yet those auspicious people, who are praised in a number of hadîth-i-sherîfs, never censured one another. It is wâjib (incumbent) upon all Muslims to love the relatives of the Messenger of Allah. Any inclination towards hurting them will spoil this love.

It is not something right to talk or write about the wars that took place among the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân'. Those events should be a source of mute sadness for us. Some people, who are called 'Shiites', are excessive in this matter. Misled by some concocted narrations, they compare those pure people to their own selves, which are immured within the murky confines of their nafses. They are so unreasonable that they call the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'disbelievers'. However, it was them who conveyed to us the life and the utterances of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. How could one ever make allowance for the possibility that those great people might have been unable to weather the blights of disbelief, in defiance of the fact that they spent their entire lives in Rasûlullah's sohbat, matured and reached perfection under his tutorship and guidance, sacrificed their property and lives for his sake, and after him endeavoured to spread his religion? Should we presume that Allâhu ta'âlâ might not have had mercy on them for the sake of those services and endeavours? If they did not attain divine mercy, how and from whom can we sinful later comers expect mercy and forgiveness? Do the annals of Prophets and Awliyâ contain a single account of a Prophet or a Walî whose ummat or followers altogether relapsed into disbelief or became enemies of his offspring or family? If it had been the case, it would have been useless and senseless for Allâhu ta'âlâto have sent Prophets. The time, which in fact has been praised as the best of times, would have been the worst of times; and the best people would have been the worst.

A Believer who saw the Messenger of Allah is called 'Sahâbî'.  
Ashâb-i-kirâm is the name of the entire community.

Haloes filled forthwith a heart that saw the Messenger;  
Holy Qur'ân lauds his Sahâbîs in large measure.

They all gave their property'n lives for the Prophet's cause.  
Sources of knowledge they were in peacetime, and lions in wars.

Hadîth-i-sherîfs symbolize his Sahâba with stars in the night;  
Follow any one of them, and you are in a path that's quite bright!

His Sahâba treated one another with love and eulogy;  
Muslims who came afterwards said so all with unanimity.

The Qur'ân and hadîths they, alone, to us conveyed.  
Purity of their hearts for other's minds trust purveyed.

To abuse one of them means to injure Islam's root.  
He who maligns the Ashâb will decay Qur'ân's fruit.

If you are a true Muslim hold each and every one with respect;  
And first say 'salât-u-salâm' to the Messenger's Ahl-i-bayt!

TRANSLATION of the  
FIRST VOLUME, 251st. LETTER

The two hundred and fifty-first letter in the first volume of the book **Maktûbât-i-Imâm-i-Rabbânî** , which is a compilation of five hundred and thirty-six of the explanatory and advisory letters written to scholars, governors, commanders and rulers living in various cities, by Hadrat **Imâm Rabbânî, Mujaddid-i-elf-i-thânî, Ahmad Fârûqî** 'quddisa sirruh', the greatest Islamic scholar, was written to Muhammad Ashraf, and elucidates a variety of matters such as the virtues of the Khulafâ-ir-râshidîn, (i.e. the earliest four Khalîfas, namely, Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, and Alî,) 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'; the superiorities of the Shaikhayn, [i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar,] 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'; the special values possessed by Hadrat Amîr, [i.e. Hadrat Alî,] 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'; the honours and distinctions conferred on the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân'; and the inner nature of the wars among them.

The initial part of the letter contains profound and subtle information concerning Prophets 'alaihim-us-salawât' and Awliyâ' 'quddisa sirruhum'. We therefore translate the latter part:

Learning the fact that Hadrat Amîr's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' name is written above the gate into Paradise, I began to wonder what could be the eminence and special honours allotted for Hadrat Shaikhayn, [i.e. Abû Bakr and 'Umar,] 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' before the gate of Paradise. I endeavoured hard to learn the matter. Eventually I attained the information that this Ummat's, [i.e. Muslims',] entering Paradise will be realized through the authority and permission of these two great persons. As it were, Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' will stand by the gate of Paradise, giving permission for entrance, while 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' will usher the fortunate in by holding them by the hand. I sense as if the entire Paradise is suffused with the nûr (lights, haloes) of Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. According to this faqîr[], Hadrat Shaikhayn have additional honours and superiorities among all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân'. No one else has a share from them. Siddîq, (i.e. Abû Bakr,) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi was sallam', own so to speak, the same one house. The difference between them is like that which is between the two storeys of a house. Fârûq,(i.e. 'Umar,) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' also is in the same honourable house as an assistant to Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. The other blessed Sahâbîs are, as it were, neighbors and fellow-citizens of the Sarwar-i-'âlam 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', their closeness to the blessedProphet being in proportion to their success in observing his Sunnat-i-saniyya, [i.e. the Islamic religion]. When this is the case with them, one should imagine the positions of the Awliyâ among the later-comers! Accordingly, what could ever have fallen to their share in the business of realizing the greatness of the Shaikhayn? So great and so numerous are the merits and virtues they possess that they share the same position with Prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm'. With the exception of the rank of prophethood, they enjoy having all their superiorities. As a matter of fact, our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Were there Prophets to succeed me, 'Umar would be a Prophet**."

Imâm-i-Ghazâlî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' relates: When the Khalîfa 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was martyred, Abdullah ibn 'Umar said to the Ashâb-i-kirâm: "Nine-tenths of knowledge has joined 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' to death!" When some of the audience showed hesitancy because they did not understand his statement, he explained, "By 'knowledge' I mean 'to know Allâhu ta'âlâ', and not the knowledge concerning wudû' (ablution) and ghusl (ritual washing)[]." How could anyone ever comprehend the greatness of Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' notwithstanding this fact about 'Umar, whose total number of goodnesses, as is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, could add up to only one of the so many goodnesses possessed by the former? The difference between 'Umar and the Siddîq (Abû Bakr) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' is greater than the diffence between the Siddîq and Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. This fact sets a benchmark whereby to imagine how far lower others must be than the Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Nor after death were the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' away from our Prophet'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. And our Prophet informs that he will rise with them and come to the place of assembly (in the Hereafter) with them. Then, superiority means closeness to him, wherein these two great persons are by far ahead of others. Only a lowly faqîr as I am, how could I ever understand anything of their greatness, and what could I ever tell about their superiorities? Could dust or smoke define the sun? Could a drop of water describe great seas?

Some Awliyâ 'qaddas-Allâhu ta'âlâ asrâra-hum-ul-'azîz', who were sent back on the duty of advising and guiding others, (although they had attained the highest spiritual grades possible for mankind,) and some of the Tâbi'în and the Taba'i-tâbi'în, who had attained the grade of ijtihâd in knowledge, developed a certain amount of awareness of the perfections peculiar to the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' and managed a humble degree of penetration in the inner nature of their greatness, -which the former group owed to the nûr (lights, haloes) of their kashf and the latter to their competence to perceive the ulterior meanings hidden in the depths of hadîth-i-sherîfs-, and they stated their unanimous findings concerning their superiorities. Other kashfs and findings contradictory to their unanimous statements they rejected and despised, saying that they were wrong. As a matter of fact, it was well-known among the Ashâb-i-kirâm that these two, (i.e. the Shaikhayn,) were the most superior. For instance, Abdullah ibn 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is quoted in the book Bukhârî-i-sherîf as having stated, "During the lifetime of the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' we did not know a person to be equated with Abû Bakr. Our second favourite after him was 'Umar, and next below him (in superiority) we knew 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. Below them we held no one else superior to others." According to another narration on the authority of Abû Dâwûd, Abdullah ibni 'Umar is quoted as having said, "In the time of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', we would say that Abû Bakr was the highest (of the Sahâba), and we held 'Umar next below him, and 'Uthmân next below the latter, "radiy-allâhu 'anhum', in superiority."

The statement, "The rank of a Walî is higher than that of a Prophet," is a fruit of surmise and imagination and belongs to people in spiritual ecstacy. In other words, it is made by those Awliyâ who have not been sent back (with the mission of guiding other people), and who therefore are quite unaware of the rank of prophethood. As I, the faqîr, have stressed in a number of my letters, prophethood is above wilâyat (the rank of a Walî). In fact, a Prophet's prophethood is higher than his own wilâyat. This is the truth. He who contradicts this must be unaware of the high grade of the rank of prophethood. Among the paths of wilâyat, one path, namely the **Silsila-t-uz-zahab** , is the path of the Siddîq-i-akbar (Abû Bakr) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Those who follow this path, therefore, are wakeful. For this reason, it is the most superior path. How could the Awliyâ of other paths grasp their perfections? And how could they ever understand the inner nature of their path? I do not mean that all the followers of this path reap equal fruits. It is a blessing and a great fortune if one in a million attains the unique perfections indicated. As a matter of fact, Hadrat Mahdî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a great scholar whose advent towards Doomsday was foretold by our Prophet 'sall-allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', will occupy the highest grade of wilâyat, which, in its turn, means that he will have been educated via this path, reached perfection in this path, and put the finishing touches on this path. For, all the other orders and paths of wilâyat are inferior to this path, and the grades of wilâyat they reach, therefore, incorporate few features reflecting the perfections peculiar to the rank of prophethood. Wilâyat attained by following this path, by contrast, accomodates a great deal of those perfections, since it is a path under the guidance of the Siddîq-i-akbar (Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh').

Because Hadrat Amîr (Alî) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' undertook and carried on the wilâyat belonging to our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', the education of the Awliyâ called 'qutb', 'abdâl', 'awtâd', etc., who have not returned from the grades they attained, -and therefore do not mix with people-, and who profusely enjoy the perfections inherent in wilâyat, is contingent on his help and guidance. The Awliyâ called 'qutb-ul-aqtâb', or 'qutb-i-medâr', are under his command and guidance. In other words, they do their duties under his help and instructions. Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ, (his blessed wife and the Prophet's blessed daughter,) Hasan and Husayn, (his blessed sons), 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum', share this rank with Hadrat Amîr.

All the Ashâb 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' are great. We have to deem them as great and say that they are great, each and every one. Enes bin Mâlik 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ chose me from among the entire humanity. And He chose the best people and made them Ashâb** (Companions) **to me. And from among them He chose the highest ones and made them my relatives and assistants. If a person respects them because he loves me, Allâhu ta'âlâ will protect him against all sorts of danger. Those who hurt me by insulting them, however, will get their come-uppance from Him**." Abdullah ibn Abbâs 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' relates: Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **May those who slander and curse my Ashâb be accursed in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ, in the view of all the angels and human beings**!" Another hadîth-i-sherîf reported on the authority of Âisha-i-siddîqa 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' states: " **The worst people among my Umma are those who dare to speak ill of my Ashâb**."

It must be known that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' were based on benevolent motives and thoughts and not on worldly interests and advantages. For, the differences among them were differences of ijtihâd and interpretation. They were not differences originating from sensuous desires and ambitions. The scholars of (the right way termed) Ahl as-sunnat agree on this. Only, those who fought against Hadrat Amîr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' were wrong (in their ijtihâd). Hadrat Amîr (Alî) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was right. However, since their mistake was a matter of ijtihâd, they cannot be blamed or criticized. As the book Sharh-i-mawâqif reports fromÂmidî, the events (wars) of Jamal (Camel) and Siffîn arose from (differences of) ijtihâd. According to a quotation from Abû Shakûr Muhammad Sulamî in the book **Tamhid** , the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at agree on that Hadrat Mu'âwiya and his allies 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' were wrong. Yet their mistake was a result of ijtihâd. Ibn Hajar Makkî states as follows in his book **Sawâiq-i-Muhriqa** : The war between Hadrat Mu'âwiya and Hadrat Amîr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' was based on ijtihâd. Scholars of Ahl as-sunnat state so. Who are meant by the expression 'our ashâb' in the statement, "The so-called wars (among the Ashâb) were not based on ijtihâd according to the majority of our ashâb," in the book **Sharh-i-mawâqif**? Scholars of Ahl as-sunnat do not say so. They say to the contrary. All the books written by the greatest Islamic authorities state that mistaken conclusions of ijtihâd were involved in the events. Imâm Ghazâlî, Qâdî Abû Bakr and other Islamic scholars share the same knowledge concerning this fact. Therefore, it is not permissible to tax those who fought against Hadrat Amîr (Alî) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' with crimes such as blasphemy or heresy.

Imâm Mâlik 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is quoted as having made the following statements: "If a person curses or maligns one of the Ashâb of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', e.g. Abû Bakr or 'Umar or 'Uthmân or Mu'âwiya or Amr ibn al-Âs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum', on the allegation that they 'deviated from the right course' or 'became disbelievers', he must be killed. If he imputes other faults or deficiencies to them, he must be beaten severely."[] Contrary to the allegations of some fanatical Shiites who call themselves 'Alevî', those who fought against Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' are not disbelievers. Nor are they by anymeans sinful. In fact, Âisha Siddîqa 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', Talha and Zubayr, and many other Sahâbîs were among them 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în'. Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' and thirteen thousand other people were killed in the war called Jamal (Camel). Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' did not take part in those events. A Muslim simply could not utter words of accusation, such as 'heretics' and 'wrongdoers', about them. One must have a foul heart and a dirty soul to say so.

Some scholars of fiqh used the (Arabic) word 'jawr', which means 'cruelty', about Hadrat Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' behaviour; yet, what they really meant was that it had been 'unjust of him to declare himself Khalîfa during the caliphate of Hadrat Amîr.' 'Cruelty' in that sense should not be construed as 'heresy' or 'wrongdoing'. Therefore, their staments (concerning this matter) are in agreement with those of the greater authorities of Ahl as-sunnat. However, true religious scholars should not make statements of this sort, which are always susceptible to misunderstandings. How can one ever utter the word 'cruel' about Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'? Ibn Hajar Makkî states in his Sawâiq-ul-muhriqa that he was a Khalîfa just and blameless in observing the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ and protecting the rights of Muslims. It would have been something justifiable if they had uttered terms on that level about Yazîd. But it is extremely nasty and very ignoble to utter them about Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. All the scholars of hadîth state that our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' invoked blessings on Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. For instance, he (the Prophet) pronounced the following invocation: " **Yâ Rabbî, teach him the book, -i.e. writing and knowledge-, and judgment, and protect him against torment!** " On another occasion, he invoked: " **Yâ Rabbî! Guide him to the right way, and make him a guide to the right way!** " It is doubtless that an invocation offered by the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' must have been accepted (by Allâhu ta'âlâ'). Some [ignorant and aberrant] people who are supposed to be men of religion assert that he (the Prophet) pronounced a malediction on him (Hadrat Mu'âwiya). Doesn't their assertion prove that they are quite unaware of religious books? Their assertion that "Hadrat Imâm Sha'bî criticized Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' " is not true, either. If it were true, Imâm-i-a'zam Abû Hanîfa, who was one of Imâm Sha'bî's disciples, should have quoted his master's criticisms. Imâm Mâlik 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was one of the Taba-i-tâbi'în, according to a report, and lived during the time of Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. It is an absolute fact that he was the highest of the scholars of the blessed city of Medina. What on earth could have made that great scholar state that those who swore at Mu'âwiya and Amr ibn Âs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' should be killed? Since he ordered to kill those who swore at him (Hadrat Mu'âwiya), swearing at him must have been, in his knowledge, one of the grave sins, as grave as swearing at Hadrat Abû Bakr or Hadrat 'Umar or Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'.

Then, it is never permissible to swear at Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. We should think well; Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was not alone in those events. Almost half of the Ashâb-i-kirâm were with him. To call those who fought against Hadrat Amîr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' 'disbelievers' or 'heretics' means to destroy half of the Islamic religion. For, it is them who spread the Islamic religion over the world and who taught it to us. A person will not criticize them unless he is a heretic whose purpose is to demolish Islam. Those wars and commotions started over the martyrdom of Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. They were initially based on demands for retaliation against the murderers. Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' went out of the blessed city of Medina because the retaliation was suspended. Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was of the same opinion. What they wanted was that the retaliation must be carried out as soon as possible. It never occurred to them that they should fight. The war of Jamal began with an onslaught by the men of a Jewish convert named Abdullah bin Saba', the behind-the-scenes conspirators of the martyrdom of Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Thirteen thousand people and Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' were killed in those wars. Later, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who was in Damascus, joined in the matter and sided with them. Thereupon the war of Siffîn was made. According to Imâm Ghazâlî, those wars were not made for the purpose of assuming caliphate. They were consequent upon the demands that the murderers must be retaliated against and that the retaliation must take precedence over other matters at the outset of Hadrat Amîr's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' career as Khalîfa. As Hadrat Allâma ibn Hajar-i-Makkî confirms, this fact is unanimously stated by the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat. According to Abû Shekûr Muhammad Sulamî, one of the greatest scholars in the Madhhab of Hanafî, the war that Hadrat Mu'âwiya fought against Hadrat Amîr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' was based on caliphate. For the Prophet 'alaihis-salâtu wassalâm' had said to him, " **When you preside over people, behave mildly towards them**!" He had been yearning for caliphate since the day he had heard this. However, he was wrong in his ijtihâd. Hadrat Amîr's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' ijtihâd, on the other hand, was right. For, his (Hadrat Mu'âwiya's) time of caliphate was to begin after the caliphate of Hadrat Amîr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. That means to say that the initial cause of the so-called turmoil was the delay in the retaliation. And when the retaliation was put off, the idea of becoming Khalîfa came into being. In any case, it was a matter of ijtihâd. The wrong party deserved one blessing, and the party with the correct ijtihâd earned two blessings. The best policy that devolves on us in this matter is not to concern ourselves with the fights among the Ashâb 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' of our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. We should not discuss them. Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Do not concern yourselves with the matters among my Ashâb** 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în!" At some other time, he stated: " **Hold your tongue when they are talked about!** " He stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Fear Allâhu ta'âlâ in the matter of my Ashâb! Do not criticize my Ashâb!** "

Yes, Yazîd, the ignominious, was an obdurate sinner. He has not been cursed because the (scholars of) Ahl as-sunnat have not approved of cursing a person, even if he is a disbeliever. They, (scholars of Ahl as-sunnat), say that a person can be cursed only if he (or she) is known to have died as a disbeliever. Abû Lahab and the like are among such people. This does not mean, however, that Yazîd must not be cursed. May those who offend Allâhu ta'âlâ and His Messenger 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' be accursed in the view of Allah in both this world and the next!

Recently, a number of people have made it an avocation for themselves to discuss the matters of caliphate. Whatsoever the topic of conversation in their presence, they somehow convert it into one about the wars among the Sahâba. Because their religious culture consists only in what they have read in the name of history written by ignorant people and what they have heard from people of bid'at, whose lies they take for granted, they malign most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân'. I have therefore considered it necessary to write the facts I know and send them to my friends. Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **At times of chaos, when lies are written** (in the name of truth), **acts of worship are contaminated with customs, and my Ashâb** 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' **are censured, those who know the truth should explain it to others! May those who do not tell the truth, although they know it and are able to tell it, be accursed in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ, in the view of angels and in the view of entire humanity! Allâhu ta'âlâ will not accept any of their acts of worship, whether they are fard or else**."

Any degree of thanks and praise would fall short of paying the debt of gratitude we owe to Allâhu ta'âlâ, for the present time's pâdishâh (ruler, emperor) [of India] is a Sunnî Muslim in the Madhhab of Hanafî. If this were not the case, things would be very difficult for Muslims. Every Muslim has to pay thanks for this great blessing.

Every Muslim has to learn the Sunnî credo, correct their belief accordingly, and watch their steps lest they should slip and deviate from the right path by believing people of obscure origin and false books. To attempt to learn one's religion and belief from books and magazines written cheatfully with fondling and coaxing words by enemies of religion, instead of reading books written by scholars of Ahl as-sunnat 'rahima humullâhu ta'âlâ', means to throw oneself into Hell. Reading books containing the words of scholars of Ahl as-sunnat, and adapting ourselves to them is the only way to salvation. This is the end of the translation of the hundred and twenty-first letter.

FIFTEENTH LETTER of THE  
SECOND VOLUME of MAKTÛBÂT

Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' states as follows:

The reason for disturbing you the blessed and venerable scholars and judges and authorities and officials of the city of Sâmâna with this letter of mine is the khatîb[] of your city, who, I have heard, did not mention the names of the Khulafâ-i-Râshidîn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum', i.e. the four Khalîfas of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wasallam', during the performance of the khutba after the 'Iyd prayer of Qurbân. Even worse to tell, when a group of the jamâ'at reminded him of his omission, after the prayer, he obstinately retorted, "What does it matter if I don't?" instead of expressing his sorrow for the mistake or oversight. And the worst of it is that the notables among the audience contented themselves with the part of indifferent bystanders instead of teaching that nasty khatîb his manners. A line from a poem reads as follows:

Shame, and shame, not only once, but hundreds of times!

Yes, it is not one of the indispensable components of khutba to mention the names of the Khulafâ-i-Râshidîn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'; yet it is a sign, a characteristic, a trademark of Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at. One must only be evil-hearted to purposely and obstinately avoid mentioning their names. If his omission was not merely bigotry or obstinacy, then how will he explain himself in the face of the following hadîth-i-sherîf, in which our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states: " **If a person yearns after joining a certain community, he is one of them**." And what motives will absolve him from the danger purported in the following âyat-i-kerîma: " **Beware from places and situations that will cause imputation and arouse suspicion**!" If he denies the superior merits of the blessed Shaikhayn, i.e. of Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', he has left the path of Ahl as-sunnat and become a member of the Shiite sect. If he does not believe the fact that it is necessary to love 'Uthmân and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', in this case also he has deviated from the right path. I suppose, that aberrant khatîb is from Kashmir. He must have caught that foul contagion from the heretics living in Kashmir.

Let that man know this: That the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' are the highest members of this Ummat (Muslims) is a fact which was believed, and acknowledged at every occasion, by all the Sahâba-i-kirâm and the Tâbi'în-i-i'zâm. A great majority of the highest Islamic authorities have communicated this fact to us. Imâm-i-Muhammad Shâfi'î 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' is one of those authorities. Abu-l-Hasan al-ash'arî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', one of the two leaders of our credal Madhhab, stated: "That Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' are, respectively, the highest members of this Umma, is a definite fact." Imâm Alî stated in the presence of a crowded group of his admirers, during his caliphate: "Be it known that Abû Bakr is the highest of this Ummat, and next comes 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'." This (statement of Hadrat Alî's) is quoted by Imâm Zahabî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', who notes, "This statement has been quoted by more than eighty narrators." Giving the names of most of them, he adds, "May Allâhu ta'âlâ punish (the group of heretics called) Râfidîs because they do not know this." Imâm Muhammad Bukhârî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' relates in his book **Bukhârî-i-sherîf** , which is the second most valuable Islamic book after the Qur'ân al-kerîm, the Book of Allâhu ta'âlâ: Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated, "The second best member of this Ummat after the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wasallam' is Abû Bakr, who is the second highest as well, and next after him is 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. Next after them is someone else." When his son Muhammad bin Hanafiyya commented, "And you are that person," he stated, "I am one of Muslims."

Narrations like this on the authority of Imâm Alî and the greater ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' and of the Tâbi'în-i-izâm have reached us and spread far and near. It is either vulgar ignorance or sheer stubbornness to deny the fact despite all those narrations. That unconscionable khatîb must be told that "we have been commanded to love all the Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and not to offend any one of them. Hadrat 'Uthmân and Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu anhumâ' are Sahâbîs, too. And they are two of the greatest ones. They are our Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' sons-in-law. Then, it is necessary to love them, and they must be loved very much. Allâhu ta'âlâ declares in the Qur'ân al-kerîm: ' **O My beloved Prophet** 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'! **Say unto them: I demand only one price for** (my service of) **having invited you to Islam and for having guided you to eternal happiness: Love my relatives and those who are close to me.** ' Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: ' **Fear Allâhu ta'âlâ, fear Allâhu ta'âlâ and do not offend my Ashâb** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' **! After me, do not bear malice towards them, and do not show enmity against them! He who loves them, does so because he loves me. And he who is their enemy, is so because he is inimical towards me. He who hurts them hurts me** (by doing so). **He who hurts me hurts Allâhu ta'âlâ** (by doing so). **And Allâhu ta'âlâtorments a person who hurts Him**."

Never before since the birth of Islam has India harboured such malodorous rose-buds. All the citizens of Sâmâna are likely to be held responsible for this abominable attitude. In fact, entire India may lose its credibility. The present pâdishâh -may Allâhu ta'âlâ help him against the enemies of religion- is a Sunnî Muslim in the Hanafî Madhhab. It is so daring to invent such a heresy in the time of such a Sultân (emperor)! Perhaps, it means to stand against the state, the ruler. What is really appalling, however, is that the notables and the eminent Muslims of the city have been insensitive and remiss towards the event. Jews and Christians are refuted as follows, as is purported in the sixty-third âyat-i-kerîma of Mâida sûra: " **Why do not the Rabbis and the doctors of law forbid them from their** (habit of) **uttering sinful words and eating things forbidden? Evil indeed are their works.** " And the seventy-ninth âyat-i-kerîma purports as follows: " **Nor did they (usually) forbid one another the iniquities which they committed: evil indeed were the deeds which they did.** "

Reticence will embolden the enemies of religion who mean to defile Islam and try to mislead young Muslims by misrepresenting the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ as awkward and ridiculous acts and disguising the harâms and irreligious acts under false names such as 'fashion' and 'modernism'. It will cause them to give a loose to their foul intentions and wound Islam. Is it not this lassitude on the part of Muslims that afforded Islam's enemies an opportunity to openly carry on their plans to make Muslims' children irreligious and mislead them into the heresies they have concocted? Like wolves, they are dragging the sheep by ones or twos away from the flock and destroying them. I would hate to bother you so much. Yet I went out of my mind when I heard the infuriating news. It set my Fârûqî veins into motion and these writings came out of my pen. I hope you will forgive me. May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless you and those who adhere to the right path and those who follow Muhammad Mustafâ 'alaihi wa 'alâ âlihissalawâtu wa-t-taslîmâtu wa-t-tahiyyâtu wa-l-barakât' with salvation! Âmin.

Ahmad Fârûqî

Muhammad is the Darling of the Creator of worlds.  
Physically pure, Ahmad in name, and rahmat for worlds.

Owner of Khuluq-i-'azîm, and lauded in Leuw lâka... .  
Source of knowledge, adab, fayz, nûr and muhabbat.

He is the true mediator between Haqq and the slave,  
His words are medicine for souls, his name for rusty hearts.

He is the true doctor for hearts suffering from melancholy,  
He is, nay, even his Ummat are higher than angels.

To His most distinguished slave Haqq has given assistants,  
His most beloved slaves He made his Ashâb.

Rasûlullah said: their path is my path, indeed;  
'Best of times' indicates their time.

They loved Muhammad more than they did their lives,  
For his sake they sacrificed their property, positions'n lives.

For spreading Islam they gave their lives;  
Yâ Rabb, how lovely a state; Yâ Rabb, how great an honour.

One single sohbat with him, and their nafs was purified,  
Their hearts were with ma'rifat, fayz, nûr'n tajallî occupied.

States peculiar to Awliyâ took them a moment to attain;  
And they ever followed him, what a great honour to attain.

All of them are just, blameless, and never cruel to anyone;  
Never for their nafs would they yearn after caliphate.

Nor would they fight for that purpose or hurt one another;  
They occupy the highest position, and they all are mujtahids.

Allâhu ta'âlâ always exists. He never ceases to exist. He, alone, creates everything from nothing. He keeps all His creatures always in existence. He, alone, cures the unhealthy; gives food to human beings and animals; feeds the hungry; kills; knows the unknown; sees and hears all; and has power over all. He does not eat or drink, is not begotten and does not beget, and does not have a likeness. No change takes place in His Person or Attributes. These Attributes are peculiar to Him. They are termed **attributes of Ulûhiyyat**. Human beings, medicines, machines, weapons cannot create anything. They serve as a means for His creating. He does not need the means or anything else. To believe that one of the attributes of ulûhiyyat exists in one of the creatures, e.g. in men, in beasts, in the sun or stars, is termed **shirk**. A person who holds that belief is called **mushrik**. With that belief, he has attributed a **sherîk=** partner to Allâhu ta'âlâ. To pray or entreat or venerate, with that belief, something or someone or his idol or picture, means to **worship an idol** = **idolatry** , and the object worshipped as such is an **idol**. Places or mausoleums containing such objects are called **pagan temples**. It is not idolatry, however, to respect a person or his picture or statue or grave because he is believed to have been a beloved slave of Allâhu ta'âlâ or a hero who served humanity and his country. One does not become a mushrik by doing so. After Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm' was raised to heaven, people who believed that he was a prophet held his pictures and statues in reverence in order to attain his intercession for them on the Rising Day. This reverence of theirs did not mean to worship him or to idolize him. After the christianization of the Roman polytheists, however, the Platonic philosophy, **Trinity** , spread and caught on, whereby some people's belief was blighted by the heresythat he (Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm') possessed attributes of ulûhiyyat (deity, godhood). This, in its turn, gave rise to an ever-increasing number of people professing their belief in his procreation from God or his membership of a tripartite godhead. The heresy thus born proliferated into a new breed of polytheism that was finally adopted as an official religion in the Nicean Council. Votaries of this polytheism were called **Christians**. They are worshipping his pictures and icons and two perpendicular lines called the **cross**. All their churches are temples of idolatry. If a Muslim goes to a church or to a fountain held sacred by Christians and asks the priests therein to pronounce a blessing over him or to pray for him so that he will recover from a certain illness, he becomes a mushrik. A mushrik (polytheist) is worse than the worst of disbelievers. An (edible) animal that he kills (by jugulation) must not be eaten. A Muslim must not marry his daughter. All Christians and Jews are **kâfirs** (disbelievers) on account of their denial of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'. Of these disbelievers, the ones who did not lapse into shirk (polytheism) are called **Ahl-i-kitâb** (People of the Book). Animals they kill (by jugulation) can be eaten (by Muslims). Muslims can marry their daughters by way of (the Islamic marriage contract called) nikâh. The Qur'ân al-kerîm states that Jews and polytheists are hostile to Muslims. They are trying to demolish Islam from within by means of lies, tricks and treacherous plans. This treachery was started by Jews during the time of 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', the third Khalîfa. Then Christians began to attack. They invented the heretical groups called **Shiites** and **Wahhâbîs** as against the true Muslims called **Ahl as-sunnat** or **Sunnîs** (or Sunnites), who are the true followers of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Shî'ism means enmity towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm. They assert that the "Sahâba perpetrated inimical acts towards Alî." The Qur'ân al-kerîm, on the other hand, informs us that the Sahâba loved one another very much and that they will all attain Paradise. OurProphet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' also stated, " **Love all the Ashâb-i-kirâm and keep on their path**!" He stated at another time, " **My Ashâb are like the stars in the sky. If you follow any** **one of them, you will attain guidance (to the right path)**." A Muslim who loves Hadrat Alî is called **Alawî** (or Alevî). The Sunnî Muslims are truly Alawî since they love all the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Our Prophet called the enemies of the Ashâb-i-kirâm **Râfidîs**. He informed that all the Râfidîs will go to Hell. Shiites call themselves Alawîs in order to deceive Muslims. If they were Alawîs, they would be following the path guided by Hadrat Alî. He loved all the Ashâb-i-kirâm. He gave allegiance to Hadrat Abû Bakr as soon as he heard that he had been elected Khalîfa. He made Hadrat 'Umar his son-in-law by giving his daughter in marriage to him. Please see the eightieth letter in the first volume of **Maktûbât** , by Imâm Rabbânî 'rahmatullâhî 'aleyh'. The book has Arabic and Persian versions. The first volume was also translated into Turkish under the title **Müjdeci Mektûblar** (Letters Giving Good News). An English translation of the eightieth letter exists in the final part of this book.

Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî states as follows in the two hundred and seventy-fifth (275) letter of his book **Maktûbât** :

You have attained that blessing by teaching Islamic knowledge and promulgating the rules of Fiqh. Ignorance was established and bid'ats were rife in those places. Allâhu ta'âlâhas blessed you with affection towards His beloved ones. He has made you a means of spreading Islam. Then, do your utmost to teach religious knowledge and to spread the tenets of Fiqh. These two are ahead of all happinesses, means of promotion to higher grades, and causes of salvation. Endeavour hard! Come forward as a man of religion! Perform amr-i-ma'rûf and nahy-i-munker and guide the people living there to the right path! The nineteenth âyat of Muzzammil sûra purports: " **Verily this is an admonition: Therefore, whoso will, let him take a (straight) path to his Rabb,** (i.e. to Allâhu ta'âlâ) **!** "

NOTE

There are twenty-two groups who censure the Ashâb-i-kirâm. The worst of these groups are the heretics who say that "Allah exists in Alî. To worship Alî means to worship Him." The second worst group, on the other hand, castigate the first group, saying, "How could Alî ever be Allah? He is human. Yet he is the highest member of mankind. Allah sent the Qur'ân al-kerîm to him. But Jebrâîl (the archangel) favoured Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' and brought the Qur'ân al-kerîm to him, depriving Alî of his right." There is yet a third group, who reprove them, saying, "What a nonsense to say! Our Prophet is Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'. Only, he had said that Alî should be Khalîfa after him. Yet the Sahâba did not obey him and gave the right of caliphate to the other three, leaving Alî the fourth place." Thus they vilify the other three Khalîfas for having encroached upon Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' right and bear grudge against all the Ashâb-i-kirâm for having deprived him of his right, while expressing their indignation over his failure to protect his own right. All these three groups are disbelievers. The other groups are either disbelievers or holders of bid'at. May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless them all with hidâyat (guidance)! May He grant them the insight to see the right way!

Millions of people living in Iranian villages and in Iraq today are floundering about in the miasma of this heresy. We have come across a novel of some hundred pages, entitled **Husniyya** , which is said to have been being read as the most valuable book by these miserable miscreants. The book was printed in Istanbul and builds its theme over the concocted story of a conversation between a young woman, a concubine in the palace of Hârûn-ur-rashîd, and some men. It is understood that it was written in Iran, by an Iranian Jew named Murtadâ, and was translated from Fârisî into Turkish. Misinterpreting theâyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs, distorting the historical facts and events, and fabricating pathetic stories so as to mislead the ignorant, it assails the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum' and the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat. For instance:

1– "Imâm-i Shâfi'î was in Baghdâd. Abû Yûsuf was a qâdî as well. There was hostility between them," he alleges. Being quite unaware of ijtihâd, he looks on differences of ijtihâd as hostility.
2– "Abû Yûsuf and Shâfi'î and the scholars of Baghdâd proved short of answering Husniyya," he asserts. He has the face to write so because he does not know the greatness of Imâm-i-Shâfi'î. As a matter of fact, Farîdaddîn-i-Attâr 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' makes the following explanations in Tadhkira-t-ul-awliyâ:

Imâm-i-Muhammad Shâfi'î 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' was only thirteen years old when he had the self-confidence to make the following challenge in Harem-i-sherîf: "Ask me any questions you like!" He was fifteen years old when he could give fatwâ[]. Ahmad ibn Hanbal 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', who was the greatest scholar of his time and had three hundred thousand hadîths committed to his memory, would pay him visits for the purpose of learning from him. It appeared paradoxical to a number of people around Imâm-i-Ahmad (ibn Hanbal) for him, such a great scholar as he was, to sit before a person as young as he was. Yet when he was asked why, he would explain, "He knows the meanings of the things we have memorized. If I had not seen him, I would have failed to get any further beyond the gate of knowledge. He is a sun illuminating the entire world; he is nourishment for souls." At another occasion he said, "The gate of fiqh had been closed. Allâhu ta'âlâ opened this gate again for His slaves by means of Shâfi'î." At some other time he observed, "I know no one who has served Islam more than Shâfi'î has." And again, according to Imâm-i-Ahmad (bin Hanbal), the scholar denoted to in the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ creates a scholar every hundred years, and through him teaches my religion to others** ," was Imâm-i-Shâfi'î. [This hadîth-i-sherîf states that these scholars will appear in the Dâr-ul-Islâm.] Sufyân-i-Sawrî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' stated, "Shâfi'î's wisdom was more than the sum of the wisdoms of half of the people of his time." Abdullah Ansârî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' stated, "I do not know the Shâfi'î Madhhab well. Yet I like Imâm Shâfi'î very much. For I see him ahead of others in every realm I look into." One day Imâm Shâfi'î was delivering a lecture, when he stood up and sat down again, repeating the same behaviour a couple of times. When, afterwards, he was asked why he had done so, he explained, "A child, who was a Sayyid, was playing immediately outside the door. Whenever he passed before me, I stood up out of respect for him. It would have been something inexcusable to see a grandchild of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and not to stand up." If the author of the book Husniyya had known of this fact, he would perhaps have felt shame to say that "Imâm Shâfi'î was hostile towards the Ahl-i-bayt." Rebî' bin Haysam 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' related, "I saw Âdam 'alaihis-salâm' dead in my dream. (The next morning, when I told my dream to people who were good at interpreting dreams,) they said that the greatest scholar of our time was going to die. For it was stated in an âyat-i-kerîma that knowledge was a property of Âdam 'alaihis-salâm'. Imâm Shâfi'î passed away a few days later."

3– "When Husniyya explained that her Madhhab was love of Ahl-i-bayt-i-Rasûl and put forward her arguments, the scholars were unable to answer her," he writes. The Ahl-i-bayt-i-Rasûl and all the Ashâb-i-kirâm were of the same creed. They were in the path shown by the Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs.

As a matter of fact, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states, "My Ashâb are like the stars in the sky. If you follow any one of them you will be following the right path." He does not say, "some of my Ashâb," or "only my Ahl-i-bayt." He says, "my Ashâb," which means to say that they held the same creed. These people, on the other hand, are trying to deceive Muslims by calling their wrong stories and heretical beliefs 'The madhhab of Ahl-i-bayt'. If there had been a scholar in the so-called discussion, the concubine would not even have been able to open her mouth. The author (of the book Husniyya) attempts to blemish the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat by asserting that they were not able to answer her.

4– He says, (through the imaginary concubine), that "Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' became a Believer as he was a child," tries to prove by means of lies and solecisms that "a child's belief is acceptable," and simulates how the so-called concubine "refuted the scholars by concluding that caliphate was Alî's right."

Misrepresenting the Ahl as-sunnat as having denied the fact that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was a child when he became a Believer, he alleges that the concubine put the Ahl as-sunnat scholars to shame. The truth, however, is that all the Sunnî books provide a detailed account of Imâm Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' becoming a Believer as a child and praise the Lion of Allah (Hadrat Alî) with highly laudatory remarks.

5– In another page he attacks the Ahl as-sunnat as follows: "After the Messenger of Allah, Alî is higher than the Anbiyâ-i-mursalîn (prophets). The Imâm (Alî) is the wasi-i-Rasûl (the Prophet's trustee), who has committed to his memory all the heavenly books, the Torah, the Zabûr, the Bible, and the Qur'ân. Abû Bakr, on the other hand, was forty years old when he gave up worshipping the idols called Lât and Uzzâ and became a Muslim; he opposed the Rasûl-i-Hudâ several times; his skin and blood had been fed with wine; how come you accept the belief of that person while rejecting the belief of the innocent members of theProphet's family and harbouring enmity and grudge in your hearts against that noble family?"

At many places of the Qur'ân al-kerîm, e.g. in the eighty-sixth âyat of An'âm sûra, which reads as follows: " **And Ismâ'îl and Elisha, and Jonas, and Lot: And to all We gave favour above the nations** ," (6-80) Allâhu ta'âlâ declares that all prophets are higher than all non-prophets. To say that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is higher than prophets means to contradict the Qur'ân al-kerîm, which in turn is an act of kufr (disbelief). The other heavenly books, (e.g. the Torah and the Bible,) were not in poetic form, and nor were they memorized by anyone. As a matter of fact, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was unable to answer three questions he was asked about the Torah and waited for three days for Jebrâ'îl (Gabriel) 'alaihis-salâm' to arrive with the answers. He spent the three days in deep anguish, and so did all the Muslims around him. Finally, the Kahf sûra was revealed and the answers proved to be in agreement with the facts in the Torah. Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' were friends since their boyhood. They were warm-hearted towards one another, and together most of the time. It is written in books that neither of them ever tasted wine or worshipped idols. For instance, the book **Ma'al-il-faraj** reports on the authority of Qâdî Abu-l-Hasan that Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' related: We were sitting in the presence of Rasûl-i-akram 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', when Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' said, "O Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'! I swear by your right that I never worshipped idols throughout my life." Hadrat 'Umar warned, "Why do you swear by the right of Rasûlullah? We led a life of nescience for so many long years." Upon this Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' related, "My father Abû Quhâfa took me to the place where the idols stood. 'These are your creators. Prostrate yourself before them," he said. When he was gone, I said to an idol, 'I am hungry. Give me something to eat.' It did not answer. I asked for water, and then for clothes. No voice came out. I challenged, 'I shall throw stones at you. Stop me if you can!' Silence, again. I threw stones at him. It fell flat on its face. My father was surprised when he was back and saw all that. He took me back home. My mother suggested that they should not say anything to me." When Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' finished his words, the Messenger of Allah 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **Jebrâ'îl 'alaihi-salâm' has just come to me and said that Abû Bakr told the truth**."

Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' sacrificed all his property, his life, his children, and everything he had for his sake. The hadîth-i-sherîf that states, " **Abû Bakr's** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' **îmân is more than the sum of the îmâns of my entire Ummat** ," would be sufficient in itself to prove that he was higher than all the other Sahâbîs. In addition, there is many another hadîth-i-sherîf stating that he was the highest of all. A few of them are quoted along with their documentary sources in the (Turkish) book **Se'âdet-i-ebediyye**. Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' never opposed Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wasallam'. In fact, even his ijtihâds were in agreement with those of the Messenger of Allah. Furthermore, (he was so deeply attached to Rasûlullah that) once he sincerely expressed his willingness to barter all his acts of worship for one single mistake ever made by the Messenger of Allah. The books of Ahl as-sunnat brim over with love and veneration for the Ahl-i-bayt. His assailing the Ahl as-sunnat scholars with the accusation that they "harbour enmity and grudge (against the Ahl-i-bayt)" reeks of the treacherous and ignoble attempts to defame the Ahl as-sunnat which his book bristles with. So many are the reports and passages laudatory of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' in the books of Tafsîr and Hadîth written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat that no Muslim can be imagined not to have heard at least one or two of them. For instance, Abdullah ibni Abbas 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' reports: I heard the Messenger of Allah state, " **Love of Alî burns a Muslim's sins like fire's burning** (pieces of) **wood**." Love of him entails correct learning of his words and painstaking efforts to attain the personality typified in his example.

6– He states in a page, "According to the Ahl as-sunnat, evils, wrongdoings, disbelief and sins are in agreement with Allah's qadâ and qadar (foreordination, fate), although He does not approve of them. This belief is like saying that a certain judge disapproves of his own decree. Those who say so are aware of their own disbelief and they try to cover their own guilt by putting the blame for disbelief on qadâ and qadar, which in turn is the devil's madhhab."

These statements betray his denial of qadâ and qadar. Also, they contradict Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq by doing so. Distorting the âyat-i-kerîmas purporting that Allâhu ta'âlâ is the Creator of all, he interprets them arbitrarily. However, the true meanings of those âyat-i-kerîmas are explained with such excellence as will command the admiration of owners of wisdom in the tafsîr of Shaikhzâda [Muhammad bin Shaikh Mustafâ], which is an annotation to (Qâdi) **Baydâwî** 's (book of tafsîr entitled Anwâr-ut-tanzîl). He quotes (the imaginary concubine named) Husniyya as having said, "I stayed in Imâm Abû Ja'far's 'alaihis-salâm' home between the ages five and twenty. From him did I acquire all this knowledge." He begrimes the honourable name of that great religious leader with his lies and disbelief for the purpose of smuggling them into people's credence. As a matter of fact, Imâm-i-Ja'far Sâdiq's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' statements on qadâ and qadar are quoted and explained in minute detail in the (Turkish) book **Se'âdet-i-ebediyye** []. Furthermore, it is illogical of him to say that it would be paradoxical for a judge to disapprove of his own decree, in the matter of reconciling decree with approval. Naturally, it would be paradoxical for a judge to disapprove of his fair and correct decree. Likewise, it would be paradoxical for Allâhu ta'âlâ to disapprove of (people's) obeying Him and doing good and charitable deeds. In fact, He declares that He will approve of such acts. Yet, how could a judge approve of a decree that he made under duress or by mistake and which he, later, finds out to have been wrong? He would not approve of it even if it was his own decree. Sirâj-ud-dîn Alî bin 'Uthmân Ûshî, owner of the fatwâs called the **fatwâs of Sirâjiyya** , states as follows in the third distich of the extremely valuable qasîda entitled **Amâlî** : "Allâhu ta'âlâ has the Attribute 'Hayât', [that is, He is alive]. He foreordains everything in the eternal past." Several scholars wrote annotations to this qasîda. Sayyid Ahmad Âsim Efendi, who translated the book into Turkish, notes in his annotation, "Qadar means Allâhu ta'âlâ's knowledge, in the eternal past, of all the future events. Qadâ means His showing this knowledge in Lawh-il-Mahfûz."[][Tayyibî], the annotator of Kashshâf, noted that "According to some (scholars), 'qadar' means a 'general commandment', and 'qadâ' means 'the happening, one by one, of the events (stated in the general commandment)'. For instance, [Every living being will die] is qadar. And death of every living being is qadâ." Shams-ad-dîn Mahmûd bin Abdurrahmân Isfahânî, who wrote an annotation to the book **Tawâlî'** , makes the following definition: "Qadar means the existence of all things, en masse, in Lawh-il-Mahfûz. And qadâ means the creation of their causes and them one by one when their (foreordained) times come." Qadar means a cellar-full of wheat, and qadâ is to dispense it piecemeal in certain quantities. The words 'qadar' and 'qadâ' can be used for each other. Qadar: (Ahmad becomes a Muslim of his own volition and using his own will power. And Gregory prefers disbelief, which, also, is his own wish and predilection. There is many an âyat showing this fact.) There is detailed information about qadâ and qadar in the (Turkish) book **Se'âdet-i-ebediyye**. A person who reads the information with due attention will easily detect the sly, tricky and hoodwinking sophistry which the Jewish author engineers throughout the book (Husniyya). It would take no time for connoisseurs of Tafsîr[] to diagnose the unschooled and illogical inaptitude in the interpretation of the âyats. Yet people who are unaware of Tafsîr and the twenty main branches of Islamic sciences might be inveigled into taking the book for granted under the influence of melodramatic expressions, such as "She routed them, put them to shame, refuted them, outwitted them, proved them false," which abound in the book. Therefore, such mendacious and heretical books, magazines and newspapers should not be read at all. Not to read them means to protect yourself from becoming a disbeliever.

7– At one place he says, "At one time Shaikh Behlûl [Behlûl Dânâ] said (to Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa): 'O Abû Hanîfa! You say that man does not have ihtiyâr (choice). An ass is wiser and more virtuous than you are. For it would not walk across an impassable stream whatsoever you do to force it to!' Ibrâhîm Khâlid was unable to answer her. Hârûn Rashîd and Yahyâ Bermekî laughed."

And, quoting the hadîth-i-sherîf stating that the group of Qadariyya are the fire-worshippers of this Ummat, he adds, "The group of Qadariyya are people who commit sins and then say that their sins were preordained in the eternal past by Allah. The pre-Islamic Qouraishî polytheists were in the Jabriyya madhhab. Islam rescinded that madhhab. But after the martyrdom of the Amîr-ul-mu'minîn Hadrat Alî, during the reigns of Mu'âwiya and Yazîd, the 'alaihi-il-la'na[], that madhhab reappeared and survived as a cultural heritage for Muslims." He tries to prove himself to be right by offering preposterous arguments which give the impression of puerile confabulations.

The scholars of Ahl as-sunnat have never said that man does not have ihtiyâr (choice). According to them, the group of Jabriyya are disbelievers. One should have never read books written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat to believe the shameless slanders in the so-called book. Qadariyya is another apellation for the sect of Mu'tazila. It can be concluded from the so-called book that Shiites are in that sect, too. The sect of Mu'tazila can also be called Qadariyya because they deny qadâ and qadar and say that man is definitely able to do whatever he likes and creates his own actions. In other words, those who deny qadar are the group of Qadariyya, and (the true Muslims) who believe in qadar and qadâ are in the Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat.

Muhammad bin Abdulkerîm Shihristânî states as follows in his book **Milal wa Nihâl** : Wâsil bin Atâ, leader of the group Mu'tazila, and his followers assert that "Man is the creator of his own optional actions. Allâhu ta'âlâ has to make the things that are useful for His slaves. He has to reward the good and torment the evil. Allah is one. He cannot have attributes additionally. The Qur'ân is composed of letters, words and sounds, which, in their turn, are creatures and were created afterwards. Man creates his own actions, good or evil. It is not something right to say that Allâhu ta'âlâ creates evil, bad things, sins and disbelief. To say so means to malign him. For he who creates cruelty is cruel himself. And Allâhu ta'âlâ is not cruel." These words of theirs are wrong. The owner of an action is its agent, not its creator. As man himself is a creature, likewise, his disbelief, belief, worship and disobedience are creatures as well. The ninety-sixth âyat-i-kerîma of Sâffât sûra purports: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has created you and your handiwork**." Imâm Baydâwî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', a scholar of Ahl as-sunnat, explains the âyat as follows: "The actions you do and the things you make are man's handiwork. YetAllâhu ta'âlâ, alone, gives you energy to act and creates the causes of your work." Because the group Qadariyya have held the belief that everyone is the creator of his own handiwork, they have become the fire-worshippers of this Ummat. The Sunnî Muslims say that there is one creator. Fire-worshippers say that there are two creators.

The Arabic book **Ikd-ul-jawharî,** by Mawlânâ Khâlid Baghdâdî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', contains detailed explanations about irâda-i-juz'iyya (limited will, man's will). Abdulhamîd Harpûtî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' wrote an annotation to the book and entitled his annotation **Sim tul'abqarî.** The annotation was published in Istanbul in 1305 [1888 A.D.]. Also, Mawlânâ's[] booklet **Irâda-i-juz'iyya** was published by offset litho as an appendix to the book **Rashahât** in Istanbul in 1291 [1874 A.D.], during the period when Safwat Pâsha was Minister of Education. The ninth letter in the book **Bughyat-ul-wâjid** is a lithographic copy of that booklet. It is stated as follows in the booklet:

May hamd (praise and gratitude) be to Allâhu ta'âlâ, who created the earth and heaven, human beings and animals, and all their works and actions from nothing. WhenAllâhu ta'âlâ wills to create something, he says, "Be!" and presently that thing comes into being.

May blessings, salvations and goodnesses be upon Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', our master and superior and best of the people living in hair tents and in buildings made of sun-dried bricks, (i.e. all people,) and upon his Âl (family, household), upon his relatives, and upon his Ashâb!

O you Muslim! May Allâhu ta'âlâ increase your mental capacity! May He bless you with the lot of following the right path! You must know that all groups of Muslims, and also most philosophers and non-Muslims have acknowledged the fact that Allâhu ta'âlâ, alone, is the one and only power that moves and effects every being, everything, aside from the movements of animals. It is doubtless that He is the creator also of the movements of animals and human beings. In other words, Allâhu ta'âlâ, alone, creates all their movements, both the conscious ones, [i.e. those which they are aware of,] such as illness, wealth, sleep and awakenness, and the unconscious ones, [i.e. those they are unaware of,] such as growing and digesting the food consumed, which are not dependent upon their will and option. As for the optional movements of animals and human beings, i.e. their actions which they do by using their will and choice; there are different views concerning these movements. According to the group Jabriyya, for instance, there is only one source of power effective in the optional movements: Allâhu ta'âlâ. They say that man's power has no function at all. Also, Abul-Hasan Alî Ash'arî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ, who is one of our imâms in credal matters, says that they are dependent only upon Allâhu ta'âlâ's power and that man's power has no function in them. The group Mu'tazila, on the other hand, maintain that the so-called movements come into existence only out of man's power and option, while in the view of philosophers they happen from man's power and yet man has to do them. Abdulmalîk Juwaynî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', who has been known as the Imâm of Haramayn, is wrongly said to have held the same view. As a matter of fact, this jaundiced information is belied by the sagacious scholar Muhammad bin Yûsuf Sinnûsî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', in his book **Umm-ul-barâhîn** , and by Sa'duddîn Teftâzânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' [722-792, Semmerkand], in **Sharh-i-makâsid**. The great scholar Ibrâhîm bin Muhammad Isfarâinî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', one of our masters in credal matters, states that those movements are dependent both upon the power of Allâhu ta'âlâ and upon the slave's power. According to Qâdî Abû Bakr Bâqillânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', however, the only power effective in the creation of such movements is Allâhu ta'âlâ, and that man's power is effective only in the nature of the movements, i.e. in their being good or evil. That the Imâm of our Madhhab in credal matters, Muhammad bin Mahmûd Abû Mansûr Mâturîdî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', held the same view, is acknowledged by Kemâladdîn Muhammad ibn-ul-humâm 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', in **Al-musâyara** ; by Kemâladdîn Muhammad ibn Abû Sherîf-i-qudsî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', in **Al-musâmara fî sharh-il-musâyara** ; by Hasan Chalabi (Çelebi) bin Muhammad Shâh 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', -who was a descendant of Molla Ghurânî-, in his annotation entitled **Sharh-i-mawâqif** ; and by the research scholar Gelenbevî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', in **Aqâid-ud-dawwâniyya**.

Imâm Birgivî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a Sunnî scholar, explains the true meanings which the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat derived from the Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs in a splendid, concise and clear style in his Turkish book **Birgivî Vasiyyetnâmesi.** Qâdî-zâda (Ahmad Amîn bin Abdullah) 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' makes the following explanation in the twenty-fourth page of his commentary to the book:

Allâhu ta'âlâ is Murîd. In other words, He has the Attribute Irâda (Will). He creates whatever He wishes. He creates whatever He wills to exist. And whatever He does not will to exist, does not exist. It is not necessary for him to make anything. He cannot be forced to do something. For Allâhu ta'âlâ is powerful over all. No one can have power over Him. He never is incapable. Everything comes into existence out of His Will. Goodness such as îmân and obedience (to His commandments), as well as evils such as disbelief and disobedience, all come into existence out of His Will. According to the group Mu'tazila, "Allâhu ta'âlâ does not will, and so He does not create, evils and sins. These things are created by human beings and by the devil. For it would be an evil deed to create evils. And Allâhu ta'âlâ will never do an evil deed." The (scholars of) Ahl as-sunnat answer them as follows: "It is not an evil deed to create evils. It is an evil deed for men to do evils." The group Mu'tazila put forward the argument that "If Allâhu ta'âlâ willed and foreordained evils and disbelief, men would have to acquiesce in disbelief and evils. For it is necessary to acquiesce in qadâ." The Ahl as-sunnat scholars answer them: "Disbelief itself is not Allâhu ta'âlâ's qadâ or qadar. It is His maqdî. That is, it is something made qadâ. It is necessary to acquiesce in His qadâ. Yet it is not necessary to acquiesce in the maqdî. Allâhu ta'âlâ declares that He is the creator and foreordainer of all, and that, yet, He does not approve of disbelief." The group Mu'tazila argue that "If Allâhu ta'âlâ willed the perpetration of evils, evil practices, disobedience (to His commandments) and disbelief would be blessed and rewarded (in the Hereafter). For these things would mean to do what He willed. To do His will means to obey His command." And the Sunnî answer is as follows: "Obedience that deserves rewards and blessings (thawâb) is only obedience to His commandments. And it is not obedience to do what He willed."

Abduljabbâr Hemedânî, who was Qâdî of the city of Ray and a scholar in the group Mu'tazila, visited the vizier Sâhib bin Ibâd in his office. Abû Ishâq Isfarâînî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a Sunnî scholar, happened to be there. The following conversation took place between the two scholars:

**Abd.** – Allâhu ta'âlâ does not will evils and sins. He does not like them and does not create them. These things are created by evil people and by the devil.

**Abû Ishâq** – All the good things as well as the evil ones are created by Allâhu ta'âlâ. Only what He wills comes into existence in His property.

**Abd.** – Would our Rabb (Allah) ever will disobedience to Himself.

**Abû Ishâq** – Could the slaves ever be disobedient to Him if Allâhu ta'âlâ did not will and create (their disobedience)? The slaves (men) use their irâda-i-juz'iyya and wish to commit sins and evils. And Haqq ta'âlâ creates their wishes, if He wills to do so.

**Abd.** – If Allâhu ta'âlâ did not will hidâyat (guidance) for a person, and if He decreed and foreordained that that person would do evils, would He be doing good to him or harming him?

**Abû Ishâq** – He would be harming him if He did not will to give him his right. However, not to will to take His own right would not mean to harm the slave. He will reward for the tiniest goodness done. Nobody's good deeds will be left unpaid for. He will forgive most of the wrongdoers, except for (people guilty of) disbelief. As for the question why He wills (and creates) disbelief; Allâhu ta'âlâ has knowledge. He knows everything that will happen in the future. He is Hakîm; whatsoever He does and makes, it is always the best that can ever be (done and made). It depends only and only on His will to bless any of His slaves with His Compassion by guiding him (or her) to the true way of salvation. He does not have to do or make anything. As a matter of fact, the eighth âyat-i-kerîma of Fâtir sûra of the Qur'ân al-kerîm purports: " **... For Allâhu ta'âlâ leaves to stray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. ...** " (35-8) In other words, He creates good and evil upon the slave's will and option. The slave's will is the cause, the means for the creation. When Believers will îmân and obedience by using their irâda-i-juz'iyya, Allâhu ta'âlâ also wills them and creates them. If Allâhu ta'âlâ did not will them, too, no one would be a Believer or an obedient Muslim. On the other hand, when a disbeliever wills disbelief and a sinner wills wrongdoing, He creates those evils if He, too, wills them. No one could be a disbeliever or a sinner if He did not will their evil deeds.

Nothing comes into existence upon only the slave's will. Its creation takes place when Allâhu ta'âlâ, also, wills it. Allâhu ta'âlâ wills and creates evils and iniquities as well. Yet He does not like them and does not approve of them. As for goodnesses; He both wills them and likes them and approves of them. A fly cannot move its wings unless Allâhu ta'âlâ wills it to do so. All the goodnesses and evils that men do come into existence with His Will. When the slave wants to do something, it does not take place if He does not will it, too. It takes place if He, too, wills it. Something He does not will to exist, does not exist. If it existed after all, it would mean some drawback in His power. Allâhu ta'âlâ is omnipotent. All human beings and genies would be obedient Believers if He willed them to be so. Conversely, they would all be disbelievers if He willed them to be so.

**Question** : Everything comes into existence with His Will. He has willed the disbelief of disbelievers. They cannot stand against His Will. Therefore, they have been forced to be disbelievers. To command them to be Believers would mean to command something impossible. Why doesn't He will them to be Believers while commanding them to be Believers? Since He commands everybody to be Believers, why doesn't He will everybody to be Believers?

**Answer** : Allâhu ta'âlâ's Deeds cannot be disapproved of or questioned. Allâhu ta'âlâknew in the eternal past all the things that would (and will) take place in the future. His Knowledge is dependent upon the things that will happen. In other words, He knew them as they would happen. He knew them as such because they would be so; they do not have to be so because He knew that they would be so. So, Allâhu ta'âlâ's Will is in agreement with His Knowledge. And His Attributes Power and Creativeness also are in agreement with His Will.

The slaves have irâda-i-juz'iyya, i.e. choice and wish. They may wish or not wish to do something. Abû Mansûr Mâturîdî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', one of the two imâms (leaders) of Ahl as-sunnat, states that irâda-i-juz'iyya is not a distinct being by itself. It is not a self-standing existence. It has no relation with the Divine Power (of Allâhu ta'âlâ). Allâhu ta'âlâ knew in eternity that so and so would wish to commit a certain sin (at a certain time). When (the time comes and) that person wishes to commit that sin, Allâhu ta'âlâalso wills and creates it, and thereby the sin takes place. Man's will is the cause of Allâhu ta'âlâ's qadâ, decree and creating.

There are three kinds of things that men are unable to do:

1– Things that are themselves impossible to do. An example of them is to make two objects occupy the same space at the same time. A bottle cannot be refilled before the liquid it already contains is poured out.

2– Things that are naturally possible themselves, and yet pragmatically impossible for men to do. An example of them is to lift a mountain.

3– Things that are possible to do. However, men do not do them because Allâhu ta'âlâ knew (in the eternal past) that they would not do them. Allâhu ta'âlâ does not command the first and second kinds of things. Yet He commands the third kind. For instance, He commanded Abû Jahl to be a Believer although He knew in the eternal past that he would not be a Believer, and although He willed his disbelief.

As is seen, man has the choice to do or not to do something, and he does whatever he chooses to do. This choice of the slave's causes Allâhu ta'âlâ's Will and creation. When the slave wishes to do something good, He wills and creates it. When the slave wills to commit an evil, He, too, wills it, and creates the evil. He does not force anyone to be a disbeliever or to commit sins.

It is Allâhu ta'âlâ's Divine Law of Causation to create everything through causes. Likewise, He has made man's will a cause for creating his good and evil deeds. He has sent Prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' to men to teach them îmân and the ways of doing good deeds and deserving thawâb (rewards, blessings in the Hereafter). He has commanded them to have îmân and to perform the acts of worship and good deeds, (which are taught in the books written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat). He has prohibited them from disbelief and from committing sins and evil deeds. He has given them wisdom, and has enjoined these responsibilities on owners of wisdom.

Allâhu ta'âlâ creates whatsoever He wills. Everything He creates has infinite uses. That is, He is Hakîm. The human mind cannot comprehend these facts. Mind can assess and comprehend only things it has been familiarized with and things perceived through the sense organs. There are innumerable ultimate divine causes and uses in His creating the disbelievers, giving them long lifespans, abundant food, high ranks and positions, and willing that they abide by their disbelief and commit evil deeds; in His creating snakes, swine and poisons; [in His creating sources of destructive energy that are fatal to mankind and ruinous to countries; in His placing stupendously great energy that can annihilate biggest cities in the unimaginably small nucleus of an atom, itself already imperceptibly tiny; in His creating kinds of energy such as light, electricity, magnetism and chemistry; and in His formulating laws and orders in substances, forces and organisms, most of which still remain unsolved and unknown despite all the studies and research carried on under various subjects such as physics, chemistry and biology.] It is a base and inferior deed to make something useless. Everything Allâhu ta'âlâ creates has various uses. His Will, which is one of His eight Attributes, is eternal, i.e. it always existed. Both He Himself and His eight Attributes existed in the eternal past. They are not beings that came into existence afterwards. The heretics called Kerrâmiyya, a sub-group in the group Mushabbiha, asserted that the Divine Attribute 'Will' was not eternal, it was an attribute that came into being afterwards. This assertion caused them to become disbelievers. A person who denies the fact that the eight Attributes are eternal, and asserts for instance that one of the Attributes came into existence afterwards, becomes a disbeliever (kâfir).

Allâhu ta'âlâ creates everything through His Attribute Tekwîn, which means to create. He, alone, is the creator of all classes of beings on the earth and in heaven, all substances, objects, peculiarities, events, forces, laws and relations. No other creator exists. No other being can be called 'creater', and no other person can be said to have 'created' something. An âyat-i-kerîma in the Qur'ân al-kerîm purports that " **Allâhu ta'âlâ, alone, created all**." The blessed meaning of another âyat-i-kerîma is: " **He, alone, is the Creator and the Commander**." An âyat-i-kerîma in the Yâsin sûra purports, " **... For He is the Creator Supreme, of skill and knowledge (infinite)**." (36-81) He, alone, creates animals that live on land, in water and in air, [microbes, electrons around (the nuclei of) atoms, molecules, ions], men, angels and genies, all beings and their movements, deeds, pauses, acts of worship, sins, good deeds, harms, disbeliefs and beliefs. The group Mu'tazila say, "The slaves create their own good deeds. Haqq ta'âlâ has given the slaves such great power as they can create their own deeds. This is the case with animals as well." They are wrong.

Men and animals wish to do something by using their irâda-i-juz'iyya. This wish is called **kasb** (acquiring, acquisition). Allâhu ta'âlâ creates that act if He wills to do so. The slave cannot create anything. We, [i.e. Qâdîzâda Ahmad Efendi,] explained this fact in detail in our booklet **Irâda-i-juz'iyya**. He, alone, creates the movements of hands and feet, the speech of a tongue, the opening and closing of eyes. He, alone, creates the movements of flies, insects, microbes, stars and winds, [and their vibrations, and electrical attractions and repulsions, gravitations, lifting forces of liquids and gasses]. He, alone, creates and sends sustenance (rizq) for men, animals and genies and for our souls. Food that we consume is our sustenance, whether it reaches us through (ways and means which Islam countenances and which are termed) halâl or through (religiously illegal ways which Islam terms) harâm. According to the group Mu'tazila, food that reaches a person through harâm is not rizq (sustenance). They are wrong in this, too. Life of a living being does not come to an end before the sustenance assigned for it (by Allâhu ta'âlâ in the eternal past) is finished; i.e. it does not die as long as it has sustenance to consume. No one can consume some other person's sustenance. Acts of worship do not increase a person's sustenance, yet they add barakat[] to it. Allâhu ta'âlâforeordained and allotted everybody's sustenance in the eternal past. Its amount does not increase or decrease. He, alone, kills the living, gives life to the dead, makes the healthy ill, and makes the ill healthy. Microbes, doctors, and Azrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' (the Angel of Death) are all causes and means. When they take effect, it is Him who creates and gives them the effect. He, alone, creates the burning effect in fire, the cooling effect in snow, [heat, light, and electrolysis in electricity]. Fire, snow and electricity are the apparent causes. They are the means and conditions which Allâhu ta'âlâ has made causes for His creating. [He, alone, creates our sense organs as well as the sensory powers they enjoy; the events of nutrition, reproduction, excretion, oxidation and osmosis in cells; the heart, blood, the functions of the circulatory system and other tissues, organs and systems, and the order whereby they interact. Communists, heathens and miscreants and] heretics, [who have existed since very old times,] say that every substance and every force have their own properties whereby they effect and that fire, for instance, has burning properties whereby it always burns. They are quite wrong. In fact, according to the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat, the effects that the causes appear to possess are not their essential properties. It is His Divine Law of Causation to create the effects and functions in the causes as soon as He creates the causes themselves. Fire will never be able to burn if He does not create its burning property and it will not burn a person who falls into it unless He wills it to do so. Substances do not have any properties in their essence.Haqq ta'âlâ creates the properties of substances and the effects and functions in the causes. He does not create the so-called properties and effects if He does not will to do so. He would have created heat in snow and coldness in fire if He had willed to do so. He, alone, creates the cutting effect on the sword, the piercing power displayed through a bullet, and the fatality that poison seems to exercise. He creates the drowning of a person who falls into deep water. He would not drown him, and on the contrary, he would, for instance, become healthier, if He willed so. He, alone, creates a bird's and an aircraft's flying, [the air's power to lift as well as the various types of friction]. He could as well not create such properties and forces and not make them fly. He creates diseases and various faculties in various medicines. Ibrâhîm (Abraham) 'alaihis-salâm' sat on Nimrod's fire, and it did not burn him at all. It would have burned him if it had been the fire's essential property to burn. It is not the fire itself that makes the burning. Allâhu ta'âlâ makes it burn. Allâhu ta'âlâ creates the properties and functions He wills in substances. The deed that He creates comes into existence through the substances. However, the ultimate Divine Habit of Allâhu ta'âlâ is such that He has given certain different properties and effects to every substance. He has made different substances causes and means for the changes in one another. He creates wheat from grains of wheat, and barley from seeds of barley. He creates man from man and animals from their own genera. [He creates plague from plague bacilli and meningitis from meningoceles. In different substances He creates different interchanges of electrons between their atoms, different radioactivities and different reactions in their nuclei.] He creates satiation with food. If He had not created satiation, we would not feel satiated after eating tons of food. If He had not created thirst we would not feel thirsty even if we did not drink any water.

There is no other creator besides Him. He is the creator of the entire existence. He makes substances move. He changes their places. He takes them from one time to another. He converts them from one state into another. He creates things that the minds of mankind marvel at. From a drop of semen and infinitesimally small spermatozoa He creates a mature man. [From a great Prophet such as Nûh (Noah) 'alaihis-salâm' He creates a disobedient, atheistic and asinine son named Canaan. From a stone-hearted and narrow-minded unbeliever like Abû Jahl He creates a faithful son, the Believer named Ikrima. He creates disbelief in the heart of a base unbeliever who announces and advertises His existence and Will and the greatness of His power with the perfectly systematic structures, properties and movements of his hands, tongue and all the motes of his body. He creates such people's attacking the religion in such fury as they unleash all their forces based on diction, penmanship, rank and wealth. He makes His own creature His enemy. He creates a talent, a force called 'heart' in the human heart, which He sometimes illuminates, purifies and makes a mirror reflecting His existence, and sometimes a blackened rubbish heap emitting disbelief and iniquity.] He creates a nuclear energy powerful enough to blow up a mountain, in the depth of the nucleus of an atom, which cannot be seen even with a microscope. He creates sugar in the beet; the power of assimilation termed photosynthesis in the leaves; honey in the bee; countless grains of wheat from one grain; a living animal from the lifeless egg; fragrance from the flower; leaves, flowers and fruits from a dry tree; animals, flowers and trees in water; and soft water in hard water. [He creates chemical reactions and many physical and chemical properties. He converts the soil into plants, and plants into animals. He decomposes human beings and animals and converts them into earthen substances, liquids and gasses. He creates the opposite of everything, reversible reactions, and even from them, other reversals. He creates everything in a perfectly calculated order in this factory of the universe. Day by day, it is being realized better under the lights of science that all the apparently destructive and ruinous changes are in actual fact created with very well calculated and utterly harmonious relations and in an amazingly perfect order.]

8– He says, "When the Messenger of Allah was requested to define the Firqa-i-nâjiyya, i.e. the only group of Muslims who will be saved from going to Hell, of all the seventy-three groups; he stated: My Ahl-i-bayt are like Nûh's Arch. He who gets on board will be saved."

The fact, however, is that this statement (of the Prophet's) was made at another time. The blessed Prophet's answer to the question mentioned above is quoted in (the authentic Islamic) books as, " **The Firqa-i-nâjiyya are those who follow me and my Sahâba**." He is shameless enough to make changes even in hadîth-i-sherîfs. Muslims who hold the true îmân and follow the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' and the Ashâb-i-kirâm, are called **Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at**.

9– He makes a mockery of himself as follows: "All the Sahâba were neither Mu'tazilî, nor Shâfi'î, nor Mâlikî, nor Hanafî, nor Hanbalî. The group of salvation are those who follow the Messenger of Allah and the Ahl-i-bayt. He who is not in the path guided by the Ahl-i-bayt will not be saved." With these words he tries to make others believe that he holds the same belief as did the Ahl-i-bayt.

The truth is that the belief held by the Ahl-i-bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' was the belief held by Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who in his turn shared the same belief with the rest of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. And this belief is the very belief taught by the Messenger of Allâh 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Thousands of Sunnî scholars gathered the tenets of this belief and wrote them in their books along with the documents and sources of each and every one of them. A group of people far below the grade of ijtihâd and without any expertise in the Islamic sciences derived wrong meanings from the Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs, called their concoctions and absurdities the 'madhhab of Ahl-i-bayt', and tried to make others believe them. Enemies of Islam incited this fitna and wrote books insidiously. Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa learned most of his knowledge from his master, Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq, who was a very much beloved member of the Ahl-i-bayt, and conveyed his learnings to his disciples. Then, ' **Alevî** ' (Alawî), which means a follower of Imâm Alî and a member of the madhhab of Ahl-i-bayt, is synonymous with 'Sunnî'. Therefore, the group with whom the attribute 'Alawî' would go appropriately are the Sunnî Muslims. People who live in Irân, Syria and Iraq and call themselves **Alawîs** today are not Alawîs at all.

The following observations are made in the six hundred and seventh page of the book **Mawdû-ât-ul-'ulûm** : All the Ashâb-i-kirâm held the same credal tenets. For they had had the honour of attending the sohbat of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and serving him. Under the edification of that sohbat, they had completely liberated themselves from the shackles of mistrust. They had developed full understanding of theQur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs and a perfect and unshakable belief in the truth revealed in these most authentic sources. No sooner had the last members of the Ashâb-i-kirâm migrated from the world to the Hereafter than ignorant people began to appear here and there and write duplicitous books which were merely heaps of platitudes reflecting their personal sensuous indulgences. With time these blind adventurers lost their way for good and misled many others as well. Bid'ats and heresies began to spread far and wide. Muslims parted into seventy-three groups. A group of scholars protected themselves from all the eccentricities they were being tempted into, survived the devil's persistent efforts to misguide them, and managed to abide by the path led by the Ashâb-i-kirâm. The people of this right path were called Ahl as-sunnat. The scholars of (this lucky group called) Ahl as-sunnat parted into various Madhhabs in matters pertaining to acts of worship, personal behaviours and social transactions. Four of these Madhhabs have reached our time intact so as to be correctly learned from books. These Madhhabs are **Hanafî** , **Shâfi'î** , **Mâlikî** , and **Hanbalî**. No other true Madhhab exists any longer. It is a fruit of Allâhu ta'âlâ's compassion (over Muslims) that the group of Ahl as-sunnat parted into different Madhhabs. The hundred and fifth âyat-i-kerîma of Âl-i-'Imrân sûra purports: " **Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving clear signs: ...** " (3-105) Baydâwî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' explains this âyat-i-kerîma as follows: "Jews and Christians had been informed of the true path whereon on they were to be united, along with clear evidences and authentic documentary sources. Yet they could not understand the unity of Allâhu ta'âlâ,that He is unlike His creatures, and many other facts about the Hereafter. They passed various provisional judgements about them. O Muslims! Be not like them, and do not part into sects like them!" This âyat-i-kerîma proscribes disunity on tenets of belief. It does not prohibit parting into Madhhabs in the teachings of fiqh or in the technicalities pertaining to acts of worship. For Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **It is rahmat-i-ilâhî** (compassion of Allâhu ta'âlâ) **for my Ummat to part into groups** [in the knowledge of fiqh]." Another hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: " **A mujtahid is given two blessings** (thawâb) **if his ijtihâd turns out to be correct. However, if he is mistaken in his ijtihâd he will still be rewarded with one blessing**."

10– He writes as follows: "The âyat-i-kerîma telling about Abû Bakr's having been together (with the Messenger of Allah) is a sign showing his belieflessness and infamy, rather than his virtue. That night Jebrâîl came down and said, 'The unbelievers have reached a unanimous decision on your murder tonight. Tell all your Sahâba not to go out of their homes tonight. Go to the (so-called) cave, alone.' So, Hadrat Messenger convened the Sahâba towards sunset and told them about the commandment. That night Hadrat Alî, despite his child age, fearlessly took theProphet's place in his bed. As Rasûlullah was on his way to the cave, he saw someone approaching from the distance. He stopped and waited. When that person came near him, he saw that it was Abû Bakr. Presently the Prophet asked him why he was out despite Allah's commandment. The latter's answer was: 'O Messenger of Allah! I was anxious about you. I could not leave you alone and sit at home.' Jebrâîl came and warned: 'O Messenger of Allah! Do not leave Abû Bakr! If the unbelievers come here and catch Abû Bakr, they will follow you, find you, and kill you.' Reluctantly, Hadrat Messenger took Abû Bakr along to the cave. For Hadrat Messenger did not feel safe against the unbelievers and against Abû Bakr. Haqq ta'âlâ had informed him that the unbelievers and Abû Bakr were going to conspire against him, that Abû Bakr meant harm, and that they were 'saying things that were not in their hearts.' There are many âyats informing about their conspiracies. The Messenger of Allah did not need companions or comrades. The âyat, 'He (Allah) hath reinforced thee with soldiers that thou dost not see,' proves this fact. Abû Bakr did not join any of the holy wars and somehow deserted from all of them. There are many âyats exemplifying friendships between Believers and unbelievers. The Arabic language teems with examples wherein the word 'sâhib = companion' is used to describe a donkey's keeping company with a man. Then, Abû Bakr's having been called 'sâhib = companion' should not be construed as a sign of virtue that he was in possession of. If the anxiety he felt in the cave had been on behalf of the Messenger of Allah, then it would have been an act of worship. In that case, to tell him not to be anxious would in effect have meant to prevent an act of worship, which, in its turn, is not something that the Messenger of Allah could be imagined to have done. If his anxiety proceeded from sinfulness, then he did not have belief in the Prophet of Allâhu ta'âlâ. In that case, what use could there have been for him in that companionship? And it would have been useless to tell him not to be anxious. Preventing a sinful act is, on the other hand, something the Messenger of Allah normally should have done. The Messenger had told him, before, that he, (the Prophet, that is,) would be permanently protected against enemies. Abû Bakr did not have confidence in that (divine assurance). It would not be incorrect to say that his wailing and crying served no purpose unless it was intended to betray (their hiding place) to the unbelievers. If he had had îmân, Allâhu ta'âlâ would have protected him against the biting of the snake. Nor could the Prophet's consolatory remark, 'Allah is with us,' considered to have reflected any credit on him. Otherwise, the âyat, 'When three people talk secretly among themselves, Allâhu ta'âlâ is the fourth', would necessarily connote that disbelievers who talked secretly were to be held dear. This âyat-i-sherîfa shows clearly that Abû Bakr was a base person and did not at all have îmân. The âyat-i-kerîma (that describes the event) says, 'I gave him serenity and ease of heart.' It does not say, 'I gave them... .' This shows that he (Abû Bakr) did not have îmân. Sinners and wrongdoers of this sort, and even people who were worse than unbelievers are held higher and better than the innocent members of the Prophet's family. Such preferences show that the Muhâjirs are those who migrated (to Medina) after the Prophet did. Those who migrated with him or after him should not be called Muhâjirs."

The fact, however, is quite the other way round. The fortieth âyat-i-kerîma of Tawba sûra, which relates (Hadrat Abû Bakr's) companionship (with the Messenger of Allah) in the cave, is a clear sign signifying the high virtue and honour of Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. For, that night Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' came down with the news, " **The unbelievers have decided to kill you tonight** ," and said, " **Tonight, tell Alî** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' **to lie in your bed, and migrate to Medîna-i-munawwara, taking Abû Bakr as-Siddîq along**!" His assertion that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was only a child, is untrue, too. He was twenty-three years old. Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' said, "If I had a thousand lives in my body, I would sacrifice all of them for the sake of following you," and presently took the Prophet's place in his bed. On the night between the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh days of the blessed month of Safer, a night between Wednesday and Thursday,Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' went out of his house, recited the initial twelveâyat-i-kerîmas of Yasîn sûra, breathed them on the unbelievers standing along the street, walked quickly past them, and went to a place. At noon time he honoured Hadrat Abû Bakr Siddîq's place. The blessed arrival was reported to Hadrat Abû Bakr. As soon as he saw Rasûlullah's beautiful face, which appeared at the door like the rising of a full moon, he exclaimed with joyous surprise, "Please do come in, o Messenger of Allah! Let us be honoured with your orders!" The blessed Prophet went in, honouring the place with his presence, and stated, " **I have been commanded to migrate to Medina tonight**." Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' suggested, "Could I come along and be honoured with your service?" When the blessed Prophet said, " **You will be going, too** ," Hadrat Abû Bakr was very happy. And when the Prophet stated, " **I need a camel for the migration** ," he said, "I would sacrifice all my property, my life and my children for you. I have two camels. Please choose one of them as a gift from me." The Prophet's answer was: " **I have always accepted your presents, and I shall go on doing so. But I would like to use my own property for tonight's worship of migration. Sell me one of your camels!** " Presently he paid for it, and ordered Abû Bakr to send for a certain person, namely Abdullah bin Urayqit, and hire him as their guide. Hadrat Abû Bakr did as he was told, and the Prophet entrusted the two camels to the newly hired guide's care, telling him to herd the two camels to the cave on mount Sawr three days later (and that they would be awaiting him there). Then he said to Abû Bakr's son Abdullah, " **Every night, come to the cave** (where we will be hiding) **with intelligence on what is going on in Mekka**." Abû Bakr Siddîq's daughter, Asmâ, prepared them food enough to last for three days. Because she could not find any string to tie up the parcel, she used her own sash, which she undid, cut into two lengthwise, and wrapped around the parcel. So she has been known with the nickname 'Asmâ of two sashes' ever since. When Abû Bakr Siddîq opened the (front) door for them to go out, the blessed Prophet warned, " **Close the door. We will use the window facing the back**." They jumped out through the window lest there should be any track left behind them. When they reached before the cave, Abû Bakr implored, "Please do wait, O Messenger of Allah! Let me go in first. There may be something harmful and your blessed body may be hurt." He entered the cave, cleaned inside it, took off his shirt, tore it into pieces, plugged the holes, and invited the Best of Mankind, saying, "Please come in, O Messenger of Allah!" The Master of Mankind and the Darling of Allâhu ta'âlâ 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' honoured the dark cave with his presence. On an occasion later, Abû Bakr Siddîq related the event as follows: "When he entered the cave, I saw blood on his blessed feet. I wept. I knew then that he was not accustomed to walking barefoot."

[After spending three nights in the cave, they went out on Monday night, (i.e. on the night between Sunday and Monday). They came to the Kubâ village of Medina on Monday, which was the twentieth of September and the eighth of the Arabic month Rabî'ul-awwal. That day became Muslims' **Hijrî** [] **-Shamsî** [] new year's day. The six hundred and twenty-third (623) **Mîlâdî** [] new year's day took place within the first hijrî shamsî and qamarî (lunar) year.]

As is seen, in order to vilify Abû Bakr Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', he gives a false account of the events during the Hegira, and laces his fiction with a pathetic bouquet by adding the lie that Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was only a child when he took the Prophet's place in his bed. For achieving his aim of maligning the Sahâba he shows no hesitation as to the sordid methods to be used, including false interpretation of âyat-i-kerîmas, fabrication of bogus hadîth-i-sherîfs, and denial of sahîh hadîth-i-sherîfs. He is immoral enough to misrepresent the âyat-i-kerîmas that were intended for unbelievers and hypocrites and to interpret them in such a manner as if they had been revealed to castigate Hadrat Abû Bakr Siddîq and the Sahâba 'alaihim-ur-ridwân'. As a matter of fact, the eleventh âyat-i-kerîma of Fat-h sûra purports: " **Those who lagged behind and deserted from the Jihâd will say: We were engaged in (looking after) our flocks and herds and our families:... They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. ...** " (48-11) He inverts this âyat-i-kerîma into a sheer vilification of Hadrat Abû Bakr. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' foretold the appearing of heretics in his various hadîth-i-sherîfs. He stated in one of those hadîth-i-sherîfs: " **Of all those people who carry Muslim** names, the person I fear most is he who changes the meanings in the Qur'ân al-kerîm." On another occasion he stated: " **They will be taxing the Muslims with** (the iniquities censured in) **the âyat-i-kerîmas which were intended for** (censuring) **the disbelievers**." It is written in all the literature of siyar[] as well as in books of Tafsîr (explanation of the Qur'ân al-kerîm) that Abû Bakr Siddîq and 'Umar Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' joined all the Holy Wars, including Badr, Uhud, Hendek (Trench), Conquest of Mekka, Hunayn, and Tabuk, and that they always kept around him (in order to learn from him and to protect him against danger) like moths hovering around a bright light.

Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was commander of some of the military expeditions. For instance, a company under his leadership was sent onto the tribe of Fezâra in the blessed month of Sha'bân in the seventh year of the Hegira. He went there, slew some of the unbelievers, took others captive and brought them to Medina.

An important example is given in the following passage which we borrowed from the book **Manâqib-i-Chihâryâr** : During the Holy War of Badr, on the seventeenth day of Ramadân-i-sherîf, Friday, under the sweltering heat of a July noon the two armies attacked each other. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wasallam', Abû Bakr, 'Umar, Abû Zer, Sa'd and Sa'îd 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' were seated at the commanding post. The Muslim soldiers were in trouble. The blessed Prophet sent Sa'd and Sa'îd for help. He sent Abû Zer next, and he was followed by 'Umar. An hour later, Abû Bakr saw that there was no decrease in the trouble, drew his sword, and was about to gallop off on his horse, when the blessed Messenger held him by the hand and said, " **Stay with me, O Abâ Bakr! Seeing your face relieves me of all sorts of suffering that come to my body and heart. Your company gives strength to my heart**."

The word 'sâhib', [which means 'companion',] is used for good and bad people alike, and for animals as well. Yet it can be clearly understood from the semantic content of the âyat-i-kerîmas (wherein the word was used) whether it was used for a complimentary purpose or a censorious one. In fact, it means 'gentleman', 'protector', and 'adviser' in some âyat-i-kerîmas. To understand these meanings, it is necessary to have expertise in some extensive and profound literary sciences such as lughat, metn-i-lughat, ishtiqaq, sarf, nahw, beyân, bedî, meânî, belâghât, etc. People who just scribble what they understand from âyat-i-kerîmas in the name of explaining the meanings in the Qur'ân al-kerîm, without learning these sciences, are slandering the Qur'ân al-kerîm by doing so. Allâhu ta'âlâcomplains about such slanderers, and says that they are the worst of the cruel people, in the twenty-first âyat of An'âm sûra. That Abû Bakr as-Siddîq's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' being called 'sâhib' is intended to acknowledge his value and high virtue is manifested in the same âyat-i-kerîma. For, (as is related in the âyat-i-kerîma,) he was told not to be afraid and he was blessed with serenity [peace and courage].

Fear and sorrow are not acts of worship by themselves. Nor are they sinful acts. They are acts of worship or sinful acts depending on the intention (of the person who feels them). It is sinful to be afraid that you may suffer harm if you perform the acts of worship such as ghusl[], namâz[], wudû[], and jihâd[] for the sake of Allah. On the other hand, it is an act of worship to fear Allâhu ta'âlâ with the thought of His greatness. Indeed, the anxiety or fear in the former case prevents you from performing the acts that are farz, (i.e. commanded by Allâhu ta'âlâ,) whereas the fear (of Allâhu ta'âlâ) that you feel in the latter case protects you from committing the acts that are harâm, (i.e. forbidden by Allâhu ta'âlâ). Husayn Wâiz-i-Kâshifî Hirawî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' gives the following account in his Tafsîr: "The unbelievers came before the cave. Abû Bakr said (to the blessed Prophet): 'O Messenger of Allah! If one of the unbelievers looks under his feet, he will see us.' Rasûlullah's answer was: ' **What do you think will become of those two people when Allâhu ta'âlâ is with them as the third** (person)?" This hadîth-i-sherîf manifests the superior position occupied by Hadrat Abû Bakr. In other words, the Best of Mankind assures his companion that Allâhu ta'âlâ's help and protection is with them." Then, to tell Abû Bakr as-Siddîq not to be afraid or anxious does not mean to say, "Take your love of me out of your heart." Hence, the fear that Abû Bakr as-Siddîq felt on behalf of the Messenger of Allah was a token of the affection he had in his heart, which in its turn was an act of worship. To tell him not to be afraid must, therefore, have been intended to make known that most valuable and most virtuous act of worship, rather than to prevent him from that act of worship.

He writes, on the one hand, that the Messenger of Allah had told his Ashâb that he would be under (Allah's) protection against the enemy and, on the other, that "Jebrâîl came to him and said: O, Messenger of Allah! Do not leave Abû Bakr! The unbelievers will catch him, find your track and kill you." This inconsistency in his statements betrays his mendacity.

Abû Bakr as-Siddîq did not cry and yell at all. His anxious statement, "O Messenger of Allah! I fear that they may harm your blessed body," is quoted in all authentic books. As they were in the cave, he pressed his blessed foot against one of the holes, which he noticed had been left unplugged, in order to protect the Messenger of Allah from any possible danger. Why should it detract from his high honours that the snake in the hole bit his foot? Rasûlullah himself 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was stung by a scorpion one day. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had a very much beloved son named Muhsin. That blessed boy was pecked to death by a cock. Why should these events bring discredit on a person? And why should they, after all, ever be signs of unbelief in a person's heart?

Allâhu ta'âlâ's being with His slaves (men) means His Attributes' being with them. Whereas His Attribute Wrath's being with them brings them ruination and disgrace, His Attributes Rahmat (compassion), Nusrat (help) and Muhabbat (love) bless them with esteem and happiness when they are with them. By saying, " **Allah is with us** ," Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' shares his high prophetic honour, togetherness (with Allâhu ta'âlâ) with Hadrat Abû Bakr. Thereby he gives the good news that Abû Bakr also will enjoy the muhabbat (love), the merhamat (mercy, compassion), the ihsân (kindness) and the ikrâm (grace and favour) that Allâhu ta'âlâ manifests to His most beloved slave, the Prophet. What a great fortune! That is virtue itself! What other honour could be as superior as the virtue acknowledged through âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs? What enemy concoctions could ever convince a person into denying the brightness of the sun? One must be a blind idiot to believe such downright falsehood.

Allâhu ta'âlâ's being with those who talk secretly among themselves means His Attribute Knowledge's being with them, which in effect means that He knows their secrets. The âyat-i-kerîma in question has nothing to do with liking or censuring. It is a mere restatement of the fact that Allâhu ta'âlâ has the Attribute Knowledge.

He also misinterprets the âyat-i-kerîma which purports, " **... then Allâhu ta'âlâ sent down His peace upon him, ...** " (9-40) He says that peace was sent down uponRasûlullah. Peace is sent down upon a place where it does not exist. His assertion connotes that Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' did not have peace in his heart before (the descent of peace), and that he was afraid. On the other hand, he says within the same context that Allâhu ta'âlâ had promised him that He would protect him against the unbelievers. Accordingly, should we conclude that the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was afraid because he did not have confidence in Allâhu ta'âlâ's promise? It is a very nasty insult to the Prophet of Allâhu ta'âlâ to allege that peace was sent down upon him (despite the earlier divine promise). His bigoted impulse to vilify Abû Bakr as-Siddîq side-tracks him, unknowingly, into a vicious denigration of the Messenger ofAllâhu ta'âlâ, which in effect means his ending up in the pit of unbelief. Perhaps his real aim is to denigrate the Messenger of Allah, and thus to demolish Islam. It is written in all books of Tafsîr that the peace (mentioned in the âyat-i-kerîma) was sent down to Abû Bakr as-Siddîq. In fact, Rasûlullah already had peace in his heart. Yet Abû Bakr Siddîq had lost the peace in his heart on account of his excessive affection for the Messenger of Allah. Likewise, during the Holy War of Hunayn, most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm scattered, with the exception of Abbâs, Abû Bakr and a few other heroes 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', who would not retreat at risk to their lives. It is understood from the semantic content of the âyat-i-kerîma that at that moment Rasûlullah lost the peace in his heart because of his apprehension that the religion of Allâhu ta'âlâ would perish. Indeed, an âyat-i-kerîma in Tawba sûra purports: " **On the day of Hunayn, Allâhu ta'âlâ sent down peace upon his Messenger and upon the Believers**."

The âyat-i-kerîma that purports, " **Those who migrated to Allâhu ta'âlâ and to His Messenger,** " does not mean, "Those who joined the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' after his migration to Medîna." It means, "Those who left their hometown for the sake of Allah and with the command of His Messenger." The âyat-i-kerîma is explained so in the hadîth-i-sherîfs. Also, those people who were sent to Abyssinia and to Medîna-i-munawwara beforeRasûlullah's Hijrat (migration to Medîna), were Muhâjirs as well. Ahmad bin Muhammad Qastalânî gives the following brief account of the events previous to the Hegira in his book **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** : After the treaty of Aqaba, the Rasûl (Messenger) 'alaihis-salâm' ordered his Sahâba to migrate to Medîna. The Sahâba left Mekka in groups. The Prophethimself stayed in Mekka, awaiting the divine permission to migrate. 'Umar bin Khattâb and his brother Zayd and twenty other Muslims rode off on camels. The only two people who shared Rasûlullah's abide in Mekka were Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. When Abû Bakr asked for permission to leave, the Prophet said, " **Be patient, O Abâ Bakr! I hope that Allâhu ta'âlâ will make you my comrade**." This information belies the false author's statement that "That night Jebrâîl came down and said: ... Tell all your Sahâba not to go out of their homes tonight." There were only two Muslims left in Mekka-i-mukarrama. Who could have been the Sahâbîs to be told to stay home, then? The unbelievers came together and made a unanimous decision to kill Rasûlullah. Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' informed him about this and said, "Don't lie in your bed tonight!" It is an open fact that the so-called book's assertion that the Muhâjirs are those few people who "migrated (to Medîna) after the Prophet did," and that the Sahâbîs who left Mekka with the (Prophet's) command afterwards "should not be called Muhâjirs," is quite wrong. Then, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is the most honourable and the most valuable member of the Muhâjirs.

11– He asserts, "The Qur'ân is made up of letters and words, which are things that came into existence afterwards. Then, Kalâmullah (the Word of Allah) is not eternal. The other Attributes (of Allâhu ta'âlâ) are not eternal, either. If the Qur'ân had been eternal, whom would it have commanded and prohibited in the absence of creatures? It would have been out of place to command something nonexistent to do or not to do something. Allâhu ta'âlâ challenges the unbelievers to "make a hadîth like it (if you can)." The 'hadîth' in this context means 'Qur'ân'. Something which is hadîth cannot be qadîm (eternal). If the Qur'ân were qadîm, the people named in the Qur'ân would be qadîm, too."

The belief that the eight Attributes (of Allâhu ta'âlâ) are not eternal entails the surmise that Allâhu ta'âlâ must have been -may Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us from believing or saying so- powerless, unable and ignorant before He created the creatures. Allâhu ta'âlâknew in the eternal past all the facts that are stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. His stating the things that He knows does not necessarily mean that the things that He states are eternal as well. Because this person compares the Attributes of Allâhu ta'âlâ to human attributes, he denies the Attributes stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. Please read the first chapter of the third fascicle of **Endless Bliss**! The word 'hadîth' in the âyat-i-kerîma (that he quotes) does not mean 'Qur'ân al-kerîm'. It means 'words of unbelievers'. Hence, theâyat-i-kerîma means, "Say words like (those in) the Qur'ân al-kerîm (if you can). But you can't! For the Qur'ân al-kerîm is qadîm (eternal), whereas your words are hâdith, i.e. creatures."

The distich, "The Sifât-i-dhâtiyya and the Sifât-i-thubûtiyya of Allâhu ta'âlâ are all qadîm. They always existed. And they will never cease to exist," is explicated as follows in the qasîda (eulogy) entitled Amâlî: "If the Attributes had come into existence afterwards, there would have been changes in the Dhât-i-ilâhî (Divine Person = Allâhu ta'âlâ Himself). And something which is susceptible to changes must be hâdith, i.e. it must have come into existence afterwards. Hence, Allâhu ta'âlâ must have come into existence afterwards, which is something quite contrary to fact."

The eleventh distich of Qasîda Amâlî reads as follows: "The Qur'ân al-kerîm is the Word of Allâhu ta'âlâ. It is not a creature, i.e. something created afterwards. It is an Attribute of the Dhât-i-ilâhî." Ahmad Âsim Efendi explains it as follows: The Qur'ân al-kerîmis the meanings that come out of the words and sounds. The words and sounds themselves are not the Kalâm-i-ilâhî (the Word of Allah). Likewise, our speech is in our heart. Our words are its translation into the world of tangibility. Perfection and superiority of every living being lies in its attribute of speech. A living being without speech is imperfect. Since Allâhu ta'âlâ also is a living being, He must have the attribute 'speech'. All prophets and heavenly books taught the belief that Allâhu ta'âlâ has the Attribute 'Speech'. The word and the sound which Mûsâ (Moses) 'alaihis-salâm' heard from the tree was the Kalâm-i-ilâhî. Yet a hâfiz's voice is not the Kalâm-i-ilâhî. The meanings it represents are the Kalâm-i-ilâhî. Allâhu ta'âlâ hears creatures' speech without letters and sounds. He revealed His Speech, which is letterless and soundless, in the Arabic language. It did not make any changes in the Kalâm-i-ilâhî. A person wears various clothes and appears in various guises, yet he himself does not change at all. The Speech of Allâhu ta'âlâ, unlike the speech of creatures, does not need words and sounds. However, to change or translate the words and sounds (through which the Speech of Allâhu ta'âlâ is revealed) means to change and defile the Kalâm-i-ilâhî (Word, or Speech of Allâhu ta'âlâ). The Qur'ân al-kerîm is committed to these words and sounds. Allâhu ta'âlâ Himself placed His Speech into these words and sounds.

The Qur'ân al-kerîm was written also in Lawh-il-mahfûz in the same words in a state that we are not familiar with. It was not a creature. (The Archangel named) Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' revealed it to our master, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', sometimes saying the message softly in lettered and vocal susurration into his blessed ear, (in a nature tasted and enjoyed, and therefore known, only by the blessed Darling of Allâhu ta'âlâ,) and sometimes planting it into his heart in the form of lettered but voiceless inspiration. It is not the case that the meanings were "inspired into his heart without words and Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', an Arabic-speaking person, translated the Kalâm-i-ilâhî into these words and sounds." Yes, there was also Wahy that was inspired in this manner. That is, the Kalâm-i-ilâhî was (sometimes) inspired into his blessed heart and he rendered the inspired meanings into certain locutions and uttered them. These utterances, whose meanings were inspired by Allâhu ta'âlâ and words and sounds were articulated by Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', were termed **hadîth-i-qudsî**. The Qur'ân al-kerîm should not be mistaken for the (prophetic utterances called) hadîth-i-qudsî. The **Kalâm-i-lafzî** , which is (the Kalâm-i-ilâhî) in words and sounds, is the same as the **Kalâm-i-nafsî** , which is (the Kalâm-i-ilâhî) without words and sounds. 'Ilm (Knowledge) and Kalâm (Speech, Word) are two distinct Attributes of Allâhu ta'âlâ. TheQur'ân al-kerîm is not the Attribute Knowledge; it is the Attribute Speech.

Imâm Rabbânî, Mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî, Ahmad bin Abdul-ahad Fârûqî 'quddisa sirruh' provides the following information in the eighty-ninth letter of the third volume of his book **Maktûbât** : "Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa and Imâm Abû Yusûf 'rahimahumallâhu ta'âlâ' discussed the matter whether the Qur'ân al-kerîm was a creature or not for six months between themselves, and did not reach a settlement. After the sixth month, they reached a consensus and said unanimously that a person who said that the Qur'ân al-kerîm was a creature would become a disbeliever. The letters, words and sounds which represent the Kalâm-i-nafsî and express the Kalâm-i-lafzî are definitely creatures, i.e. things that were created afterwards. Of all creatures, the letters and words of the Qur'ân al-kerîm are the closest to Allâhu ta'âlâ and therefore the most valuable. As for the Kalâm-i-lafzî and the Kalâm-i-nafsî; they are azalî and qadîm (eternal in the future and [everlasting] in the past)." He gives detailed information on this issue in the hundredth and the hundred and twentieth letters.

12– He says, "The hadîths and tafsîrs which we know were reported by the Amîr-ul-mu'minîn Hadrat Alî, by Imâm Hasan, by Imâm Husayn, by Salmân, by Abû Zer, by Mikdâd, and by Ammâr bin Yâser. The hadîths that you narrate were reported on the authority of people like Mu'âwiya and 'Amr ibn Âs and Enes bin Mâlik and Âisha and others. On the other hand, the Owner of the Sharî'at, (i.e. the Prophet) said, 'The hadîths reported from me can be narrated on the authority of four people. There is not a fifth person. Others are hypocrites.' You have made these hypocrites dominant over Muslims. None of the Sahâba could ask the Messenger of Allah any questions. For the Believers had been prohibited to ask questions. Hadrat Alî was the only person who asked questions."

The author's enmity against religion betrays itself throughout the passage we have quoted above. The (Turkish) book **Se'âdet-i Ebediyye** abounds with answers to such falsifications. We specially recommend that you read the great scholar Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî's 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' letter, which covers the fifth chapter of the second fascicle of **Endless Bliss** under the caption **Books of Tafsîr - Hadîth-i-sherîfs**.

The book **Miftâh-us-sa'âda** , which was written by Taşköprüzâde Ahmed bin Mustafâ Efendi, -who was at the same time the author of the biography entitled **Shaqâyiq-i-Nu'mâniyya** , which provides an extensive list of profiles of the scholars who were raised and educated during the Ottoman period-, was rendered into the Turkish language, with the title **Mawdû'ât-ul-'Ulûm** , by his son Kemâleddîn Muhammad 'rahima-humullâhu ta'âlâ'. The following passage is a translation from the Turkish version:

Of the (earliest) four Khalîfas, (i.e. Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum',) Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' occupies the first place in point of number of the hadîth-i-sherîfs that the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat 'rahima-humullâhu ta'âlâ' reported on the authority of them each. This is a natural concomitant of the fact that he outlived the other three Khalîfas. Because Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was the earliest Believer of them all and spent all his time spreading Islam's rules and principles and solving Muslims' problems, fewest traditions have reached us through him. For this reason, most of the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat obtained their religious information from Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' would say: "Ask me whatever you like! I know whether each âyat came down at night or during the day, during a battle or in peace-time, on a plain or in the mountains. I know why each âyat came down. I asked (the Messenger of Allah) the meaning of each âyat, learned it and memorized it. Ask me and I shall tell you." Abdullah ibn Mes'ûd reports, "The Qur'ân al-kerîm was revealed in seven different dialects. Each dialect has inner and outer meanings. Alî possesses all those meanings."

The scholars of Ahl as-sunnat acquired their information not only from Imâm Alî, from Hadrat Hasan and Husayn, from Salmân and from Abû Zer 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum', but also from all the other Sahâbîs. For they were all exalted and 'âdil (just and trustworthy) people. Jamâladdîn Yûsuf bin Ibrâhîm Erdebîlî makes the following observation in his book of Fiqh entitled **Anwâr-il-'amal-il-abrâr** : As Abû 'Amr bin Salâh states in his book **Ma'rifat-ul-hadîth** , and Yahyâ bin Sharaf Muhyiddîn Nawawî states in the book **Irshâd** , there were a hundred and twenty-four thousand Sahâbîs when Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away. All of them were exalted and 'âdil (just and trustworthy) people. It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf, which is reported on the authority of Abû Sa'îd Hudrî in Imâm Baghawî's book of hadîths entitled **Masâbîh** , [which contains four thousand, seven hundred and nineteen (4719) hadîth-i-sherîfs]: " **Do not speak ill of my Sahâba! If you gave alms in pure gold as huge as the mount of Uhud, you would not attain thawâb** (blessings, rewards in the Hereafter) **comparable to the thawâb which one of my Sahâba would be given for half a mud' of barley which he gave with the intention of alms**!" [One mud' is a unit of weight equal to eight hundred and seventy-five (875) grams.] This transcendent discrepancy was only one of the benefits of having attained the sohbat of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' and of having been in his presence (at least once, regardless of the brevity of the togetherness). It is harâm to swear at the Ashâb-i-kirâm. It is a grave sin. For, all the Ashâb-i-kirâm were mujtahids. It was wâjib for them to behave in accordance with their ijtihâd in those wars, and they did so. Another point which Erdebîlî stresses in **Anwâr** is that it is not permissible to swear at or to censure Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', for he was one of the greatest Sahâbîs. Imâm Muhammad bin Muhammad Ghazâlî gave the following warning: It is harâm to describe, in oral or written forms, the martyrdoms of Imâm Hasan and Imâm Husayn or the battles that took place among the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Indeed, doing so may imply animadversion and provoke enmity against any one of them. Conveying the Islamic religion to posterity was their common service, whereto each and every one of them had contributions. To censure any one of them, therefore, means to censure Islam, which in effect means to demolish the religion.

It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf, which is quoted on the authority of Imrân bin Hasîn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' in the book **Masâbîh** : " **The most useful and the highest Muslims among my Ummat are those contemporary with me. The second best ones are the Muslims posterior to them. The third highest Muslims are the generation following them.** **After them people will be** (mostly) **apt to give evidence without being asked to do so; and they will not be trustworthy. They will be treacherous. They will not keep their vows. They will be pleasure-seeking and lecherous people**." Another hadîth-i-sherîf quoted in the same book on the authority of Jâbir bin Abdullah states, " **None of the Muslims who have seen me will enter Hell; nor will any of the Muslims who will see the ones who have seen me**!"

It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, which Abdullah bin Zubayr reported on the athority of his father Zubayr bin Awwâm 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ': " **On the Rising Day each of my Sahâba will** (rise from his grave in the country where he died and) **lead the other Muslims who lived** (and died) **in the same location to the place of gathering** (for judgement), **illuminating their path**."

Husayn bin Yahyâ Bukhârî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' provides the following information in his book **Rawda-t-ul-'Ulamâ** : "It is permissible for a mujtahid to act in accordance with any hadîth-i-sherîf. Any Sahâbî's word (any information given by any of the Sahâba) is an authentic document." Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' said (to his disciples): "If you discover a statement made by any of the Ashâb-i-kirâm and disagreeable with my ijtihâd, leave my word aside and follow the Sahâbî's statement!"

These facts show that the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat 'rahima-humullâhu ta'âlâ' took the words of the Ahl-i-Bayt as documentary sources and hinged their teachings on this base. For, the Ahl-i-Bayt and all the Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' always stated the same things, which were what they had heard from Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Their disagreements based on ijtihâd should not be construed as changing the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs.

13– He writes, "We are in the madhhab of Ahl-i-Bayt. A person who denies the Ahl-i-Bayt is accursed. Existence of an undisputed and innocent imâm is always necessary. Every prophet appointed a trustee, a caliph. Our Messenger is the highest of prophets and his trustees are the sayyid-i-awsiyâ. Those who are on our side are never without tahârat (cleanliness). When they cannot find pure water, they do not make ablution. They wash their face with their right hand, instead of using both hands. They do not make masah behind their ears or on the back of their neck. They do not wash their feet. They perform the acts of sujûd (prostration), rukû', qiyâm and quûd in the same manner as the Ahl-i-Bayt performed them. They believe that it is harâm (forbidden by Islam) to eat the rabbit, which is a menstruating animal. They say that tanning will not clean a dog's skin. They do not perform namâz behind a sinful person. They do not renounce (the worship called) hajj with favour of sinners' prevention. They do not make nikâh with, (i.e. they do not marry) a girl born out of wedlock. They do not base their deeds (of worship) on qiyâs. 'Satan is the first person who employed qiyâs. And the second person to employ qiyâs was Abû Hanîfa,' they say. They wear their ring on the index finger of their right hand. They say that the title 'Amîr-ul-mu'minîn' belongs only to Alî by rights. They curse his enemies and know them as disbelievers. They say, 'Formerly, Shâfi'î satirized Abû Hanîfa. Later he became his partner in his villainous path and accompanied him to his destiny: the fire. The Sunnîs abandoned love of Alî and joined the wrongdoers and the cruel in their journey to Hell. When Abû Bakr was intent upon caliphate, Alî embarrassed and discomfitted him and his followers. This is the path of Âl-i-Rasûl."

This word for word translation from the heretics' book is intended to alert the true Muslims to the heinous intentions lurking behind the sophisms. We owe Allâhu ta'âlâ infinite gratitude, for the Islamic scholars confute their arguments with authentic documents and prove that the path that these heretics have been following is quite wrong. **Qiyâs** means to elucidate the religious commandments that are not openly stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîmand in hadîth-i-sherîfs. Satan did not practise qiyâs. It opposed itself to the commandment (of Allâhu ta'âlâ). The heretic tries to dissimulate the grudge he harbours towards Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa by misrepresenting Satan's opposition and denial as qiyâs, (which is one of the methods used by the Islamic scholars, particularly by the great Imâm Abû Hanîfa, for the benevolent purpose of exploring the hidden rules and commandments in the Qur'ân al-kerîm and in hadîth-i-sherîfs,) and thereby to camouflage his ulterior plan to demolish the Islamic religion by blackening the name of the great Islamic scholar.

That the book **Husniyya** was written by a Jewish enemy of Islam is reported in the book **Tuhfa-i-ithnâ ash'ariyya** , which is in Persian and was reproduced by Hakîkat Kitâbevi (in Istanbul, Turkey). It is a palpable fact that the book **Husniyya** was written by a Jew for the purpose of generating discord among Muslims and thereby demolishing Islam from the interior. His most deadly weapon is the casuistry whereby he misrepresents the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat as if they were enemies of the Ahl-i-Bayt. In point of fact, it is written in our books that the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat had very profound love and respect for the Ahl-i-Bayt and that every statement made by (any individual member of) the Ahl-i-Bayt was an authentic documentary source whereon they based their religious instructions. It is such a shameless effrontery to misrepresent the lovers of the Ahl-i-Bayt as their enemies. It is very clever of him to write a scenario in which the protagonist is a concubine who gets into a discussion with the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat and disgraces them with arguments that they cannot confute. He tries to smear the dirt of his infidelity and animus on the great Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' by asserting that the concubine had learned her knowledge from Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq. His assertions are refuted one by one with antitheses based on the Qur'ân al-kerîm andhadîth-i-sherîfs in the translation of **Sharh-i-'aqâid** by Sirri Pâsha of Crete; in the book **Milal wa Nihâl** (by Abul Fat-h Muhammad bin Abdulkarîm Shihristânî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh'); in the commentary of **Qasîda-i-Amâlî** by Ahmad Âsim Efendi 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', who was at the same time the translator of the Arabic dictionary **Qâmûs** , written by Muhammad Ya'qûb Fîrûzâbâdî (729 [1329 A.D.], Fîrûzâbâd, which is to the South of Shîrâz, Iran – 816 [1414 A.D.], Zebîd, Yemen); in the Turkish book **Se'âdet-i-ebediyye** ; and in **Documents of the Right Word**. (The book **Qasîda-i-Amâlî** was written by Alî Ûshî bin 'Uthmân of Ferghâna (d. 575 [1180 A.D.])). Sayyid Ayyûb bin Siddîq 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' relates the following event in the sixty-third episode in the book **Chihâr yâr-i-ghuzîn** : There was a heretic named Abdulmajîd in the city of Kûfa [today's Baghdâd]. One day he visited Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' and asked the following question:

**Heretic** : Who is the highest one among the Sahâba?

**Ja'far Sâdiq** : Abû Bakr as-siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' is the highest of them all.

**H** : How do you know so?

**J.S.** : Allâhu ta'âlâ has declared him to be the second person after His Messenger. There cannot be an honour higher than that.

**H** : Didn't Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' lie in the Messenger's bed without any fear of the unbelievers?

**J.S.** : Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' entered the cave before the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam', and did not fear at all.

**H** : He wouldn't have done so if he had not feared the unbelievers. Indeed, Allâhu ta'âlâ told Abû Bakr through His Messenger not to be afraid.

**J.S.** : His fear was lest the Messenger of Allah should suffer harm. He put his foot on a hole. The snake bit him several times. He did not withdraw his foot despite the unbearable pain lest the Messenger of Allah should be disturbed. He suppressed an interjection of pain not to wake the Messenger of Allah. If his fear had been for himself, he would not have put himself at risk of being poisoned to death.

**H** : The fifty-fifth âyat-i-kerîma of Mâida sûra, which purports, " **Those who establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they bow down humbly** (in rukû')," praises Alî.

**J.S.** : The âyat-i-kerîma which purports, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ will bring a tribe that will perform jihâd against apostates. Allâhu ta'âlâ will love them** ," is about Abû Bakr as-siddîq and exalts him even higher.

**H** : The two hundred and seventy-fourth (274) âyat of Baqara sûra, which purports, " **Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day, in secret and in public, ...,** " praises Alî, doesn't it?

**J.S.** : Wa-l-layl sûra lauds Abû Bakr as-siddîq and adds greatly to his honour. For, he donated forty thousand gold coins, leaving aside none for himself. Allâhu ta'âlâ sent Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' to His Messenger with the glad tidings, " **I am pleased with Abû Bakr. Is he pleased with Me, too?** " Abû Bakr answered, "I am pleased with Allâhu ta'âlâ, I am pleased (with Him), I am pleased (with Him)."

**H** : Alî is lauded in the nineteenth âyat of Tawba sûra, which purports, " **Do ye make the giving of drink to pilgrims, or the** **maintenance of the Sacred Mosque, equal to (the pious service of) those who believe in Allâhu ta'âlâ and the Last Day and strive with might and main in the cause of Allâhu ta'âlâ? They are not comparable**. ..."

**J.S.** : The tenth âyat of Hadîd sûra, which purports, " **Not equal among you are those who spent (freely) and fought, before the victory** , (i.e. the conquest of Mekka,) **(with those who did so later). They are higher in rank than those who spent (freely) and fought afterwards**. ...," lauds Abû Bakr. Abû Jahl ['Amr bin Hishâm bin Mughîra] attempted to hit the Messenger of Allah. At that moment Abû Bakr arrived and prevented him.

**H** : Alî never was an unbeliever.

**J.S.** : It is true. Yet Allâhu ta'âlâ commends Abû Bakr's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' îmân in the hundredth âyat of Tawba sûra, which purports, " **The vanguard (of Islam) - the first of those who forsook (their homes)** (the Muhâjirs) **and of those who gave them aid** (the Ansâr), **... Well-pleased is Allâhu ta'âlâ with them, ... For them hath He prepared Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever...** ", and in the thirty-third and thirty-fourth âyats of Zumar sûra, which purport, " **And he who brings the Truth and he who confirms it...** " " **They shall have all that they wish for, in Paradise.** ..." No one's îmân has been praised so strongly. Whenever the Messenger of Allah said something, the Meccan disbelievers would contradict him, saying, "You are lying." Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' would always be there to confirm: "You are telling the truth, O Messenger of Allah."

**H** : Doesn't Allâhu ta'âlâ complain in the hundred and fifty-fifth âyat of 'Imrân sûra, which purports, " **Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met** (at Uhud) **. It was Satan who caused them to fail, ...** "?

**J.S.** : Quote the final part of the âyat, too! It purports, " **... But Allâhu ta'âlâ has blotted out** , (i.e. I have forgiven,) **(their fault): ...** "

**H** : It is farz (an open commandment of Allâhu ta'âlâ) to love Alî. The people suggested in the twenty-third âyat of Shûra sûra, which purports, " **... Say: No reward do I ask of you for this,** (i.e. for having taught you Islam and giving you the glad tidings of Paradise,) **... except the love of those near of kin,** (i.e. my close relatives) **...,** " are Alî, Fâtima, Hasan and Husayn.

**J.S.** : It is farz to invoke blessings on Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and to love him. The tenth âyat of Hashr sûra purports, " **And those Believers who came after them,** (i.e. after the Muhâjirs and Ansâr,) **(till the end of the world) say: Yâ Rabbî** (O Allah)! **Forgive us, and our brethren who came before us,** [i.e. the Ashâb-i-kirâm] **!...** " A word to the wise from the (book of) Tafsîr (entitled) Husaynî: "The Islamic scholars caution that if a person dislikes any one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' he will not be included among the Believers mentioned in this âyat-i-kerîma, and he will be deprived of the blessing in the prayer for forgiveness."

**H** : The Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **Hasan and Husayn are the highest youngsters of Paradise. And their father is even higher**."

**J.S.** : The blessed Prophet's statement about Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' bears even higher recommendation. As I have heard from my father Muhammad Bâqir, our forefather Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' related: I was in the presence ofRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' one day, when Abû Bakr and 'Umar came round.Rasûlullah stated, " **O Alî! These two are the highest male inhabitants of Paradise**."

**H** : O Ja'far. Who is higher; Âisha or Fâtima?

**J.S.** : Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' wife. She will be with him in Paradise. Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' wife. She will be with him (in Paradise).

**H** : Âisha fought against Alî. Will she enter Paradise?

**J.S.** : The fifty-third and fifty-fourth âyats of Ahzâb sûra purport, " **Do not hurt the Messenger of Allah. After him, never marry his wives with nikâh. Both these deeds are grave sins**." As is stated in the books of Tafsîr entitled Baydâwî and Husaynî, we must maintain our respect for the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' after his death by holding his blessed wives in respect.

**H** : Could you authenticate Abû Bakr's caliphate with passages from the Qur'ân al-kerîm?

**J.S.** : I can furnish proof from the Torah and the Bible as well as from the Qur'ân al-kerîm. The hundred and sixty-fifth âyat of An'âm sûra purports, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ hath made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth: He hath raised you in ranks: some above others: ...** " The fifty-fifth âyat of Nûr sûra purports, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them, (i.e. to the Israelites); ...** " It is stated in (the books of Tafsîr entitled) Baydâwî and Husaynî that this âyat-i-kerîmainforms about the ghayb (facts unknown to creatures), that the Qur'ân al-kerîm is the Word of Allâhu ta'âlâ, and that the (earliest) four Khalîfas, (i.e. Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în',) are canonically lawful and rightly-guided Khalîfas. In the Torah and in the Bible, (in their undefiled originals), and also in the last âyat of Fat-h sûra it is purported, " **Muhammad** 'alaihis-salâm' **is the Messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst one another,...** " This âyat-i-kerîma generalizes about all the Sahâba and implies the great honour attached to Abû Bakr. The latter half of this âyat purports, " **... This is their similitude in the Taurah** (Torah) **; and their similitude in the Gospel. ...** " It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported on the authority of my forefather Alî, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ gives me such miracles as He has given to none of His (other) prophets. On the Rising Day I shall be the first to rise from the grave. He will command me to summon my four Khalîfas. When I inquire, 'Who are they, Yâ Rabbî?' He will declare, 'Abû Bakr.' Upon this the ground will be cleft apart and Abû Bakr will rise from the grave before all. 'Umar will rise next, being followed by 'Uthmân and Alî, respectively. ...** "

The heretic was too impatient to wait for the completion of the quotation:

O, Ja'far. Are these things mentioned in the Qur'ân?

**J.S.** : The sublime meaning of the sixty-ninth âyat-i-kerîma of Zumar sûra is: " **... The prophets and their witnesses,** (or the martyrs,) **will be brought forward (for the settlement of accounts; ...** "

**H** : O, Ja'far! I have felt hatred towards the three Khalîfas throughout my life. Now I am penitent for it. Would Allâhu ta'âlâ forgive me if I made tawba?

**J.S.** : Make tawba right away! This tawba is a sign for your future happiness (in the Hereafter). If you had migrated to the Hereafter with your (former) heresy, your life of piety would have come to naught.

As is seen, all the Ahl-i-Bayt loved Abû Bakr and all the Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. If there really had been a concubine honoured with having seen Imâm-i-Ja'far Sâdiq and serving him, she, too, would necessarily have learned the greatness of the Ashâb-i-kirâm and she would have loved them all. This fact shows that the heretics living in Iran, Iraq and Syria are lying in the name of Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq.

When Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' passed away in the thirteenth year (of the Hegira), all the inhabitants of Medîna wept for him. When Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' heard about the sad news, he, too, wept and came (to Hadrat Abû Bakr's house), saying, "So the caliphate is over." He stood at the door and uttered the following words:

"Yâ Abâ Bakr! You were Rasûlullah's darling, companion, fellow-sufferer, intimate, and counsellor. You were the earliest Believer. Your îmân (belief) was purer than that of us all. Your yaqîn (certitude of belief) was firmer and your fear of Allah was greater. You were the wealthiest and the most generous of all. You were the most compassionate and the most caring to the Messenger of Allah. Your sohbat (company, togetherness) with the Messenger of Allah was better than the sohbat of any of us. You are the champion of the beneficent! Your good deeds tower above ours. You are ahead of us in all kinds of goodness. Your position in the presence of the Messenger of Allah was the highest. You were the closest to him. In kindness and goodness and all sorts of refinement, in stature, age and mental capacity you were the most similar to the Messenger of Allah. May Allâhu ta'âlâ reward you profusely (for having always been by his side in all situations and under all conditions), for, at a time when others accused him of lying you would confirm him saying, "I believe you. You are telling the truth." You were like his ears and eyes. Allâhu ta'âlâ honoured you with 'sidq' (=faithfulness) in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. You supported the Messenger of Allah at his hardest times. In times of peace you were in his presence, and in wartime you were at his side. You were the Khalîfa of his Ummat, and the protector of his religion. As the ignorant renounced his religion you gave new energy to Islam. As others were totally bemused, you came forward like a lion roaring. As others all dispersed, you abode by the path guided by Muhammad Mustafâ. You were the least talking, the most eloquent and the most literary of the Sahâba. Every statement you made, everything you found and everything you did were pure. Your heart was stronger than all ours, and your yaqîn (definite belief) was firmer. You would see the aftermath of everything in advance, and you would enlighten the (spiritually) retarded by guiding them into Islam. You were compassionate, forgiving and fatherly with the Muslims. You carried the heavy load of Islam. As others all failed to hold the right of Islam, you observed it perfectly. You were like a mountain that winds could not move. Your deeds were truth and knowledge. Your words were manly statements of truth. You extirpated all bigotries and heresies. You planted the tree of true religion. You made hardships easy for the Muslims. You extinguished the fire of apostasy. You restored the religion of Rahmân (Allâhu ta'âlâ, the Compassionate). You were energy for Islam and îmân. You occupy a very high position in heavens, among angels. Separation from you is a source of profound grievance for the Muhâjirîn and for the Ansâr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'." He wept so bitterly that his blessed eyes shed blood. Then he went on:

"We welcome Allâhu ta'âlâ's qadâ and qadar. We accept the sufferings He has inflicted on us. Yâ Abâ Bakr! After the painful bereavement of the Messenger of Allah, no other disaster that befell on us has been more grievous than your death to us. You were a shelter, a support, a shade for the Believers. You were very harsh and fervent against the hypocrites. May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless you with the presence of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'! May He bless us with patience and rewards for the grievance of parting with you! May He protect us against eccentricities and heresies in your absence." All the Ashâb-i-kirâm listened to Hadrat Alî's words quietly 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. At the end they all sobbed bitterly.

These words of Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' provide positive proof for the purport of the latter part of the final âyat of Tawba sûra. This fact exposes the shameless casuistry in the machinations wrought out all through the book entitled **Husniyya** and uncloaks the scheme for demolishing Islam from within disguised under the blessed appellation of Ahl-i-Bayt. It is incumbent upon every individual Believer to tear that book to pieces and thereby to eliminate a virus that may bring ruination to young Muslim Alawîs and Shiites.

14– He says, "When the Messenger asked for a pen and paper to write a booklet for the Sahâba during his death agony, 'Umar prevented the others from doing the commandment of the Messenger of Allah. On the other hand, it is a fact written in theQur'ân al-kerîm that all his utterances are Wah-y." Please read the twenty-eighth (28) chapter of the third fascicle of **Endless Bliss** for detailed information about the event the impostor is trying to garble, and for the elucidations presented!

15– He asserts, "On the day when the Messenger of Allah passed away, the munâfiqs (hypocrites) among the Sahâba sat together at a place called 'Saqîfa-i-banî Sa'îda', and began to discuss the caliphate. A few of them were suggested that they should take the office. When one of them, namely Sa'd bin Ubâda, accepted the suggestion, his son drew his sword and said to his father, 'How will you explain this to Alî? At 'Ghadir Hum' the Messenger held him by the hand and told you that he made him (Alî) your Khalîfa and Imâm. And you paid homage to him. How come you give up now?' Then 'Umar drew his sword in homage to Abû Bakr, whereupon Abû Ubayda and twenty other miscreants paid homage to him (Abû Bakr). None of them performed the (prayer termed) Salât of Janâza (for the Prophet). Three days later Alî joined them and they assembled in the mosque. 'Umar walked up to Alî and said, 'Most of the people paid homage to Abû Bakr. You and the other Hâshimites should do so, too.' Zubayr drew his sword and began to make for 'Umar. Yet Alî stopped him. Alî turned to Abû Bakr and 'Umar and said, 'O Sahâbîs, you have disobeyed the Prophet and Allah. Caliphate is my right. Give me my right.' When 'Umar answered that they would not pay homage to him, Alî said, 'I would kill hypocrites and enemies of religion like you if the Messenger had not told me not to do so in his will.' Abû Bakr and Abû Ubayda said, 'O Alî, you are young. You are thirty-three years old. Abû Bakr is old. You will get the caliphate anyway finally. Do not rekindle the fire that has just gone out!' Alî said, 'Caliphate belongs to us. It's no one else's right.' Bashîr bin Sa'd Ansârî said, 'O Alî. No one would have paid homage to Abû Bakr if you had said these words earlier.' 'Umar discontinued the meeting for fear of Alî's being paid homage to. The following day Salmân, Abû Zer, Mikdâd, Ammâr bin Yâser, Burayda-i-Eslemî, Sahl bin Hanîf, Huzayfat-ibni Thâbit, and Abâ Ayyûb al-Ansârî suggested to kill Abû Bakr. Alî did not agree with them and said, 'The Messenger told me this: O Alî. You and I are like Hârûn (Aaron) and Mûsâ (Moses). The Israelites abandoned Hârûn and worshipped an ox. Likewise, my Ummat will abandon you and choose others.' On Friday the Sahâba came to the mosque and tried to dissuade him from that offensive arrogation. Negotiations tended towards a stalemate. Three days later a crowded army recruited by Khâlid bin Walîd and led by 'Umar assembled before the mosque and marched against Alî. Salmân stood up and said to them, 'The Messenger informed that you were dogs of Hell. Alî went to his home. 'Umar forced everyone out in the street to pay homage (to Abû Bakr). The tribe called Hazrajj and Abû Ubâda and nine thousand other people refused to pay homage. Another group that would not pay homage included ten thousand people with Mâlik bin Nuwayra in the lead. This unitarian Believer was slain during salât by Khâlid bin Walîd, sent forth by 'Umar. How could one ever call this 'Ijmâ-i-Ummat'?"

Leaving the book alone with its whimsical improvisations, let us direct our attention to historical documents.

Tabarî, a tome of history, was written by Muhammad bin Jarîr (Tabarî) 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ'. The first page of the third volume of its Turkish version begins as follows:

Since the beginning of Rasûlullah's illness (of death) Abû Bakr as-Siddîq would never go to his home. He would stay in the Masjîd-i-sa'âdat and steadily attend to Rasûlullah's needs. Rasûlullah yielded his blessed soul on the twelfth of Rabî'ul-awwal, Monday, in the eleventh year of the Hegira. His blessedhead was on the breast of Hadrat Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ'. Hadrat Alî went out sobbing. Hadrat Abû Bakr entered and saw Hadrat Âisha sobbing and slapping her own face with her hand. Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' lay there, his face covered with a cloak. He removed the cloak and saw that the blessed Prophet was dead. Replacing the cloak, he walked into the mosque, made khutba and said, "O Sahâba! The Messenger of Allah has passed away. Allâhu ta'âlâ has blessed him with death. Should there be anyone (among you) worshipping Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', let him know that he is dead. And those who worship Allâhu ta'âlâ; let them know that Allâhu ta'âlâ is never dead." Then he recited the hundred and forty-fourth âyat of Âl-i-'Imrân sûra, which purports: " **Muhammad** 'alaihis-salâm' **is no more than an Apostle: many were the Apostles that passed away before him. (He, too, will pass away.) If he died or were slain, will ye then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allâhu ta'âlâ; on the other hand, Allâhu ta'âlâ will swiftly reward those who abide by (their slavery to Him) with gratitude."**

Mughîra-t-abni-Shu'ba came in with the news that the Ansâr had assembled and elected Sa'd bin Ubâda Khalîfa. Hadrat Abû Bakr held Hadrat 'Umar by the hand and they went out together. On the way they met Hadrat Abû Ubayda bin Jerrâh. [Abû Ubayda 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was one of the ten people who are called Ashara-i-mubashshara because they had been blessed with the Glad Tidings that they would go to Paradise (after death). He took part in all the Holy Wars. He was a man of great valour. He was commander-in-chief of the army that marched into Damascus. According to a report in **Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ** , the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' had commended him as follows: " **This is the trustworthy of my Ummat**." He was fifty-eight [58] years old when he passed away in the eighteenth year (of the Hegira). Genies were heard to mourn over his death. So, he was a blessed person who had been blessed with the Glad Tidings of Paradise and praised with the commendation "the trustworthy of my Ummat" by the Messenger of Allah and who spent his life attacking the enemies of religion before the Messenger of Allah. It is a fact as manifest as the sun that a Jewish book that shamelessly labels such a high person as a 'miscreant' must have been written for the purpose of shattering Islam.] Hadrat Abû Ubayda also told them that the Ansâr had come together in Banî Sa'îda's house and made Sa'd bin Ubâda Khalîfa. The three people went to the place. They saw that the tribes of Aws and Hazraj had assembled and were willing to pay homage to Sa'd bin Ubâda 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who lay ill. There was a large crowd. They suggested to Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': "Let us have two Khalîfas; one to represent you, and one from amongst us!" Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' made a long admonitory speech, in which he quotedâyat-i-kerîmas and lavished compliments on the Ansâr. Then, quoting the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **The Imâm** (Leader, Khalîfa) **must be of Qoureishi origin** ," he concluded, "Let us choose our Khalîfa from among the Qoureishi people. In his view you will be as honourable as you were in the view of the Messenger. I have two candidates from the Sahâba. Both of them are Qoureishi notables. They are 'Umar and Alî." The Ansâr were inclined to pay homage to Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. 'Umar was fearful of another chaotic situation and suggested, "O Abâ Bakr! You are of Qoureishi origin! Hold out your hand, and we'll pay homage to you." "You hold out your hand, and let's pay homage to you," was Abû Bakr's answer. 'Umar pulled Abû Bakr's hand and paid homage to him. When the Ansâr saw this, they followed 'Umar's example and unanimously paid homage to Abû Bakr. However, the rumour that the Ansâr were going to pay homage to Sa'd bin Ubâda had spread throughout Medîna. All the Sahâba came together and marched to prevent the nomination. 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' met them and shouted: "O people! Come and pay homage to the Prophet's 'alaihis-salâm' Khalîfa!" That day all the inhabitants of Medîna paid homage to Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. Thus a very grave conflict was avoided. Hadrat Alî, Hasan and Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' were busy consoling the Ahl-i-Bayt. Therefore, they were the only three people who paid homage (to Abû Bakr) later.

The following day, Tuesday, the Sahâba came together in the mosque. 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' mounted the minbar and said, "O Ashâb-i-kirâm! You must be grateful toAllâhu ta'âlâ for having gathered you around Abû Bakr, who is the best of you. If there is anyone who has not paid homage yet, let him do so!" Then Abû Bakr as-Siddîq said, "O people! I would like you to know that I accept the office only lest there should be discord and bloodshed among the Sahâba. I am human, like any one of you. It is human nature to make mistakes. When I do not make mistakes, pay gratitude to Allâhu ta'âlâ. And when I am wrong, show me the right course! Obey me as long as I obey Allâhu ta'âlâ. Yet if I am disobedient (to His commandments), pay me back with your disobedience to me! Now, let us offer our service to our Prophet 'alaihis-salâm'. Let us pay him his due. Let us wash him, perform the salât (termed salât of janâza) for him, and place him into his blessed grave." He dismounted the minbar and went to the Messenger's 'alaihis-salâm' house. He lifted the cloak covering the most beloved Prophet's face and smelled the blessed face, relishing the most delicate musky odour that emanated from his blessed face and hair. He put his face on the Messenger's blessed face and said, "I would sacrifice my mother and father for your sake; how beautiful you smell, both alive and dead!" Then quoting a hadîth-i-sherîf that read, " **My Ahl-i-Bayt should wash me** (when I am dead)," and which he had heard from the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm', he ordered, "Let Abbâs and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' wash him." Abbâs and his son Fadl came to the place. Hadrat Alî joined them. The (new) Khalîfa, (i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr,) said, "O Alî! Wash the Messenger of Allah." Then he turned toRasûlullah's servant Usâma and told him to assist with the washing. He and the other Sahâbîs waited at the door. He ordered Aws bin Hawlî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', one of the Ansâr, to go in and help the others. They washed the blessed Prophet with his garment on, wrapped him in three white shrouds and fumigated him with incense. Abû Talha dug a grave. They could not reach an agreement concerning the place of the grave. Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' quoted the following hadîth, which he had heard from Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam': " **Prophets are buried whereever they pass away**." His bed was removed and a grave was dug at its place. The Messenger of Allah was placed beside the blessed grave and his Sahâba came in groups and performed the salât (of janâza) for him without an imâm to conduct the salât. The (prayers of) salât continued till midnight. He was placed in the blessed grave at midnight. It was Wednesday night, (i.e. the night between Tuesday and Wednesday). Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away on Monday. It was Monday also when he honoured the world with his presence. It was Monday, again, when he placed the (sacred stone called) Hajar-ul-aswad on the wall of Kâ'ba when he was sixteen years old. On another Monday he left Mekka for the Hijrat (Hegira). And it was another Monday when he arrived in Medîna.

Three days after the burial Hadrat Abû Bakr gave the following order: "The Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' sent you out for Holy War under the command of Usâma. Yet theProphet's illness intervened and the task could not be fulfilled. We must execute the commandment before doing anything else! Do not be remiss in this duty! Be ready for the Holy War." He prepared and motivated the Sahâba for the Holy War. Usâma was twenty-two years old then. A report of insurrection in the Arabian deserts was received. The Sahâba were of the opinion that they should not leave Medîna under Usâma's command and that otherwise the rebels would enter the town and slay the Khalîfa. Yet their objections and insistent discouragements proved futile when Hadrat Abû Bakr persevered, "We shall do Rasûlullah's commandment at all costs. I cannot replace a commander liked by Rasûlullah." So the army left Medîna, Usâma on horse and the others on foot. The Khalîfa began his short farewell speech to the Sahâba as follows: "My first piece of advice is that you should obey Usâma." Then, turning to Usâma, he ordered, "Go to the place commanded by the Messenger of Allah! Then go to Damascus." It took Usâma forty days to go to the tribe of Huzâ'a, slaughter the apostates, carry out the task, and come back with victory to Medîna.

The people of Arabia had abandoned Islam; they had become apostates. The Khalîfa sent Khâlid bin Walîd for the chastisement of the apostates. Khâlid routed the ringleaders of the apostates. Those who survived the slaughter returned to Islam. The Khalîfa sent the officials of zakât for the collection of zakât. Mâlik bin Nuwayra, one of the notables of the tribe of Banî Tamîm, had been authorized by Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' to collect the zakâts of his tribe. Mâlik's tribe paid tribune to Abû Bakr and sent their zakâts. A Christian woman named Sijâh bin Hâris of Mosul came to Hidjâz (Hejaz) with pretensions to being a prophet. She invited Mâlik (bin Nuwayra) to her religion. Mâlik's answer was: "I will fight for you. But let me have time to think over converting to your religion." The following morning Sijâh said to him, "I have received wah-y from my Rabb (Allah). You shall fight the members of Banî Tamîm who deny me." Mâlik fought and won. He slaughtered numerous Muslims and caused many others to lapse into Sijâh's iconoclasm. When Sijâh improved in power, she went to Yemen to support Musaylama-t-ul-kazzâb[]. Khâlid (bin Walîd) marched against Mâlik although he had not been ordered to do so by the Khalîfa. Mâlik sent the zakâts that he had collected to Khâlid, who accepted them and reported the event to the Khalîfa. Upon this the Khalîfa sent an order to Khâlid telling him not to inflict any punishment on villages whence he heard voices calling the azân (adhân). A cavalry detachment caught Mâlik, took him to Khâlid, and said that they had not heard any voices calling the azân. Abû Qatâda 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', (who was in the detachment, too,) said he had (heard voices of azân). When Khâlid asked Mâlik why he had become a follower of Sijâh, he replied, "I am not her follower. I only made peace with her. I did not join her religion." Yet when he accidentally blurted out the expression, "your master said so," Khâlid 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' became angry and exclaimed, "You dirty dog, you mean he is our Prophet and not yours? You are a hypocrite. You became a follower of Sijâh! You killed so many Muslims for her sake." He had him decapitated. Abû Qatâda did not like it, went back to Medîna and related the events to Hadrat 'Umar. Upon this 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' went to the Khalîfa (Hadrat Abû Bakr) and said, "Khâlid killed Muslims cruelly. Call Khâlid back and punish him!" The Khalîfa replied, "O 'Umar! Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, ' **Khâlid is the sword of Allah**.' How can I even chide him despite this commendation about him?" Mâlik's brother came and said, "My brother was a Muslim who had paid homage to you. I demand my brother's blood from Khâlid." The Khalîfa sent for Khâlid. When 'Umar saw Khâlid he collared him, took his arrows and broke them to pieces, and castigated him, saying, "Don't you ever fear Allah? You killed a Muslim." When the Khalîfa asked Khâlid to explain himself, he said, "O Khalîfa! Didn't you hear the Messenger of Allah say, " **Khalîd is the sword of Allah** '?" "I swear in the name of Allah that I did," replied the Khalîfa. Khâlid concluded presently, "The sword of Allah would behead only unbelievers and hypocrites." "You are telling the truth. Go back to your office now," ordered the Khalîfa, fully appeased. When 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' heard about this, he regretted Khâlid's having escaped punishment. This is the end of the passage we have translated from Tabarî.

Abdulqâdir-i-Geilânî 'qaddas-Allâhu sirrah-ul-'azîz', one of the descendants of Ahl-i-Bayt, quotes, in his book **Ghunya** , the statements made by his ancestor Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' on the very day when Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' were to be elected Khalîfa.

According to a narration in the hundred and fifty-fifth page of the second volume of the (Turkish) translation of **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** , Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said to Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', " **Whatever Hârûn** (Aaron) **was in relation to Mûsâ** (Moses) 'alaihim-as-salâm', **you are the same with relation to me. Only, no prophet shall come after me.** " Hence, the proximity implied is not in prophethood but in subordination. "As Hârûn represented Mûsâ 'alaihis-salâm' (in his absence) before death (of the latter), you are my proxy in my absence as long as I live," is the meaning that should be derived from the hadîth-i-sherîf. In fact, Sherefeddîn Husayn bin Muhammad Tayyibî interprets it identically. It is a very well known fact that Hârûn's 'alaihis-salâm' death was previous to Mûsâ's 'alaihis-salâm'. Then, not only the hadîth-i-sherîf should not be construed as an implication that Imâm Alî were to be Khalîfa immediately after the Messenger of Allah, but it also presupposed that he was not going to be (the first) Khalîfa.

According to a narration in the fifth episode of the book **Manâqib-i-chihâr yâr-i-ghuzîn** , Abdullah ibn 'Umar is quoted, in Bukhârî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', as having related, "In the time of the Messenger of Allah we used to talk on the virtues of the Sahâba. We would hold Abû Bakr the highest, then 'Umar, then 'Uthmân, and then Alî." And ibn Munzir quotes Imâm Alî as having stated, "The highest member of this Ummat (Muslims) is Abû Bakr."

It is stated as follows in the thirty-fourth episode of Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': A huge amount of ghanîma was won and brought home after a Holy War. As 'Umar, the time's Khalîfa, was distributing the shares of those who canonically had a right from one-fifth of the ghanîma, Imâm Hasan (Hadrat Alî's elder son and at the same time ourProphet's grandson) came. The Khalîfa gave him a thousand dirhams (3.365 kg ~ 7.411 pounds ~ 0.529 st) of silver. Then Hadrat Husayn came, and another thousand dirhams was given to him. A while later the Khalîfa's own son, Abdullah came. The Khalîfa gave him five hundred dirhams (of silver). Abdullah was offended. He said, "You have given Hasan and Husayn more than you have given me although they are only small children and I am a grown up wrestler. I have taken part in many Holy Wars, attacked the enemy and slain many an unbeliever before Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Is it fair to give me less than the amount you have given them?" "O my son! So you hold yourself equal to them? They have a father named Alî and a mother named Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ'. And their grandfather is Fakhr-i-'âlam (the Master of Worlds) 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'." When Imâm Alî heard about these words, he said, "I heard Rasûlullah state, ' **'Umar is the light of the people of Paradise and the nûr** (haloe, light) **of Islam**.' " Hasan and Husayn informed 'Umar with the Glad Tidings.

Abu-l-mu'în Meymûn bin Muhammad Nasafî makes the following observations in his book Tamhîd: It was not stated (beforehand) who the (first) Khalîfa would be. If it had been stated that caliphate belonged to Alî and his offspring, the Sahâba would have acknowledged it and the report would have reached us. It would be a very grave slander against the Ashâb-i-kirâm to assert that those great people withheld a clearly stated commandment. The Ashâb-i-kirâm conveyed to us all the pieces of religious information, including how to wash ourselves in the lavatory. If there had been a clear statement, or even an implication concerning caliphate, it would definitely have been conveyed to us by Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', by his children, and by the Sahâba. When Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away, The Sahâba came together in the hall of Banî Sa'îda and recited the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **If a person does not know the Khalîfa of his time, his death happens like that of an irreligious person**." They concluded that it would not be permissible to spend one day without a Khalîfa. Therefore, it is disbelief not to know the Khalîfa. For the Khalîfa is indispensable for the performance of some Islamic commandments. For instance, some religious practices and social activities, such as the performance of Friday and 'Iyd prayers and (provision of conditions for) orphans' marriage, are dependent upon the Khalîfa. To deny the Khalîfa is, therefore, to deny the (Islamic commandments termed) farz, which, in its turn, means disbelief (in Islam itself). When one of the Ansâr suggested that there could be two Khalîfas, "one from amongst us and one from your group," Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stood up and said, "I think caliphate goes (best) with Alî. I want him to be Khalîfa." Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' presently stood up, drew his sword, and said, "O Abâ Bakr! You are the Khalîfa of Allah and His Messenger! The Rasûl-i-Ekrem 'sal-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' put you before us all. No one can go before you. The Messenger of Allah ordered me, ' **Go and order Abû Bakr to be imâm for my Ummat**!' A person authorized by the Messenger of Allah to conduct our religious practices is welcome to conduct our worldly practices." Since the Rasûl-i-ekrem had made him his Khalîfa to conduct the public worship (termed salât jamâ'at) for his place, he was nicknamed 'Khalîfa-i-Rasûl (The Messenger's Khalîfa)'. All the Sahâba liked Hadrat Alî's statements and reached consensus on the caliphate of Hadrat Abû Bakr. Then they ran back to perform their (final) service to the Messenger of Allah. After the interment, the Khalîfa made (a speech termed) Khutba and concluded, "You have brought me to the commanding post although I am not the best among you. Accept me (as your Khalîfa)." Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stood up again and said, "We are not to refuse or accept you. Who could ever draw you back from the position to exercise command over us where you have been appointed by the Messenger of Allah?" Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' grew thinner and thinner during his caliphate, so much so that he dwindled to a pitiable appearance at last. When his blessed daughter Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' asked him what the matter was with him, he said, "O my dearest child, the light of my eyes. The fire of separation from Muhammad Mustafâ 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' has been melting me away."

Abdullah ibn Abbâs related: When the Izâ jâ-a (Nasr) sûra[] was revealed, my father Abbâs said to Alî, "This sûra informs (us) that Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ' 'alaihi wa sallam' is to pass away soon. Who do you think he will appoint (as) Khalîfa (after him)?" Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' requested, "O my uncle. Please do go and ask Rasûlullah. If he gives the office to us, this will prevent contensions between us and the Qoureish. If he is to give it to someone else, then beg him to command that person to protect our rights." When Abbâs found the Messenger of Allah alone and asked him, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **O my uncle! Allâhu ta'âlâ has given the caliphate to Abû Bakr. Acquiesce in whatever he says so that you will attain salvation and happiness. He who obeys him will find the right path**." If a person believes the fact that Hadrat Abû Bakr was a rightly-guided Khalîfa and loves all the Ashâb-i-kirâm, he has found the right path.

Salmân-i-Fârisî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was one of the greatest Sahâbîs. He was praised in a number of hadîth-i-sherîfs. Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' appointed him governor of Medayn. He passed away there in the thirty-fifth year (of the Hegira). That a person of his greatness could have said, "dogs of Hell," about Imâm 'Umar and a great host of Sahâbîs, and ascribed this extremely abominable slander to the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', is not something that a Muslim could ever be expected to believe. For there are various hadîth-i-sherîfs that prohibit maligning any one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. A Jew only would venture the effrontery to write the slander that Salmân-i-Fârisî not only disignored all those hadîth-i-sherîfs but also concocted false hadîths. Indeed, a hadîth-i-sherîf which is quoted on the authority of Bukhârî and Muslim in Manâwî reads, " **Holders of bid'at** [] **are dogs of Hell**." The dogs of Hell censured in this hadîth-i-sherîf are people who have deviated from the true path of Ahl as-sunnat and who traduce the Ashâb-i-kirâm. The book Husniyya reverses the fact.

16– The Persian Jew named Murtadâ fibs as follows in his book entitled Husniyya: "The élite as well as the rank and file among the Ummat sent letters to various Muslim cities and provided a consensus on slaying 'Uthmân. In fact, some thirty thousand Muslims from Egypt arrived in Medîna to voice a complaint about 'Uthmân's cruelties. These people joined the ijmâ-i-ummat and together they killed 'Uthmân in an unsightly manner, tied his feet with ropes, and dragged him around all day long. Muslims came in groups and kicked his corpse, saying, 'What made you deem it permissible to perpetrate all those cruelties on Muslims?' "

On the other hand, the event is related with unanimous exactitude in all the literature on the Islamic history. The Turkish version of the grand work of history entitled Tabarî, for instance, provides the following account in the hundred and seventy-fifth page of its third book:

During the caliphate of Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' there lived a Jew named Abdullah bin Saba' in Yemen. He had perused quite a number of books on antiquity and was awaiting an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Khalîfa by simulating a dramatic conversion to Islam in his presence. With this ruse in mind he came to Medîna and, so to speak, became a Muslim. The Khalîfa, however, did not even pay attention to his soi-disant devotion. Thwarted, he launched a nationwide smear campaign against the Khalîfa. No sooner had the Khalîfa been notified of the Jewish convert's libellous activities against him than he had the villain deported from Medîna. Yet the Jew was too dogged to give up; he went to Egypt and resumed his character assassination against the Khalîfa. Owing to his very adroitly exploited scholarship, he did not have to take pains to lure the ignorant and soon made a ring of sensation-fanciers around himself. The slogans which he most frequently insinuated were, "Every Prophet had a vizier for himself. Our Prophet's vizier is Alî. Caliphate was his right. 'Uthmân appropriated his right." He enticed the fellahs (Egyptian peasants) into saying that 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was a disbeliever and had Abdullah bin Sa'd, the governor of Egypt, write complaints about the Khalîfa. Four thousand Egyptians came to Medîna and told the Khalîfa their complaints about him. The Khalîfa answered all their interrogations and proved in the light of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs that he was right. So the army of Egyptians went back home. A year later, another huge crowd arrived, four thousand people from Egypt and four thousand from Iraq. When the people of Medîna took up arms and asked why they were there, they stated their intentions to make hajj (pilgrimage). So the people laid down their weapons. However, they were there for the purpose of deposing Hadrat 'Uthmân. The Egyptians' candidate for caliphate was Hadrat Alî, while the Iraqi group preferred Hadrat Talha. When the Egyptians told Hadrat Alî their intentions to make him Khalîfa, he reproved them, saying, "OurProphet 'alaihis-salâm' foretold that an accursed army would be encamped at the very site you have been stationed at the moment." That night the Khalîfa 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' visited Hadrat Alî and told him to persuade the army to go back. Hadrat Alî obeyed the Khalîfa's order and the following morning he counselled the army (to go back). The army was leaving, when Hadrat Alî came to the Khalîfa with the suggestion to replace the governor of Egypt and appoint the Egyptians' candidate as the new governor. So the Khalîfa appointed Muhammad bin Abî Bakr as the new governor. The Egyptians and the new governor set out for Egypt. Yet on the way they found a letter written by the Khalîfa on one of the heralds. It contained a commandment from the Khalîfa to the replaced governor and said, "Accept the people who will be there soon." At that time handwritings did not have any diacritical marks, which have phonemic functions in some contemporary languages as well as in Arabic today and which diversify the meanings of morphological entities which are otherwise identical, -the same written form, for instance, means 'accept' or 'kill', depending on the number and the place of the diacritical dots. It was the latter sense wherein the Egyptians happened to construe the word used in the letter. Terribly indignant, they turned back, making the Iraqi group turn back with them, and besieged the Khalîfa's house. Twenty days later, on a Friday night, (which is the night previous to Friday,) Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' manifested himself to Hadrat 'Uthmân in a dream and blessed him with the Glad Tidings, " **Yâ 'Uthmân** (O 'Uthmân) **! Tonight you will have iftâr** [] **with us!** " The soldiers burned the gate and entered the yard. Merwan (bin Hakem) was in the yard with five hundred guards under his command. They fought. Blood flowed like a stream. The five hundred guards fought to death. Merwan collapsed with a deep wound. Muhammad bin Abî Bakr was first to enter the house. Yet, moved by the Khalîfa's words, he went back out. Then Kinâna bin Beshîr, one of the Egyptians, martyred the Khalîfa as he was reading the Qur'ân al-kerîm. They plundered the palace. Alî, Talha, Sa'îd and Sa'd 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum', four of the ten blessed people called Ashara-i-mubashshara, did not even go out of their homes. All the people grieved. It was the eighteenth day, Friday, of the month of Zilhijja in the thirty-fifth year of the Hegira. The troops coming for help from Kûfa and Egypt were too late. The Khalîfa was eighty-two years old. The time was late afternoon. Three days later, three of his relatives carried him out of the house and buried him in the cemetery of Bakî'. So badly terror-stricken were the people that nobody dared attend the interment. Thus Abdullah bin Saba' attained his wish and reaped the fruits of his labour. He started the first fire of anarchy in the Islamic world and inflicted the first wound on Islam.

And now this book is trying to rekindle the fire of anarchy and discord, to divide Muslims into groups and to confuse people's minds by disintering the subversive and seditious sophisms invented by the notorious Jew (named Abdullah bin Saba'). Hadrat 'Uthmân's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' house was under siege, when the muadhdhin[] called him to the mosque. He said, "I will not be able to come to the mosque for salât. Tell Alî to conduct the prayers." So Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' conducted only the Friday prayer, appointing Abû Ayyûb al-Ansârî as his deputy to conduct the other prayers. During the siege the Khalîfa (Hadrat 'Uthmân) sent Abdullah bin Abbâs as his deputy on hajj. A couple of days later (after the Khalîfa's martyrdom) the Egyptians went near Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and said to him, "We have appointed you Khalîfa." He refused it, saying, "Appoint someone else! I will pay homage to him." Then they went to Talha, only to be refused once again. Five days later they sent the people of Medîna to Alî. He would not accept it despite all their earnest and insistent requests. The Egyptians were of the opinion that if they should go back without (having elected) the Khalîfa a number of tumults would arise and there would not be anyone to suppress them.

To avoid another possible fitna, Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' suggested that Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Sahâba should pay homage first. They brought Talha and Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' said, "I am not disposed to accept the office. But the Muslims are without an Imâm now. If any one of you accept it I will pay homage to him." Then, looking at Talha he added, "You are worthy to accept the honour more than anybody else is. Hold out your hand and I will pay homage to you." "It would not devolve on me in your presence," was the latter's answer, which he complemented with a gesture of homage. Zubayr was the second to pay homage. Then the people followed their example and paid homage. It was the twenty-fifth day of Zilhijja. The (new) Khalîfa performed (the speech termed) Khutba. Then they performed the Friday prayer. The Khalîfa's first operation was to dismiss Hadrat Mu'âwiya from (governorship of) Damascus and appoint Abdullah ibn Abbâs for his place. However, Abdullah ibn Abbâs would not accept it. His explanation for the refusal was, "Do not dismiss him. He has been governor there for a long time. The dismissal may cause fitna." So the Khalîfa suspended the dismissal and Hadrat Abbâs did not go to Damascus. Yet a year later he reactivated the dismissal and replaced several other governors as well. Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' sent an army against the new governor, forcing him to return to Medîna. A herald from Damascus came with the report, "More than a hundred thousand Damascenes demand that you should retaliate for the blood of 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. Every day they come to the mosque and weep for 'Uthmân."

As is seen, a Jewish convert was the instigator of the earliest fitna in Islam. He was the first sower of discord among Muslims. That today's lâ-madhhabî people are his followers is manifest in their book.
A hadîth-i-sherîf quoted on the authority of Talha bin Abdullah 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' in the book **Masâbîh** reads as follows: " **Every prophet has a companion. 'Uthmân is my companion in Paradise.** "

Enes bin Mâlik 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' relates: 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was absent during (the oath of allegiance called) Bî'at-ur-ridwân. He had been sent to Mekka on a mission. The Messenger of Allah 'alaihis-salâm' held one of his blessed hands with the other and stated, " **'Uthmân is (away) doing the mission of Allah and His Messenger. So I am making the oath of allegiance on his behalf.** " Thereby he made his hand 'Uthmân's hand.

Murra bin Kâ'b 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is quoted to have related the following event in **Masâbîh** : Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' was foretelling the imminent fitnas, when someone walked past. The Messenger pointed to him with his blessed hand and said, " **On the day of fitna this person will be on hidâyat** (guidance, the right path)." When I stood up and looked at the person, I saw that he was 'Uthmân.

The great scholar Mawlânâ Nûraddîn Abdurrahmân Jâmî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' relates the following event on the authority of Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' in his book **Shawâhid-un-nubuwwa** : (One day) Rasûlullah 'alaihis-salâm' said, " **Yâ Âisha** (O Âisha)! **Send for one of my Sahâba**." When I asked, "Shall I send for Abû Bakr?" he did not answer. So I knew that Abû Bakr was not the person he wanted. Then I asked if I should send for 'Umar. There was no answer. I asked once again, "Shall I send for Alî, the son of your paternal uncle?" And his answer was silence once again. When I asked if I should ask for 'Uthmân, he stated, " **Send for him. Let him come here**." When the Messenger of Allah 'alaihis-salâm' told him something he turned pale. During his caliphate (years later) his house was besieged. When he was asked why he would not resist, he said, "The Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' told me many things. I promised him. So I am being patient." Hadrat Âisha concludes as follows: "Then I realized that that day the Messenger of Allah 'alaihis-salâm' had forewarned him about the event."

Abdullah ibn Abbâs 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' relates: On the day of Hunayn,[] after the dispersal of the unbelievers Rasûlullah 'alaihis-salâm' and I were walking past someone, when the blessed Messenger of Allah said to the person, " **O you the enemy of Allah! Allâhu ta'âlâ does not like you**." When I attempted to remind that that person disliked the Qoureishis, the Best of Mankind stated, " **Yes, he dislikes 'Uthmân**."

Abdullah ibn Abbâs quotes Rasûlullah as having stated, " **I swear** (in the name of Allah) **that 'Uthmân will save seventy thousand people of my Ummat** (Muslims) **from going to Hell by doing shafâ'at** (intercession) **for them**."

Some time after giving his daughter Ruqayya in marriage to 'Uthmân, Rasûlullah asked his daughter, " **How do you find 'Uthmân bin Affân**?" When the blessed lady replied that she found him virtuous and good, the best of fathers observed, " **O my dearest daughter! Show extra deference to 'Uthmân. For, of all my Sahâba he bears the closest moral and behavioural resemblance to me**!"

Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was planning to enter into another marriage in addition to his married life with Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ'. Rasûl's 'alaihis-salâm' blessed heart was hurt when he heard about his son-in-law's intention. He would not forgive him despite his apology and renunciation. Abû Bakr tried to intercede, yet the blessed Prophet would still not forgive him. 'Umar's intercession was futile, too. Finally 'Uthmân offered his intercession, and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was forgiven this time. When the blessed Prophet was asked why (he had forgiven his son-in-law upon 'Uthmân's intercession), he explained, " **So virtuous is the person whose shafâ'at** (intercession) **I have accepted that Allâhu ta'âlâ would replace the earth and the sky with each other if he asked Him to. Or, if he invoked, 'Yâ Rabbî** (O Allah) **! Please forgive all the sins of all the Ummat of Muhammad** 'alaihis-salâm',' **He would forgive all Muslims**."

Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' did not have the money he needed for his forthcoming wedding with Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ'. He put his suit of armour up for sale. 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' saw the suit of armour as he was walking by the market place, and recognized it at first sight. He beckoned to the salesman, asked him how much the owner charged for the suit of armour, paid the priced four hundred dirhams of silver, took the suit home, and sent it to Alî along with another present, i.e. four hundred dirhams of silver. His brief message said: "This suit of armour is an honour which would weigh too heavy on anyone except you. And please do use the silver for incidental wedding expenditures. We would be so happy to know that you accept our apology."

The great scholar Imâm Muhammad Pârisâ 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', one of the greatest Awliyâ, provides the following information in his book **Fasl-ul-khitâb** : Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' preached the following admonitions: "I have heard that some people hold me superior to Abû Bakr and 'Umar and 'Uthmân. Those people are hypocrites. They do so in order to sow discord among Muslims and to separate brothers from one another. The Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' forewarned me against them and told me to kill them at sight of them. They pretend to be Muslims although they are unbelievers and enemies of Islam. Being dirty inwardly, they boast of their mendacities. They defile the Qur'ân al-kerîm. They agree on irreligiousness. They malign the greatest Sahâbîs and even the Rasûl-i-ekrem. They dwell on the differences among the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Allâhu ta'âlâ will not forgive them. Their seniors tutor the juniors in heresy and discipline them as chronic heretics. They undermine Islam and spread bid'ats. A person who holds fast to the Sunnat (the true path guided by the Prophet) at that time will be superior to martyrs and devout worshippers, and sa'âdat (salvation and happiness) will be with him. (As for those separatists;) no one on the earth is baser than they are. The earth is cross with them. The sky shades them with condemnation. They are the worst people on the earth. They secrete fitna. They are known with the appellation 'enjâs' = (dirty beings) in the world of angels. They curse the Sahâba in their mosques, coffee-houses and schools, and they do it in the name of worship. Their hearts do not accomodate any human feelings. Allâhu ta'âlâ strips them of human appearance." When the Sahâba heard these statements, they asked, "O Amîr-al-mu'minîn! What must we do if we live long enough to see that time?" He replied, "Be like the Hawârîs (Disciples) of Îsâ (Jesûs) 'alaihis-salâm'! Learn our path. Do your best to adhere to the commandments ofAllâhu ta'âlâ, to obey His Messenger, to love all his Sahâba, and to avoid the words and writings of those aberrant people! Abiding by the true path of Sunnat is better than deviation and heresy."

Imâm Refî'uddîn, Tâj-ul-islâm 'Uthmân bin Alî Merendî quoted the following hadîth-i-sherîf on the authority of Abdullah bin 'Umar: Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has made it farz** (incumbent) **upon you to perform** (acts of worship such as) **namâz (or salât), fast, hajj** (pilgrimage) **and zakât; and likewise He has made it farz upon you to love Abû Bakr as-Siddîq and 'Umar-ul-Fârûq and 'Uthmân Zin-nûrayn and Alî Murtadâ. If a person dislikes any one of these four people, none of his** (acts of worship such as) **namâz, fast, hajj and zakât will be accepted. On the Rising Day people with such hapless dislike will be driven to fire** [of Hell]."

17– The heretic goes on as follows in the book Husniyya: "Imâm Ja'far Sadîq used to command (the temporary marriage contract termed) mut'a nikâh. For Allâhu ta'âlâ has canonically legitimized the nikâh termed mut'a in His âyat-i-jelîl which purports, 'Pay the women whom you sexually utilize.' (Mut'a nikâh means a temporary marriage contract made between a man and a woman. To realize it the man proposes to the woman to lend herself to him for a certain length of time in return for a certain sum of money and the woman accepts it (if she likes to) without any witnesses.) Scholars of Tafsîr and Fiqh agree on the fact that the âyat (we have quoted above) implies the mut'a nikâh. There is not another âyat or a hadîth-i-sherîf to invalidate this âyat. 'Umar, the time's Khalîfa, took the liberty of banning this temporary marriage on the pretext that its practice had been causing fitna without being based on an âyat or hadîth. 'Umar bin Hasîn stated, 'We practised the mut'a nikâh. It was never proscribed in âyats or hadîths.' And Abdullah bin 'Umar observes, 'My father's word could not abrogateRasûlullah's sunnat.' Everything is canonically permissible unless it is prohibited in âyats or hadîths."

It is written in all the books of Tafsîr and Fiqh that the twenty-fourth âyat-i-kerîmaof Nisâ sûra, which purports, " **... Seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers as prescribed;...** " does not imply mut'a nikâh. It implies the mahr, i.e. the money (which the bridegroom has to pay the bride during the Islamic contract of marriage called) nikâh. For instance, the âyat-i-kerîma quoted above is explicated as follows in the twenty-sixth page of the **Tafsîr-i-Baydâwî** , and in its annotation entitled **Tafsîr-i-Shaikhzâda:** "This âyat-i-kerîma is about nikâh, which is canonically legal (in the Islamic religion). It does not legitimize mut'a nikâh. As a matter of fact, it commands the payment of mahr. The kind of nikâh termed mut'a was canonically legal formerly. Later, it was prohibited. Islam does not approve of a temporary contract performed in the name of nikâh."

Mawlânâ Ekmeluddîn [Muhammad bin Mahmûd Bâbertî] provides the following explanation in the two hundred and thirty-first page of the book **Inâya** , which is a commentary of the book **Hidâya** , which was written by the great scholar Burhânaddîn Merghinânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ':

The nikâh termed mut'a is null and void. Yes, it was formerly legal in Islam, as is reported by Abdullah ibn Abbâs. Yet the Ashâb-i-kirâm declare unanimously that later it was proscribed in hadîth-i-sherîfs. In fact, they quote the hadîth-i-sherîfs in which it is proscribed. For instance, Muhammad ibn Hanafiyya narrates as follows: "My father, Imâm Alî, 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' related: On the very day when the fortress of Hayber was conquered [in the seventh year of the Hegira], Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' proscribed the mut'a nikâh." In the face of this report on the authority of Imâm Alî, could Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq, who was a most beloved member of the Ahl-i-Bayt, ever be imagined to have commanded the mut'a nikâh? Absolutely not. Indeed, the author of the book entitled Husniyya, a Jewish convert under the nom de plume Murtadâ, is a shameless liar who not only misinterprets âyat-i-kerîmas and denies hadîth-i-sherîfs for the purpose of making others believe his lies and slanders, but also has made a habit of monopolizing the advocacy of the path of Ahl-i-Bayt. He represents his concoctions in the name of hadîth-i-sherîfs and then, so to speak, favours them as if they were the commandments of the Ahl-i-Bayt. This duplicity takes effect with the ignorant, although a person who knows his faith Islam well will not believe his lies. Our scholars have answered lies of this sort in the light of âyats and hadîths and proved that the followers and the true lovers of the Ahl-i-Bayt are the Sunnî Muslims.

Rebi' bin Maysara 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: On the day we conquered Hayber, the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' made the mut'a nikâh halâl (permissible) for three days. My paternal uncle and I went to a house where a woman lived. Both of us wore overcoats made from thin cloth. My uncle's overcoat was of a better quality. The woman, a non-Muslim (ahl-i-kitâb), came to the door. She looked at my coat and noticed that I was younger. "This man's coat is not like the other one's; nor is his youth, though," she said, and ushered me in, thus forgoing the coat for the sake of the youth. I spent the night there. In the morning I heard Rasûlullah's town-crier announce in the streets: "O Muslims! The Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' has forbidden the mut'a nikâh." So we all ceased from the mut'a nikâh.

That the Messenger of Allah prohibited the mut'a nikâh as he was alive is a fact unanimously acknowledged by the Sahâba. This unanimity, (which is termed Ijmâ',) does not make changes or amendments in the religious principles, but it discovers and announces the changes and amendments that are made by the âyats or hadîth-i-sherîfs which cancel the religious principles put by other âyats or hadîth-i-sherîfs previous to themselves.

**Question** : How could there have been such unanimity despite the fact that Abdullah ibn Abbâs used to say that the mut'a nikâh was halâl?

**Answer** : He was among those who said, afterwards, that it had been prohibited. As a matter of fact, Jâbir bin Zayd reports that ibn Abbâs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' said before his death that the mut'a nikâh had been prohibited, and that his contribution finalized the unanimity.

They assert that the mut'a nikâh is permissible in the Mâlikî Madhhab. This assertion is inane, especially with the hadîth-i-sherîf quoted on the authority of Alî ibn Abî Tâlib by Imâm Mâlik bin Enes in **Muwattâ** , [the first book written on Hadîth]. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is reported (in the book) to have said, "On the day we conquered the fortress of Hayber, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' prohibited consumption of domestic donkey meat and practice of mut'a nikâh." This is the end of the passage we have borrowed from the book **Inâya**.

**Mîzân-ul-kubrâ** is another book in which it is written that the **mut'a nikâh** is null and void in all four Madhhabs.

In all the Turkish as well as the Arabic literature on the subject, e.g. in the thirteen hundred and twenty-eighth (1328) page of the book of Tafsîr written by Hamdi Efendi 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' of Elmalı, the twenty-ninth âyat of Baqara sûra is quoted, which purports, " **It is He** (Allâhu ta'âlâ) **Who hath created for you all things that are on earth; ...** " (2-29) Hence, all kinds of food and drink and apparel are halâl for you unless they are made harâm through âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. This âyat-i-kerîmaindicates that it is harâm to violate people's right of chastity and sexual safety. This prohibition borders only on Islam's dictated area of permissions, (called halâl,) such as the conjugal rights realized by way of (the canonically prescribed marriage contract termed) nikâh. As is seen, the maxim, "Everything is canonically permissible unless it is prohibited in âyats or hadîths," which the heretics attempt to exploit as a proof to attest that the mut'a nikâh is halâl, has nothing to do with nikâh. Nor does it fulfill the requirements of a scientific or religious argumentation. The Khalîfa 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' did not consider it necessary to authenticate his interdiction of the mut'a nikâh with a hadîth, nor did his interjection meet any objections on the part of the people around him. This shows that everybody knew that the mut'a nikâh had been prohibited (by the Prophet) beforehand.

18– He asserts, "After Rasûlullah's death, Abû Bakr and 'Umar quoted the hadîth, 'We prophets do not leave an inheritance behind us. Whatsoever we leave behind is alms,' and expropriated the date orchard called (Fadak) from Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ, giving it to the Bayt-ul-mâl. Fâtima was offended with Abû Bakr and pronounced a malediction over him. Indeed the Messenger of Allah had given it to her as a present before his death, and dates from the orchard had been brought to her for three years. Fâtima proved this fact with the testimony of witnesses such as Alî and Hasan and Husayn and Qanber. Yet Abû Bakr rejected their testimony. Indeed, the so-called hadîth was a concoction of that cruel person. His daughter Âisha was the only other person who quoted the so-called hadîth. If there really had been such a hadîth, it would have been in Fâtima's repertoire of hadîths and she would not have made a demand that was harâm. The Sunnîs are trying to exculpate Abû Bakr from blame at the cost of slandering the Ashraf-i-kâinât (the Prophet). You assert that he (the Prophet) did not communicate Allah's commandment to Fâtima. If he did communicate it to her, in this case she disobeyed it, which, in its turn, is an act of disbelief. (Since this case is out of the question,) he who concocted this hadîth is a disbeliever. Besides, Abû Bakr should have produced a witness. It was cruel of him also to demand witnesses. Furthermore, it is written at various places of the Qur'ân al-kerîm that prophets do leave an inheritance behind them."

However, Ahmad Jawdat Pâsha 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' provides the following historical information in the three hundred and sixty-ninth (369) page of his book **Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ** (History of Prophets):

Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', the Khalîfa, gave the weapons and the white mule, which had been the personal belongings of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', to Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. He left the (Prophet's) other belongings to the Bayt-ul-mâl. As for the date orchard called Fadak and the orchards in Haybar; Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had devoted them as property for pious services before passing away, enjoining how to dispense them. He used to dispense his personal property to envoys who came and left, to guests and visitors, and to travellers and transients. Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' maintained the tradition without any alterations. When Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' asked for the property she believed to have inherited from her blessed father, stated, " **No one can inherit** (any) **property from us, Prophets. The property that we leave behind is alms** ," and added, "I cannot change Rasûlullah's principles. I am afraid to take a wrong course." Upon this, Fâtima asked, "Who will inherit from you?" "My offspring and my wives will." "Then, why should I not inherit from my father?" "I heard the Rasûl-i-akram, your father, say, ' **No one can inherit property from us.** ' Accordingly, you cannot inherit (property) from him. However, I am his Khalîfa. I give the same people the same alms as he used to give. It is my duty to defray your expenses." Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was silent. Never again did she make any mention of the subject.

Ahmad bin Muhammad Shihâbuddîn Qastalânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a great scholar of Egypt, presents the following information in the four hundred and ninety-first (491) page of the first volume of the translation of the book **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** : The six books of Hadîth authenticated by all the Islamic scholars are called **Kutub-i-sitta** (the Six Books). One of them was written by Ahmad bin Alî Nasâî. That great scholar quotes thehadîth-i-sherîf, " **We prophets do not leave inheritance** (after death)." The word 'inherit' used in the âyat-i-kerîmas, " **Sulaymân** (Solomon) **inherited from Dâwûd** (David)," and " **Yâ Rabbî! Give me children that will inherit from me** ," should not be construed as 'inherit property'. It means 'inherit knowledge and prophethood'. The hadîth-i-sherîf that we have quoted above is quoted also by Imâm Abd-ur-Ra'ûf Manâwî, who adds that he has borrowed it from Imâm Ahmad's book **Musnad**.

Abdulhaqq Dahlawî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a scholar of Hadîth, states as follows in the five hundred and seventy-second (572) page of the second volume of his book **Madârij-un-nubuwwa** , which he wrote in Persian:

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **We, prophets, do not inherit** (property), **nor do our relatives inherit** (property) **from us. What we leave behind is to be dispensed as alms.** " When he passed away, the personal property he left behind consisted of household effects, weapons and beasts, and a date orchard called Fadak. He used to give the dates from the orchard to his family and to the poor. After his death, his daughter Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' asked the Khalîfa Abû Bakr to give her (her share of the) inheritance. The Khalîfa quoted the hadîth-i-sherîf (we have written above) and refused to give her any property. Hadrat Fâtima asked, "Who will inherit your property when you die?" "My family and my children will," was the Khalîfa's answer. Fâtima pursued, "Then, why do I not inherit property from my father?" Upon this, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq explained, "I heard your father the Messenger of Allah say, ' **We prophets do not leave** (property as) **inheritance behind us.** ' However, I am his Khalîfa. I shall give the same people the same things he would give, and dispense the property he has left in the same manner he would spend it." Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had promised several people that he would give them property. After his passing away, the people concerned came and demanded the property promised. The Khalîfa satisfied all such demands. Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was not the only person whom Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' refused to give any inheritance. Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', and likewise the other blessed wives of the Best of Mankind were all turned down and reminded of the hadîth-i-sherîf stating that prophets did not have worldly inheritors. Whenever the Khalîfa quoted the hadîth-i-sherîf, all the Sahâbîs who heard him acknowledged that they remembered the hadîth-i-sherîf and not a single objection was raised. The Khalîfa did not meet any of the demands for inheritance, although he gave the relatives of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' whatever the blessed Prophet himself had been giving them before; he said that he would not change the principles of the Messenger of Allah, and swore that he loved Rasûlullah's relatives more than he did his own relatives. It is incredibly astonishing to know that there are people who assert that Hadrat Fâtima was offended with Hadrat Abû Bakr on account of inheritance and felt lifelong hatred against him. Could Fâtima ever be imagined to have rejected a hadîth-i-sherîf unanimously quoted by the Ashâb-i-kirâm? It would be justifiable, to some extent, to claim that she was hurt, which would have been natural for her as a human being, but how could she ever be alleged to have held a grudge throughout her life? It is an established fact that Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', as she was about to pass away, stated that she was pleased with Abû Bakr and they mutually forgave each other for all the offences and unfair acts that they could have committed towards each other. For instance, according to a narration which the great scholar of Hadîth Imâm Bayhakî reports on the authority of Imâm Sha'bî, during Fâtima's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' illness, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq came to the door. Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' told Fâtima that Abû Bakr was at the door. Hadrat Fâtima asked Alî if he would like her to admit Abû Bakr. "Yes, please do," replied Alî. Admitted, the Khalîfa entered and he and Fâtima mutually forgave each other for any injustice they could have done to each other. Hence, Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' was pleased with Abû Bakr. It is written in the book **Kitâb-ul-wafâ** , by Imâm Mustaghfirî, as well as in **Riyâd-un-nadara** , [by Ahmad bin Muhammad Tabarî-d. 694 (1294 A.D.)]: Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' entered the presence of Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' and they mutually forgave each other (for any mistakes they could have made against each other. Thus Fâtima forgave him. Imâm Awzâî relates: Abû Bakr went to the door of Fâtima and said, "I shall not leave this door unless (I know that) the daughter of the Messenger of Allah has forgiven me." Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', (who had come to the door to meet Abû Bakr,) went back in and pleaded with Fâtima to forgive Abû Bakr. So she forgave him. Hâfiz Abû Sa'd provides identical information in his book **Kitâb-ul-muwâfaqa**. Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was interred at night. Therefore, Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was unable to let the Khalîfa know of the interment. According to some other reports, Abû Bakr attended the funeral and performed the (special prayer called janâza) salât. According to a narration presented in the book entitled **Fasl-ul-khitâb** , during Fâtima's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ' illness, Abû Bakr came and asked for permission to enter. When Hadrat Alî (went in and) told his blessed wife (Fâtima) the advent of the Khalîfa, she said, "I will give him permission to enter if you give me permission to do so." "I do," replied her blessed spouse. Upon Hadrat Fâtima's permission, Hadrat Abû Bakr entered and talked with her, asking for forgiveness and saying that he had forgiven her for any unjust behaviour she thought she could have committed towards him. So Hadrat Fâtima told the Khalîfa that she had forgiven him. It was sometime between evening and night prayers when Hadrat Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' passed away [in the eleventh year of the Hegira]. Hadrat Abû Bakr, 'Uthmân, Abd-ur-Rahmân bin Awf, and Zubayr bin Awwâm were present. They suggested that Abû Bakr should conduct the salât of janâza. So Abû Bakr conducted the prayer. The burial took place at night.

When 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' became Khalîfa, he dispensed the dates from (the orchard called) Fadak exactly as they would have been dispensed in the time of the Messenger of Allah. Two years later he transferred the management of the job to Alî and Abbâs 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. Sometime later the two blessed people went to the Khalîfa with the application to divide the orchard between them. Upon this 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' convened the Sahâba and appealed to them to answer his following question in the name of Allah: "Did the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' say, ' **We, prophets, do not inherit property or leave property to be inherited after us. Whatever we leave behind us is alms**.'?" "Yes, he did. We heard him say so," was their reply with one accord, which they emphasized with an oath. Upon this, 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' did not divide the orchard between the two blessed people and told them to resume their former duty and continue to dispense the crops as they had been doing. Later, the orchard was left under Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' charge. Then it was passed down to his children and grandchildren, finally ending up in the possession of Amîr Merwan. When 'Umar bin Abd-ul-'Azîz became Khalîfa, he said, "I will not even touch the property which the Messenger of Allah would not give his own daughter Fâtima." It is understood from this statement that Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' asked Rasûlullah to give her the orchard and that her blessed father refused to do so. The hadîth-i-sherîfs on this subject are written in **Bukhârî**. This is the end of the passage borrowed from Abdulhaqq Dahlawî's book.

It is stated as follows in the two hundred and ninety-second page of the book **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** : "The wives and daughters of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' are higher than all the other women in the world 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhunna'. According to Abdullah ibn Abbâs, if a person slanders or maligns Rasûlullah's wives, his tawba will not beaccepted (by Allâhu ta'âlâ). If a person swears at Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu anhâ', he must be killed (according to Islam's penal code). For, to swear at her means to deny the Qur'ân al-kerîm, which in turn is an act of disbelief according to a consensus (of Islamic authorities)."

As for the âyat-i-kerîmas that attribute inheritors to prophets:

Allâhu ta'âlâ quotes Zakariyyâ's (Zachariah) 'alaihis-salâm' invocation in the fifth and sixth âyats of Maryam sûra. The sublime meaning of the âyat-i-kerîmas is: " **Now I fear (what) my relatives (and colleagues) (will do) after me: But my wife is barren: So give me an heir as from Thyself,-" "(One that) will (truly) represent me, and represent the posterity of Ya'qûb (Jacob); ...** " (19-5, 6) These âyat-i-kerîmas are explicated as follows in the Tafsîr of **Baydâwî** : "The word 'heir' in the âyat-i-kerîma means 'heir to our religion and knowledge'. For, prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' do not leave property to be inherited after them." It is stated as follows in the annotation of Shaikhzâda: "To be an heir to prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' means to promote and serve one's religion, which in turn is possible only by being a prophet or by having knowledge and a beautiful moral quality or by occupying a high position that will be useful to the religion or by possessing tayyib (unblemished and lawfully earned) property." Zakariyyâ's 'alaihis-salâm' first cousins (the sons of his paternal uncle were the worst people among the Israelites. He was afraid that after his death they could interpolate the true religion he had preached. The word 'inherit' in the sixteenth âyat of Naml sûra, which purports, " **... and Sulaymân** (Solomon) **inherited from Dâwûd** (David)," is explained as 'inherit his prophethood or knowledge or position from him,' in the Tafsîr of Baydâwî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ'.

As is seen, Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' did not expropriate the date orchard from Hadrat Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', but he left it in its former status, giving her whatever she needed from the Bayt-ul-mâl. The goods that he gave Hadrat Alî were not in the status of inheritance; they had already been transferred to the Bayt-ul-mâl; so he used his authority as Khalîfa and gave them to him as gifts. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had not gifted the date orchard to anyone. Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' did not claim that the orchard had been gifted to her. Nor did she produce any witnesses to that effect. There is not a single book where the matter is approached from that viewpoint. The utterly clumsy falsification must be unique to the Persian booklet. There are hadîth-i-sherîfs, and even âyat-i-kerîmas that lavish praises on Hadrat Alî, on Hadrat Fâtima and on Hadrat Hasan and Hadrat Husayn. Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq sacrificed all his commercial goods, his property, his homeland and his children for the sake of the Messenger of Allah; how could the ignoble deed of disignoring all thosehadîth-i-sherîfs ever be imagined to go with such a high personality? Moreover, hundreds of hadîth-i-sherîfs and the Qur'ân al-kerîm praise him and state his merits. It was not necessary for Hadrat Fâtima to have been informed of the hadîth-i-sherîf concerning the matter of inheritance. The Ashâb-i-kirâm let her know when the time came. Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ demanded the date orchard because she thought it was halâl for her. When she knew that it was not, she did not insist on her demand. It is not farz to let a person know the acts of worship before their time comes. Furthermore, something donated to a pious foundation cannot be inherited by anyone. Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' admitted the Khalîfa's statement immediately and willingly. Since none of the Sahâbîs objected to (the genuineness of) the hadîth-i-sherîf, (which states that prophets do not leave any property to be inherited after them,) a person who denies it becomes a disbeliever. There is detailed information about the orchard called Fadak in the fifth part of the book **Documents of the Right Word**. Please read that part for information!

The following episode is presented in the four hundred and ninetieth page of the book **Manâqib-i-chihâr yâr-i-ghuzîn** :

One day Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' came to Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' place. He was about to enter, when Alî bin Abî Tâlib 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' arrived, too. Abû Bakr stepped backwards and said, "After you, Yâ Alî." The latter replied and the following long dialogue took place between them:

Alî – Yâ Abâ Bakr, you go in first for you are ahead of us all in all goodnesses and acts of charity.

Abû Bakr – You go in first, Yâ Alî, for you are closer to the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'.

Alî – How could I go ahead of you? I heard the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' say, " **The sun has not risen on any one of my Ummat higher than Abû Bakr**."

Abû Bakr – How could I go ahead of you? On the day when Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' gave his daughter Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ' in marriage to you, he stated, " **I have given the best of women to the best of men**."

Alî – I cannot go ahead of you, for Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Let him who wants to see Ibrâhîm** (Abraham) 'alaihis-salâm' **look at Abû Bakr's face**."

Abû Bakr – I can not go ahead of you, for Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Let him who wants to see Âdam's 'alaihis-salâm' tenderness and Yûsuf's 'alaihis-salâm' beautiful moral qualities look at Alî!** "

Alî – I can not enter before you. For, the Messenger of Allah 'alaihis-salâm' asked, " **Yâ Rabbî! Who loves me most, and who is the best of my Sahâba?** " Jenâb-i-Haqq answered, " **Yâ Muhammad** 'alaihis-salâm' **! He is Abû Bakr as-Siddîq.** "

Abû Bakr – I can not go ahead of you. For, the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **So (good) is the person whom I give knowledge that Allâhu ta'âlâ loves him, and so do I; I love him very much.** " You have been the gate to the town of knowledge.

Alî – I can not go before you, for the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **There is a sign that says, 'Abû Bakr, the Habîbullah** (the Darling of Allah), **' on the gates of Paradise.** "

Abû Bakr – I cannot go before you. For, during the Holy War of Hayber the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' handed the flag to you and stated, " **This flag is a gift from the Melîk-i-ghâlib to Alî bin Abî Tâlib.** "

Alî – How can I go before you? The Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' said to you, " **Yâ Abâ Bakr! You stand for my sight, which sees, and for my heart, which knows.** "

Abû Bakr – I can not go ahead of you. For, the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **On the Rising Day Alî will come** (to the place of assembly) **on the back of an animal of Paradise. Jenâb-i-Haqq will say, 'Yâ Muhammad** 'alaihis-salâm' **! How beautiful a father your father Ibrâhîm Halîl is; and how beautiful a brother your brother Alî bin Abî Tâlib is.** ' "

Alî – I can not go before you. For, the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **On the Rising Day the angel named Ridwân, who is the chief of the angels of Paradise, will enter Paradise, coming back with the keys of Paradise. He will give them to me. Then Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' will come and say, 'Yâ Muhammad, give the keys of Paradise and those of Hell to Abû Bakr. Let Abû Bakr send anyone he chooses to** **Paradise and others to Hell.'** "

Abû Bakr – I can not go ahead of you, for the Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **Alî will be by my side on the Rising Day. He will be with me near the Hawz and Kawthar. He will be with me on the Sirât. He will be with me in Paradise. And he will be with me** (at the happiest moment) **as I see Allâhu ta'âlâ**.' "

Alî – I can not enter before you do, for the Messenger of Allah 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **If the îmân held by Abû Bakr were weighed against the total sum of the îmân held by all the other Believers, his îmân would weigh heavier.** "

Abû Bakr – How can I go before you? For, the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **I am the city of knowledge. And Alî is the gate**?"

Alî – How can I ever walk ahead of you? For, the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **I am the city of faithfulness. And Abû Bakr is its gate**."

Abû Bakr – I can not go before you, for the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **On the Rising Day Alî will be made to mount a beautiful horse. Those who see him will wonder: What prophet is that person? Allâhu ta'âlâ will say: This is Alî bin Abî Tâlib.** "

Alî – I can not go ahead of you, for the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **I and Abû Bakr are from the same soil. We shall be one again**."

Abû Bakr – I can not go before you, for the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ will say: O you, Paradise! I shall adorn your four corners with four people. One of them is Muhammad** 'alaihis-salâm', **the highest of prophets. Another one is Alî, the highest of those who fear Allâhu ta'âlâ. The third one is Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ, the highest of women. And the fourth corner will be occupied by Hasan and Husayn, the highest of pure people.** "

Alî – How can I go ahead of you? The Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **A voice from the eight Gardens of Paradise calls as follows: O Abâ Bakr, come with those whom you love; and you all, enter Paradise!** "

Abû Bakr – I cannot go before you, for the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **I am like a tree. Fâtima is the trunk. Alî is the** **branches. Hasan and Husayn are the fruits**."

Alî – I can not go before you, for the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **May Allâhu ta'âlâforgive all the faults of Abû Bakr. For, he gave his daughter Âisha to me; he helped me during the Hijrat** (Hegira, Migration to Medina) **; he bought Bilâl-i-Habashî,** (who was a slave formerly,) **and emancipated him for me**." ... .

As the two darlings of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' were talking like this before the door, the Best of Mankind was inside, listening. He interrupted Alî as he was talking and stated from inside:

" **O my brothers Abû Bakr and Alî** 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' **! Please do come in! Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' has been here; he says that the angels on the earth and in the seven skies have been listening to you and that you could not describe your value in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ were you to praise each other till the end of the world**." The two beloved companions gave an affectionate hug to each other, and together they entered the presence of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. The Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless both of you with his Rahma** (Compassion) **hundreds of times. May He bless your lovers also with His Rahma hundreds of times; and may your enemies be accursed hundreds of times.** " Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq said, "Yâ Rasûlallah (O Messenger of Allah)! I shall not do shafâ'at (intercede) for the enemies of my brother Alî." Hadrat Alî said, "Yâ Rasûlallah! I shall not intercede for the enemies of my brother Abû Bakr; and I shall behead them with my sword." Abû Bakr stated, "I shall not let your enemies pass the Sirât Bridge."

19– The liar goes on, "The Sunnîs are hostile to the Ahl-i-Bayt. For, you call the Shiites 'Râfidî' for flagellating themselves in mourning for Hasan's and Husayn's martyrdoms on the Ashûra Day, the tenth of Muharram, in the face of your own hullabaloos, which you all join regardless of your educational backgrounds, as the khatîb recites about the (prophet Ibrâhîm's) attempt to sacrifice (his own son) Ismâ'îl, on the (pulpit called) minbar (in a mosque) on the 'Iyd of Qurbân[]."

We celebrate the 'Iyd of Qurbân and perform the Khutba, – which is performed on the 'Iyd of Qurbân as well as on Fridays-, because it is a commandment of the Messenger of Allah. The (recital performed during the) Khutba must be listened to silently. No one makes a hullabaloo or flagellates himself during the performance. In Islam, to wail or to flagellate oneself in mourning for catastrophes is an act of protest against the qadâ and qadar foreordained by Allâhu ta'âlâ. Yes, it is permissible (in Islam) to weep over the loss of one's darlings. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' grieved very deeply over the loss of his honorable and cherished wife Hadîja-t-ul-kubrâ 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' and over the death of his very much beloved son Ibrâhîm, as well as when, during the battle of Uhud, he saw his martyred uncle Hamza 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', whom he had always praised. So deep and burning was the grief he felt that he wept bitterly for a while before his Sahâba. Yet he never cried or wailed. Nor did he ever go into mourning. In the time of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' special importance was attached to the tenth day of the blessed month of Muharram; Muslims would fast and perform much worship on that day. However, that day was never held as a day of mourning, nor any of the other days whereon the Muslims experienced much worse misfortunes. Mourning exists in the Christian cult. Disbelievers practise it. The Sunnî Muslims grieve and weep over (the prophet) Ismâ'îl 'alaihis-salâm' as well as over (the catastrophies that befell) our masters Hasan and Husayn all the year round, not only once in a long year. Every Friday, whenever the Sunnî Muslims hear the names of Hasan and Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', they feel profound grief and their eyes shed blood. Yet, since mourning is something prohibited by the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', they do not go into mourning or exceed their religious instructions.

Those who assert that the Sunnî Muslims are hostile to the Ahl-i-Bayt have evil tongues that deserve to be withered. Farîdaddîn Attâr 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a Sunnî scholar, wrote as follows about Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', (one of the Ahl-i-Bayt,) in his book Tadhkira-t-ul-Awliyâ:

**Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq** was a paragon in the Islamic world and a testimony incarnate to the factuality of prophethood. He was steadfast in all his deeds, and well-versed in all the branches of knowledge. He was the fruit of the hearts of Awliyâ, and a beloved child of the Master of Prophets. He was an assayer for Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', and an heir to the Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm'. Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq, a lover of Allâhu ta'âlâ and an 'ârif, (i.e. person gifted with profound knowledge of Allâhu ta'âlâ,) was one of the Ahl-i-Bayt. All the members of the Ahl-i-Bayt are the same. A statement that belongs to one of them, belongs to all of them, too. His path is the very path followed and guided by the Twelve Imâms 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. My tongue and my pen would fall quite short of praising him. For, he was a master of all sciences, disciplines and techniques. He was the chief of all the Awliyâ. All of them depended on him. People of other religions also would run to him, and the Muslims would follow him. People of dhawk would be after him and lovers of Allâhu ta'âlâ would be in his path. He was ahead of all the âbids, (i.e. dedicated worshippers), and the most blessed of all the zâhids, (i.e. people who have freed their hearts from all sorts of worldly concerns). He was a writer of facts, and a decoder of the secrets in theQur'ân al-kerîm. There are some people who assert that the Muslims of Ahl as-Sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at, (i.e. the Sunnî Muslims,) dislike the Ahl-i-Bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. It dismays me to see the crass ignorance that such people display. For, Ahl as-Sunnat and Ahl-i-Bayt are synonymous. Ahl as-Sunnat means the path guided by the Ahl-i-Bayt. So unsound a delusion those people have clung to! Wouldn't people who loved Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' love his children as well? As a matter of fact, Muhammad bin Idris Shâfi'î, an Imâm of the Ahl as-Sunnat, (and the leader of the Shâfi'î Madhhab, which is one of the four authentic Madhhabs in matters pertaining to Islamic practices and deeds of worship,) was rumoured to have been a Shiite on account of his legendary love of the Ahl-i-Bayt. So widespread was the canard that the authorities, convinced of his delinquency, had to imprison him. He versified his plea, which can be paraphrased as follows: "If being a Shiite means to love the offspring of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', let all people and genies be witnesses to my acknowledgement that I am a Shiite herein. For I love the Ahl-i-Bayt-i-Nabawî very much."

Naturally, it is something commendable to love the Ahl-i-Bayt. Yet it is a terribly sordid attempt of manipulation to assert that love of the Ahl-i-Bayt should entail animosity against a group of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. It is declared inhadîth-i-sherîfs that people who make that assertion are bound for Hell.

**Ahl as-Sunnat** means (the path adhered to by) Muslims who love and follow the Ahl-i-Bayt and all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. For there is only one path followed commonly by the Ahl-i-Bayt and by the Ashâb-i-kirâm: the path guided by the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Some people have been following a wrong path invented by the enemies for the purpose of demolishing Islam from within. They have been carrying on an animosity campaign against a great majority of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. In order to deceive the Muslims, they say that they are lovers of the Ahl-i-Bayt and that they have been following the path guided by the Ahl-i-Bayt. Thus they sully those great people of Islam and the most beloved guides of the Sunnî Muslims with their irreligiousness and heresy. May Allâhu ta'âlâ guide them back to the right course! May He protect all Muslims from lapsing into that heresy that leads to perdition! Âmîn.

The highest of Awliyâ is Siddîq-i-ekber[], next comes Fârûq [],  
And next after Zi-n-nûrayn[] is Alî Walîyullah.

The other Sahâba, may all be auspicious to mention;  
All the Ashâb-i-kirâm, I love for the sake of Allah.

'Ashara-i-mubashshara[], Fâtima, Hasan and Husayn,  
Were blessed with the good news of 'Paradise' by Allah.

None else can be guaranteed Paradise; otherwise,  
It'd be a claim to the unknown, which none knows but Allah.

And next after all the Sahâba, of the entire Ummat,  
All the Tâbi'în are most virtuous Awliyâillah.

THE EVENT of KERBELÂ

Multifarious dissonant stories roam the literature assigned to the history of the event of Kerbelâ. Exploiting this turbidity, some books fabricate and present tragic tales, whereby to mislead their readers, to confuse their minds and to undermine their beliefs. With those mendacious and concocted tales they try to coax their readers into their own aberrant credo. This muddy-waters tactics has given rise to a state of affairs wherein different people hold different opinions concerning the event of Kerbelâ and everyone believes that their opinion is the only true knowledge. Muhammad Abd-ush-shekûr Mirzâpûrî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a great Indian scholar of history, dedicated long years of his life to research on the subject, learned the facts, and wrote a book entirely allotted to the subject, entitling it **Shahâdat-i-Husayn** (Martyrdom of Husayn). Ghulâm Haydar Fârûqî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', one of Mirzâpûrî's disciples in the Madrasa-i-islâmiyya in Karachi, Pakistan, translated the book from Urdu into Persian and the new Persian version, entitled Rafâqat-i-Husayn, was printed in Karachi. A passage from the introduction to the book reads as follows:

Islam suffered the first disruptive blow from a fitna, which inflicted irreparable damage on the religion and caused millions of Muslims to deviate from the true course of Islam, and which gave birth to superstitions and whimsical speculations quite contrary to Islam and concocted for special purposes. The fitna was on the verge of extinction, when it was rekindled by Ya'qûb Kulaynî's son, one of the unfortunate boys who had fallen victim to the misguidance invented by the Jew named Abdullah bin Saba'. In order to demolish the Islamic religion from the interior and to mislead Muslims, the wretched miscreant fibbed quite a number of lies and compiled his lies in a book which he entitled **Kâfî**. Ferocious heretics such as TÛSÎ and MEJLÎSÎ, who appeared later, fanned the fire of sedition and discord among Muslims by trying to spread the principles in the book Kâfî. They based their religion on a double-faced policy which they called **Taqiyya** , and used it as a cloak under which to carry on all their subversive and inimical activities. Simulated love of the

**Ahl-i-Bayt** is their most widely known taqiyya. With this simulation they have caused millions of Muslims to deviate from the right course and led them to perdition. The first thing to do to protect Muslims from falling into their trap, therefore, is to reveal the inner nature of the **Muhabbat-i-Ahl-i-Bayt** (love of Ahl-i-Bayt).

True Muslims who adhere to the path guided by Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' and who follow in the footsteps of the Sahâba are called **Ahl as-Sunnat** (Sunnî Muslims). Not only have the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat explained the meaning of **Muhabbat-i-Ahl-i-Bayt** as something good, but they have also stated that love of Ahl-i-Bayt is a component part of îmân. The heretics, on the other hand, reiterate that love of Ahl-i-Bayt is the basis of their religion, although all their actions and attitudes betray their hostility against the Ahl-i-Bayt. A thorough probe into the historical facts to elucidate the matter whether Hadrat Husayn was martyred by the Sunnî Muslims or by the heretics will incidentally clarify what we mean in the final part of our statement. A reasonable person who reads their books is quite unlikely to believe that the martyrdom was perpetrated by the Sunnî Muslims. They adroitly interpose the names of Hadrat Mu'âwiya and Yazîd in a manner as to misinform the ignorant. However, none of the books relating the tragic event contains a single expression clearly stating that those two Khalîfas were smeared with the blessed blood of Hadrat Husayn. Not even the vaguest implication that Hadrat Mu'âwiya might have had to do with the martyrdom of Hadrat Husayn has been witnessed throughout the literature assigned to the event, let alone a clear statement that it was done by his order. What is unanimously stated (by all books and scholars) is that the martyrdom of Hadrat Husayn did not take place during the caliphate of Hadrat Mu'âwiya. Molla Bâqir Mejlîsî, whose name is mentioned above, relates Hadrat Mu'âwiya's last advice to his son Yazîd as he was dying, as follows:

"You know what relation Imâm Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is to the Messenger of Allah. He is a part from the beloved Prophet's blessed body. He is an offspring from the flesh and blood of that most honourable person. I understand that the inhabitants of Iraq invite him to go there and be with them. But they will not help him; they will leave him alone. If he should fall into your hands, behave in appreciation of his value! Remember the closeness and affection of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' to him! Do not get back at him for his behaviour! Mind you don't break the substantial ties I have established between him and us! Be extra careful lest you should hurt or offend him!" This advice of Hadrat Mu'âwiya's to (his son) Yazîd is written in the three hundred and twenty-first (321) page of the book **Jilâ-ul'uyûn** , which was written by Muhammad Bâqir bin Murtadâ Fayzî Khorasânî, a Shiite leader, who is better known with his nickname Molla Muhsin. He died in 1091 [1679 A.D.]. According to a book entitled **Nâsikh-ut-tawârîh** , written by a Shiite theologian named Muhammad Taqî Khân, Mu'âwiya also wrote the following will for his son Yazîd: "My son, do not succumb to your sensuous indulgences or temptations! Protect yourself from the slightest wrongful behaviour towards Husayn! Be extra careful not to have the blood of Husayn bin Alî around your neck when you stand (for the last judgement) before Haqq ta'âlâ on the morrow! Otherwise, you will never attain comfort and peace on that day; you will suffer endless torments!" Moreover, the author quotes a hadîth-i-sherîf, which he ascribes to Abdullah ibn Abbâs, in the hundred and eleventh (111) page of the sixth volume of the book: "Yâ Rabbî! Do not give barakat to a person who is slack in observing the reverence and honour due to Husayn!" Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' always behaved politely and respectfully towards Hadrat Husayn both in speech and in writing and never showed disrespect towards him. Imâm Husayn, in contrast, was rather harsh towards him, especially in the letters that he wrote to him. In fact, when Hadrat Mu'âwiya's sons Yazîd and Abdullah, told their father to answer in kind when they saw the reproachful language that Hadrat Husayn used in his letters, he placated them, saying, "You two are wrong, saying so. How can I ever blame Husayn bin Alî? A person like me blames another person and tries to convince others to agree with him, and still no one believes him. No. A discreet person wouldn't do that. How can I ever blame Husayn? I swear in the name of Allah that there is nothing blameworthy about him. I will write to him. Yet I will not write anything that will imply a browbeating air or which will hurt him in the least." The Shiite author of the book **Nâsikh-ut-tawârîh** concludes as follows in the seventy-eighth (78) page of the sixth volume of the book: "In short, he did not do anything to hurt Husayn."

Hadrat Mu'âwiya not only always behaved kindly and respectfully towards Hadrat Husayn, but also served him. This fact is acknowledged in a smooth language in the book **Nâsikh-ut-tawârîh** : "He made a habit of sending Hadrat Husayn thousands of dirhams of silver yearly. That was only additional to other valuable goods and various gifts." And the insults and annoyances that Hadrat Husayn held out in return for all those kindnesses and services were received with tolerant detachment on the part of the compassionate benefactor.

Goods of kharâj[] were dispatched to Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' from Yemen. The caravan (carrying the goods) was passing through Medîna en route for Damascus, when it was apprehended by Hadrat Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', who took all the goods and dispensed them to the Ahl-i-Bayt and to other people whom he liked, writing the following message for Hadrat Mu'âwiya: "Camels laden with goods and perfumes were being herded en route from Yemen to Damascus. I knew that the goods that were being taken to you were to be put into the **Bayt-ul-mâl**. I took them because I needed them. Wa-s-salâm!" Hadrat Mu'âwiya's acknowledgement of Hadrat Husayn's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' message was appended with the following note: "I would not have withheld your share from the goods that would have been brought to me had you allowed the caravan of camels to get through. However, o my brother, I know that you are not the kind of person to deign to simulation or flattery. In my time, no one shall harm you. For I know your value and your high grade. I shall receive all your behaviour with gratification." These reciprocations are written in the fifty-seventh (57) page of the book **Nâsikh-ut-tawârîh**.

Nor would all the invective addressed to the Amîr Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' by visitors to Damascus bear on his liberality. He would requite their curses with goods and monetary gifts. Here is an example from the aforesaid Shiite book: "Visitors to Damascus from Hadrat Alî's surroundings would swear at Mu'âwiya and hurt him. He would give them presents from the Bayt-ul-mâl. Thus they would return home without having suffered any harm or annoyance." (p:38) As is understood from these writings, it is an abominable slander and a blatant lie to blame Hadrat Mu'âwiya for the martyrdom of Hadrat Husayn and to malign him on account of a wrongful accusation.

For that matter, it is out of the question to attempt to vilify Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' on account of the allegation that he poisoned Hadrat Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. As is written in the three hundred and twenty-third (323) page of the Shiite book **Jilâ-ul-'uyûn** , Hadrat Hasan said, "I swear in the name of Allah that Mu'âwiya is better than these people. These people claim to be Shiites. Yet they have attempted to kill me and they have stolen my property."

It is written in various forms in Shiite books that Yazîd did not have a hand in the murders, either, and that, contrary to a prevalent opinion, he was not a bad person. He never forgot his father's advice about Hadrat Husayn. He did not write anything to invite Hadrat Husayn to the city of Kûfa. He did not attempt to kill him. Nor did he give an order to kill him. He did not rejoice at his death. On the contrary, he felt extremely sad and wept bitterly. He declared a period of mourning for him. He castigated those who had martyred him very harshly. He showed deep respect towards the Ahl-i-Bayt (household, family) of Hadrat Husayn, and fulfilled their wish to leave Damascus and go to Medîna, treating them with great honour and kindness and seeing them off under the protection of a detachment of bodyguards. Shiite books enlarge on these facts.

The famous Shiite theologian Molla Bâqir Mejlîsî relates as follows in the four hundred and twenty-fourth (424) page of his book **Jilâ-ul 'uyûn** : "Yazîd appointed Walîd bin 'Uqba bin Abî Sufyân, who was known for his kindnesses towards the Ahl-i-Bayt, governor of Medîna. He dismissed Merwan bin Hakem, an enemy of Imâm Husayn and his progeny 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', from duty." He goes on in the four hundred and thirty-second page: "If Yazîd had been Imâm Husayn's enemy, he would not have replaced a governor inimical towards him with one friendly with him." He says in the four hundred and twenty-fourth page: "One night, Walîd sent for Imâm Husayn and showed him a letter that he had received from Yazîd. The letter said that Hadrat Mu'âwiya was dead and Yazîd was the new Khalîfa. Upon this Imâm Husayn recited the âyat, ' **Innâ-lillah...** '." This written statement shows that Hadrat Husayn was not hostile to Hadrat Mu'âwiya and that he knew him as a true Muslim. Otherwise, he would not have recited the âyat, " **Innâ-lillâh...,** " upon hearing about his death.

When Zajîr bin Qays reported Hadrat Husayn's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' martyrdom to Yazîd, he bowed his head and said nothing. Then, raising his head, he said, "I wanted you to obey him, not to kill him. I would have forgiven Husayn if I had been there." This fact is written in the two hundred and sixty-ninth (269) page of the book **Nâsikh-ut-tawârîh**. It is written as follows in the three hundred and twenty-first (321) page of the Shiite book **Nahj-ul-ahzân** , which was printed in Iran: "Someone came along with what he considered to be glad tidings and said to Yazîd, 'Congratulations! Husayn's head has arrived.' This exasperated Yazîd. He berated the man angrily, saying, "May you never get glad tidings!' " It is stated as follows in the two hundred and twenty-ninth (229) page of the book **Nâsikh-ut-tawârîh** : "Shimir-zil-jawshan put Imâm Husayn's blessed head with pride before Yazîd and boasted, 'Fill the saddle-bags of my camel with gold and silver, for I have killed the best of people with respect to parents.' 'Never expect any prize from me,' was Yazîd's answer. Terrified and disappointed, the man went back. His share was a mere nothing both in this world and the next." It is written in the two hundred and seventy-second (272) page of the (same) book that he (Yazîd) pronounced the malediction, "May his murderer be doomed to the wrath of Allah!"

As is clearly stated in Shiite books, not only were Hadrat Mu'âwiya and Yazîd absolutely clear of the blessed blood of Hadrat Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', but also ibn Ziyâd and ibn Sa'd and even Shimir were not among those who martyred the blessed person. It is stated as follows in the Shiite books written in the book **Rafâqat-i-Husayn** :

1) People who fought against Imâm Husayn were not Damascenes or Hijâzîs (people of Hedjaz). All of them were from Kûfa. ( **Khulâsa-t-ul-masâib** , p. 201)

2) Imâm-i-Husayn was martyred by Irâqîs (people of Iraq). Not a single Damascene was among them. Those who perpetrated the notorious cruelty against the Ahl-i-Bayt were people of Kûfa. ( **Mas'ûdî** )

3) It is an established fact that there were not any Damascenes among the people who martyred Imâm Husayn. (ibid, p. 21)

4) Abî Mahnaf informs that ibn Ziyâd's army contained an eighty-thousand-strong cavalry, and that the entire number consisted of people from Kûfa. ( **Nâsikh-ut-tawârîh** , v. 6; p. 173)

5) None of the Shiites who lived at places other than Kûfa came to help the Imâm. However, contemporaneously with an answer to the letter that he had received from the people of Kûfa, he had sent a letter to the people of Basra, asking for their support; and the Shiites living in Basra had written back that they would help. ( **Jilâ-ul 'uyûn** )

People who martyred Imâm Husayn at Kerbelâ were the same people who had plotted treason and cruelty against Imâm Alî and Imâm Hasan. Twelve thousand people came together and wrote a letter to Imâm Husayn, inviting him to Kûfa and promising their support. They were the same people, however, who martyred Hadrat Husayn's paternal first cousin Muslim bin Uqayl, a representative sent by the blessed imâm in acknowledgement of their invitation. The same people, again, disguised themselves as soldiers of Yazîd, anticipated Imâm Husayn's arrival, and martyred him at Kerbelâ. It is written in the Shiite book **Majâlis-ul-mu'minîn** that a Shiite named Musayyib bin Nuhba and 'Umar bin Sa'd ibn Abî Waqqâs went to Kerbelâ.

6) Shîs bin Rabi'î, a commander under 'Umar bin Sa'd, and four thousand Shiites under his command attacked the blessed imâm. ( **Jilâ-ul 'uyûn** )

7) Shîs bin Rabi'î was the first abhorrent person to alight from his horse to cut off the blessed head of the imâm. ( **Khulâsa-t-ul-masâib** , p. 37)

8) When Imâm Husayn saw Mujâr bin Hajar and Yazîd bin Hâris among his assailants, he said, "Have you forgotten the letters of invitation you wrote to me?" (ibid, p. 138)

9) When the imâm attained martyrdom, Habîb bin Muzâhir, commander of the right wing of the imâm's army, laughed and said, "The Ashûra day is the day of rejoicing and celebrating."

10) Another person who acknowledges that Imâm Husayn was martyred by Shiites is Qâdî Nûrullah Shusterî, an eminent Shiite scholar.

**Attention** : Scholars of Ahl as-sunnat wrote myriads of books proving the fact that people who refuse Islam's authentic Madhhabs are preaching heresy and trying to demolish Islam from the interior. Thirty-two of such valuable books, their titles and authors, were appended to the eightieth (80) letter, -written by Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî, whose biography is to follow,- which covers an entire chapter of this book, (immediately after a biography of Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh').

A BIOGRAPHY of  
HADRAT IMÂM RABBÂNÎ AHMAD FÂRÛQÎ  
SERHENDÎ 'quddisa sirruh'  
(971–1034) [1563–1624 A.D.]

The book Maktûbât (Letters), originally in the Fârisî language, consists of three volumes. It also contains a few letters in Arabic. An elaborate printing of the book was accomplished in 1393 [1973 A.D.] in Nâzimâbâd, Karachi, Pakistan. It was reproduced by offset process in Istanbul. A copy of the Fârisî version exists in the library of the university of Columbia in New York, U.S.A. Maktûbât was rendered into the Arabic language by Muhammad Murâd Qazânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', and the Arabic version was printed in two volumes in the printhouse called Mîriyya and located in the blessed city of Mekka in 1316. A copy of the Arabic version occupies number 53 in the municipality library at Bâyezid, Istanbul. It was reproduced by offset process in 1963, in Istanbul. A number of the books written by Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' were reprinted in Karachi, Pakistan. Of those books, **Ithbât-un-nubuwwa** was reproduced by offset process in Istanbul in 1394 [1974 A.D.]. The marginal notes on the book, which is in Arabic, provide a biography of Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh'. In the following section we shall present an abridgement from the biography. People who would like to know Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' more closely and with more detail would have to read the Fârisî book **Umdat-ul-maqâmât** , by Khwâja Muhammad Fadlullah, and the book **Barakât** , by Muhammad Hâshim Badahshî. The latter one, also in the Fârisî language and reproduced by offset in Istanbul, is of great help for the acquisition of stronger ikhlâs and more conscientious îmân.

(Muhammad Murâd Qazânî was born in the Ufa town of the Qazan (Kazan) city of Russia in 1272. Completing his madrasa education in his hometown, he went to Bukhârâ in 1293 [1876 A.D.]. He studied higher Islamic sciences in Bukhâra and Tashkend, and went to India and thence to Hijâz in 1295. He carried on his education in the blessed city of Medîna, and attained a certain degree in Tasawwuf as well. In 1302 he translated the book Rashahât and then the book Maktûbât into Arabic. He also wrote a biography of Imâm Rabbânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' in Arabic).

Muhammad Murâd Munzâwî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' was another scholar. He did not translate Maktûbât into Arabic.

There are various ways to learn the facts about past people; how they were, their knowledge and ignorance, their guidance and aberration, etc. The first way is, for instance, if they founded a madhhab or a regime, to study the institution they founded. The second way is to read their works, books. The third way is to hear people who are unprejudiced about them and who mention their merits and imperfections objectively. Now we will study Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' from these three viewpoints:

1– Imâm-i-Rabbânî, mujaddid wa munawwir alf-i-thânî, Ahmad ibn Abd-il-Ahad, has an ancestral chain that reaches back to the Amîr-ul-mu'minîn 'Umar-ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' with the twenty-ninth paternal link. All his grandfathers were pious and virtuous people, and each of them was a greatest scholar of his time.

2– Implicit and indirect good news herald a person's advent before he is born. Adumbration of this sortdoes not clearly name the person himself or his birthplace. An example is the news foretelling the advent of Mahdî. The occasional false pretensions to the name of Mahdî in recent history were merely attempts to exploit this latency. The same rule applies to the news foretelling our religious leaders (imâms). Examples of such news are the following hadîth-i-sherîfs: " **If the religion** (Islam) **fled the earth and went to** [the cluster of stars called] **the Pleiades, a youngster of Asiatic origin would apprehend it and bring it back**." " **Men will get into insoluble trouble and look for a scholar to solve their problem. They will see that none is superior to the scholar** (who will be living) **in Medîna-i-munawwara**." " **Do not speak ill of the Qoureishîs. A scholar of their descent will illuminate the entire world with knowledge**." Of thesehadîth-i-sherîfs, the first one refers to Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa, (the founder and leader of the Hanafî Madhhab,) the second one alludes to Imâm Mâlik bin Enes, (the founder and leader of the Mâlikî Madhhab,) and the third one foretells the advent of Imâm Shâfi'î, (the founder and leader of the Shâfi'î Madhhab) 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în', according to other Islamic scholars. All these conclusions, regardless of the authenticity of the facts they are based on, are of conjectural capacity and therefore they are not definite knowledge. Whereas they are identical with knowledge in the friend's view, they aggravate the foe's stubbornness and vulgarize the denier's nescience. For, it is either moral laxity and ignominy or vulgar ignorance and recalcitrance to deny something in the face of the great number and the high status of the people who believe it. Such is the case with Wahhâbîs, who obstinately deny the hadîth-i-sherîfs, which we have quoted above, about our religious leaders (imâms). The same applies to the deniers of Mahdî, for in effect it means to deny the so many hadîth-i-sherîfs (concerning Mahdî). For this reason, (some) Islamic scholars say that a person who denies Mahdî becomes a disbeliever. By the same token, Jews and Christians deny Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' although the good news about his advent is given in their holy books. We Muslims believe in him positively. Likewise, also, there are pieces of good news concerning Imâm Rabbânî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', which are definite and positive facts in the view of his friends, although, by contrast, they exacerbate the denial and the obduracy of the enemy. The Believers' faith is in their own favour, and the adversaries' denial is at their own peril. In fact, a Believer ought to have a good opinion about another Believer, even though he is not someone he knows well.

Would it not, then, be wiser by far to have a good opinion about the Awliyâ, who are praised in myriads of books and whose own books fill the entire world and whose followers have always been the most valued and beloved ones of their times and whose goodnesses shine far and near with solar brightness?

3– Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Of my Ummat** (Muslims), **there will come someone nicknamed Sila. Through his shafâ'at** (intercession with Allâhu ta'âlâ for the slaves), **many people will enter Paradise**." This hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the book Jam'ul-jawâmî, by Imâm Suyûtî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ'. Providing an extensive explanation for the Awliyâ's words on 'Wahdat-i-wujûd', Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' proved that they were compatible with Islam, and combined the two very vast Islamic oceans, i.e. the Ahkâm-i-islâmiyya (the Islamic principles, tenets, acts of worship, commandments and prohibitions, ritual practices, etc.), and Tasawwuf (knowledge pertaining to heart and soul; orders, paths, methods and techniques for the purification and improvement of the heart and soul), (which had hitherto been considered apart from each other). This won him the epithet **Sila** , (which means reunion; combiner). One of his letters ends with the prayer of thanksgiving, "May hamd (praise and gratitude) be to Allâhu ta'âlâ, who has made me a sila between two oceans!" He was known with this nickname among his companions. No one before him had won the epithet 'Sila', which exists literally in the hadîth-i-sherîf giving the good news. It is a fact in the sunlight that the epithet had been meant for Imâm Rabbânî. He who believes this will be beloved to him. Supposing his belief were wrong, neither in this world nor in the next would he be blamed for having had a good opinion about a Muslim.

Imâm Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated as follows, in versified narration:

The doctor and the naturalist supposed that when men  
Die and decay, they will by no means come back to life.  
Were your word to prove right, I would lose nothing;  
Since I am right, in Hell will you spend the endless life.

4– Mawlânâ Jâmî 'quddisa sirruh', in his book Nafahât, quotes the Shaikh-ul-islâm Ahmad Nâmiqî Jâmî as having stated as follows: "I subjected myself to the total amount, and even more, of the mortifications and afflictions suffered by all the Awliya, and Allâhu ta'âlâ blessed me with all the spiritual states and goodnesses enjoyed by the Awliyâ. Every four hundred years Allâhu ta'âlâ blesses one of His slaves named Ahmad with such grand gifts, in such transparency as all people will see the gifts clearly." There are four hundred and thirty-five (435) years between Ahmad Jâmî and Imâm (Ahmad) Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh', and throughout that period there was no other Walî with the name Ahmad and the same degree of greatness. In all likelihood, Imâm Rabbânî must have been the target of Ahmad Jâmî's congratulatory innuendo 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. This presumption finds credence in another statement made, again, by the Shaikh-ul-islâm Ahmad Jâmî 'quddisa sirruh': "After me there will be seventeen people carrying my name. The last one, which is the greatest and the highest, will come after the first millennium (A.H.)."

5– Halîl-ul-Bedahshî 'quddisa sirruh' states: "Of the great scholars constituting the (chain of scholars called) Silsila-t-uz-zahab, there will come a paragon of perfection in India. He will be peerless in his century." Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' is the ineluctable addressee of the implication in this statement, since India produced no other scholar in the same silsila.

6– Imâm Rabbânî Ahmad Fârûqî 'quddisa sirruh' was born in the city of Sihrind, situated on the route between Lahore and Delhi, India. 'Sihrind' means 'black lion'. For, the city was first established by Sultân Fîrûz Shâh on a site that had formerly been a jungle of lions. It was not long after being born when Imâm Rabbânî caught an infantile disease. So his father took him to his own master Shâh Kemâl Kihtelî Qâdirî. "Don't worry," said the profoundly learned scholar. "This child prodigy is going to lead a long life and make a very great person." Then he held the child by the hand and kissed him on the mouth. Upon this the fayz and nûr (light, haloe) of Abdulqâdir Geylânî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' pervaded his blessed body. He received his initial education from his father, learned Arabic, and memorized the Qur'ân al-kerîm in his early childhood. Possessed of a mellifluous voice, he recited the sûras like a nightingale singing. He memorized several booklets on various sciences and went to the city of Siyâlkût (Sialkot), where he studied some positive sciences and learned a great deal from Mawlânâ Kemâladdîn Kishmîrî 'quddisa sirruh', who was the highest scholar of his time and the great teacher who educated the renowned scholar Abdulhakîm Siyalkûtî. He received ijâzât[] in Hadîth, in Tafsîr and in sciences of Usûl (methodology, procedures) from Qâdî Behlûl Bedahshânî, who was an 'âlim-i-rabbânî. He was only seventeen years old when he completed his education, in possession of ijâzât in all the branches of religious and positive sciences, as well as in sciences called Furû' and Usûl. During his education, he received, through his father, the fayz and flavour in the hearts of the great men of Tasawwuf affiliated with the orders of Qâdirî and Cheshtî. His father was still alive when he already began to teach the disciples practical and spiritual sciences. In the meantime he wrote quite a number of books, among which are **Risâla-t-ut-tehlîliyya** , **Risâla-t-ur-radd-ir-rawâfid** , and **Risâla-t-u-ithbât-un-nubuwwa** (Proof of Prophethood). He was specially interested in belles-lettres. His eloquence, rhetoric, quickness of comprehension and great intelligence were objects of bewilderment for all the people around him.

7– With such superlative knowledge and unequalled spiritual perfection, his heart was burning with the love of the great guides of (the order of Tasawwuf called) Ahrâriyya. He was reading books written by the scholars of that path. A year after his father's decease he left Sihrind for (a voyage to Mekka for the performance of the Islamic pilgrimage termed) hajj. Enroute to his destination, he called at Dehli, [i.e. Delhi,] and paid a visit to (the great spiritual master and scholar named) Muhammad Bâqî Billâh 'quddisa sirruh', who lived there. As soon as he entered the blessed sage's presence, a nûr (light, haloe) shone up in his heart. He felt attracted, like a needle that was caught in a magnetic area. His heart became inundated with things unknown to him and which he had not heretofore heard of. He was going to come back after hajj and reap from the mellow spiritual source, yet the affection and the desire in his heart was too strong for him to wait that long. So the following morning he entered the great scholar's presence again and extended his wish to attain the Ahrâriyya fayz. He remained there, in the blessed master's service. Paying utmost attention to his own manners as well as to the perfectly adept guide's words, he attached his heart to him. He preferred being with the owner of the Kâ'ba to going to the Kâ'ba. Exerting all his exclusively high talents and his well-endowed personality, he attained all sorts of perfections, which became manifest on his gifted person. So kind and magnanimous was his master's compassionate concentration on him that it was hardly beyond two months' time when he attained unprecedented spiritual realizations. A couple of months sufficed for him to become entitled to an unconditional authorization in the path of Ahrâriyya from his master, who ordered him to go back home thereafter, transferring most of his disciples to his care and sending them along to Sihrind. Back home, he began to spread zâhirî[] and bâtinî[] knowledge and nûrs to the world and to educate his disciples and students and guide them to spiritual heights. He was now an owner of universal reputation, and his own master joined in the influx of his admirers to reap spiritual lights from him. He would fill everybody's heart with knowledge and haloes, and resuscitate and invigorate the religion of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'. His utterly effective letters would encourage the time's pâdishâhs, governors, commanders and judges to rally to the cause of Islam and to hold fast to the Sunnat-i-saniyya. He would raise a great number of scholars and Awliyâ.

8– Although he had acquired the spiritual knowledge ('ilm-i-bâtin) from Muhammad Bâqî 'quddisa sirruh', Allâhu ta'âlâ conferred even more upon him. And even this exceptional knowledge, which was peculiar to him, he publicized worldover. His master also would come to attain pieces from that knowledge, enter his presence and sit with adab (suitable manners). It was on one of those occasions that his master came, sensed that his master-disciple was busy with his own heart, told the servant not to disturb him (Imâm Rabbânî), and did not enter the room, waiting silently at the door. Some time later Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' stood up and asked who was at the door. "It is this faqîr, Muhammad Bâqî," called his master 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ'. Upon hearing the name, Imâm Rabbânî ran to the door and welcomed his master humbly and with suitable manners. His master would always give him glad tidings, praise him in the presence of his acquaintances, and command his disciples to adapt themselves to Imâm Rabbânî after his decease.

9– Sayyid Muhammad Nu'mân 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', a very great scholar and one of highest disciples of Khwâja Muhammad Bâqî 'quddisa sirruh', relates: When my teacher told me to adapt myself to Imâm Rabbânî (after his death), I tried to tell him that it would be unnecessary, saying, "The mirror of my heart will only be towards your bright heart." My teacher retorted, "What do you think Ahmad is? His solar light outshines thousands of stars like us."

10– Khwâja Muhammad Bâqî wrote as follows to some of his acquaintances, who were the greatest scholars of his time: A youngster came from the city of Sihrind. He has very much knowledge. And his behaviour perfectly reflects his knowledge. He stayed with this faqîr, (the great scholar means himself,) for a few days. I have seen much in him. I understand that he is going to be a sun that will enlighten the entire world. His relatives and all his brothers also are brilliant, valuable and knowledgeable heroes! And his sons, especially, are a treasure of Allâhu ta'âlâ each.

11– He said on another occasion: For the recent three or four years I have been exerting myself to guide others to the right path, to the way of salvation. Al-hamdulillah (May gratitude and praise be to Allâhu ta'âlâ)! My exertion has not come to naught, for a person like him has come out.

12– Khwâja Muhammad Bâqî 'quddisa sirruh' stated on another occasion: I brought this seed, which is a medicament for hearts and a cure for souls, from Samarkand and Bukhâra, and sowed it in the fertile soil of India. I spared no effort for the education and guidance of the disciples. When he surpassed all degrees and attained the highest grades of all sorts of perfection, I withdrew myself from between and left the disciples to his care.

13– In a letter that Khwâja Muhammad Bâqî Billâh 'quddisa sirruh' wrote to Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruhumâ', he states as follows: "May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless you with the lot of attaining the highest grade and guiding all others as well! A line:

Earth has a share from the meal table of the beneficent!

"The unornamented truth is that the Shaikh-ul-islâm Abdullah Ansârî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' stated, 'I was educated by Abul Hasan Harkânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ'. However, if Harkânî were alive now, he would ignore that he had been my teacher, come and kneel down before me.' My inaction is not due to complacency or snub; on the contrary, I am awaiting a sign implying admission. This is the truth of the matter. May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless us with guidance! May He protect us from conceit and vanity! Sayyid Sâlih of Nishâpûr, who will be bringing you this letter of mine, came to me for the cure of his heart. Because I do not have time and I am not in a convenient state, I am sending him to you lest he should waste his time with me. Inshâ-Allah, he will attain your high and generous attention and obtain something proportional to his talents.

14– "May Allâhu ta'âlâ, for the sake of His beloved Awliyâ, whom He has chosen for Himself, guide also those wretched and impoverished mendicants of knowledge and sagacity, the hapless count-outs of all windfalls, and make them attain their wishes! I have been unable to present my true respect to your rank, which is a resource of Awliyâ. Yes, this is the only proper way of addressing oneself to a rank whose states are true to its name. To call you 'my disciple' would mean to display the most shameless insolence and to obscure the truth with the apparent contraposition. I request your benedictions, sir."

15– In addition to his own master, most of the scholars and sages of his time mentioned his name with laudatory remarks that he perfectly deserved, refuted those who were uncivil enough to speak ill of him, and all of them gathered like moths around the light of his ma'rifat. The greatest and the most distinguished ones among them were Fadlullah Burhanpûrî, Mawlânâ Hasan-ul-ghawsî, Mawlânâ Abdulhakîm Siyâlkûtî, Mawlânâ Jemâladdîn Tâluwî, Mawlânâ Ya'qûb Sirfî, Mawlânâ Hasan-ul-Qubâdânî, Mawlânâ Mîrekshâh, Mawlânâ Mîr Mu'mîn, Mawlânâ Jân Muhammad Lâhurî and Mawlânâ Abd-us-salâm Diyukî. Muhaddith Abdulhaqq Dahlawî spent a greater part of his life criticizing him; however, when the mirror of his heart rid the rust and dust of his nafs so that the rays of that sun illuminated his heart, he began to praise him and to refute the slanders of the stubborn deniers.

16– Fadl Burhanpûrî, for instance, would take pleasure from listening to laudatory remarks about his beautiful attributes and enjoy hearing about his ma'rifats. He would say that he (Imâm Rabbânî) was the Qutb-ul-aqtâb, i.e. the imâm (religious leader, the highest scholar) of his time, that his reports about the secrets of truth were always right and valuable, and that his adherence to all the subtleties of the Islamic religion and his universal popularity attested to the fact that his words were true and to the high status of the spiritual states he were experiencing and displaying. During the Imâm's 'quddisa sirruh' imprisonment, he would pray for his release after each of the five daily prayers of namâz. When people from the neighborhood of Sihrind came to him to express their wishes to become his disciples, he would rebuke them, saying, "So you live at a place close to Imâm Rabbânî and look for knowledge and ma'rifat at other places. Leaving the sun, you run to the stars for light. You astonish me."

17– Hasan-ul-ghawsî would praise him very much. He writes as follows about the imâm in his book **Manâqib-ul-awliyâ** : "The owner of the rank of Mahbûbiyyat, the ornament of the chairmanship of the assembly of Wahdâniyyat, the expert of the rank of Ferdiyyat, and the chief of the rank of Qutbiyyat."

18– Mawlânâ Abdulhakîm Siyâlkûtî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' was another admirer of Imâm Rabbânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' who paid profound respect to the Imâm. He would struggle against his deniers. He would call him ' **Mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî** (Restorer of the Second Millennium). He is said (by the Islamic scholars) to have been the first person to call him this name. He would admonish the deniers, saying, "It is ignorance to raise objections to great people's words without properly understanding what they mean. People who do so end up in perdition. To reject the words of Ahmad the master, who is a source of knowledge, fayz and irfân, stems from not knowing and understanding him."

19– Muhammad Mu'min Kubrawî of Belh city sent one of his disciples to Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' for inâbat (repentance for sins), tawba (repentance and invocation for the forgiveness of sins, and resolution not to commit sins again), and sulûk (a term in Tasawwuf, which means 'to enter a religious order; to make progress in one of the paths of Tasawwuf'). When the disciple entered Imâm Rabbânî's presence, he conveyed the salâms which he brought from his master, from Sayyid Mîrekshâh, from Hasan Qubâdânî, and from Qâdil Qudât Tulek, and added: My master Mîr Muhammad Mu'min said, "I would go and be blessed with his lectures and serve him till death were it not for the hindrances such as my old age and the great distance. I would try to enlighten my heart with his nûrs, which have not fallen to anyone else's lot. My body is far away, down here, yet my heart is up there. I beg him to accept this faqîr, (i.e. Muhammad Mu'min himself,) as if I were one of his pure disciples in his presence, and to scatter his blessed nûrs into my soul. Kiss his hand on my behalf, too!" The disciple kissed the Imâm's hand again and, as he was leaving he said, "The blessed people in the city of Belh request of you to send them letters telling about sublime facts." Upon this Imâm Rabbânî 'qaddas-Allâhu sirrah-ul-'azîz' wrote the ninety-ninth letter and gave it to him together with a few other letters. Some time later some devotees from Belh came to India with the report that upon receiving the Imâm's 'quddisa sirruh' letter Mîr Muhammad Mu'min had read it with exuberant satisfaction and had said, "If great Awliyâ such as Bâyezîd the Sultân-ul-'ârifîn and Junayd the Sayyid-ut-tâifa were living now they would kneel down before Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' and not even for a moment would they be absent from his service."

20– One of the scholars of his time said, "The share that falls to the comprehension of scholars from Imâm Rabbânî's 'quddisa sirruh' writings is identical with whatsoever ignorant people understand from the (words of metaphysical level called) hikmat that they hear from the (deeply learned and wise scholars called) hakîm."

21– Another pious scholar of his time, whose religious practices were in harmony with his religious knowledge, observed as follows: "Experts of knowledge pertaining to heart and soul do either tasnîf (composition) or te'lîf (compilation). Tasnîf means an 'ârif's writing the occult and mysterical pieces of knowledge that are imparted to him (and inspired into his purified heart). And te'lîf means to compile others' words, to arrange them in a self-established order and then write them. It has been a long time since the business of tasnîf has left the world, although te'lîf still survives. However, what Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' has been writing perfectly fall into the category of tasnîf. They are not te'lîf at all. I am not one of his disciples. Yet I have been studying his writings minutely, and for reason's sake I have not so far found a single word belonging to others. All of them reflect his own kashfs (findings of the heart) and the pieces of knowledge flowing into his heart. All of them are sublime, acceptable, beautiful, and compatible with the Islamic religion."

22– When the greatest qâdî (Islamic judge) of his time was asked about the (spiritual) states that Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' had been experiencing and displaying, he replied, "The words and the states of the scholars of the knowledge of heart and soul are beyond the capacity of our minds. However, when I saw the states of Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh', I developed a realization and comprehension of the states and the words of the past Awliyâ. Before that, whenever I read about the states of the (past) Awliyâ and their peculiar acts of worship, I speculated a certain degree of hyperbolism about the written accounts. Yet, seeing his states and manners eliminated my speculations and hesitations."

23– Abdulhaqq Dahlawî, a scholar of Hadîth, was formerly opposed to Imâm Rabbânî's 'quddisa sirruh' writings; he would despise them and write refutations to them. Later, however, Allâhu ta'âlâ blessed him with seeing the truth; penitent of his former attitude, he made tawba. He wrote to Mawlânâ Husâmaddîn Ahmad, one of the graduates of Khwâja Muhammad Bâqî, about his tawba, as follows: "May Allâhu ta'âlâ' bless Ahmad-i-Fârûqî with (all sorts of) salvation! This faqîr's (Hadrat Dahlawî's) heart is now true towards him. Curtains of humanity have gone up, and the blemishes of the nafs have cleared. Aside from the spiritual solidarity, it stands to reason that a religious superior like him could not have been defied. How unwise and crass I must have been! No words I would say now would suffice to express the shame and inferiority that my heart feels towards him. It belongs to Allâhu ta'âlâ, alone, to convert hearts and to change spiritual states." In another letter, which Abdulhaqq Dahlawî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' wrote to his own children, he said, "Tear the drafts of my letters which I wrote in opposition to the writings of Ahmad Fârûqî 'sallamahullâhu ta'âlâ'! No longer is there any blur about him in my heart, which feels quite true towards him now." This shows that his former opposition was merely human. It was the case also with all the other deniers. Jenâb-i-Haqq (Allâhu ta'âlâ) chooses some of His slaves and blesses them with His Compassion, saving them from the Hell of denial and guiding them to the Paradise of affirmation. The reasons for his tawba are not known for certain. According to some reports, he had a dream in which the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' reprimanded him. Some scholars say, on the other hand, that he drew lots on the Qur'ân al-kerîm, that once the âyat-i-kerîma which purports, " **... If he is a liar, it is at his own peril. If he is telling the truth, Allâhu ta'âlâ will send onto you some of what He has promised to you,** " came out, and that at another time the outcome was the âyat-i-kerîma which purports, " **They are the beloved slaves of Allâhu ta'âlâ. Even in their business of buying and selling, their heart is not without Allâhu ta'âlâ in it.** " According to a third report, the objections that he raised against him were consequent upon a letter that the adversaries of the blessed Imâm (Rabbânî) had sent to him, (i.e. to Abdulhaqq Dahlawî). When he realized the truth he repented and made tawba.

A note: When his children received their father's letter, they destroyed the drafts. Yet other people also had had letters from him, (which contained his former opinions about Imâm Rabbânî). Those letters still existed in a few books written in Persian. However, beautiful refutations were written to those letters. Short biographies of the scholars who praised Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' would make up an entire book.

24– **THE FIFTH PERSPECTIVE** : When a person rises to fame owing to his virtues and perfections, a concomitant increase in jealousy follows. This has been the case since (thefirst man and the earliest prophet) Âdam 'alaihis-salâm'. The jealousy of the ignorant is symptomatic of the abundance of the blessings possessed by the envied person. Our Master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states: " **Of all people, prophets** 'alaihim-us-salâtu wa-s-salâm', **suffer the most disasters; next after them are scholars and then come the sâlih** (pious, devoted) **Muslims**." For that matter, Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' had a considerable share from disasters. How could it have been otherwise, since he was the mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî? In other words, Allâhu ta'âlâ had sent him a thousand years after the Prophet, our Master 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', as a restorer to rehabilitate and strengthen the Islamic religion. Is it an easy job to rehabilitate something, to restore it to its pristine purity, and to undo all the so many superstitions that have become established customs throughout years? Would it have been a simple fait accompli to strengthen Islam and purge it from the deeply rooted impurities at a time when wrongdoings, heresies and superstitions are on the increase, aberrations so widespread, and sham dervishes of Wahdat-i-wujûd are known as Islamic scholars?

25– Mawlânâ Shâh Abdul'azîz (1239 [1824 A.D.]), a son of Shâh Ahmad Waliyyullah (1179), 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ', observes as follows: Wahdat-i-wujûd deteriorated into various anomalies among the common people. Misunderstanding the words of the great, the ignorant deviated from Islam in the process of time. The highly esoteric and valuable science (,i.e. Wahdat-i-wujûd,) became a demolisher of Islam, and a source of heresy for the shaikhs of Tekke, whose aberrant paths spread among the ignorant populace. [The comatose trends buttered the bread of the enemies of Islam. Representing some irreligious and immoral people as poets of Tasawwuf, they designed school curricula containing their irreligious words, thus having the younger generations read them in the name of poetry.]Allâhu ta'âlâ, with His infinite compassion for His slaves, created a great mujaddid, Imâm Rabbânî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. He blessed him with profound knowledge. Through him, He purified the minds of His slaves, separated right from wrong, and cleansed many a heart from heresy.

These magnificent accomplishments incurred the spite of some people and a torrent of persecutions, arrows and vilifications followed. The jealousies were even aggravated when, one by one, scholars and other virtuous and mature people left their paths and guides and hastened to join the disciples of the Imâm (Rabbânî) and to serve him. Conspiracies were resorted to for the purpose of exposing the Imâm to danger. For instance, they provoked the ignorant folk by spreading the lie that he abhorred the great Islamic shaikhs such as Junayd-i-Baghdâdî. They began to estrange the short-sighted people from the imâm by alleging that he denied the Wahdat-i-wujûd which was a science for spiritual improvement established by the great shaikhs of Islam. They tried to antagonize his admirers by asserting that he denied the Meshâikh-i-izâm and boasted of having attained the ma'rifat of Allâhu ta'âlâ directly without a guide. The defamations culminated when they finally tried to besmear him with the political felony of insubordination against the government and contempt for the laws and, into the bargain, many another libel which a Muslim could never commit against another.

26– His alleged denial of the Meshâikh-i-izâm was a blatant lie. The truth becomes manifest immediately upon beginning to read his book Maktûbât, which is a clear evidence of his profound respect towards the Meshâikh-i-izâm, so much so that he attaches beautiful meanings even to their words that are vulnerable to misinterpretation and which for centuries their enemies have exploited as fulcrums to bring their calumniations to bear, -as for their words that do not seem to be susceptible of a benevolent interpretation, he says that they were the erroneous words which those great people had said during their apprenticeship and which they corrected after attaining higher grades. He says that errors of kashf (in the paths of Tasawwuf), like errors of ijtihâd (committed by scholars who have attained the grade of ijtihâd), are not only pardonable but also meritorious acts that are likely to be rewarded (in the Hereafter). As regards his alleged denial of Wahdat-i-wujûd; those who read Maktûbât will know that the truth is quite the other way round and that he handles the matter with unprecedented adroitness by, on the one hand, protecting Islam's honour and, on the other, paying heed to the dignity of those great people.

27– The statesmen under the time's Sultân Selîm Jihânghir Khân, including his grand vizier, his chief muftî and his harem, were not Sunnî Muslims. However, most of the Imâm's letters, and also his booklet **Radd-i-rawâfid** , especially, repudiate people without a Madhhab and explain that they are ignorant, stupid and base people. Imâm-i-Rabbânî sent that booklet of his to Abdullah Jenghiz Khân, the time's greatest Uzbek Khân in Bukhârâ, with the note, "Show this booklet to the Iranian Shâh Abbâs Safawî! If he accepts it, things will be quite all right. If he does not, then it will be permissible to make war against him." When the Shâh's answer was in the negative, a war was made. Abdullah Khân took Herat (Hirât) and the cities in Khorasan. -Those places had been captured by the Safawîs a hundred years before. Upon this all the lâ-madhhabî[] people in India cooperated, and their spokesmen showed the Sultân (Abdullah Khân) a letter which Imâm Rabbânî had written to his own master and teacher (Muhammad Bâqî Billah), i.e. the eleventh letter of the first volume, and said, "He considers himself, and claims to be, higher than all other people, even higher than Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'." The Sultân sent his own son Shâh Jihân to Imâm Rabbânî, inviting the Imâm and his sons and the other great scholars educated by the Imâm. He was resolved to have them all killed. Shâh Jihân went to Imâm, taking along a muftî with him. With them they had a fatwâ legalizing (Islamically) prostration before the Sultân (head of the Muslim state). (A fatwâ is a written answer which an Islamic scholar gives Muslims' questions. A muftî is a scholar authorized to give a fatwâ). Shâh Jihân knew that Imâm Rabbânî was a true person. He said, "I can save you if you prostrate yourself before my father." The Imâm replied that the legalization in the fatwâ stipulated darûrat (necessity, inevitability prescribed by Islam), that azîmat (the harder and more commendable choice) and ideal devotion to one's faith would require refusal of a suggestion of prostration, and that nothing would save a person when the foreordained time of his death came. Leaving his sons and his ashâb (companions and disciples), he went alone. The Sultân showed him the eleventh letter and asked him what it meant. So beautiful and satisfactory was the great scholar's answer that the Sultân, far below the level as he was to comprehend such sublime and esoteric facts, became cheered and released him apologetically. When the plotters saw that all their efforts had come to naught, they said to the Sultân, "This person has quite a number of men, and his words have caught on throughout the country. If we let him go, a chaos may follow. You see what a conceited person he is. He not only refused to show reverence, which in itself would suffice to prove his detestation, but also did not even condescend to salute you." Indeed, the drunken, infuriated and ferocious appearance of the Sultân, as the imâm had found him upon entering his presence, had divested him of the respect and dignity that a personage in that position would normally have inspired, so that the great scholar had not even saluted him (by uttering the expression of salâm, which we have described earlier in the text). After a long debate with the assembly, the Sultân ordered that the imâm be imprisoned in the fortress of Gwalior, the most strongly fortified and the most dreadful fortress in the country. Like a nightingale caged in with lowly inmates, the Imâm's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' blessed face was shrouded from Muslims' sight. The harvest moon was covered with black clouds. So gloomy was the hapless night that Sayyid Ghulâm Alî, India's renowned man of belles lettres better known with his nickname Âzâd, could not help exquisitely versifying the event in his doleful stanzas.

28– Formerly, Imâm Rabbânî 'qaddas-Allâhu ta'âlâ sirrah-ul 'azîz' had stated, "There are many other ranks that are above the ranks I have attained. Those higher ranks are attainable only by way of a training with Jelâl (Majesty, Wrath, Rage of Allâhu ta'âlâ,which materializes as disasters, misfortunes, cares). So far, I have been trained with Jemâl (Beauty, Grace of Allâhu ta'âlâ), i.e. with fondlings." Also, he had said to some of his companions, "Between fifty and sixty, cares and disasters will shower on me." It happened exactly as he had said, and he was blessed with those higher ranks as well.

29– Thousands of unbelievers imprisoned in the fortress were honoured with îmân and Islam owing to the barakat of the blessed Imâm 'quddisa sirruh'. An approximately equal number of Muslims made tawba (for the sinful lives they had led before). In fact, some of them would later attain very high positions in Islamic scholarship. A striking example is the illustrious conversion to Islam of a great commander of the fire-worshipping Indians, who happened to be among the audience as the blessed scholar was explaining the eleventh letter to the Sultân and yielded to the merits of the Imâm's religious steadfastness and the flavour and high standard of his wording. The Sultân's vizier had appointed his own brother as a guard to wait upon the imâm with instructions that "the convict should undergo a harsh treatment." Yet the fortunate brother, witnessing various karâmats (wonders and miracles) on the blessed imâm, and an awe-inspiring dignity, patience, and even exultation, instead of dejection, into the bargain, made tawba, doffed the halter of heresy, ornamented himself with the necklace of Ahl as-sunnat, and consigned himself into the pond of grace where bathed the truest disciples of the blessed religious scholar 'quddisa sirruh'.
30– Not to the least extent did the imprisonment bear on the philanthropy that Imâm Rabbânî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' held towards the Sultân. Pleased with what he had done to him, he would always pronounce benedictions over him. As a matter of fact, some of the companions of the Imâm 'quddisa sirruh' had a design against the Sultân, which was very well within their power. Yet the Imâm prevented them, showing himself to them in their dreams as well as when they were awake, and advised them to pronounce benedictions over the Sultân. "Hurting the Sultân will cause harm to all the people," he would say. Readers of Maktûbât will see these facts in all their clarity in the letters which he wrote to his sons from the dungeon.

31– Sultân Selîm Jihânghîr Khân's son, Shâh Jihân 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', rose against his father. He had a powerful army and was sincerely backed by most of the commanders who were apparently on his father's side. Yet the advantages he had proved short of bringing him victory. He told his story to one of the time's Awliyâ and asked for benedictions. The Walî said: Your victory depends on the benedictions on the part of the four poles (highest Walîs and scholars) of the present time. Three of them are with you. Yet the fourth one, who is the highest one, does not approve of your attempt. That exalted person is Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî Mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî 'quddisa sirruh'. Shâh Jihân went to the Imâm and begged the great scholar to invoke a blessing on him. The Imâm 'quddisa sirruh' counselled him to give up the plan to overthrow his father, saying, "Go to your father, kiss his hand and apologize! He will soon pass away and the sovereignty will be yours." Shâh Jihân listened to his advice and gave up his plan. A short time later, in 1037 [1627 A.D.], his father passed away, whereupon he attained his wish, sovereignty. Then, how could one ever believe the jealous plotters' slander that Imâm Rabbânî disobeyed the Sultân and flouted the laws?

32– Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' had spent two or three valuable years in the fortress, when the Sultân began to feel remorse for his wrongdoing. Having him taken out of the prison, he showed him kindness. In fact, he became one of his true disciples and faithful friends. He ordered him to stay for some time among the army. Later, he set him free and, with deep reverence, sent him to his homeland. When Imâm Rabbânî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' was back home, he had attained grades and states thousands of times higher than the spiritual positions which he had been occupying (before imprisonment). With the exception of his blessed sons and his successors whom he educated, no one can be privy to the occult and secret spiritual facts and ma'rifats permeating through his letters which he wrote in the aftermath. Those valuable letters of his complement the three volumes of Maktûbât.

33– Such afflictions and disasters befell not only the greatest Awliyâ, but also prophets 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât', so that today's Awliyâ and devoted Muslims will find solace in them and the afflictions and disasters that the ignorant witness to befall the contemporary Awliyâ will not be construed as symptomatic of iniquity (of the people who suffer them). Historians, who are unaware of this subtlety, write only about the pleasant facts concerning the Awliyâ, withholding some events which reflect their human demeanours. This sparing policy misleads their uncritical readers into visualising them as impeccable and angelic creatures; and, ergo, a most trivial sight of human weakness which they observe on a person who is said to be a pious and devoted Muslim or a Walî causes them to think otherwise, which in turn means that they cannot get a share from the spiritual gifts the blessed person has been endowed with, since you cannot acquire any blessings from a person about whom you have a bad opinion. Some people go even further wrong by gossiping about those pure Muslims. They do not know that Allâhu ta'âlâ hides His beloved slaves under the screen of human mediocrities. As a matter of fact, He declares, " **I hide My beloved ones. Not everybody can recognize them**." Imâm Rabbânî 'qaddas-Allâhu ta'âlâ sirrah-ul 'azîz' offers a number of explanations on this subject in Maktûbât, while, on the other hand, Muhyiddîn Arabî 'quddisa sirruh' states in his book **Futuhât** that a peccadillo that breaks the heart and humbles the nafs is more useful than an act of worship which inflames the nafs and brings pride to the heart.

34– Having attained his loftiest aspirations, Imâm Rabbânî, Mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî, Ahmad Fârûqî 'quddisa sirruh' reached the grades which Allâhu ta'âlâ bestowed on him, and thereafter, when the time which Allâhu ta'âlâ had foreordained, (i.e. the taqdîr-i-ilâhî,) came, he accepted the invitation extended by Azrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' (Angel of Death ) and attained the Refîq-i-a'lâ (Allâhu ta'âlâ) on the twenty-ninth day, Tuesday, of the blessed month of Safer (the second Arabic lunar month) in 1034 [1624 A.D.]. He was buried in the cemetery of Sihrind. May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless his soul with peace and his grave with plenty of nûr! May He make us attain the barakat of his valuable breath and his love! May He guide us to his shafâ'at and join us with his lovers who will assemble under his banner on the Rising Day! Âmîn.

35– People have different habits, different predilections, different wishes, and different thoughts. Therefore, not only as he was alive did he have admirers as well as adversaries, but also after his passing away two different groups of people held two opposite opinions about him. Whereas one group explicitly praised him, another followed the line of criticism. The antagonistic attempts, however, let alone choke his universally renowned ma'rifats, merely betokened evanescent snowflakes on a river. Or, rather, they contributed to his reputation, for, every attempt on the part of his adversaries to scatter poison his admirers counterplotted against with a variety of antidotal confutations. This reciprocal struggle proved fructiferous enough to give birth to more than seventy books specially devoted to this subject. One of them, perhaps the greatest one, the booklet **Atiyya-t-ul wahhâb fâsila-t-u-bayn-al-hatâ wa-th-thawâb** , a masterpiece composed by Muhammad Uzbekî Makkî, put the adversaries to a crying shame from which they should not have had the face to raise their heads. After the imâm's passing away 'quddisa sirruh', many scholars lauded him and wrote very useful and important books. One of them is Mawlânâ Abdullah Itâqîzâda 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ, the Muftî of Mekka-i-mukarrama, the Shaikh-ul-Islâm, and the Imâm-ul-'allâma. We have not translated the passage from his book which occupies a few pages of the Arabic version.

36– A profoundly learned scholar who praised Imâm Rabbânî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' after his passing away is Ziyâeddîn Mawlânâ Khâlid 'Uthmânî Baghdâdî 'quddisa sirruh', a leader of ârifs, a guide to truth, a paragon of the highest attainable spiritual grades, an owner of physical and spiritual perfections, and an ocean of knowledge. The following paragraph is a paraphrased translation of the couplets in the ninety-fourth page of his Persian divan, in which he utters the delicacies of his lofty soul:

"Yâ Rabbî! Please do forgive me for the sake of the haloes in the eyes of Ahmad Fârûqî 'quddisa sirruh'; a wayfarer of that endless path; a leader of the owners of knowledge; a source of the occult secrets which are neither perceptible to the human sight nor attainable with mind; an owner of greatness beyond the human cognizance and which Thou, alone, knowest; an ocean where meanings foam and crest like waves; a chief of a world where material beings or places do not exist; a source of nûr whose lights illuminate India; a beloved slave for whose sake the city of Sihrind was transmuted into the valley where Mûsâ (Moses) 'alaihis-salâm' received the Word of Allâhu ta'âlâ; a document to prove the greatness of the religion of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'; a light for the assembly of the keen-sighted; a commander of the army of absolute piety; a master who not only has attained unthinkable spiritual heights but also guides those who follow his path! Please do overlook my black face! So ruthlessly have I abused myself, innumerable are the faults I have committed, and so disloyal have I been in my promise. Yet the endlessness of Thine ocean of forgiveness and compassion makes me feel hopeful. Thine infinite Kindness, alone, do I rely on. For, ' **I am the Forgiver** ,' Thou sayest."

37– Another scholar who praised him was Hadrat Sayyid Tâhâ Hakkârî 'quddisa sirruh', a profoundly learned savant, a virtuous Walî-i-kâmil, a possessor of innumerable karâmats (wonders, miracles), and the highest of the Awliyâ educated and trained by Mawlânâ Khâlid Baghdâdî 'quddisa sirruh'.

38– Another scholar who praised Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' was Sayyid Abdulhakîm Efendi 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', a gem of scholarship and an ideal perfection among the Awliyâ. He states as follows in a letter that he wrote to a devoted Muslim: "Dhikr, and so the effect of dhikr, is a deep sea. No one has reached down its depths. It is a such rough ocean that the entire world is quite unaware of any one of its waves. It is such a vast mass of water surrounding the world that the entire universe would not be able to comprehend it. Dhikr is a spiritual state that occurs in the hearts of those who make dhikr. It is something impossible to describe, to write about, to explain.

"A person who knows Allâhu ta'âlâ becomes speechless. He cannot find words to describe what he is experiencing. He becomes overwhelmed with bewilderment. He is quite oblivious to the world and to other people. As Allâhu ta'âlâ is the Person whose dhikr is being made, likewise, He, alone, is the Person who makes dhikr. He, alone, is capable of making dhikr of Himself. Who are poor creatures to make dhikr of Him? However, He commands His human creature to make dhikr of Him in order to tinge his own attributes with the (Attributes of Allâhu ta'âlâ termed) Sifât-i-ilâhiyya. Every person (who makes dhikr) finds an amount of consolation proportional to his abilities in that endless and wavy sea. Ways-al-Qarânî contented himself with a drop from that ocean. Junayd Baghdâdî was satisfied with a handful from that sea. Abdulqâdir-i-Geylânî only reached the shore of the sea. Muhyiddîn-i-Arabî took pride in a jewel taken out from the bottom of the sea. And Imâm Rabbânî acquired a great share from it 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ.

"The letters alif, lâm and he (pronounced as he according to the International Phonetic Alphabet), which serve in the formation of the word 'Allah', i.e. the very great word representing a Person, -who is not comparable to any other being,- are means and vehicles that lead to the tenor. Dhikr is not, in itself, to pronounce these letters. Dhikr is the spiritual state produced through the word, 'Allah'. The word is called dhikr out of necessity to symbolize, and not in the actual sense.

"For the same matter, the expression (termed) Kalima-i-tawhîd is not dhikr, either. Yet, with respect to its being pronounced and its meaning, it serves as a means for dhikr, which, in reality, is a state of heart and spirit which comes into being from saying it repeatedly with the heart. Attainment of that spiritual state depends on the expression."

The above-cited translation of the passage from the letter, which is considerably much longer, is an elaborate, eloquent, concise, and at the same time detailed and thorough praise and laudation of Imâm Rabbânî 'qaddas-Allâhu ta'âlâ sirrah-ul 'azîz'.

Sayyid Abdulhakîm Efendi 'quddisa sirruh' would frequently say, "Ba'da kitâbillah wa ba'da kitâb-i-Rasûlillah, afdal-i-kutub Maktûbât-est," during his lectures, and the same statement is written in several of his letters. This statement translates into English as follows: "After the Qur'ân al-kerîm, which is the Book of Allâhu ta'âlâ, (and which therefore is the highest and best of all books,) and after the book Bukhârî, which is a compilation of the hadîth-i-sherîfs, i.e. the utterances of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', (and which naturally, is the second highest and best book,) the third highest and best book written in the Islamic religion is the book Maktûbât, (which is a compilation of the letters written by Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî)." [Whereas **Mathnawî** (Mesnevî), written by Jalâladdîn-i-Rûmî (Celâleddîn-i-Rûmî), is the most valuable book telling about the ma'rifats and the perfections in the grades of Wilâyat attained by the Awliyâ-i-kirâm, **Maktûbât** , written by Imâm Rabbânî Ahmad Fârûqî, is the most valuable and the highest of the books explaining both the perfections and the ma'rifats in the grades of Wilâyat and the ma'rifats and the kamâlât (perfections) and the subtleties peculiar to the grade of prophethood.]

An excerpt from one of his letters translates into English as follows: "... who has read and partly understood the book Maktûbât, which is the most useful book from worldly as well as religious points of view and whose compeer in the Islamic religion has not so far been written... ." He, (i.e. Abdulhakîm Efendi,) would say, "A person who knows a little Persian (Fârisî) language will understand Maktûbât better if he reads the Persian version. For the Turkish version rendered by Müstekimzâde Süleymân Efendi is both complicated and erroneous." Müstekîmzâde Süleymân Efendi, a disciple of Muhammed Emîn Tokâdî, passed away in 1202 [1788 A.D.]. His grave is adjacent to that of his master at Zeyrek, Istanbul. The book Maktûbât was printed various times at various places. A splendid edition was made in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1392 [1972 A.D.]. It consists of two volumes. The first volume contains the first part, and the second and third parts are incorporated in the second volume. The two volumes were reproduced in pulchritudinous copies in Istanbul by offset process for which best quality paper was used. A Persian abridgement of Maktûbât was rendered in 1080 [1668 A.D.] by Muhammad Bâqir Lahôrî, an eminent one among the hundreds of Awliyâ educated and trained by Muhammad Ma'thûm Serhendî, one of the blessed sons of Imâm Rabbânî. The abridged version, entitled **Kanz-ul-hidâyât** by the author himself, is of a hundred and twenty pages and contains twenty hidâyats (subtitles). It was printed in Lâhôr in 1376 [1957 A.D.] The same blessed Walî wrote another book, entitled **Urwa-t-ul-wusqâ** , in the Fârisî language.

Inheriting from Rasûlullah, he was mujaddid alf thânî;  
A mujtahid in all sciences, he was in Tasawwuf Ways al-Qarânî.

He spread Islam worldover, illuminated every Believer;  
Awaken the unaware did the most exalted Imâm, Rabbânî.

All tenets in Islam he knew well, the Sharî'at he obeyed well;  
Rank with unbelief as the entire world was, like Abû Bakr was he.

All received fayz from his sohbat, commanders and governors alike,  
He descended from 'Umar Fârûq, true people give testimony.

A BIOGRAPHY of  
SAYYID ABDULHAKÎM EFENDI  
1281 [1865 A.D.] — 1362 [1943 A.D.]

This book, **SAHÂBA 'the Blessed'** , was written by the great Islamic scholar Ahmad Fârûq-i-Serhendî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', and revised by Hadrat Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî.

Immured within the smothering haze of complacency pampered by a smattering of science somehow acquired in the name of knowledge, we were bluntly unconscious of the existence of great Islamic scholars and their gigantic works, and especially of the so many highly exalted savants and Walîs who were compared to the Israelite prophets 'salawâtullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în', and all we possessed in the name of religious knowledge was a precariously diminutive assortment which consisted of whatever we had heard from our parents and which was being gnawed away piecemeal by the storms blowing around us; and the pitiable situation would have become no better, if not worse for the sake of most unflagging optimism, had it not been for Sayyid Abdulhakîm Efendî 'quddisa sirruh'; a great genius, a gift that Allâhu ta'âlâ bestowed upon the Turkish nation and who made us hear about the names of innumerable Islamic books each and every one of which is a treasure of values and virtues and a key to the eternal felicity, and who caused us to attain the fortune of reading and understanding their contents which have a curing effect on psychopaths; a savior of the innocent and credulous people who had been fooled into lethal heresies and perdition by the sequinned fallacies of unbelievers and renegades; a learned psychotherapist who forearmed the younger generations with panacea by making people suffering from mental perplexities taste the existence of Allâhu ta'âlâ, the superiority of our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and the inner nature of îmân and Islam; the refreshing morning breeze that swept away the clouds of unbelief and apostasy which had been blackening the hearts and obscuring the sacred path of our noble ancestors; a sun of knowledge and ma'rifat that cleared the horizons of the gloom of irreligiousness that had thoroughly enveloped the sources of îmân; a noble descendant of the Best of Mankind 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and a profoundly learned Walî possessed of an expertise in all the subtle particulars of the four Madhhabs and in the sublime facts about the (spiritual grades attained through various paths and called) Wilâyat. It has therefore been seen fit to present a brief biography of that virtuous worldly and next-worldly guide and thereby to leave a keepsake for those happy people who have had the fluke of reading his books.

Sayyid Abdulhakîm bin Mustafâ Arwâsî 'qaddas-Allâhu ta'âlâ asrârahumâ', one of the greatest scholars in the (chain of scholars called) Sôfiyya-i-aliyya and a model of excellence among those scholars who faultlessly practised their religious knowledge, was a personified treasure of faculties well above his colleagues and contemporaries in the accomplishment of Islamic services such as terwîj-i-dîn and nashr-i-'ilm and seha-i-tâbi' and in the enactment and practice of the shar'i sherîf-i-Ahmadî 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'.

He was born in Başkal'a (Bashqal'a), a town within the limits of Van, (an Eastern Turkey) province, in 1281 [1865 A.D.]. He received an ijâzat [a diploma] in the earlier half of the hijrî year 1300. Not only did he receive an authorization from the Allâma Sayyid Fehîm 'quddisa sirruh' in sciences such as 'ilm-i-sarf and nahw (the Arabic grammar); mantiq (logic); munâzara (argumentation); wadi', (which means, literally, posture, attitude, legislation); bayân (expression, discourse); ma'ânî (lexicology, semantics); bedî' (rhetoric); kalâm (speech, branch of science helpful in understanding the Qur'ân al-kerîm); usûl-i-fiqh (methodology employed in fiqh); tafsîr (explanation of the Qur'ân al-kerîm); tasawwuf; nush-i-li-l-muslimîn; iftâ-'alal madhhabîn; 'ulûm-i-hikamiyya, or hikmat-i-tabî'iyya, [which covers sciences such as physics and biology]; hikmat-i-ilâhiyya; riyâdiyya (mathematics); hay'at [astronomy]; and 'ulûm-i-zâhiriyya. The same profoundly learned scholar taught and gave him full authorization in the orders of Tasawwuf such as Mujaddidî; Qâdirî; Kubrawî; Suhrawardî; and Cheshtî. His father was Sayyid Muhyiddîn, whose father was Sayyid Muhammad, whose father was Sayyid Abdurrahmân, who was at the same time Sayyid Fehîm's father's father 'rahmatullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în'. That his paternal chain traces back to Alî Ridâ bin Kâzim, one of the twelve imâms 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ, is written in the registers of canonical lawcourt in Iraq, which is a document bearing the blessed signature of Sayyid Abdurrazzâq 'quddisa sirruh', a grandson of Sayyid Abdulqâdir Geylânî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'.

Surviving the oppressions and massacres perpetrated by the Armenians, who were emboldened when the Russian army reached a spot only an hour's march from Başkal'a on the first day of the blessed month of Rajab, 1332 [1914 A.D.], Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî and seventy of his kith and kin, women, children and all, set out on a middle-eastern migratory odyssey which carried them via a number of Iraqi and Anatolian towns and cities such as Ruwandiz, Erbil, Mosul, Adana and Eskişehir, and which eventually ended in the township of Eyyûb Sultân, Istanbul, in the early Shawwâl of 1337 [1919 A.D.]. First they were accomodated in the Yazılı Madrasa, a school building in the market-place. Then he was appointed as imâm in the mosque called Murtadâ Efendi, which was in the vicinity of Idris Köşk at Gümüşsuyu. He had made hajj twice before the migration. He has a number of letters in the form of pamphlets. Among them are such extremely valuable masterpieces as his work telling about the commencement of religious practices such as Mawlîd and the using of the (prayer beads termed) Tesbîh and their canonical lawfulness; his booklet entitled **Râbita-i-sherîfa** ; his book entitled **er-Riyâd-ut-tasawwufiyya** , which he wrote during his career as a mudarris [professor] of Tasawwuf in the Islamic university called **Madrasa-i-mutahassisîn** during the reign of Sultân Wahîdaddîn Khân; his books **Sahâba-i-kirâm** (Sahâba 'the Blessed') and **Ajdâd-i-Peygamberî** ; and his work on the Islamic jurisprudence; in addition to his poems in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. He neither ventured into politics, nor involved himself in any political complications. He was against all factions, especially those which were being carried on in the disguise of mystic orders. He was never heard to mention words such as 'shaikh' and 'murîd' after the enactment of the law banning tekkes. Not only was he himself an ideal model in strict law-abidingness, but also he would always advise his company to follow his example. However, his sermons on the pulpits of various mosques of Istanbul such as Eyyûb Sultân, Fâtih, Bâyezîd, Bakırköy, Kadıköy and Ağa, Beyoğlu, wherein he reiterated his disapproval of a group of impostors who were exploiting the Islamic values for their worldly advantages, incurred the ire of the iniquitous rogues, who had recourse to calumniation in counteraction. So vigorous was the smear campaign they waged against him, that eventually he was arrested in his home in Istanbul on the eighteenth of Ramadân, 1362, which coincided with the eighteenth of September, 1943, a Saturday, and transported to Izmir, where he was first lodged in a hotel, Meserret, and then moved to a private house. After an almost three months' sojourn there, he left for Ankara on the tenth day of Zilqa'da, Monday, and, arriving in the city on Tuesday, he went to his nephew Fârûk Işık's place, where he stayed bedridden for eighteen days. It was eighteen minutes before sunset, twelve according to the adhânî time and six-thirty by the zawâlî time, on the twenty-ninth of Zilqa'da, 1362, which was the twenty-seventh of Teshrîn thânî [November], Saturday, 1943, when he attained his eternal palace in the Hereafter. A light earthquake was recorded during the night. That day his blessed corpse was taken to his son-in-law Ibrâhîm's house at Keçiören, where he was washed and shrouded, the (prayer termed) janâza salât was performed, and the blessed corpse, (which had served one of the darlings of Allâhu ta'âlâ for eighty-one years,) was interred at Bağlum, a township twenty-four kilometres north of Ankara, at sunset. Husayn Hilmi Işık was the lucky person who was honoured to join the janâza salât for him, to enter his blessed grave, and to undertake the duty of talqîn. (Please see the thirteenth through nineteenth chapters of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** for information about death and terms, duties and services connected with death.) His grave is on the north-eastern part of the cemetery, which in turn occupies a gentle slope some fifty metres west of the township. Beside the entrance to the mosque of Bağlum is the blessed grave of Hadrat Sayyid Burhânaddîn Mûshî. May Allâhu ta'âlâ make his rank even higher! May He make us attain his shafâ'at! May He bless us with reading his books, following the path he guides, and always reaping spiritual fruits from his blessed soul! Âmîn.

Let each Muslim weep and shed tears of blood,  
For Sayyid Abdulhakîm has left the world!  
Âlim-ul-âmil and Walî-i-kâmil he was,  
And a wealth of sublime, occult secrets.

All were suddenly orphaned, so destitute  
Are now, both Islam and truth, no doubt.  
My eyes reject what they themselves see;  
Has that noble received the Divine Command 'Be'?

The earth danced with joy throughout the night,  
And embraced him the next day, with delight.  
Alas, our blessed Sun has declined;  
Unique is the time that his being defined!

He was, in his latest days, so grief-stricken,  
Afflicted with pains'n sorrows, a sign for the woe-be-gone;  
By the Islamic world it must be seriously taken:  
Apathy whose issue with bloody tears cannot be undone!

In the name of eternity that has embraced his soul,  
I have summarized a life that'd make a history.  
A croud without him is a carcass without a soul;  
Islam bemoans, and heavens weep over this story!

Mehmet Timuroğlu

THE TWO MOST BELOVED  
DARLINGS of MUSLIMS  
(INTRODUCTION)

Allâhu ta'âlâ has pity on all the people on the earth. He sends useful things to everybody. He shows them the ways to protect themselves against harms and to attain happiness and salvation. In the Hereafter, He will be magnanimously kind, forgiving those whom He chooses of the Muslims who are to go to Hell on account of the sins they have committed in the world. He, alone, creates every living being, keeps every being in existence, and protects all against fears and horrors. In the name of such an omnipotent being, Allah, we begin to write this pamphlet.

We offer our hamd (praise and gratitude) to Allâhu ta'âlâ. If a person thanks any other person at any place, at any time, in any way and for any reason, the thanks paid, in its entirety, belongs to Allâhu ta'âlâ by rights. For, He is the sole creater of all, the single educator and trainer, and the one and only maker and sender of everything in the name of goodness. He, alone, is the owner of power and authority. No one can think of doing something good or bad, or have the will or desire to do so, unless He creates the idea. The choice that a slave exercises between doing good or bad to another is a mere nullity unless He, too, wills it and gives the power and the chance to do so. When some of His slaves whom He likes wish to do something bad, He does not will it and does not create the malevolent action. Therefore, only benevolent deeds proceed from such slaves. On the other hand, when His enemies, who have already somehow incurred His Wrath, will and desire to do evils, He, too, wills and creates those evils. Such iniquitous slaves have enslaved themselves to their nafs, and they never wish to do something good. Therefore, malevolence is the only product that comes out of them.

We present our salât and salâm (benedictions and salutations) on Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', the most beloved Prophet of Allâhu ta'âlâ. We invoke blessings on his Ahl-i-Bayt and on each and every one of his Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum'.

Allâhu ta'âlâ commands Muslims to cling to the Qur'ân al-kerîm and to unite around the Qur'ân al-kerîm. The Ashâb-i-kirâm, who were perfectly obedient to all the commandments, united together, loved one another and became brothers. Allâhu ta'âlâpraises them for this brotherly love among them in the **Fath-h** sûra. Unity engenders power. Disunity causes ruination. Let us be like the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Let us adopt their high moral values. Let us love one another. Let us unite in the path guided by the Qur'ân al-kerîm. Let us not believe the lies fibbed by those separatists who have deviated from that true path. Let us do good to everybody. Let us be soft-spoken and gently smiling with everybody and try to promulgate Islam's honour worldover. Obedience to the government and to the laws is incumbent upon every Muslim. It is a grave sin to cause fitna or chaos. Differences of Madhhab should not be grounds for fighting. Some foreign bureaus are publishing books in all languages for the purpose of sowing discord among us. Defiling thehadîth-i-sherîfs, misinterpreting the âyat-i-kerîmas, and concocting sad stories, they are deceiving the young people.

In order to expose the plots for undermining Islam from within and to refute the slanders and lies that the plotters have fabricated, the Islamic scholars have written thousands of books for a thousand years, thereby protecting the Muslims from falling victim to the guided extinction stalking them. One of those useful books is **Qurrat-ul-aynayn** , written in Fârisî by Shâh Waliyyullah Ahmad Sâhib 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh', a great scholar of India. Hadrat Shâh Waliyyullah was born in Delhi in 1114 [1702 A.D.], and passed away there in 1176 [1762 A.D.].

All the arguments in the book owe considerable corroboration to the long and detailed documentary proofs written in the book **Tuhfa-i-ithnâ 'ashariyya**. In the seventh chapter, for instance, after confuting the wrong meanings which some people attributed to five âyat-i-kerîmas and twelve hadîth-i-sherîfs in their futile efforts to prove that Hadrat Alî should have been the first Khalîfa, it says, "According to the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, the second most valuable book after the Qur'ân al-kerîm is **Bukhârî-i-sherîf** , which contains the hadîth-i-sherîfs of our Prophet. According to some people, **Nahj-ul-balâgha** is the second most valuable book after the Qur'ân al-kerîm. That book contains the khutbas of Hadrat Alî written by a person named Radî. As he wrote the khutbas, he excised Hadrat Alî's statements which lavished praise on the Shaikhayn (Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar), in addition to other additions and changes. So badly changed and defiled were the khutbas of Hadrat Alî that the Shiite scholars who revised **Nahj-ul-balâgha** were unable to elicit any clear meanings from most of the book and had to copy the ambiguous parts exactly as they were." The book **Tuhfa-i-ithnâ 'ashariyya** is in the Fârisî language. It was translated into Arabic. The Arabic version was abridged byMahmûd Shukrî Âlûsî, who entitled the abridged version **Muhtasar-i-Tuhfa**. Hadrat Sayyid Abdullah Dahlawî, a great Walî renowned for his high grade in the zâhirî knowledge as well as in the knowledge of Tasawwuf, states in the sixty-first letter of his Fârisî book **Maktûbât** that the khutbas in the book **Nahj-ul-balâgha** are not sahîh. Some people have been reproducing the schismatic book under the title **Istinâd-i-Nahj-ul-balâgha** and sending the subversive copies to countries worldover. Muhammad bin Husayn Mûsawî Radî was the brother of the lâ-madhhabî heretic named Alî bin Husayn Murtadâ, who attacks the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat with a coarsely abusive and foul language in his book **Husniyya**. Both of them were Persian sayyids. They passed away in Baghdâd, Muhammad Radî in 406 [1016 A.D.], and Murtadâ in 436 [1044 A.D.]. The author of the book **Tuhfa-i-ithnâ 'ashariyya** , namely Hâfid Ghulâm Halîm Abdul'azîz bin Qutbuddîn Shâh Waliyyullah Ahmad Sâhib Dahlawî, passed away in 1239 [1824 A.D.].

Every Muslim has to learn, and also teach others, a book of **'Ilm-i-hâl** written by (one of) the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. Each of us has a nafs-i-ammâra which is an unbeliever. (The nafs-i-ammâra inherent in the human nature is such a stupid being that) it wishes us to lose our îmân or, at least, to deviate from the right path. It tries to drag us into reading the seditious and harmful books and magazines written by irreligious and heretical people and watching and listening to the radio and television programmes broadcast by foreign organizations. It relishes doing whatsoever Islam prohibits (harâm), believing the lies fibbed by heretics, and observing the customs and fashions of disbelievers. Worship is one of its pet aversions. It is for this reason that disbelief and heresies catch on so easily and spread so readily everywhere. Allâhu ta'âlâ declares in a hadîth-i-qudsî, " **Know your nafs as My enemy. Your nafses are My enemies**." It is a great act of jihâd not to do the desires of the nafs. It brings much thawâb.

The one and only medicine requisite for immunity against the traps set by our own nafs-i-ammâra and baited by heretical, lâ-madhhabî and irreligious people, is to read the books of 'Ilm-i-hâl, which have been written by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat and which are the only true sources for learning the Islamic tenets pertaining to belief (îmân) and practices of worship. Muslims should be sure to send their children to teachers of Qur'ân al-kerîm so that they will learn how to read the Qur'ân al-kerîm, how to perform namâz, and the tenets of îmân and Islam, before they begin their elementary education. This is one of the crucial points where the nafs-i-ammâra will set its traps by raising various doubts. For instance, it will delude you into thinking, "A child should first learn how to make a living. Learning other things might as well wait." Parents who look ahead to their children's being good Muslims in future should first, themselves, weather the deceits and lies of their own nafs and of the human devils, by sending their children to teachers ofQur'ân al-kerîm. It will be very difficult, and even impossible in some cases, to do so after schooling begins. Cane is pliable when wet. Once past its prime, it will break rather than bend, which in turn will cause harm. A child who is not equipped with a religious background will become a heretic, if not a disbeliever. Parents' mourning over it afterwards will not save them or their children from Hell. Our beloved Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' warns about this utterly bitter fact as follows: " **Helek-al-musawwifûn**!" Its meaning is as follows: "Do your good deeds immediately. Do not procrastinate until the following day." The primary good deed, which is of foremost importance, is to teach Islam to your children. Each Muslim has to do this primary duty instantly and not delay or postpone it even for a day.

No one has possessed worldly property forever, be it gold'n silver;  
Repair a broken heart for an art, and it will remain forever.  
Ephemeral is the world called, it only and always turns over and over;  
Man is a lantern, which will one day eventually go out for ever!

THE TWO MOST BELOVED  
DARLINGS of MUSLIMS  
(Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar)

The following treatise is a translation from **Qurrat-ul-'aynayn fî-tafdîl-ish-shaikhayn** , a book written in the Fârisî language by the great Islamic scholar Shâh Waliyyullah Dahlawî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh'. The book, of two hundred and seventy pages, was printed in Peshâwar in 1310 [1892 A.D.].

The book **Qurrat-ul-'aynayn** consists of an introduction and two chapters. The introduction enlarges on the superiorities of the Shaikhayn (Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar) and presents an argument based on authentic reports and reasoning. The first chapter answers the writings in the book **Tajrîd** by Nasîraddîn Tûsî, a Shiite scholar. Muhammad Nasîraddîn Tûsî was born in the city of Tus in 597 [1201 A.D.], and passed away in Baghdâd in 676 [1274 A.D.]. The second chapter confutes the slanders and lies whereby some malicious and heretical people try to traduce the Shaikhayn.

The Shaikhayn, i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', are the highest ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Concomitant to a recent increase in the number of holders of bid'at, i.e. heretics, doubts have been being voiced concerning their superiority. So dreadful is the decaying trend that the correct tenets of belief taught by the Salaf as-sâlihîn (the early Islamic scholars) are being forgotten gradually. Indeed, it is an open fact based both on narrations and on logic that the Shaikhayn are the highest. Narrations come to us through three different courses. Allâhu ta'âlâ promised to His beloved Prophetin the fifty-fifth âyat of Nûr sûra that He would give him believing and pious Khalîfas and reinforce the Islamic religion through those Khalîfas. This fact is confirmed by the dreams which the Messenger of Allah had as well as by the dreams that the Ashâb-i-kirâm had and which the Messenger of Allah explained. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated several times both directly and indirectly that the Shaikhayn would succeed him as his Khalîfas after him. His statements, which are documentary sources, have been conveyed to us through (an authentic chain of narrations and reports termed) tawâtur. Then, the Shaikhayn are the highest Muslims. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Tirmuzî and Hâkim: " **After me, follow Abû Bakr and 'Umar!** " This hadîth-i-sherîf was reported by Huzayfa and ibn Mas'ûd. Hâkim's book quotes Enes bin Mâlik as having related: The tribe of Benî Mustalâq sent me to the Messenger of Allah to ask him to name the person to whom we were to pay our zakâts after him. When I came to Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and asked him, he said, " **Give them to Abû Bakr!** " They sent me again. When I reported their question who would be the person to receive our zakâts after Abû Bakr, he said, " **'Umar**!" I came to him once again with the message asking for the name of the person to take our zakâts. TheProphet's answer was: "(You will be giving them to) **'Uthmân**!" As the Messenger of Allah had to repair to bed during his last fatal illness, he appointed Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' as the imâm (to conduct the public prayers called **salât** , [or **namâz** ,] in **jamâ'at** ). He explicitly rejected the question if someone else could be the imâm. This was the event from which the notables of the Sahâba such as Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat Alî inferred that Abû Bakr was to be (the first) Khalîfa. None of the Sahâba was opposed to their inference. According to a narration in Bukhârî, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq was conducting the morning prayer in jamâ'at with the command of Rasûlullah, when the blessed Messenger slightly raised the curtain hanging in the doorway and, seeing his Sahâba performing the namâz, he gave a happy smile. Thinking that the Messenger of Allah intended to come in and conduct the namâz, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq moved aside, which made the Sahâba rejoice with the same expectation. Motioning with his blessed hand, the most beautiful human being commanded, " **Complete your namâz**!" Then he let the curtain go down. He passed away that day. According to a narration unanimously reported by the scholars of Hadîth, one day a woman asked Rasûlullah a question. " **Come back later and ask** (the same question)," was the blessed Prophet's reply. The woman asked again, "O Messenger of Allah! What do I do if I can't find you here?" Rasûlullah stated, " **If you can't find me when you come here, ask Abû Bakr**!"

**Question:** Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' said that the Messenger of Allah had not stated who would be Khalîfa after him? What would you say about that?

**Answer:** The two imâms, (i.e. Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat Alî,) said that the Messenger of Allah had not convened his Sahâba to tell them to pay homage to Abû Bakr after him. For, according to both of them, the Prophet's having commanded Abû Bakr to conduct the namâz in jamâ'at was an implication that he would be Khalîfa. Abû Wâîl reasons as follows: When Hadrat Alî lay down with the fatal wound he was asked whom he was going to appoint Khalîfa after him. "If Allâhu ta'âlâ foreordained goodness for you, you will elect the best of you as your president," replied the blessed imâm. This statement of Hadrat Alî's shows that Hadrat Abû Bakr was the highest. A hadîth-i-sherîfwhich is quoted on the authority of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' in Hâkim's book reads as follows: " **May Allâhu ta'âlâ lavish His Compassion on Abû Bakr! He gave me his daughter. He took me to Medîna in the Hijrat**." Nizâl bin Sabra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: One day I saw Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' cheerful and asked him who were the people that he had chosen for friends. "All the Sahâba of the Messenger of Allah are my friends," he replied. And when I asked him what he would say about Abû Bakr, he said, "He is such a person whom Allâhu ta'âlâ has honoured with the name 'Siddîq' through (His Archangel) Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' and through His Prophet Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'." Sa'îd bin Musayyab 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' relates: "Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was Rasûlullah's vizier. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' always consulted with him before doing something. In Islam he was the second (highest) person after the Messenger of Allah. In the cave he was the second person after the Messenger of Allah. During the Holy War of Badr, he was the second person after the Messenger of Allah under the wooden sunshade. He was the second person to be put in a grave, i.e. next after the Messenger of Allah. Rasûlullah would never put anyone before him." In a hadîth-i-sherîfreported by Abdurrahmân bin Ghanam, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said to Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar: " **I shall never disagree with anything on which you two agree**."

Allâhu ta'âlâ reinforced the Islamic religion with Hadrat 'Umar. It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Tirmuzî and Abû Dâwûd and Hâkim: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has placed the haqq** (truth, right) **into 'Umar's tongue and heart**." It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Bukhârî and Muslim: " **The** **Satan will run away from 'Umar's shadow**?" Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' states in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Bukhârî and Muslim: " **During Mi'râj** [] **I saw the palace that will be given to 'Umar**." Allâhu ta'âlâ sent down âyat-i-kerîmas confirming Hadrat 'Umar's words concerning the Maqâm-i-Ibrâhîm and women's covering themselves and the captives taken during the Holy War of Badr. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîfreported by Hâkim: " **On the Rising Day, Allâhu ta'âlâ will greet 'Umar first**." In ahadîth-i-sherîf reported by Abû Sa'îd-i-Hudrî, the Prophet pointed to 'Umar and stated: " **Of my Ummat, this person will occupy the highest grade in Paradise**?" When Hadrat 'Umar asked Rasûlullah for permission to make 'Umra,[] the blessed Prophet gave him permission and said, " **O my brother, do not forget about us as you say your prayers**!"Rasûlullah states in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Abdullah ibn Abbâs: " **On the day when 'Umar embraced Islam Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' came to me and angels gave one another the glad tidings that 'Umar had become a Muslim.** " It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and reported by Aqaba bin Âmir: **"If another prophet were to come after me 'Umar bin Khattâb would be a prophet**." In another hadîth-i-sherîfwritten in Tirmuzî on the authority of Imâm Zaynal 'Âbidîn, who quotes it from his grandfather Hadrat Alî on the authority of his father Hadrat Husayn: Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and I were sitting together, when Abû Bakr and 'Umar came over. The Best of Mankind said, " **These two are the highest inhabitants of Paradise after prophets**." Enes bin Mâlik is quoted, in ibn Mâja, as having related: One day he was asked, "Whom do you love most, O Messenger of Allah?" " **Âisha** ," he replied. "And who is the man you love most?" " **Âisha's father**." It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and reported by Huzayfa and Abdullah ibn Mes'ûd: " **After me pay homage to Abû Bakr and 'Umar**!" Tirmuzî quotes Enes bin Mâlik as having related: As the Sahâba were seated together, Rasûlullah would just come and sit among them, stopping them from standing up. No one, with the exception of Abû Bakr and 'Umar, could look at him in the face. The two closest companions of the Prophet would look at him, and he at them, three of them smiling at one another. In a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Hâkim's book and reported by Huzayfa Yemânî,Rasûlullah states: " **I want to send my Sahâba to all countries so that my sunnats and the (tenets called) farz be taught far and near. Likewise, Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm'** (Jesus) **sent out his Hawârîs**." When he was asked if he would send Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar as well, he replied, " **These two I will not part from. They are like my ears and eyes**." In a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and in Hâkim: One day Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' entered the mosque, with Abû Bakr on his right and 'Umar on his left. He was holding their hands. " **On the Rising Day, we shall rise from our graves together, like this**." Abî Arwâ relates in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Hâkim: We were sitting withRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', when Abû Bakr and 'Umar came over. " **May gratitude and praise be to Allâhu ta'âlâ because He gave us strength with these two**." It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and in ibn Mâja and reported by Abû Sa'îd Hudrî: " **Those who will occupy high positions in Paradise will be seen like stars when looked from below. Abû Bakr and 'Umar will be (two) of them**."

According to a narration reported unanimously by scholars of Hadîth, Abû Mûsa-l-ash 'arî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates: Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and I were sitting in a garden, when someone knocked on the door. The Messenger of Allah ordered, " **Open the door and give the newcomer the glad tidings that he will go to Paradise** (after death)!" I opened the door. Abû Bakr came in. I told him Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' glad tidings. There was another knock on the door. " **Open the door and give the newcomer the glad tidings that he will go to Paradise** ," ordered the blessedProphet again. I opened the door and 'Umar came in. I gave him the glad tidings. Another knock came from the door. The Best of Mankind ordered, " **Open the door! Give the newcomer the glad tidings that he will go to Paradise, and tell him that disasters will befall him**!" 'Uthmân came in when I opened the door. I told him about the glad tidings and about the qadar (fate, destiny) which Allâhu ta'âlâ foreordained for him. "May hamd (praise and gratitude) be to Allâhu ta'âlâ, who is the only asylum to seek against accidents and disasters," was his reaction.

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Hâkim and in the (book of hadîths entitled) Musnad by Imâm Ahmad, and which is reported by Hadrat Alî: " **When Abû Bakr comes to power and presides over you, you will find him zâhid in the world and râghib in the Hereafter. When 'Umar presides over you, you will find him powerful, trustworthy, and undaunted in the way of Allah. When Alî gains the presidency over you, you will find him hâdi and muhdî. He will guide you to the right path**."

Sa'îd bin Zayd 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' quoted the following hadîth-i-sherîf, which is written in Tirmuzî and in ibn Mâja: " **Ten people are in Paradise,** (that is, that they will go to Paradise is certain by now). (They are:) **Abû Bakr and 'Umar and 'Uthmân and Talha and Zubayr and Abdurrahmân bin 'Awf and Alî bin Abî Tâlib and Sa'd bin Abî Waqqâs and Abû 'Ubayda bin Jerrâh**." Naming nine of the blessed Sahâbîs, Sa'îd bin Zayd kept back the tenth name. When they asked who he was, he said, "Abu-l-A'war," implying himself.

Irbât bin Sâriya narrates the following event, which is written in ibn Mâja and in Tirmuzî: We, the Sahâba, had assembled (on an occasion). Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Fear Allâhu ta'âlâ. Obey your Amîr, who will be presiding over you, even if he is an Abyssinian slave! After me, there will happen differences among Muslims. During those disturbances hold fast to my Sunnat and to the sunnats of the Khulafâ-ar-Râshidîn. My Khalîfas will show you the right path. Follow the path that they will show you! Avoid the later inventions! All bid'ats are aberration and heresy**." Hadrat Safîna, who served the Messenger of Allah for years, relates: I heardRasûlullah say, " **After me, my Khalîfas will make my path live on for thirty years. Thereafter meliks** (emperors, sultans) **will preside over my Ummat**." The caliphate of Abû Bakr lasted for two years; that of 'Umar lasted for ten years; 'Uthmân's tenure of office lasted for twelve years; and Alî held office for six years 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'.

There is many another similar hadîth-i-sherîf citing the superiorities of Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' and stating that they are people of Paradise. Also, hundreds of other hadîth-i-sherîfs, which state the superiorities of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, of the Muhâjirîn, and of those blessed people who were present at a number of vitally important events such as Badr, Uhud, Bî'at-ur-ridwân and other Holy Wars, are, at the same time, laudatory of the two Khalîfas.

That Abû Bakr is the highest member of this Ummat (Muslims) and that 'Umar is the second highest are two firsthand facts on which the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Tâbi'în-i-izâm were unanimous. When Hadrat Abû Bakr was elected Khalîfa, none of the Ashâb-i-kirâm said a single word to renounce his authority. Nor were any protests voiced on the part of the Ashâb-i-kirâm when Hadrat Abû Bakr advised that Hadrat 'Umar should succeed him in caliphate after him. As Abdurrahmân bin 'Awf nominated Hadrat 'Uthmân as Khalîfa (after Hadrat 'Umar's martyrdom), he stipulated that he should adhere to the course followed by the Shaikhayn. None of the audience raised an objection. Nor did Alî demur at all, although he was opposed to 'Uthmân's being held superior to him 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'.

As long as Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' held office as Khalîfa, he acknowledged on various occasions that the Shaikayn were superior to him. He would scold anyone who expressed doubts about that fact. The greater ones of the Sahâba would hear him do so, and yet they would not even imply dissuasion. Enes bin Mâlik is quoted, in Bukhârî, as having said, "Abû Bakr is the closest person to the Messenger of Allah. On many occasions he proved to be the second person after the Messenger of Allah. He must take the lead as our Amîr. Stand up and pay homage to him!" According to another narration reported on the authority of Enes bin Mâlik in Bukhârî: When someone asked Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' about the portents of Doomsday, the Sultân of Universe questioned, " **What have you prepared for Doomsday**?" "I have done nothing. However, I loveAllâhu ta'âlâ and His Messenger 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' very much," replied the man. Upon this, the Habîbullah (Darling of Allah) declared, " **On Doomsday, (and so on the Rising Day,) you will be with your beloved ones**!" I was very happy when I heard that declaration of the blessed Messenger. "I, also, love the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', Abû Bakr and 'Umar. I hope that this love of mine will make me be with them, though I have failed to imitate them," I said.

Hadrat Alî pronounced the following benediction: "May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless Abû Bakr with His Compassion! He compiled the Qur'ân al-kerîm. He served the Messenger of Allah as he migrated (to Medîna). So may Allâhu ta'âlâ illuminate 'Umar's grave with nûr as he has illuminated our mosques!" Sâlim bin Abî Ja'd relates: There were forty thousand people provided with residence in Najrân. Hadrat 'Umar evicted them from their homes. Upon this they came to Hadrat Alî and begged for intercession. He dismissed them, saying, "Everything 'Umar does is rightful." If Hadrat Alî had been critical of Hadrat 'Umar (and his doings), the problem caused by the people from Najrân would have been a propitious occasion to level criticisms at him. He didn't do so. On the contrary, he praised him. In an interpretation of a dream narrated by Abû Ya'lâ, Hadrat Hasan praised Hadrat 'Umar. Hâkim quotes, in his book, Abdullah bin Ja'far Tayyâr as having said, "When Abû Bakr undertook governorship over us, we found him the best and the most compassionate of people." As Zayd-i-Shahîd was leaving for war, he said, "My ancestors loved the Shaikhayn very much." Hâkim's book contains a number of statements made by Abdullah ibn Abbâs and laudatory of Hadrat 'Umar. Hasan bin Zayd is quoted in Imâm-i-Ahmad's (book of hadîths called) Sunan as having stated: I heard my father Zayd say that he had heard his father Hasan say that he had heard his father Alî relate the following event: Rasûlullah and I were sitting, when Abû Bakr and 'Umar came over 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'. Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Yâ Alî! These two are the highest of the people of Paradise. With the exception of prophets,** (who are naturally higher than all non-prophets,) **there is no one higher than these** (two) **people**!"

A person's superiority to another means the former's having good qualities in addition to those which both of them commonly possess. The source of all sorts of perfection is the sohbat of the Messenger of Allah, (i.e. being in his presence, hearing his spiritually nutritious voice, seeing his luminous face, enjoying his therapeutic breath, smelling his odorous scent, and maturing under his mellowing looks). All the Ashâb-i-kirâm were honoured with that most effective sohbat. This honour made them superior to all the rest of this Ummat 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. Abû Bakr as-Siddîq attended this sohbat more than did any other Sahâbî. Therefore he attained the highest grade. The Shaikhayn were gifted with the special talent of diagnosing the right and enlightening other people, in which they surpassed others. According to an observation reported to have been made by Abdullah bin Mes'ûd, 'Umar's knowledge would weigh heavier than the total knowledge possessed by the entire nation of Arabia, were an assessment of that sort possible. Nearly all the hadîth-i-sherîfs known today were reported on the authority of the Shaikhayn. Hadîth-i-sherîfs reported on the authority of the Shaikhayn should not be considered to consist in those with a chain of transmitters containing the names of the Shaikhayn. All the Marfû' hadîth-i-sherîfs existing in the books (of hadîth-i-sherîfs) were quoted by the Shaikhayn and forwarded by other Sahâbîs. The Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' sent the Sahâba to the countries conquered, with the command to spread the hadîth-i-sherîfs. According to a narration reported in the book of Hâkim, Musâ bin Alî bin Rebâh relates: Hadrat 'Umar said in a khutba, "If you have difficulty (understanding any âyat-i-kerîma) in the Qur'ân al-kerîm, consult 'Ubayy bin Kâ'b. Learn halâl and harâm from Mu'âdh, and the knowledge of Farâiz (Islamic science of dividing an inheritance) from Zayd bin Thâbit. As for ways of earning money; ask me and I will teach you!" According to a report in the book **Istî'âb** , 'Ubâda bin Sâmit was the first person appointed Qâdî [Judge] for Palestine. He had made a decision which Mu'âwiya, the time's governor of Palestine, did not like and tried to coerce him into rescinding his decision and making one agreeable with his wishes. 'Ubâda went back to Medîna with the conclusion that it would be "impossible to administer justice at such a place." 'Umar, the Khalîfa, rejected his resignation and sent him back, saying, "Justice is out of the question at a place devoid of a judge like you." He also sent a written order to Mu'âwiya, bidding him "not to interfere with 'Ubâda's business." The book Istî'âb quotes Hasan as having said, "Abdullah bin Maghfel was one of the ten scholars whom Khalîfa 'Umar sent to our country to teach fiqh." 'Umar bin Eshja' is quoted as having said, in Dârimî's book, "Khalîfa 'Umar said: There will come a time when some people will give wrong and aberrant meanings to the Qur'ân al-kerîm. Learn the truth from the scholars of Hadîth! For, the scholars of Hadîth know the Qur'ân al-kerîm best." Dârimî's book quotes Meymûn bin Mehrân as having said, "When a lawsuit was brought before Hadrat Abû Bakr, he would judge in accordance with the Qur'ân al-kerîm. If he could not find a solution in the Qur'ân al-kerîm, He would make a decision in accordance with a hadîth-i-sherîf. When he could not find a hadîth whereby to reach a decision, he would consult with the Sahâba, asking them if anyone knew a similar case which the Messenger of Allah had settled. When a unanimous answer was obtained, he would make hamd (pay gratitude and praise to Allâhu ta'âlâ) and then make a decision. When a report was not given, he would convene the notables of the Sahâba, tell them the problem, and make a decision in accordance with the consensus." Hadrat 'Umar commanded Qâdî Shurayh to follow the same policy and to make a decision in accordance with his own ijtihâd when all that process did not bring a solution. Abdullah ibn Yazîd is quoted as having said, again, in Dârimî: "When Abdullah ibn Abbâs was asked a question, he would give an answer agreeable with the words of Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar when he could not derive an answer from the Qur'ân al-kerîm or from hadîth-i-sherîfs. If he could not extract a solution from their words, either, he would reach a conclusion by employing his own ijtihâd and give an answer accordingly." According to another narration in Dârimî, Huzayfa said that giving a fatwâ required knowing the âyats that were mansûkh as well as those which were nâsikh.[] When he was asked if there were any people who knew them, he replied that 'Umar-ubn-ul-Khattâb was one of them. In a narration written in Dârimî, Ziyâd bin Jedîr relates: I was talking with Hadrat 'Umar. "What things are destructive of Islam," he questioned. With an apology, I solicited that I would rather hear his definition. He explained, "Things that will destroy Islam are: Religious authorities' giving wrong information (in the name of preaching Islam); hypocrites' misguiding Muslims by attempting to prove their personal heresies with the help of âyats and hadîths, (which they misinterpret); and heretics' occupying positions that enable them to make decisions (about important religious matters)." According to another narration which, again, is reported in Dârimî, 'Amr bin Meymûn stated, "Two-thirds of knowledge was gone with 'Umar's death." When this was reported to Ibrâhîm, he said, "'Umar took away with him nine-tenths of it." 'Amr bin Abû Sufyân reports in Dârimî: Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' said, "Write down what you know lest it should be forgotten!" This statement of Hadrat 'Umar's formed a basis for the science of Hadîth.

There were quite a number of matters that had not been explained during the time ofRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'; nor had most of them been explicated yet by the end of the caliphate of Abû Bakr. Hadrat 'Umar provided a consensus for each and every one of them, leaving none of them unclear. As for those matters not explained by Hadrat 'Umar; there will not be a consensus on them till the end of the world. Had it not been for Hadrat 'Umar, the Islamic scholars would be in a continuous plight till the end of the world. The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, who have been holding Islam's flag, have based their conclusions on matters for which Hadrat 'Umar Fârûq arranged unanimous solutions.

In a narration reported in the book **Musnad** by Imâm Ahmad, Abdurrazzâq relates: I have not seen anyone who performed namâz better than Ibn Jurayh. Ibn Jurayh learned how to perform namâz from Atâ, who had learned it from Abdullah bin Zubayr, who had learned it from Abû Bakr as-Siddîq, and who had learned it from the Messenger of Allah. Shâh Waliyyullah Dahlawî wrote myriad pages in which he quoted the statements which Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar made in all the branches of fiqh. If a reasonable person reads those pages, he will realize that the two Khalîfas rendered great and zealous services not only in the expansion of the Islamic countries, but also in the spreading of Islam's teachings. It was for that reason that Hadrat Alî remarked, "'Umar's conclusions are always correct." On another occasion he observed, "'Umar's whip is more useful than our swords." It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **The best of all ages is the one I am living in. The second best is the one to follow**." The Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' were superior to the Muslims after them because they intermediated between them and the Messenger of Allah. Muslims in each century have always been the master of their successors by conveying Islam to them. They are, therefore, more useful and better than the generations following them. The same rule applies to contemporaries, in which case teachers are held higher than their students. Hence all the virtues of the Shaikhayn. Hadrat Alî is quoted as having said as follows in the book of Imâm Ahmad: Whenever I heard a hadîth-i-sherîf from someone, I would administer an oath to him. Only after an oath would I accept (that the hadîth-i-sherîf quoted was a genuine one). Only, I would take for granted any hadîth-i-sherîf quoted by Abû Bakr. Abû Bakr quoted Rasûlullah 'salla-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' as having stated: " **If a person who has committed a sin makes an ablution, then performs two rak'ats of namâz and then makes istighfâr, his sin will be forgiven**." When Hadrat 'Umar was wounded, Abdullah bin Abbâs visited him and said, "Yâ Amîr-al-Mu'minîn (O you the Leader of Muslims)! I give you the Glad Tidings (that you will go into) Paradise. You became a Muslim at a time when all others denied. You cooperated with the Messenger of Allah in Jihâd as others campaigned animosity against him. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was pleased with you when he passed away. No one was opposed to your being Khalîfa. You are dying as a martyr."

Abû Bakr as-Siddîq was the first man to profess belief in the Messenger of Allah. Hadrat Alî was a child when he became a Believer. He was in the home of the Messenger of Allah, under his protection. Also, there are scholars who report that Hadrat Abû Bakr embraced Islam even before Hadrat Alî. It was Abû Bakr who announced his îmân before anyone else and who thereby caused others to have îmân, too. Afîra's slave 'Umar is quoted as having related as follows in Abû 'Amr's book **Istî'âb** : "When Hadrat Alî became a Believer he concealed it even from his own father Abû Tâlib. Abû Bakr, on the other hand, told his friends about his Belief, inviting them to join him and embrace Islam." Sha'bî relates: When Abdullah bin Abbâs was asked who the first Believer was, he said, "Haven't you heard Hassân bin Thâbit's poem?" The poem said: "Abû Bakr was the first man to profess his belief in the Messenger of Allah." This qasîda (eulogy, poem) was widely known among the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Hadrat Alî would recite it often. Jarîr reports on the authority of Abû Nadra that Hadrat Abû Bakr said to Hadrat Alî, "I became a Believer before you did," and that Hadrat Alî did not deny it. Hadrat Abû Bakr had forty thousand dirhams of silver money when he confessed his îmân in Islam. He spent all his money for the Messenger of Allah and for the other Believers. He bought and emancipated seven slaves who were being tormented for having embraced Islam. The Messenger of Allah would honour Abû Bakr's place twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening, during his thirteen-year stay in Mekka. This fact is reported in Bukhârî. Rasûlullah was very grieved when Hadrat Khadîja, (his first blessed spouse,) passed away.Hadrat Abû Bakr held his daughter Âisha by the hand and said, "O Messenger of Allah! Please do accept Âisha for a wife. Let her assuage your grief by serving you." Rasûlullah accepted Âisha in Medîna. Abû Bakr as-Siddîq was the first person to affirm (Rasûlullah's ascent to heaven termed) Mi'râj. AsRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' migrated from Mekka to Medîna, Hadrat Abû Bakr accompanied him, serving him round the clock. Also, he did not leave Rasûlullah alone even for a single moment during the Holy War of Badr. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' prayed very earnestly for victory. When Abû Bakr sensed that the prayers had been accepted (by Allâhu ta'âlâ), he said, "Yâ Rasûlallah (O Messenger of Allah)! Do not worry any more! Allâhu ta'âlâ will be with us." Such advanced sparks of inspiration to the Sahâba before the arrival of Wahy (revelation of Divine Will) took place quite a few times. Examples of this phenomenal antecedence are Abdullah bin Zayd's dream prior to the establishment of azân (adhân)[] and Hadrat 'Umar's (opinion called) qiyâs (over the prisoners of war captivated in the Holy War of Badr), which also took place before the revelation.

In the Holy War of Uhud, Hadrat Abû Bakr tried his utmost to protect Rasûlullah. It was Hadrat Abû Bakr, again, who was given the task of defending a part of the trench in the Holy War of Hendek (Trench). Today's (mosque called) **Masjîd-i-Siddîq** occupies that cite. In the Holy War of Haybar, Abû Bakr fought for the conquest of several fortresses. Berîda-i-Eslemî is quoted, in Hâkim's book, as having related: Whenever Rasûlullah suffered from the headache called Shaqîqa, he would not go out for two days. When the army arrived at Haybar, the headache began again, whereon he did not leave his tent. Abû Bakr took the flag and embarked on a vehement fight. When the Messenger of Allah conquered Mekka and entered the mosque, Abû Bakr took his own father, tied up, to Rasûlullah and told him to profess îmân. When the blessed Messenger said, "Yâ Abâ Bakr! You'd better not have brought this old person here. We would just as soon go to his place," he replied, "O Messenger of Allah! It's rather for him to come to you. Rasûlullahhad Abû Bakr's father sit before his blessed knees, rubbed his blessed hand gently on his chest, and made his invitation: "Be a Muslim!" The lucky father presently accepted the invitation and joined the Believers. Of all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', Abû Bakr was the only person whose father as well as his sons joined the Believers.

In the ninth year of the Hijrat (Hegira), Rasûlullah appointed Hadrat Abû Bakr as Amîr for the performance of hajj. Muhammad bin Hanafiyya, one of Hadrat Alî's sons, relates: "Berâat sûra was revealed after Abû Bakr's departure for hajj. The blessed Messenger recited the sûra to Hadrat Alî and commanded him to recite it to the hâdjis (pilgrims) at Minâ on the day of Nahr. Upon seeing Hadrat Alî in Mekka, Hadrat Abû Bakr asked him if he was there in the capacity of Amîr or on an official duty. When Hadrat Alî replied that he had been sent on a duty, Hadrat Abû Bakr had all the people perform hajj. When the day of Nahr arrived, Hadrat Alî called adhân for the hâdjis and recited the Berâat sûra to them, adding Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' commandments."

During the farewell pilgrimage, (the last hajj which the Messenger of Allah made and in which he made a farewell speech to the Sahâba,) Rasûlullah's and Abû Bakr's personal belongings were on the same camel. When Rasûlullah became ill, he came to the mosque and made a long (speech called) khutba. First he pronounced benedictions on those (blessed Sahâbîs) who had attained martyrdom in the Holy War of Uhud and made istighfâr on behalf of them. Then he stated, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ blesses a slave of His with a choice between remaining in the world and migrating to the Hereafter. So the slave chooses to attain the gifts of Allâhu ta'âlâ**." Upon this statement Hadrat Abû Bakr, the only person who sensed that it implied an imminent departure of the Messenger of Allah from this transient world, implored in tears, "Yâ Rasûlallah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'! Please do not die, yourself! Let us die, and let our children die, in your stead!"

Hadrat 'Umar and twenty other Sahâbîs migrated to Medîna before the Messenger of Allah. (Afterwards,) he served as a counsellor to Hadrat Abû Bakr and as a qâdî under him. Also, Hadrat 'Umar was the first Islamic judge. The Messenger of Allah had two duties. One of them was to teach the Book (the Qur'ân al-kerîm) and the Sunnat (the words, the manners, the acts of worship of the Messenger of Allah, which were explanatory and illustrative of the Qur'ân al-kerîm and complementary and supplementary to the Qur'ân al-kerîm). His second duty was to execute and enforce the Islamic principles and was termed tedbîr-i-menzil and siyâsat-i-medîna. When Hadrat 'Umar became Khalîfa, he carried on both the duties perfectly. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had a dream, in which he consumed a certain amount of a glass of milk, giving the remainder to Hadrat 'Umar. He interpreted his dream as indicative of knowledge. Indeed, that Hadrat 'Umar was the most knowledgeable person of his time was unanimously stated by the Ashâb-i-kirâm. His caliphate was a divine gift through which Allâhu ta'âlâ blessed the Muslims with His Compassion. When the city of Hums was conquered in the fifteenth year of the Hijrat, Heraclius, the Kaiser of Byzantium, fled to Constantinople [today's Istanbul]. Seven thousand Muslims won the battle of Qadsiya against the sixty-thousand-strong Iranian army, who were magians. In the sixteenth year Halep (Aleppo) and Antakya (Antioch) were taken by way of peace. The same year Abû Ubayda made the city of Kûfa, and Hadrat 'Umar entered the Bayt-ul-muqaddas (Jerusalem). In the twenty-first year Egypt was conquered and the battle of Nahâvand was won. In the twenty-second year Azerbaijan was conquered by Mughîra bin Shu'ba, and Trablusgharb (Tripoli in N. Africa) by'Amr ibn 'Âs. The following information is provided in **Rawda-t-ul-ahbâb** : One thousand and thirty-six major cities were conquered in the time of Hadrat 'Umar. Four thousand mosques were built, four thousand churches became dilapidated (for disuse), and nineteen hundred minbars were made for Friday prayer. Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was the Khalîfa who established the first Islamic army and the earliest military training and drills.

Prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' were sent as a Compassion (of Allâhu ta'âlâ) for the entire humanity. They eliminated nescience and cruelty. This state of usefulness and compassion preserved its full sense and perfection throughout the caliphates of the Shaikhayn, too. As a matter of fact, that state of affairs constituted the main component for the definition of 'caliphate'. That no one else after the Shaikhayn accomplished that degree of substitution is a historical fact. Differences and bloodshed began after them. The Shaikhayn developed the most powerful Islam from the weakest one. Others did not have a share from that service. None of the Islamic teachings found by way of ijmâ' (consensus of the Sahâba) during the caliphates of the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' lapsed into the category of differences (of ijtihâd) among the four (true) Madhhabs. The differences were in matters which the Shaikhayn had not clarified. Comprehending this word of ours requires scholarly knowledge in (the Islamic science termed) Usûl. It beats the inexpert men of religion.

Every Muslim must think well! What are the honours that distinguish him from disbelievers, from fire-worshippers? The first and foremost of these honours is the way ofQur'ân al-kerîm. And it is the Shaikhayn who compiled the Qur'ân al-kerîm. It is Hadrat 'Umar who compiled the teachings of aqâ'id (tenets of belief) and fiqh (teachings pertaining to religious practices), who put forward the teachings of ijmâ', who explicated the Islamic facts that had formerly been undisclosed, and who gathered the Sahâba and performed qiyâs (analogy; solving religious problems and matters by way of analogy). He appointed a hâfid of Qur'ân al-kerîm and a scholar of Hadîth to each city. All the Islamic teachings that are known today were forwarded by the Shaikhayn. It is the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' who guided the Arabs as well as the Persians to hidâyat. And the Arabs and the Persians, in their turn, served as vehicles for the salvation and civilization of the entire humanity. No one can deny this fact. All people owe their faith to the Shaikhayn. Not to realize this is identical with not seeing the sun.

The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat state that the Shaikhayn, (Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar,) are the highest Muslims, and the two sons-in-law (of the Messenger of Allah, i.e. Hadrat 'Uthmân and Hadrat Alî,) must be loved dearly. For, the first duty of a Muslim is to wish to adapt himself to the Qur'ân al-kerîm and the hadîth-i-sherîfs, and the second duty is to learn them. If he does not learn them he will not be able to adapt himself to Islam and will become a mulhid. It is the Shaikhayn who explicated, compiled and conveyed these teachings.

A Muslim affiliated in one of the four (true) Madhhabs holds the opinion that the imâm (leader) of his Madhhab is the highest (of all four imâms). If he does not believe so, it will not be sahîh (acceptable) for him to adapt himself to that Madhhab. Likewise, if a person does not believe in the superiority of those people who preserved and forwarded theQur'ân al-kerîm and the hadîth-i-sherîfs and conveyed the meanings in both of them, he cannot possibly be one who has adapted himself to a religion taught by them. According to Shiites, the Khalîfa must be superior to all the other Muslims, a sinless person, and one who has been chosen by Allâhu ta'âlâ and by His Messenger. This word of theirs applies to some situations, although it cannot be admitted in its entirety. The precondition that the Khalîfa must be superior to the entire Ummat (all Muslims) is relevant with those Khalîfas who represent the Prophet. For, those people derive meanings from the Qur'ân al-kerîmand from hadîth-i-sherîfs and communicate Islam (to other people). They spread Islam everywhere. Unless those people are higher than all the other Muslims, their doings will not be dependable. The word 'ma'thûm (sinless)' (used in the first precondition) ought to be changed into 'mahfûz (protected, guarded)'. Indeed, Allâhu ta'âlâ protects them and gives them strength. As for the second precondition expressed as, "... who has been chosen by Allâhu ta'âlâ and by His Messenger;" it should be modified into "... who has been implied in the nass (âyats and hadîths with clear meanings)." This is the explanation made by the (true scholars called) Ahl as-Sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at. By way of this explanation they prove that the Shaikhayn, and even all four of them were rightly-guided Khalîfas. The so-called precondition is a sine qua non in the case of the early Khalîfas. For, they were the founders of Islam and the teachers who spread Islam everywhere. Yet those who succeeded the earliest four Khalîfas were **Melik-i-'adûd**. They were mere presidents and chiefs. Knowledge was held by other people. So was the case with muftîs. In the early years of Islam, muftîs would have to be scholarly people. Today, however, a certain degree of ability to read and understand the books written by those early scholars will do for a person to be a muftî. As for being a sinless person; sinlessness in this sense is dependent on customs and traditions. For, social, economic and business transactions among people undergo mutations and modifications with time, in correspondence with situations, customs and traditions. Fundamental sciences based on sheer mind are inapplicable in the determination of sinlessness.

Hadrat 'Uthmân also was a rightly-guided Khalîfa. Bîda, a paternal aunt of the Messenger of Allah, was Hadrat 'Uthmân's mother's mother. Even in the (pre-Islamic) time of nescience, (which is called the time of 'Jâhiliyya',) he never stained himself with foul indulgences such as fornication and drinking. He was one of the earliest Believers. He endured all the severe torment which his paternal uncle inflicted on him in order to coerce him out of Islam. He attained the honour of two marriages both with daughters of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'.[] Leaving his home, his property and his commercial business for the sake of Allah, he migrated to Abyssinia. Afterwards, he migrated to Medîna, too. He was one of the Muhâjirs who compiled the Qur'ân al-kerîm. He did not join the Holy Wars of Badr and Uhud, and he was absent during the oath of allegiance at Hudaybiyya, for he had been sent somewhere else on a mission before each of those events. He fought in all the other Holy Wars. At the time of (Holy War at) Badr he was ordered (by Rasûlullah) to stay in Medîna and look after the blessed daughter of the Messenger of Allah, (Hadrat Ruqayya, who was at the same time Hadrat 'Uthmân's blessed wife and had repaired to bed with some desperate illness immediately previous to the Holy War and naturally needed her beloved spouse to take care of her). However, he was given the glad tidings that he would attain the same thawâb (blessings and rewards in the Hereafter) and ghanîmat he would have been given had he joined the Holy War. As for the Holy War of Uhud; an âyat-i-kerîma was revealed to inform that those who were absent from the blessed event would be forgiven. Also, it is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf that during the event of Hudaybiyya Hadrat 'Uthmân was out on a duty which Rasûlullah had assigned to him by the order of Allâhu ta'âlâ. (During the oath of allegiance at Hudaybiyya, when it was 'Uthmân's turn to make musâfaha withRasûlullah, i.e. to shake hands with him,) Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' made musâfaha by holding one of his own blessed hands with the other, which he said was " 'Uthmân's hand." (So generous was he in dispensing for the sake of Allah that one day) he bought a well of water for the purpose of delivering the Sahâba from thirst. He rendered a great service for the Holy War of Tabuk by donating nine hundred and fifty camels and fifty horses and an incalculable amount of cash. He was honoured with a special hadîth-i-sherîf, which reads as follows: " **Nothing which 'Uthmân will do from today on will harm him!** " When, one day, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **If a person enlarges our mosque there will be a better one awaiting him in Paradise** ," he, (Hadrat 'Uthmân,) bought the six parcels of land around it and added them to the building plot of the mosque. One day, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', Abû Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' were on a mountain called **Subayr** , when an earthquake made itself felt. " **O Subayr! Do not shudder! There is a Prophet, a Siddîq, and** (two) **Martyrs on thee**!" Thus he gave the Glad Tidings that 'Umar and 'Uthmân would attain martyrdom. In another hadîth-i-sherîf, which reads, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ will put a shirt on you. If others try to take it off, do not accede to take it off** ," he, (Hadrat 'Uthmân,) was forewarned about his future caliphate. It fell to his lot to be blessed with the honour of compiling the Qur'ân al-kerîm and spreading it on the earth. In his time did people inhabiting the Asian countries up to Kabul and the Anatolian lands as far as Istanbul attain Islam. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' took Hadrat 'Uthmân into his arms and remarked endearingly, " **You are my darling both in the world and in the Hereafter!** " On another occasion, he, (the blessed Prophet,) said to Talha, " **O Talha! Every prophet will have a friend from among his ummat. And 'Uthmân is my friend in Paradise.** "

A number of people slack in faith and weak in belief left Egypt and came to Medîna. They were not Sahâbîs, nor were they even in that blessed group of Muslims called Tâbi'în. They harbored a grudge against the Sahâba. They approached Hadrat 'Uthmân with coercive methods, demanding that he make a choice among the following three alternatives: "Either retire from caliphate, or leave us the authority to appoint and dismiss commanders and governors; and in case of neither choice we shall kill you." Obeying Rasûlullah's advice, Hadrat 'Uthmân did not retire from caliphate. To leave the authority to them, on the other hand, would mean to retire from office; so he did not accede to the second choice, either. Thereupon the Egyptians besieged the Khalîfa's house. Some of the Sahâba who were in Medîna did not expect a fatal escalation of the issue. They were of the opinion that the Egyptians would simply go back. Others, most of them, incidentally, lacked the power and number to resist the unruly mob. 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' followed the example of the better one of the two sons of Âdam 'alaihis-salâm'. Enduring the catastrophic events, he attained martyrdom. The Ashâb-i-kirâm grieved very bitterly over the event. They took action lest other disasters should follow. Frightened, the Egyptians had recourse to a hasty installation of Hadrat Alî in caliphate. Naturally, the Ashâb-i-kirâm would not be opposed to it. So Hadrat Alî was elected Khalîfa. Some of the Sahâba, including Hadrat Âisha, Talha, Zubayr, and most of the Sons of Umayya chased the murderers as far as Basra. According to them the caliphate election was marred with fitna because of the murderers' initiative in the process. The Khalîfa followed them to Basra. The Egyptians applied the strategy of keeping around the Khalîfa. No agreement was reached, whereupon the Khalîfa, (Hadrat Alî,) went to Kûfa. Recruiting soldiers there, he marched towards Basra. Hence the event called Jamal (Camel). In the meantime, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', governor of Damascus, became involved in the issue, upon which the war of Siffîn broke out. However, the arbitrators between the two parties brought Hadrat Mu'âwiya to office as the new Khalîfa. Most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm and most of the Muslims approved of the decision. Some malicious rabble-rousers assembled at a place called **Harûrâ**. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' marched against them, killing most of the instigators, who have been called **Khawârij** (Khârijîs, Khârijites) ever since. One of the survivors, [someone named Abdurrahmân ibn Muljam,] martyred Hadrat Alî as he was walking to the mosque for morning prayer.

According to the Islamic scholars, Hadrat Alî had nothing to do with the martyrdom of Hadrat 'Uthmân. He himself stated this fact in his various khutbas. Imâm Nawawî observes, "Hadrat 'Uthmân was a rightly-guided Khalîfa. His martyrdom was an act of cruelty. He was martyred by iniquitous sinners. None of the Sahâbîs had a hand in the savage homicide. From Egypt were they, the villains. The Sahâbîs in Medîna were unable to prevent them. Also, the caliphate of Hadrat Alî was sahîh (true, acceptable, canonically correct) according to the consensus of scholars. There was not another Khalîfa as long as he lived. Hadrat Mu'âwiya also was a just and superior person. He was a Sahâbî. The so-called wars among them, (i.e. battles of Jamal and Siffîn,) were consequent upon doubts. Each of the parties considered that the course they were following was the right one. Those wars did not cause any one of them to fall from justice. Theirs was a difference of ijtihâd, like the differences among the imâms of Madhhabs. The differences did not cause any one of them to fall from grace." During those wars, the Sahâba had three different ijtihâds: The first group considered that Hadrat Alî's caliphate was rightful. According to them the other party were bâghîs (rebels). So, it was wâjib, in their ijtihâd, for them to make war against the rebels. According to the second ijtihâd, the other party were right. "Hadrat Alî was not elected Khalîfa by all the Muslims. The people of Medîna were coerced and intimidated into voting for him. And the people of Kûfa joined the election not as a result of ijtihâd, but for malicious motives," they argued. The third group did not make a choice between the two parties. It was therefore wâjib for them not to join the war at all. For, it is not halâl (canonically legal) to fight against a Muslim who is not rebellious.

Abdulqâdir Geylânî 'qaddas-Allâhu ta'âlâ sirrah-ul 'azîz' gives the following advice in his book **Ghunya** : "According to Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal, we should not talk about the wars that took place among the Sahâba such as Hadrat Talha and Zubayr and Hadrat Âisha and Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. For Allâhu ta'âlâ declares that in the Hereafter there will not be any discord among them and that they will be chatting cordially with one another in Paradise. Hadrat Alî was the rightful party in those wars. For he believed that it was a sahîh election that brought him to caliphate. According to him, therefore, those who were opposed to his caliphate were bâghîs and it was permissible for him to make war against them. As for Hadrat Mu'âwiya and Talha and Zubayr, who fought against Hadrat Alî, 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'; they were of the opinion that a retaliation was necessary against the murderers of the martyred Khalîfa, (Hadrat 'Uthmân). And all the murderers were in Hadrat Alî's army. Muslims ought to avoid passing judgement on the performances of those great people, our superiors par excellence, and leave the solution of the matters among them to Allâhu ta'âlâ."

It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Ammâr bin Yâser will be martyred by bâghîs. He will be inviting them to Paradise. And they, by contrast, will be calling him to Hell**." What this faqîr, [i.e. Hadrat Shâh Waliyyullah Ahmad Sâhib Dahlawî,] understands from the hadîth-i-sherîf is this: "Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was the highest Muslim of his time. If the highest Muslim is elected as Khalîfa, matters will be dealt with in a manner most compatible with Islam. Electing someone else will entail an incidental slackening in the execution of Islamic matters. The first choice will lead to Paradise, whereas the second one will direct down into Hell. Ammâr bin Yâser made the first choice. This analysis of the hadîth-i-sherîf confirms Hadrat Alî's honour and exonerates the other party." Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **A mujtahid sometimes finds the truth. And sometimes he errs**." Notables of the Sahâba such as Sa'd bin Abî Waqqâs and Abdullah bin 'Umar and Usâma bin Zayd and Abû Mûsa-l-Ash'arî and Abû Mes'ûd and many another Sahâbî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' did not take part in the wars. The hadîth-i-sherîf that provided guidance for those people was: " **At times of fitna** (turmoil, commotion, chaos) **stay at home!** " However, all those people were true lovers of Hadrat Alî; they would lavish praise on him and acknowledge that he was the worthiest candidate for caliphate. The statements made by some of them indicate that what they were against was the irregularity of the caliphate election, rather than Hadrat Alî's aptitude for caliphate.

**An important note** : Many people hold the supposition that those Sahâbîs 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' who kept away from the war did so for the purpose of obeying the divine commandment: " **Do not make war against Muslims**!" However, this commandment means, "Do not make war against the (Muslim) government!" As for those who joined the war; according to them, not to join the war would cause the fitna and fesâd to escalate. They believed that they had to prevent the fesâd (sedition, confusion, mischief). In my, the faqîr's, opinion, preventing the fesâd would have been impossible without disturbance to a certain extent, which in turn involves some casualties. The recommended policy to be followed in such cases would be not to make war in support of a Khalîfa whose election was made in defiance of the regular procedures and not to rise against a Khalîfa elected likewise.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' knew, owing to his nûr of firâsat (insight), that the fesâd would be unavoidable. Therefore he stated, " **There will arise fitnas after me. At that time those who will be sitting away are better than those who will be involved in the fitnas.** "

The divine method of Allâhu ta'âlâ is such that he distinguished each of His beloved slaves from others by means of an inborn special superiority. Whereas Hadrat Abû Bakr excelled in mercy and compassion, Hadrat 'Umar surpassed his colleagues in vehemence and austerity. Dâwûd (David) and Suleymân (Solomon) 'alaihim-as-salâm' were statelypresidents, while Îsâ (Jesus), Yûnus (Jonah) and Yahyâ (John) 'alaihim-as-salâm' were fond of solitude. Hassân bin Thâbit would laud and praise the Messenger of Allah in his poetry, which won him the Glad Tidings that his destination was Paradise. 'Ubayy bin Kâ'b was renowned for having memorized the Qur'ân al-kerîm, Abdullah bin Mes'ûd for his knowledge in the science of fiqh, and Khâlid bin Walîd for his prowess in warfare. Back to Hadrat Abû Bakr; he was gifted with a variety of superiorities; for instance, he was by far ahead of others for his constant, loving and true attendance to the sohbat (ofRasûlullah); for his zealous devotion, which was so strong that he always yearned for an opportunity to sacrifice himself for the sake of Rasûlullah; and for his readiness to sacrifice his life, his property and his position for the sake of Rasûlullah or in return for the promulgation of Islam. Spreading Islam fell to Hadrat 'Umar's lot. And Hadrat 'Uthmân outshone all the others for his having been the indispensable rescuer at all times of desperate financial straits; for his deep sense of shame (hayâ); for his admirable self-control in moments of wrath; for his tahârat (cleanliness), qirâat (reading or reciting the Qur'ân al-kerîm); and for the extraordinary charity he dispensed to the poor. And finally, Hadrat Alî was peerless for his blood-relationship to Rasûlullah; for the exceptional singularity that he had been raised inRasûlullah's hand and under his blessed training; for his valour, zuhd, wara', intelligence and eloquence. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' cited these superior qualities of his Sahâba one by one and praised them all 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was terjumân-i-ghayb. He was gifted with the benefit to foretell future events. He used to state, beforehand, the superior duties that his Sahâba would perform later. All the events he foretold came true. There was not a single event that he foretold and yet which would not happen. The claim that "caliphate belongs to Alî and his progeny by rights" is quite groundless. Had a right of that sort ever been stated (by the blessed Prophet or even implied in a single âyat-i-kerîma) beforehand, things would have happened accordingly. They would have taken possession of caliphate once and for all, and no other person would have been able to lay hands on it. That the Messenger of Allah had not foretold their caliphate is manifest in the fact that they did not become Khalîfas, which, in passing, betrays the downright falsehood which they dishonestly fabricate in the name of information.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was ahead of all other people in observing everybody's rights. For that matter, he praised Hadrat Abbâs, (who was his paternal uncle,) by saying, " **The paternal uncle is like the father**." He said about Fâtima, (his blessed daughter): " **He who hurts her will have hurt me** (by doing so)." About Hadrat Abû Bakr he said, " **Why do you ignore my feelings by hurting my friend**?" And he said about Hadrat Alî: " **He is from me. And I am from him**." and " **For whomever I am the mawlâ, Alî, too, must be his mawlâ**." A person with wisdom and reason will not confuse a praisal emanating from kinship with a praisal based on religious priority and suitability for caliphate. The remark, " **I am from him. And he is from me** ," indicates an affinity based on kinship and is intended to observe the right of kinship. It does not indicate **fadl-i-kullî** , that is, superiority in every respect. For, statements of that sort was made not only about Hadrat Alî and Hadrat Fâtima, but also about Hadrat Abbâs. In fact, similar utterances were made concerning Durra, Abû Lahab's daughter. Durra is reported to have related the following event in Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal's book: "I was in Âisha's room, when Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' came in and said, " **I shall make ablution. Bring me some water!** " Âisha and I brought a large bowl and a water ewer. He made an ablution and turned to me, saying, ' **You are from me, and I am from you!** ' " It is quite an obvious fact that this utterance was intended as a requirement for kinship, rather than an indication of priority.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' frequently uttered the words, " **I love ...,** " concerning various people. These words have different meanings, depending on the situations and times they were said as well as on the people they concerned. As a matter of fact, there are various kinds of love. One loves one's spouse, one's children, one's friends and one's master with different types of affection. A person may love someone with a certain type and a certain degree of affection, and at the same time he may love another person more, although with another kind of affection. By the same token,Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said, " **I love Âisha very much** ," at a certain place, and, " **I love Usâma very much,** " at another place, and, " **I love Abû Bakr very much** ," at a third place, and, " **I love Alî very much** ," at a fourth place. That different types of love are involved is a bare fact.

A person's being superior to another means his having more of the same attribute than does the latter. The superiority may be in the entirety of the attribute as well as in its parts only. One of the two people may be superior in one of the parts and the other in another part. For instance, one part of courage may exist in a wrestler's [or sportsman's] nature, while another part may be possessed by a president. The president's courage is certainly more valuable than that of the wrestler. The attribute knowledge has various branches. To understand a question well, and not to confuse it with other matters, is one of the parts. Likewise, zuhd is composed of two categories: The zuhd of the Awliyâ is to avoid (Islam's prohibitions termed) harâm, whereas the zuhd of prophets is not to think of anything other than promulgating Islam.

Promulgating Islam requires propagating the Qur'ân al-kerîm and the hadîth-i-sherîfs. To this end, our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' commended some of the Ashâb-i-kirâm on their profound knowledge, -they had committed the entire Qur'ân al-kerîm to their heart-, and encouraged others to learn from them. The prophetic commendation was tantamount to a diploma for them. It also equipped them with verbal credentials to stimulate some people who were otherwise quite unlikely to identify them. This superiority is the common property of all the Ashâb-i-kirâm.

It is a fact stated in (an âyat-i-kerîma of) the Qur'ân al-kerîm that those who sacrificed their property and made jihâd in the way of Allah before the conquest of Mekka were superior (to those who did so afterwards). According to the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the revelation of that âyat-i-kerîma was intended for Abû Bakr as-Siddîq. For he was the first Muslim to sacrifice his property and make jihâd. Doing this duty throughout his life, he was superior to those who began doing so later, as well as to those who did not live long enough to do so due to an early martyrdom, although they were early enough in the performance of the two sacred duties.

It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **After me pay homage to Abû Bakr and 'Umar**!" A person to be paid homage to has to be a scholar. When Hadrat 'Umar was asked a question, he would convene the Sahâba, and they would reach a consensus. Not so was the case in the time of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. Extremely keen-sighted and profoundly learned, Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' would immediately provide an answer. However, so eloquent, succinct and epigrammatic was his style as he talked that his statements were mostly susceptible to misundertandings on the average intellectual level. In fact, some people were misled to the conclusion that he had had to do with the martyrdom of Hadrat 'Uthmân. His delicate elucidations in the science of fiqh, which were meant to state some important facts, such as the canonical illicitness (harâm) of the (temporary marriage termed) mut'a nikâh, the obligation (farz) to wash the feet in ablution, and many other similar matters, led many people to a complete misapprehension, causing differences among scholars. By contrast, the answers which Hadrat 'Umar had provided by having recourse to the consensus of the Sahâba were quite clear and understandable. For instance, the statement which purports, "The process of **drawing lots** is a method employed to choose one of the several people who are equal in all the criteria (used in a certain assessment), rather than an (inanimate) arbitration whereby to determine the rightful party," belongs to Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'.

Imâm Alî's statements were studied by the groups **Ahl as-Sunnat** , **Imâmiyya** and **Zaydiyya** , each group deriving different meanings. The groups Zaydiyya and Imâmiyya denied (the spiritual grades of) Wilâyat. During the caliphates of the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' there were no differences among the Muslims. Altogether, they made jihâd against the disbelievers. When contentions began in the time of Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh, the Muslims began to decimate one another instead of fighting against the disbelievers. Not only was Hadrat Alî unable to suppress the fitna. He also failed to keep the caliphate in his possession.

**Question** : The number of the Sahâba was greater during the caliphates of the first two Khalîfas. So they helped the Khalîfas. Not only was there a considerable decrease in the number of the Sahâba by the time Hadrat Alî ascended to the caliphate, the ignorant and aberrant new conversions in various countries made such utter disturbances as the first two Khalîfas could not have put down. Would it be fair, then to say that they were superior in this respect as well?

**Answer** : The fayz and blessings created and radiated by Allâhu ta'âlâ reach each and every individual without any discrimination. It is the divine method of Allâhu ta'âlâ to send His fayz and blessings through a cause, i.e. a person. The cause has to be eligible to carry the blessing concerned. Hence, a person who causes goodness is a good one, whereas one who causes perdition and torment is not a good one, and the good are graded in accordance with the degree of goodness they are gifted with. It would be incorrect to base the argument on the ungrounded hypothesis that there were not ignorant and aberrant people in the times of the first two Khalîfas. As soon as Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away, most of the Arabian people abandoned Islam. They martyred the Sahâbîs sent to them on missions. The stringent and painstaking measures taken by the two Khalîfas prevented a catastrophic disaster. A wise person simply does not attempt to explain away those events by calling them mere chance events. An attempt to deny the services accomplished by invoking the maxim "destiny is invincible" would mean to deny the (Muslim's duty called) Amr-i-ma'rûf and Nahy-i-munkâr.[] Also, it would pave the way to denying Hadrat Alî's superiority.

**Question** : Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' making war against the Muslims was intended for the defence of right and for the annihilation of wrong. Then, should we not consider those practices of his as acts of jihâd?

**Answer** : That Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' endeavoured for right and goodness is a well-known fact. No blame can be ascribed to him as regards that. However, it would not be correct to say that he made the wars by the order of the Messenger of Allah. For, if it had been foreordained for him to quell the fitnas, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' would have commanded him to do so, and thereby he would have been the cause of an auspicious event.

As is known, he (Rasûlullah) had foretold the conquests of Damascus and Iraq. Consequently, the (first) two Khalîfas' efforts for the fulfillment of that purpose bore fruit. The fesâds (in Hadrat Alî's time), on the other hand, could not be eliminated. The measures which Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' took in order to quash the fitna only stirred the flames. The events indicate that Allâhu ta'âlâ had not promised His blessed Messenger that He would give (Hadrat Alî) success (in the elimination of fitna). Not so was the case with Hadrat Alî's war against the Khârijites. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam' had mentioned that war, adding the Glad Tidings that Hadrat Alî would score a victory.

In the times of the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' the Muslims were in unison with one another in adapting themselves to the teachings of fiqh and in understanding the ma'rifats (pieces of heavenly information) called ihsân and tarîqat. The Khalîfa (Hadrat Abû Bakr or Hadrat 'Umar) would chastise any offenders, although they were his colleagues who had kept company with him in the sohbats of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. When Sa'd bin Abî Waqqâs 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' replaced the door of his house with one fitted in Persian style, Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' had it broken. He dismissed such a celebrated commander as Khâlid bin Walid, and rebuked 'Amr ibn 'Âs, the governor of Egypt. As for the situations in the time of Hadrat Alî; suffice it to say that there were differences even in the business of acknowledging the Khalîfa. A considerable number of the Muslims were opposed to his ideas concerning the retaliation against the murderers of Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' and his concession to Hadrat Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' proposal to go to arbitration. People who attended the sohbat of the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' would adapt themselves to Islam and purify their hearts even though they were not Sahâbîs. Those who accompanied Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', on the other hand, were mostly soldiers. Their hearts were unclean. Some of them were hostile towards him. In fact, the Khalîfa (Hadrat Alî) would complain about those people on the minbar (pulpit in a mosque). People who persecuted Hadrat Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' and those who martyred Hadrat Husayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' were all from among the people of Kûfa. The Khalîfa (Hadrat Alî) did have admirers as well, yet those people were inordinate in their endearments, so that they were another group who incurred Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' complaints.

**Question** : Hadrat Alî was well-endowed in spirituality. He was like an angel. So, he failed to get along with people. The Shaikhayn, in contrast, were humanly like anyone else. It was easy for them to get along with their human species. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' was denied even by his own relations. The blame fell not on the Messenger of Allah, but on the deniers?

**Answer** : According to the scholars Ahl as-Sunnat 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ', it is not permissible to assign any blame to Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. In this book, we shall discuss the matter within the Sunnî parameters, resting our argument on a gradation of superiorities, rather than on an assessment of blames. Allâhu ta'âlâ commanded His Habîb (Darling, Beloved) 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' to handle the hypocrites with simulation, not to tell uneducated people subtle matters, and to treat everybody in a manner suitable with their personal traits. Thus it was easy for him to train them and to give them fayz. It was to that end that Allâhu ta'âlâ sent His prophets 'alaihim-us-salâm' as human beings, and not as angels. Certainly, therefore, this human attribute is a favorable point in the comparison of Khalîfas. It adds to its possessor's success in spreading Islam and training and educating people. Any attitudes obstructive to the performance of these duties, regardless of their beneficial aspects, including vehemence, wara', belles lettres, isolation from people, will detract from the value of a Khalîfa. The thawâbs (blessings and rewards) earned by benefactors and charitable people will also be given to their masters (teachers) and to those who caused their charity. This is another viewpoint from which the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' must have been superior to Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'.

Before the Hijrat, the unbelievers perpetrated inconceivable persecutions and savageries against Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' resisted against them. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was a child then. After the Hijrat Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was superior in fighting the enemy, whereas the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' held the ascendancy in their consultation with Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. After the decease of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam', so far-flung and rapid was the spreading of Islam and so great was the number of the countries conquered during the caliphates of the Shaikhayn that no other place has witnessed a success comparable to theirs ever since. Conversely, no place was conquered in the time of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. In fact, jihâd came to a complete standstill.

Most of the narrators who reported hadîths on the authority of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' were soldiers recruited from here and there. They are anonymous. Their narrations, therefore, are not authentic. Very few of the scholars of Medîna and Damascus reported hadîths on the authority of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'.

Islam's third basic science after the Qur'ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth is **Fiqh**. The teachings of fiqh are mainly what Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' established by way of consensus. Most Muslims are in one of the three Madhhabs, namely Hanafî, Mâlikî and Shâfi'î. The source of the Mâlikî Madhhab is the book entitled **Muwattâ** , which contains very few matters conveyed from Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. So is the case with Imâm Abû Hanîfa's 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' book, **Musnad** , which is the basis for the Hanafî Madhhab, as well as the books written by (his disciple) Imâm Muhammad 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ'. Another book in the same category is Imâm Shâfi'î's **Musnad** , which contains even fewer. Next after the teachings of fiqh are the teachings of Siyer. In that branch also, Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' is no different from other Sahâbîs. As for the teachings of Tasawwuf; in this branch, which consists of a process termed **Sulûk** and purification of the heart, the words belonging to Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' are not more numerous than those of other Sahâbîs such as Abdullah ibn Mes'ûd and Abdullah bin 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'.

**Question** : Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' knew the Qur'ân al-kerîm and thehadîth-i-sherîfs better than any other person. Would it be fair to blame that exalted Imâm for the negligence of those weak people who failed to convey what they heard from him properly to the leaders of the Madhhabs?

**Answer** : Certainly, their failure could not undermine the high position of Hadrat Imâm. Nor would it by any means deprive him from his right to caliphate. Yet a Khalîfa has to be dominant and overpowering. If Allâhu ta'âlâ has chosen a Khalîfa from among several rightful candidates each of whom fulfills the conditions required for the office, he definitely must have an additional superiority. This innate superiority is emphasized with the superiority of the services he will be doing. In other words, superiority in services will regenerate the innate superiority. Allâhu ta'âlâ gives this special superiority to a person who has the innate superiority and who exerts himself to the bargain.

The Shaikhayn's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' superiority with respect to purity of heart, i.e. in matters of Tasawwuf, can be described in two different ways: The zuhd[] of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was like the zuhd of Awliyâ 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ', whereas the zuhd of the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' was like the zuhd of ourProphet 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. The same difference applied to their wara'.[] It is unanimously stated in various books of history that the zuhd of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' ran counter to the order of his caliphate, whereas the zuhd held by the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' catered to the order of their caliphate. Our second definiton is as follows: Zuhd means not to do the desires of one's nafs, even if they are things permitted by Islam. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' caused considerable bloodshed in his efforts to become Khalîfa. What he did was his right, and it was something permitted by Islam. By contrast, the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' expressed their willingness to waive their rights to caliphate, which was a self-abnegation that their zuhd required. The Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' always humbled themselves before deeply learned people as well as before those who had a right to caliphate. If 'zuhd' should be construed as 'doing with a bare existence,' Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' cannot be said to have been ahead of the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' in this respect. Muhammad bin Kâ'b-i-Qurâzî is quoted as having reported as follows in Imâm Ahmad's 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' book: Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' said, "In the time of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' there were times when I tied a stone on my stomach in order to endure hunger. And now the zakât of my property amounts to four thousand gold coins."

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was both kâmil[] and mukammil.[] Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **No one dies before having consumed (all) his (or her) rizq. Yet, look for good places to earn your rizq!** "[]

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER — 1 —

So far, we have explained the superiority of the Shaikhayn, resting our argument on narrative and mental proofs. Henceforth we shall try to eliminate the opinionated prejudices. We shall not do so by confuting the groups of Imâmiyya and Zaydiyya. They can be confuted with special methods, which do not even require the support of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. There are three groups of opinions in this matter, correct and incorrect ones alike. Nasîr-i-Tûsî is responsible for the misconceptions.

Nasîr-ud-dîn Tûsî alleges in his book Tajrîd that Hadrat Alî was superior to the Shaikhayn. He writes about Hadrat Alî's heroic accomplishments during the Holy Wars and the sufferings he endured in his endeavours to serve the Messenger of Allah. He says that his dazzling achievements in the Holy Wars of Badr, Uhud, Ahzâb [Trench], Haybar and Hunayn outshone those of all the other Sahâbîs. He says, "From him do all teachings come to scholars. This is a fact which he also stated. The phrase " **Wa enfusenâ** " in the âyat of **Mubâhala** is an indication of his great honour. He was extremely generous. After the Messenger of Allah, he was the most devoted zâhid of all people. Also, he was the most pious worshipper. He was the most profoundly learned and the most honourable. He was the earliest Believer. He was the most eloquent in his speech. He had the most correct ra'y (ijtihâd) and kashf (finding facts by way of inspiration). He made the most ardent endeavours for the enactment and practising of Allâhu ta'âlâ's commandments. He was the most accurate memorizer of the Qur'ân al-kerîm. He would state unknown facts, and his invocations would be accepted (by Allâhu ta'âlâ). Myriads of karâmats (miracles) were witnessed on him. He was Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' immediate relative and next-worldly brother. It was made wâjib (incumbent) upon each and every Muslim to love him and to help him. It was declared that he was comparable to prophets. The event of 'fowl' indicates that his honour was very high. His closeness (to the Messenger of Allah) was identical with Hârûn's (Aaron's) closeness to Mûsâ (Moses). That he would become Khalîfa was declared in a hadîth-i-sherîf which was uttered at a place called Ghadîr. He did not live a moment as an unbeliever. He rendered many services to Islam. He was perfect both spiritually and physically."

**Answer: Fadl-i-juz'î** , i.e. superiority in some considerations, can not be generalized into **Fadl-i-kullî** , which means superiority in all respects. Aspects whereby a person may be comparable to prophets vary. They should not be mistaken for one another. Superiority in presidency, i.e. that which makes one succeed the Prophet as his Khalîfa, ought to be differentiated from other sorts of superiority.

Allâhu ta'âlâ declares in the third âyat of **Mâida** sûra: "... **This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, ...** " (5-3)

Therefore, the Prophet is the only criterion (whereby to assess someone) in religious matters as well as in statesmanship. Allâhu ta'âlâ bestowed most of His blessings upon His beloved Prophet as he was alive and promised him that He would complete them later, creating the remaining few blessings, afterwards, by the hands of some Sahâbîs. Those Sahâbîs were distinguished with the honour of similarity to Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' owing to their work supplementary to the Prophet's duty. The Sahâba differ in their similarity to Rasûlullah in this respect. The Shaikhayn were the most similar ones. For a better elucidation of this matter, the arguments in the book **Tajrîd** will be written one by one, (in numbered **questions** ,) and each one of them will be given a separate **answer** :

**Question 1** : Hadrat Alî performed many acts of jihâd for the sake of Islam. Did anyone equal him in heroism?

**Answer 1** : Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' heroisms in Holy Wars were owing toRasûlullah's support. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' gave the same support to the Shaikhayn as well. His support to Hadrat Alî during the time intervening between the Hijrat and his demise was more (than his support to the others). And his support before the Hijrat and after his decease tended towards the Shaikhayn. As for their similarity in the duties of prophethood; the Shaikhayn defy comparison in that.

**Question 2** : The Sahâba would mostly learn matters by asking Hadrat Alî. Would this not be symptomatic of his superiority?

**Answer 2** : Hadrat 'Umar also had been blessed with the Glad Tidings commending his profound knowledge. According to a narration reported in Tirmuzî, Hadrat Alî burned some people for having abandoned Islam. When Abdullah ibn Abbâs heard about that, he made the following remarks: I would have killed them (in another way) rather than by burning. For, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' commanded: " **Kill anyone who abandons Islam!** " At another time he commanded: " **Do not inflict the same torment as Allâhu ta'âlâ will inflict** (in Hell)!" When Hadrat Alî was reported about those remarks, he acknowledged that Abdullah ibn Abbâs was right. **Muslim** and other books contain such reports indicating that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was not impeccable and that he did make mistakes.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' commended not only Hadrat Alî but also most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. He said about the Shaikhayn: " **After me, pay homage to Abû Bakr and 'Umar!** " Another widely known hadîth-i-sherîf about them is: " **Abû Bakr and 'Umar are the highest men of Paradise**." The hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Shaytân will run away from the way as 'Umar passes by** ," as well as the blessed Prophet's interpreting his dream of a shirt and his dream of milk as knowledge are Glad Tidings concerning Hadrat 'Umar. 'Ubayy bin Kâ'b was praised in the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Among you the best reader** (or reciter) **of the Qur'ân al-kerîm is 'Ubayy bin Ka'b**." The following are some of thehadîth-i-sherîfs commending the special attributes possessed by various Sahâbîs: " **I am pleased with any person with whom ibn Umm-i-'Abd is pleased.** " " **Among you, Mu'âz is the most aware of halâl and harâm!** " " **There is a trustworthy person among every ummat. The (most) trustworthy person of this Ummat** (Muslims) **is Abû 'Ubayda.** " " **Every prophet has a Hawârî** (Apostle) **. My Hawârî is Zubayr**." " **Learn one-fourth of knowledge from Âisha!** " The highest ones of the commendations quoted above are the ones commending (the Shaikhayn) as the ones to be paid homage to and as the highest men of Paradise. It would take only some fair reasoning to acknowledge this fact. Indeed, Hadrat Alî's remark, "I am better as your counsellor [vizier] than I am as your amîr (president)," was intended to express this fact.

The teachings coming to scholars are not only from him but also from the Shaikhayn. The Islamic scholars are the scholars in the Islamic sciences such as Qirâat, Fiqh, Hadîth, Tafsîr, Usûl, Tasawwuf, Kalâm, and Lisân. Seven scholars in the Science of Qirâat are very well-known. The teachings acquired and possessed by all those scholars stem from the copy of the Qur'ân al-kerîm written by a committee under Hadrat 'Uthmân. And the Qur'ân al-kerîm, in turn, was compiled by the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'. The compiled copies were carried to all the Muslim lands by the scholars sent by Hadrat 'Umar. Only two of the narrations came from Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. Of the scholars of Fiqh, the leaders of the three Madhhabs, Hanafî, Shâfi'î and Mâlikî, owe their knowledge to the teachings of ijmâ' (consensus of the Sahâba) under Hadrat 'Umar's authority. Their basic books contain very few narrations coming from Hadrat Alî. As for the scholars of Hadîth; most of the hadîth-i-sherîfs they quoted traced back to the following Sahâbîs as their original source of narration: Abû Hurayra and Abdullah ibn 'Umar and Âisha and Abdullah ibn Mes'ûd and Abdullah bin Abbâs and Enes bin Mâlik and Abû Sa'îd-i-Hudrî and Jâbir bin Abdullah 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum'. And most of those blessed people reported their narrations on the authority of the Shaikhayn. The scholars of Medîna and Damascus and Yemen and Egypt reported few narrations on the authority of Hadrat Alî. The only school of scholars who reported an appreciable number of narrations on the authority of Hadrat Alî was that of the scholars of Kûfa; but then again those people are rather too arcane for eligibility as sources of religious teachings.

The science of Usûl was founded by Imâm Shâfi'î 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh'. The basic teachings of that science coming by way of the Book (Qur'ân al-kerîm), the Sunnat (hadîth-i-sherîfs), the Ijmâ' (concensus of the Sahâba) and the Qiyâs (ijtihâd of the scholars who have attained the grade ijtihâd) traced back to the Shaikhayn (as their original narrators). Afterwards, the leader of each Madhhab established usûls (methods) to be employed within his Madhhab. Those usûls, by contrast, have nothing to do with the words of the Sahâba.

The basis for the knowledge of the scholars of Kalâm is (the Sunnî credo, which consists of the credal tenets held and preached by the scholars called) the Ahl as-Sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at. Their teachings also come from the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'. The later supplementary accretions have nothing to do with the words of the Sahâba.

'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was the founder of the science of Tafsîr.

As for the science of Tasawwuf; the heart's purification by way of sohbat (togetherness, company) is a (natural but systematic) process established by the Shaikhayn. Furthermore, the report stating that "Hasan-i-Basrî received fayz from Hadrat Alî and put on the blessed cloak" is negated by some (scholars).

It was permissible for Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' to tell about his superiorities. A great person has the freedom to state his own superior merits so that others will receive fayz from him. Hadrat Alî said in one of his khutbas: "Ask me whatsoever you would like to know on the Qur'ân al-kerîm. Wallahî (I swear in the name of Allah), that I know whether an âyat was revealed at night or in the daytime, up hill or down dale." The Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', however, had a superb disposition to modesty. The following well-known episode is a typical example: One day Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' saw a bird on a branch and said, "So lucky for you, O you, bird! You perch on branches at will. You eat the fruits you like. You will not be called to account on the Judgement Day, nor will you be liable to torment. I wish I were a bird like you." And Hadrat 'Umar's words expressing his wish to have been created as a handful of soil are quoted in books. The Awliyâ who enjoy closeness to Allâhu ta'âlâ display varying states and manners. For instance, Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm' was mostly in a jovial mood, whereas Yahyâ (John) 'alaihis-salâm' displayed a fearful and pensive appearance. When some people said to Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', "O you, the Khalîfa of Allah," he replied, "I am the Khalîfa of the Messenger of Allah, and I am happy with it."

**Question 3** : Isn't the âyat-i-kerîma, " **Wa enfusenâ** ," an indication of the superiority of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'?

**Answer 3** : According to the reports in the books of tafsîr, the âyat-i-kerîma is called the **âyat of mubâhala**. Mubâhala[] was traditional in Arabia, and both parties would have their children and their relations with them, as it was customary to do so. Therefore,Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' followed the custom and convened his children and relations. That âyat-i-kerîma is an indication of the honour which Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' had owing to his relationship (to the Messenger of Allah). We all believe in the greatness of that honour. Yet that honour does not indicate **Fadl-i-kullî** , i.e. superiority in all respects. Likewise, hadîths like, " **You are from me, and I am from you** ," are indicative of the honour of kinship. As a matter of fact, hadîths of that sort were said to Hadrat Abbâs and to Durra, who was Abû Lahab's daughter. Such statements indicate superiority in one respect, which is termed **Fadl-i-juz'î** , rather than that which is in every respect. They are like the statement, "I have seen a lion in the public bath," which means, "I have seen someone as powerful as a lion." A person who says so has not seen someone who has a mane and paws like those of a lion.

**Question 4** : Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was very generous. An âyat-i-kerîmapraises him for that superiority.

**Answer 4** : That Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was utterly generous is an absolute fact. And he had many another superior merit as well. We all believe that Hadrat Alî did have all those merits and he was superior to most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. What we have been trying to explain, however, is that the Shaikhayn were superior to him. There are two kinds of generosity. One of them is liberality in dispensing one's own property to needy people. The second one is the even-handedness of the people in charge of the Islamic State's treasury called **Bayt-ul-mâl** in giving the allowances (of the people specified by Islam's social code). In both the kinds of generosity were the Shaikhayn superior par excellence. The profusion of the property which Hadrat Abû Bakr dispensed for the sake of the Messenger of Allah both before and after the Hijrat is a common report of all books of Siyer. When he dispensed ten thousand gold coins for the sake of Allah one night, ten more thousand the following day, ten more thousand in private, and ten more thousand in public, the thirty-sixth âyat of Nisâ was revealed and he was commended and praised by Allâhu ta'âlâ. Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Of all my Sahâba, Abû Bakr has been the most helpful to me both with respect to sohbat and in property.** "

He gave all his property for the Holy War of Tabuk. Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' also dispensed a great amount of property in the way of Allah. He gave half of his property for the Holy War of Tabuk. There is not a single narration reporting that Hadrat Alî dispensed an equal amount of property. He was in Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' care. Nor did he have any property after the Hijrat. The Shaikh-ayn would dispense the entire treasury income to the people during their caliphates, assigning for themselves a stipend that would suffice them only to make a living. The amount which Hadrat Alî dispensed to the people during his caliphate was not even one-thousandth the amount they had dispensed. A widely-known dramatic episode is told about 'Uqayl, (one of Hadrat Alî's brothers,) who blamed Hadrat Alî for the pecuniary difficulties he was undergoing and abandoned his brother, joining Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' army.

**Question 5** : Hadrat Alî was the most zâhid person after Rasûlullah.

**Answer 5** : True. That Hadrat Alî had very much zuhd[] is a bare fact. He was more zâhid than most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. 'Zuhd' means 'not to be enamoured of worldly things'. Its highest degree is not to wish for caliphate. That the Shaikhayn were willing to relinquish their caliphate is a truth reported unanimously by the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Hadrat Alî, in contrast, did struggle for caliphate. Those who invoke the altruistic motive that his struggle (for becoming Khalîfa) was intended to serve Islam and Muslims should not blame the Shaikhayn for having assumed office (as Khalîfa). The difference is that the Shaikhayn did not try to become Khalîfa, whereas Hadrat Alî did his utmost to assume office. Sa'd ibn Abî Waqqâs reports that Hadrat 'Umar's zuhd was immaculate. There are innumerable narrations reporting the zuhd and contentment of the Shaikhayn. The Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was the highest paragon of zuhd. The Shaikhayn were his perfect likenesses during their caliphates. They did everything to establish and to promulgate the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ. This fact was also stated by Hadrat Alî, who said, "Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' was ahead of us all. Abû Bakr followed his example perfectly. With 'Umar they made a trio of perfection. Thereafter began the degenerations and malpractices foreordained by Allâhu ta'âlâ."

It is an established fact that Hadrat Alî was ahead of most of the Sahâba owing to his profound dedication in worship. However, he cannot be said to have been ahead of the Shaikhayn, too 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum'.

**Question 6** : Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' had îmân, (became a Believer,) before anyone else did. Can there be another honour higher than that?

**Answer 6** : According to some scholars, Hadrat Alî was the earliest Believer. There are other scholars, however, who argue that Hadrat Abû Bakr was the earliest conversion to Islam. On the other hand, the majority of scholars are unanimous in that Hadrat Khadîja preceded them both in embracing Islam. If precedence in time of embracing Islam were the mere valid criterion of superiority, Hadrat Khadîja and Zayd would necessarily have been the highest Sahâbîs. Precedence in time of embracing Islam may be considered as a superiority only in that it causes others also to embrace Islam. And that assumption has cogency only if the person concerned is an adult, or at least has reached the age of puberty. Hadrat Alî was a child when he became a Believer. He kept his belief as a secret, even from his own father. The superiority of embracing IsÊlam and thereby causing others to embrace Islam belonged singularly to Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'.

**Question 7** : Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was the most eloquent of all the Sahâba.

**Answer 7** : It is axiomatic that Hadrat Alî was superior to most of the Sahâba in eloquence, rhetoric and oratory. Yet he cannot be said to have been superior to the Shaikhayn as well. In fact, (speeches called) khutbas which some notable Sahâbîs quote from the Shaikhayn are nonpareil masterpieces of rhetoric. Hadrat Abû Bakr's perfectly eloquent eulogies are written in the history of Ibn Is-haq. However, eloquence has nothing to do with caliphate. It is true that eloquence is necessary in the communication and propagation of Islam. The Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' communicated all the Islamic facts eloquently, eliminating all the grounds for difference. On the other hand, none of the differences that appeared in the time of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was provided with a solution. That a statement made by Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' caused a Sahâbî to reconsider his own ijtihâd could at the most be a speculative event which was never witnessed to happen.

**Question 8** : Didn't Hadrat Alî have the most correct ra'y (ijtihâd) and kashf (inspiration)?

**Answer 8** : Hadrat Alî's strict accuracy in ijtihâd was incontestable, and it was crowned by his breathtaking speed in inferring decisions from âyats and hadîths and answering people's questions. As a matter of fact, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stressed this fact, stating, " **Alî is ahead of you all in reaching conclusions**." One day Hadrat 'Umar was commending the Ashâb-i-kirâm for their superior merits, and he observed, "Alî is superior to us all in reaching conclusions." However, it would be unfair to present that superiority as a prerogative to give him the lead to caliphate before the Shaikhayn. As a matter of fact, when Hadrat Abû Bakr assumed office as Khalîfa, all the decisions he made and the measures he took to dissuade the Arabs from apostasy proved to be appropriate. And, on the other hand, all the strategies Hadrat 'Umar planned and ordered in his jihâd against Iran and Byzantium led the Arabs to victory. By contrast, all the initiatives Hadrat Alî exercised during his caliphate proved to be deleterious. When he consulted with other people, he would mostly dislike their suggestions. Abdullah ibn Abbâs states this fact clearly. The words which Hadrat Hasan said to his father Hadrat Alî after the martyrdom of Hadrat 'Uthmân are written in books. Correctness of a ra'y or ijtihâd is evaluated in accordance to the benefits it yields. Only the Shaikhayn's ra'y and ijtihâd proved to be correct in this sense.

**Question 9** : Didn't Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' struggle more than anyone else for the execution of Allâhu ta'âlâ's commandments?

**Answer 9** : It is doubtless that the Shaikhayn as well as Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' struggled to the best of their abilities for the realization of Allâhu ta'âlâ's commandments and for the promulgation of Islam. However, clarification of matters which are not explained clearly in âyats and hadîths is not susceptible of haste; a consensus reached after a process of consultations brings healthier results, whereas haste causes errors. Especially in matters of chastisement (which are called) hadd (in Islam's penal code), not to follow this rule gives birth to fitna. The Shaikhayn observed this sunnat of the Messenger of Allah in all their decrees. This fact is stated in perfect clarity by 'Umar bin 'Abd-ul 'azîz. Hadrat Alî did not do so. In fact, during a conversation he had with Mughîra bin Shu'ba one night, he said, "When there is fear of difference and fitna, I will immediately inflict (the chastisement termed) rajm on a fornicator." Thereupon the latter ran away and joined Hadrat Mu'âwiya. Hadrat Alî's haste can be said to have been one of the marginal causes of the turmoil that blighted Hadrat Alî's era as Khalîfa. Whereas Hadrat Alî's nature was prone to haste and excitement, the Shaikhayn enjoyed calmer dispositions such as sobriety, composure and far-sightedness. Abdullah ibn Abbâs explained this difference as follows: "Hadrat 'Umar would foresee the future events and act slowly. Hadrat Alî would take action immediately, confident of success. However, failure was a more recurrent result."

**Question 10** : Wasn't Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' the best memorizer of theQur'ân al-kerîm?

**Answer 10** : The honour of having memorized the Qur'ân al-kerîm is not peculiar to Hadrat Alî alone. The Shaikhayn and (Hadrat 'Uthmân) Zin-nûrayn and Abdullah ibn Mes'ûd and 'Ubayy bin Kâ'b 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' also had memorized the entireQur'ân al-kerîm. The Shaikhayn would conduct the Friday prayers and the five daily prayers during their caliphate. They would recite long sûras such as Baqara and Yûsuf as they conducted morning prayers. Hadrat Alî and the other people who had memorized the entire Qur'ân al-kerîm, (i.e. the hâfizes,) were among the jamâ'at. Those people were never heard to mention any mistakes in the recitations. Those prayers incidentally served as aural exercises whereby the memorizers were drilled in their memorizations.

**Question 11:** Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' would inform about the unknown, and whatever he prayed for would be accepted (by Allâhu ta'âlâ).

**Answer 11** : The Shaikhayn as well as Hadrat Alî frequently informed about the unknown, and their prayers also were mostly accepted. These kerâmats of the Shaikhayn reached us through sahîh (true, authentic) narrations. That there were liars among the narrators of Hadrat Alî's kerâmats (miracles) was acknowledged by Hadrat Alî himself as well. In fact, he dismissed a number of them from his presence. Nor was it a rare event that those liars informed against one another. According to a report in Bukhârî, when the Shaikhayn invoked a blessing on a certain amount of food prepared to be eaten, it would not decrease when people ate from it. According to another report, again, in Bukhârî, when Hadrat 'Umar said, "I think...," to express his opinion about matters open to conjecture, things turned out exactly as he had thought. According to a widely-known episode, Hadrat 'Umar was delivering a (speech called) khutba in Medîna, when all of a sudden he, (in a miraculous way,) saw his own army fighting under Sâriyya's command in Irân, and called to Sâriyya, "Turn your attention towards the mountain!" It is written in Imâm Ahmad's book **Musnad** that Hadrat 'Umar foretold his death several days before his martyrdom. The dreams which Hadrat Abû Bakr had before his embracing Islam as well as those which he had shortly before his death are related in authentic books. Another widespread report relates how the Nile converted its current in obedience to a letter written by Hadrat 'Umar. Many another similar kerâmat is reported. However, their high values as the Sahâba outweighed their grades as Awliyâ. That sparsity of kerâmât is essential in the rank of caliphate is explained within the narration of Suleymân's (Solomon's) 'alaihis-salâm' mu'jizât in the book **Fusus**.

**Question 12** : Hadrat Alî was Rasûlullah's immediate relative and his next-worldly brother. Can there be an honour higher than that?
**Answer 12** : True. Hadrat Alî was Rasûlullah's very near kin. No one denies that. The Shaikhayn also were from the Qoureish tribe, and their daughters enjoyed the honour of being Rasûlullah's wives. Yet those closenesses are not apropos of superiority. The âyat-i-kerîma dictating a gradation of closeness in kinship was revealed for the purpose of solving matters of inheritance. It has nothing to do with matters such as caliphate, judgeship and leadership. If caliphate depended on kinship, Hadrat Abbâs would have had precedence over Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' in the caliphate election. Practices traditional in dictatorial or monarchical systems are of no documentary value as examples to be followed. It was one of the teachings of the Torah as well that caliphate should not be considered as a patrimony, but as a responsibility requiring certain qualifications. Allâhu ta'âlâ appointed Yûshâ (Joshua) 'alaihis-salâm', and not one of the sons of Hârûn (Aaron) 'alaihis-salâm', as a Prophet to succeed Mûsâ (Moses) 'alaihis-salâm'. Islam's instruction in this respect was that the Khalîfa be elected from among the Qoureish tribe. No mention was made, however, as to the name of the clan. The nominees would first of all have to fulfill the nine basic conditions for caliphate, in addition to being from the Qoureish tribe. The normal procedure for the assumption of caliphate was an election based on unanimity, a sine qua non which would perforce lapse in case the former Khalîfa had nominated a certain person to succeed him or one of the candidates had pulled off a coup d'etat. The Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' possessed the conditions for caliphate, and they were elected by a unanimous vote.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' said, " **He is my brother and an intimate friend** ," about Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. And he said to 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh': " **Brother, do pray for me**!" Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was the only person blessed with the epithet "next-worldly brother," (by the Prophet). Yet that epithet had nothing to do with caliphate. The blessed Prophet was making his Sahâba brothers to one another, when Hadrat Alî came, weeping. "You have made your Sahâba one another's brother. But you have not made me anyone's brother," were the words he said to express his sorrow. His sadness touched the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', so he said, compassionately, " **You are my brother in this world and the next**!" Upon the death of Es'ad bin Zerâra, the chief of Benî Najjâr, spokesman from the tribe paid a visit toRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' and requested that he appoint a new chief for them. The blessed Prophet stated, " **You are my brothers! Let me be your chief**!" Brotherhood mentioned in this hadîth-i-sherîf does not indicate at all that those people were superior to the Shaikhayn.

**Question 13** : It is commanded in the twenty-third âyat of Shûrâ sûra that every Muslim should love Hadrat Alî.

**Answer 13** : The meaning of the âyat-i-kerîma is: " **... No reward do I ask of you for this except the love of those near of kin (to me). ...** " So is the case with the followinghadîth-i-sherîfs: " **Love of Alî is a symptom of îmân. Enmity against** **him is symptomatic of hypocrisy**." " **I will fight anyone who fights you. And I will make peace with one who makes peace with you**." Yes, it is wâjib (incumbent) upon every Muslim to love and respect the Ahl-i-Bayt and to show deference to the blessed wives of the Messenger of Allah. Hadrat Abbâs 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' also is included in that honourable group. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **He who hurts my paternal uncle will have hurt me** (by doing so)." Another hadîth-i-sherîf commends all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as follows: " **He who loves my Sahâba does so because he loves me. He who is inimical towards my Sahâba is so because he is my enemy. He who hurts them will have hurt me** (by doing so). **And to hurt me means to hurt Allâhu ta'âlâ**."

**Question 14** : It is wâjib (incumbent) upon every Muslim to support Hadrat Alî. The **Tahrîm** sûra is an evidence for this fact.

**Answer 14** : Yes, the fourth âyat of Tahrîm sûra purports, " **... and (every) righteous one among Believers – and furthermore, the angels – will back him up.** " (66-4) However, the person that the âyat-i-kerîma purports will be backed up by righteous Believers is the Messenger of Allah, not Hadrat Alî. Moreover, that the expression '(every) righteous one among Believers' in the âyat-i-kerîma implies Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar, is acknowledged unanimously by the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Indeed, thisâyat-i-kerîma is a clear indication of the honour which Allâhu ta'âlâ has conferred on the Shaikhayn.

**Question 15** : Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' stated that Hadrat Alî was comparable to prophets.

**Answer 15** : It was not only Hadrat Alî that our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' compared to prophets 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât'. Other Sahâbîs also were blessed with the same commendation. Each of the so-called commendations was intended to point out a common merit which the Sahâbî concerned shared with the prophet to whom he was compared. For instance, he compared the zuhd of Abû Zer (Ghifârî) to that of Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm'; the mercy of Abû Bakr to that of Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm'; the austerity of Hadrat 'Umar to that of Nûh (Noah) 'alaihis-salâm'; and the pulchritudinous and clear diction of Abû Mûsa'l Ash'arî to that of Dâwûd (David) 'alaihis-salâm'.

**Question 16** : Doesn't the event of roast fowl indicate that Allâhu ta'âlâ loves Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' very much?

**Answer 16** : The Messenger of Allah had a roast fowl with him. He invoked, " **Yâ Rabbî! Send one of Thine slaves whom Thou lovest so that we eat this fowl together**!" Hadrat Alî came over. They ate it together. This is certainly a true narration. That Hadrat Alî is one of the beloved slaves of Allâhu ta'âlâ is an incontrovertible fact. But the Glad Tidings was not peculiar to him. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar also were given similar Glad Tidings. The following hadîth-i-sherîfs are widely known: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ will manifest Himself to Abû Bakr in private, whereas others will be altogether as they enjoy the manifestation** (tajallî) **of Allâhu ta'âlâ**." " **The sun has not risen over someone more auspicious than 'Umar.** "

**Question 17** : Doesn't the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Your position with me is identical with Hârûn's** (Aaron's) **position with Mûsâ** (Moses)," imply that he must be Khalîfa (immediately after the Prophet's decease)?

**Answer 17** : The book **Tajrîd** quotes the hadîth-i-sherîf " **With me you are like Hârûn with Dâwûd! Only, there is no prophet after me** ," which the blessed Prophetuttered during the Holy War of Tabuk, as a proof to adduce to its argument. The expression, "... after me," should be construed as, "... other than me."

An identical statement takes place in the twenty-third âyat of the Jâthiya sûra of the Qur'ân al-kerîm. For, Hârûn 'alaihis-salâm' did not outlive Mûsâ 'alaihis-salâm'. His death was earlier.

This hadîth-i-sherîf was uttered as the blessed Prophet appointed Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' his substitute in Medîna previous to his departure for the Holy War of Tabuk. Likewise, Hadrat Mûsâ had appointed Hârûn 'alaihis-salâm' his representative during his excursion to Mount Sinai (Tûr). This hadîth-i-sherîf signifies a special honour and superiority for Hadrat Alî. Yet it does not show that he was superior to the Shaikhayn.

**Question 18** : Didn't the hadîth-i-sherîf uttered at (a place called) **Ghadîr-i-Hum** appoint Hadrat Alî as Rasûlullah's Khalîfa?

**Answer 18** : As for the event of **Ghadîr-i-Hum** ; Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had appointed Hadrat Alî governor of Yemen. Hadrat Alî utilized a jâriya who belonged to the Bayt-ul-mâl. That behaviour of his became the topic of a rumour which gradually spread, reaching the blessed ears of the Messenger of Allah. To prevent the fitna, the blessed Prophet commanded that Hadrat Alî be loved, stating, " **If I am mawlâ for a person, Alî, too, be mawlâ for him** ," which meant, "He who loves me ought to love Alî, too." The word 'mawlâ' takes place in many âyats of the Qur'ân al-kerîm. It has been interpreted as 'person who is beloved'. Thathadîth-i-sherîf is similar to the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **He who believes in Allah should be kind to his guest**!" That hadîth-i-sherîf does not only concern Hadrat Alî. Another hadîth-i-sherîf contains the following invocation about Hadrat Hasan: " **Yâ Rabbî! I love him. May Thou love him, too! And please do love also those who love him**!" They were at a place called **Ghadîr-i-Hum** , somewhere between Mekka and Medîna, when Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' held Hadrat Alî by the hand and said, " **If I am mawlâ for a person, Alî, too, be mawlâ for him! Yâ Rabbî, please do love anyone who loves him, and if anyone should hate him, may he incur Thine hatred**!" Thereupon Hadrat 'Umar came near Hadrat Alî and said, "How lucky for you, O Alî! You are now beloved to all Believers." Zayd bin Erqam is reported to have related the following event, in the book **Muslim** : Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' delivered a khutba near a spring of water called **Ghadîr-i-Hum**. He stated, " **I am a human after all. My life will come to an end one day. I leave the Book of Allah and my Ahl-i-Bayt for you. Hold fast to the path guided by the Qur'ân al-kerîm! Appreciate the value of my Ahl-i-Bayt**!" The book **Tirmuzî** narrates the following event on the authority of Imrân bin Hasîn: Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' sent us out for jihâd under the command of Hadrat Alî. Hadrat Alî took one of the jâriyas, who were called slaves, for himself. Four people reported this to the Messenger of Allah. Extremely hurt, the Messenger of Allah stated, " **What is it that prompts you to work against Alî? Alî is from me, and I am from him. After me, Alî is the walî of every Believer**." These hadîth-i-sherîfs command to love the Ahl-i-Bayt. Mawlâ and walî are synonymous and they mean 'person who is loved'. Zayd bin Erqam is reported, in **Tirmuzî** , as having related: Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **I leave two things for** **you. If you adhere to them you will remain in the right path after me. One of them is greater than the other. It is the Book of Allah. The second one is my Ahl-i-Bayt. These two will never part from each other until they meet me by the Pond** (the waterside, called Kawthar, in Paradise)!" The phrase, "These two will never part from each other," means, "A person who adheres to the Qur'ân al-kerîm ought to love the Ahl-i-Bayt." To adhere to the Ahl-i-Bayt means to love them. As it is something generating thawâb (reward, blessing in the Hereafter) to obey the Qur'ân al-kerîm, it is, likewise, something which causes thawâb to love the Ahl-i-Bayt. None of the hadîth-i-sherîfs quoted so far, however, imply that Alî was to be the (first) Khalîfa, the (first) Imâm. It is utterly wrong and abominably unfair to invoke these hadîth-i-sherîfs in maligning the Ahl-i-Sunnat and thereby sowing discord among Muslims. May Jenâb-i-Haqq bless us all with love of the Ahl-i-Bayt and of all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'! Âmîn!

**Question 19** : Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' did not live in disbelief even for a moment before he became a Believer.

**Answer 19** : If it were a superiority not to have been a disbeliever before embracing Islam, all the later Muslims would necessarily be superior to the Ashâb-i-kirâm. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Once a person has become a Believer, all his sins previous to his conversion will be forgiven**."

**Question 20** : Hadrat Alî rendered many services to Islam.

**Answer 20** : That most of the services to Islam were rendered by the Shaikhayn is as clear as the sun. For, it was the Shaikhayn who compiled the Qur'ân al-kerîm. It was the Shaikhayn who established the method of narration, divided the religious teachings into scientific branches, conquered Arabia, and made the Byzantine and Iranian lands homes of Islam. Most of the Muslims on the earth are in one of the three Madhhabs, namely Mâlikî, Hanafî, and Shâfi'î. And the basic teachings of these three Madhhabs are on matters which Hadrat 'Umar obtained by way of ijmâ' (consensus of the Sahâba). These Madhhabs contain little information coming from Hadrat Alî. No country of disbelievers was conquered in the time of Hadrat Alî. Nor were unity and peace established among Muslims. The benefits which this Ummat (Muslims) attained owing to the Shaikhayn are much more than the benefits which they owe to Hadrat Alî. The thawâb which pioneers of a religiously beneficial area will earn increases by the multiplication of the number of the people who utilize that area by the amount of thawâb which each of them will earn. All the Muslims called **Ahl as-Sunnat** are the followers of the path guided by the Shaikhayn. And most of the Muslims on the earth belong to this Sunnî group. Three aberrant groups came out from Hadrat Alî's progeny. Activities engaged in by all three groups were destructive of Islam. Had it not been for the infinite compassion of Allâhu ta'âlâ, they would have annihilated Islam. One of them was the group called **Imâmiyya**. According to that group, the compilers of the Qur'ân al-kerîm were not dependable people. For, people in the Imâmiyya group deny the (authenticity of the) Ashâb-i-kirâm and the well-known seven imâms (, i.e. scholars, leaders,) of (the Islamic science called) Qirâat. On the other hand, not a single report comes from the Twelve Imâms, who are the only dependable sources according to the Imâmiyya group. And, since those people do not report any Marfû' hadîths,[] either, they do not have a book of hadîths to depend on. Likewise, the **Zaydiyya** group also reject most of the religious teachings derived from hadîth-i-sherîfs. Those people are responsible for the bloody events of discord that stain the annals of history. The third group, **Ismâ'îliyya** , are the worst. They are Islam's enemies in every sense of the word. All the multitudinous heresies that have been ravaging the religious beliefs and practices of Muslims were fabricated by those three groups. Their iniquities could by no means mar Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' honour. By the same token, Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' could not be blamed for the misdeeds of Yazîd or of the Umayyad governors. Those people are responsible for their own cruelties and wrongdoings. It is equally true, however, that not an iota of thawâb reaches Hadrat Alî via those people. On the other hand, the Shaikhayn receive myriads of blessings daily, owing to the blessings which the Sunnî Muslims earn (on account of the pious deeds and correct practices they have been doing), and this reproduction of blessings will keep on increasing till the end of the world.

**Question 21** : Hadrat Alî was perfect both physically and spiritually. Therefore he is superior to the Shaikhayn.

**Answer 21** : Before discussing the matter of sheer physical and spiritual superiority, we have considered it relevant to quote a passage from **Sharh Mawâqif** and then give an all-in-all answer. It is stated as follows in Mawâqif: "Hadrat Alî was a treasure of high merits which were elements of superiorty. He was the most knowledgeable one of the Sahâba. He grew up under the edification of the Messenger of Allah. He became the blessed Prophet's son-in-law. He was highly intelligent. From the Messenger of Allah he learned such profound facts as others could not learn. As for Hadrat Abû Bakr; he was rather of age, [i.e. he was thirty-eight years old,] when he embraced Islam. He would see the Messenger of Allah once daily. The zuhd of Hadrat Alî is not unknown to anyone. He was very kind and generous, too. So much so that he was performing namâz one day when he dispensed his ring as alms. Thereupon an âyat-i-kerîma was revealed to laud him. At another time, it was immediately after sunset and he was about to break his fast which he had been performing as a votive offering, when a poor man came to the door. He gave all the food to the poor man. (The event took place three times running. On the first evening, it was a poor man who came to the door, asking for something to eat. The following evening, as Hadrat Alî, –and four other people; namely, Hadrat Fâtima, Hadrat Hasan, Hadrat Husayn, and Fidda, who was a jâriya, who had fasted all day long in fulfilment of a vow which they had made for the healing of Hadrat Hasan and Husayn from a fatal illness–, was about to break his fast, –and the others their fast–, when an orphan came to the door asking for something to eat. They gave all the food to the orphan. The same event took place the following evening, and the person at the door, a slave this time, was given the entire food. This event is told in detail in the ninth episode about Hadrat Alî in the book **Manâqib-i-chihâr yâr-i-ghuzîn** , by Sayyid Ayyûb bin Siddîq.) Thereupon another âyat-i-kerîma was revealed to commend their self-abnegation. Hadrat Alî was ahead of all others on account of the heroism and gallantry he displayed in the Holy Wars. So tremendously did he prove his mettle in the Holy War of Hendek (Trench), that the blessed Prophet praised him in his hadîth-i-sherîf, " **One blow which Alî deals with his sword is more valuable than** **the total amount of all the acts of worship performed by all human beings and genies.** " Equally well-known are the praisals lavished on him for the undaunted prowess he demonstrated in the other Holy Wars, especially at Haybar. No less was the reputation that he acquired owing to his beautiful moral habits. He had great physical strength, too. He lifted the gate of the fortress, pulling it off its hinges. "I have broken this gate not by muscular strength, but by a special strength given by Allâhu ta'âlâ," he said. Hadrat Alî was not only akin to the Messenger of Allah by way of lineage, but also related to him by marriage. Abbâs was Abdullah's brother only by father, whereas Abû Tâlib, (i.e. Hadrat Alî's father,) was Abdullah's brother by both parents. Hadrat Alî was the husband of the highest of all women, (i.e. Hadrat Fâtima). He was the father of Hasan and Husayn, the highest of the young people of Paradise."

Before forwarding our argument against the passage, we would like to acknowledge that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' did have the merits cited, definitely. All Muslims ought to hold this belief and love him very much. However, assuming the office of caliphate requires other superiorities as well. Various occupations and arts require varying superiorities in which to excel others. Lineage and outward appearance are not among the criteria to satisfy in a championship of scholars. The superiority to be fulfilled for being a prophet's khalîfa should be similar to the superiority with which prophets are specially endowed for the assumption of their prophetic duties. It is for this very reason that scholars, Awliyâ and other people who endeavour to promulgate Islam by way of Amr-i-ma'rûf and Nahy-i-munkar and Jihâd are more valuable than and superior to sportsmen, tradesmen and expert accountants, who are apparently more powerful. Likewise, being elected as Khalîfa requires a substantiated superiority to others in meeting the scientific, ethical and practical criteria upheld by the Messenger of Allah. In fact, of all these three sets of criteria, the practical ones outbalance the other two. Among the Ummat (Muslims), there may be some lucky peeople who obtain new pieces of information by way of inference [and research] or inspiration. Yet those pieces of information are not so valuable as the knowledge possessed by the Prophet. The prophetic knowledge is that which is practical in spreading knowledge and Islam, in deriving by way of inference the unclear principles concealed in them, in explicating those principles and culling the tenable ones from among a number of uncertain principles, and in providing a consensus (when necessary). Uppermost of all these practicalities is mastery in securing order, peace and comfort among the Ummat. A minute study of the times of the four Khalîfas will by no means reveal Hadrat Alî's superiority to the Shaikhayn in the perpetuation of the prophetic teachings and deeds. Whereas Hadrat Alî's knowledge made him superior in the speed of response, the Shaikhayn's knowledge outweighed his in that they were patient and answered questions only after a fastidious study of the matters or, (when necessary,) after providing a consensus (of the Sahâba). Hadrat Alî had very much zuhd, and the Shaikhayn also had very much zuhd. The munificence of the Shaikhayn was several times better than the munificence of Hadrat Alî. Furthermore, his dispensing his ring as alms as he was performing namâz and his giving the food he was going to eat after breaking fast were not among the authentic narrations. Even if they were authentic, then again it is a bare fact that he was not superior to them, in the face of the multitude of the âyat-i-kerîmas commending them, especially on account of the acts of charity performed by Hadrat Abû Bakr. Whereas Hadrat Alî was superior in the strength of his fists, the Shaikhayn were superior in the fortitude they displayed in coping with the renegades and subduing the Iranian and Byzantine empires. In addition, the Shaikhayn were multiples of times superior in the beautiful moral finess they showed in the appeasement of the Ummat (Muslims) and in the settling of quarrels. Versus Hadrat Alî's very close kinship, the Shaikhayn are closer to the Messenger of Allah in their graves, and so will they be at the place of Mahsher (the place where all people will gather for judgement), and also as they go to Paradise. Whereas Hadrat Alî had the honour of being Hadrat Fâtima's spouse, Hadrat Abû Bakr was blessed with the honour of fatherhood of Hadrat Âisha, Rasûlullah's blessed wife and also his companion in Paradise. The Qur'ân al-kerîm contains ten âyats lauding and praising Hadrat Âisha. One-fourth of the knowledge of Fiqh was learned from her. Likewise, Hadrat 'Umar's daughter, Hadrat Hafsa, was Rasûlullah's wife in the world, and so will she be in Paradise as well, and Jebrâîl 'alaihis-salâm' has praised her as a blessed woman who "has dedicated herself to performing namâz and fasting continually." Although some of the descendants of Hadrat Alî were the best people of their times, there were also others who caused grave harm to Islam. The aberrant groups called **Ismâ'îliyya** , **Zaydiyya** and **Imâmiyya** , for instance, owed their existences to his descendants. History books give detailed accounts of the bloody ventures which some of his descendants –whose number is hardly below one hundred– undertook and misled an untold number of Muslims with the help of the hordes of supporters that crowded around them. Such demolishers of Islam were not seen among the descendants of the Shaikhayn. People who descended fromthem, especially Abdullah bin 'Umar, Hadrat Âisha, Sâlim, Qâsim, Ubaydullah bin 'Umar 'Umarî, and many others, were sources of guidance who led people to happiness. Men of Tasawwuf such as Shihâbuddîn Suhrawardî and Fakhruddîn Suhrawardî, who came after the Twelve Imâms, and book-owners like Fakhruddîn Râzî Waliyyuddîn were all people who attained guidance owing to the fayz they received from the descendants of the Shaikhayn. If a person's being of Hashimite descent or having an abundant progeny were something conducive to his superiority, Hadrat Alî would –mayAllâhu ta'âlâ protect us against such a disastrous belief– necessarily be superior to the Messenger of Allah. If it should be argued that "Those superiorities apply among those who are below prophethood; they become null and void on the prophetic level," then it should be admitted that they lose their validity also on levels where prophetic attributes are perpetuated although in similarity. True, they are effective with people below those levels. As a matter of fact, Hadrat Alî was superior to all the Sahâbîs who lived during his caliphate. This is the belief held by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. What we have written so far are answers to Nasîruddîn Tûsî's book **Tajrîd**.

**Question 22** : Why should superiority be an indispensable criterion for assuming office as Khalîfa? We might as well put it that way: Superior as Hadrat Alî was, the unlearned people would have refused to pay homage to him because he had killed the fathers and friends of the Qoureishî people, because he had never shown remission in his invitation to Islam, and because he was hasty in his chastisements. Since Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was a best psychiatrist, he may have preferred to appoint someone else for the office of caliphate.

**Answer 22** : Allâhu ta'âlâ sent prophets 'alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-taslîmât' for the rectification of peoples and for the establishment of peace and welfare among them. It is therefore a prophet's duty to choose a person who will represent his prophetic attributes best. If he chooses someone else, he will have misused his authority and committed an injustice. It is senseless to say that the Qoureishî people would have refused to pay homage to someone who had killed their fathers and friends. If it were sound reasoning, the Messenger of Allah would have preceded Hadrat Alî in the list of people rejected for the same reason. For, it was by his order that all the Sahâba, not only Hadrat Alî, had killed the Qoureishî people in the Holy Wars. The fact, however, was that those Qoureishîs who had embraced Islam loved the Messenger of Allah more than their own lives.

**Question 23** : Holding the Shaikhayn superior on the persuasion that deeds such as helping the Messenger of Allah and promulgating Islam and making jihâd in the Iranian and Byzantine lands as well as in Arabia and compiling the Qur'ân al-kerîm and conquering countries and supporting Muslims are prophetic attributes, exposes a predisposition wide open to various other arguments. For one thing, the most valuable Sunnî books such as **Sharh Mawâqif** and **Sharh 'Aqâid** hold that superiority depends on the abundance of thawâb (deeds that will be rewarded in the Hereafter). Isn't the superiority defined above contradictory to the unanimous teaching of these books? Furthermore, isn't the propounded definiton suggestive of the assumption that Hadrat Mu'âwiya and certain other commanders must be superior to Hadrat Alî on account of their conquests of lands of disbelievers? Our third antithesis would be that the so-called elements of superiority are kinds of attributes that are acquired afterwards. They are complementary to one's congenital superiorities. In fact, it is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ promulgates this religion** (Islam) **also through someone who is a fâjir** [disbeliever]." Another fact that should not escape our attention is that there were Prophets with only one believer each; which indicates that conquering various lands and promulgating the religion are not among the prophetic attributes. With the essential fact that prophets are all identical (in their prophetic duties), similarity to ourProphet cannot be presented as an exception to "prove the rule." That means to say that similarity to our Prophet must be similarity in some other attributes! Furthermore, if the conquest of lands were indicative of superiority, Hadrat 'Umar would necessarily have been superior to Hadrat Abû Bakr. The services which Hadrat Alî rendered in the Holy Wars made during the time of our Prophet were more than those rendered by any of the others. The conquests and services that would be done after our Prophet, on the other hand, were not known during the first caliphate election. Then, why should it be taken for granted that Hadrat Abû Bakr was the most superior and that the first election was based on a consensus?

**Answer 23** : These speculations show that what we have said is not understood well. We have not said that superiority consists in promulgating the religion, making jihâd, capturing countries and compiling the Qur'ân al-kerîm only. These are a few of the components making up the superiority. These components can be divided into three groups. In the first group are the components of similarity in the prophetic attributes, which causes superiority in helping the Messenger of Allah and perpetuating the blessed Messenger's duties after him. The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat divided the duty among themselves. One group undertook the science dealing with hadîth-i-sherîfs, while another group spread the teachings of (the science called) Kalâm. When a statement is said to belong to the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat, it is the statement of a consensus reached unanimously by all the scholars of the Ahl as-Sunnat, including the second group of scholars. The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat state unanimously that the Shaikhayn were (the most) superior. Jihâd is performed not only with the sword, but also with oral and written words as well as with one's nafs. Hadrat Abû Bakr was superior in the second and third kinds of jihâd. He performed jihâd constantly for thirteen years in Mekka and for one year in Medîna before the revelation of the âyat-i-kerîma about jihâd. The hadîth-i-sherîf, " **If aprophet were to come after me, definitely 'Umar would be that prophet** ," is a clear indication of the fact that the Shaikhayn did possess the prophetic attributes. A fâjir's (disbeliever's) serving Islam will certainly be of no use to him. Yet this fact can by no means be grounds for denying the high merits in performing Amr-i-ma'rûf and jihâd and the abundance of thawâb it will produce. And it is clearly stated in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs that the Shaikhayn were pious Muslims, not fâjirs. If a person denies this fact, he should doubt about his own îmân. Similarity to the Messenger of Allah can be in one of the following three ways: The first way is similarity in the rank of prophethood, which is peculiar to prophets alone. The second way is similarity in performing the prophetic duties. We have explained in detail in the previous pages that the Shaikhayn possessed this kind of similarity. The third way is similarity in performing the acts of worship. This similarity varies, depending on the time and the dispensation. Jihâd was not commanded in most of the earlier dispensations. Therefore, doing jihâd would not have been an act of worship, let alone a superior one, for the prophets of those dispensations. Our religion, by contrast, commanded jihâd and conquests. Accordingly, jihâd was one of the prophetic duties. The reasoning, "... then Hadrat 'Umar would necessarily have been superior to Hadrat Abû Bakr," is quite maladroit in that it might be wickedly furthered into the nasty reasoning that "the Shaikhayn also would necessarily have been superior to the Messenger of Allah." The Shaikhayn performed those acts of jihâd and conquest which the Messenger of Allah started and which he said would be completed. They offered their services to his jihâd after his decease exactly as they had done during his lifetime. Likewise, Hadrat 'Umar completed the (completion of) jihâd started by Hadrat Abû Bakr. That was what he meant when he said, "I am the Khalîfa of Abû Bakr."

**Question 24** : Hadrat Alî was not present when the Messenger of Allah stated, " **Let Abû Bakr conduct** (the prayers of) **namâz**!" If he had been present, the Prophet's order would have been, "Let Alî conduct namâz!" Or, perhaps, the so-called commandment was made in deference to Hadrat Abû Bakr's old age. That the Shaikhayn are the highest people of Paradise and that Hadrat Abû Bakr will be the first Muslim to enter Paradise may be the case with the exception of Hadrat Alî. And why shouldn't Hadrat Alî's acknowledgement, "Abû Bakr is the highest man of this Ummat, and next after him is 'Umar," have gone without saying that he himself was an exception? Indeed, being an extremely exalted person, Alî, like the Messenger of Allah, has a special high position quite beyond and above the other members of this Ummat.

**Answer 24** : It could not be for us to say that Hadrat Abû Bakr was the highest. It is a religious fact stated by Hadrat 'Umar and by Hadrat Alî and by Abû 'Ubayda and by Abdullah bin ibn Mes'ûd and by the notable Sahâbîs and by most of the Ansâr. Those were the blessed people who elected him Khalîfa. Qays bin 'Ubâd relates: Hadrat Alî said to me: "Rasûlullah was ill (in bed) when prayer time came. The blessed Messenger ordered, ' **Tell Abû Bakr to conduct namâz!** ' I thought this over after the decease of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Abû Bakr was a person whom the Messenger of Allah had made our leader in namâz, the main pillar of Islam; therefore we elected Abû Bakr Khalîfa." These statements of Hadrat Alî's are quoted by Hasan Basrî in the book entitled **Istî'âb** , by Abû 'Amr.

Hakem bin Hajar reports, again in the book **Istî'âb** , that he heard from Hadrat Alî: "If a person holds me superior to Abû Bakr and 'Umar, he is a slanderer. I will beat him, as I beat slanderers." 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER – 2 –

No one in the world has escaped being libeled, somehow, by wicked people. Heretics called **Mu'tazila** vilified even prophets 'alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât' and angels. Across the vilifications, however, people of wisdom and reason diagnose the vilified people's purity and nobility. A clear evidence proving the superiorities of the Shaikhayn is the fact that their obstinately jealous and prejudiced adversaries have been reiterating the same stereotyped sophisms for centuries.

One of their vilifications is based on Hadrat Abû Bakr's refusal to give Hadrat Fâtima an inheritance from her father 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'.

Hadrat Abû Bakr's refusal to give her an inheritance was merely intended to obey the injunction implied in the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **We prophets do not leave an inheritance behind us. No one inherits property from us**." It is stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîm that prophets such as Dâwûd (David), Suleymân (Solomon), Yahyâ (John) and Zakariyyâ (Zachariah) 'alaihim-us-salâm' used the word 'inheritance' in their statements. Naturally, our Prophet was the person who understood the meanings of the Qur'ân al-kerîm best. Realizing that the word 'inheritance' used in theâyat-i-kerîmas meant 'inheritance of knowledge and caliphate', and not 'inheritance of property', our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' uttered the hadîth-i-sherîf quoted above. The hadîth-i-sherîf is a clarification of the Qur'ân al-kerîm (in this matter). As Abû Dâwûd narrates, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had date orchards at Benî Nadîr, at Hayber, and at Fadak. He would dispense the income from the first one to civil servants, and the income from Fadak to the poor. He would divide the income from the one at Hayber into three, giving two-thirds to Muslims, and the remaining one-third to his Ahl-i-Bayt, i.e. his family. In case any amount remained, he would dispense it to the poor ones of the Muhâjirs. When Hadrat Abû Bakr became Khalîfa, he did not change this policy of the Messenger of Allah. When Hadrat 'Umar became Khalîfa, he sent for Hadrat Alî and Hadrat Abbâs, and asked them, when they arrived, if they had heard the hadîth-i-sherîfwhich we have quoted above, swearing them to telling the truth. They replied that they had. Hadrat Fâtima only wanted to be blessed[] by taking possession of property which was impeccably halâl (canonically lawful) because it was given by Islam; she was somewhat upset when she was not given property of inheritance although she had heard the hadîth-i-sherîf; it was only human after all. Nor did Hadrat Alî change the policy perpetuated by the Shaikhayn; and he did not give the orchards to his children when he assumed caliphate. 'Umar bin 'Abdul'azîz also followed their example.

Siddîq (Hadrat Abû Bakr) 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' had a thief's left hand cut off. They criticize him for that chastisement which they alledge to be incompatible with Islam. The event is related at length in the book **Muwatta**. The thief's right hand and foot had already been mutilated. It was for his left hand's turn to be cut off. Hadrat Abû Bakr's example is followed in the Madhhabs of Mâlikî and Shâfi'î. The Madhhabs of Hanafî and Hanbalî, on the other hand, follow a report coming through Hadrat Alî; accordingly, if a person's one hand and one foot have already been mutilated, he is imprisoned instead of another one of his limbs being cut off.

Another reason for which they blame Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was his not having implemented qisâs (retaliation) for Mâlik bin Nuwayra.

Khâlid bin Walîd inferred from Mâlik's choice of words that he had become a renegade (from Islam). So he had him killed. Because Hadrat Abû Bakr's ijtihâd indicated that Hadrat Khâlid was telling the truth, he did not implement qisâs on Hadrat Khâlid. We wonder what justification those people will suggest for Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' not having implemented qisâs on Hadrat 'Uthmân's murderers, since they see no justification in Hadrat Abû Bakr's attitude?

They claim that "It had been neither openly commanded nor implied beforehand that Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' should be (the first) Khalîfa. If it had been so, he would not have been elected Khalîfa (later) by way of ijtihâd, for ijtihâd would have been unnecessary." Seven overlapping preambles would be illuminative in answering their argument:

1) There were several manners in which the **Wahy** [] came to Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Some of the âyats (warning about the vehemence and imminence) of torment (in Hell) came with sounds like those of bells. Jebrâîl 'alaihis-sallâm' would appear in human guise and say the âyats to the blessed Prophet. Occasionally, wahy would happen during (the Prophet's) dreams. Firâsat (insight) also was sometimes a manner of wahy. Most of those kinds of wahy does not exist in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. It is not permissible to question its reasons. We should not ask, for instance, why most of the instructions pertaining to namâz do not explicitly take place in the Qur'ân al-kerîm, whereas everything about fasting is described clearly. Likewise, it cannot be questioned why a certain commandment was revealed in a dream instead of simply being declared in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. Likewise, we are not supposed to interrogate why Hadrat Abû Bakr's caliphate was not foretold in the Qur'ân al-kerîm instead of being implied in a prophetic dream.

2) Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' announced some of the commandments and prohibitions clearly. On the other hand, he implied some of them by saying, for instance, "May Allah's compassion be on anyone who performs that act," or by imprecating, "May he who commits that act be accursed in the view of Allâhu ta'âlâ." This policy also is something unquestionable. For instance, it cannot be asked why the Shaikhayn's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' caliphates were implied in a manner of dream-telling and not as a direct commandment, saying, for instance, "Make Abû Bakr and 'Umar Khalîfas after me."

3) Some commandments were implied in narrations of futureevents. Îsâ's 'alaihis-salâm' coming back and the Dajjâl's appearing were foretold, and the Dajjâl's iniquities were stated. These narrations imply certain commandments, e.g. "Obey Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm' when he comes back," and proscriptions, such as, "Do not follow the Dajjâl when he appears!" Another method of commanding or prohibiting certain acts was to say, for instance, "I have seen those people who do this and that in Paradise," or, "I have seen people who do so in Hell." Commandments and prohibitions are sometimes stated clearly in âyats, and sometimes by way of presuppositions imported in âyats. For instance, the statement, "So and so has manumitted Ahmad," imports the presupposition (iqtidâ) that Ahmad was his slave. To say, "I have designated this person as your commander," means that you should obey that person's orders, which is a presupposition imported in the statement. By the same token, Allâhu ta'âlâ declared openly that He would appoint (some people as) Khalîfas over this Ummat (Muslims). And He revelad in (the blessedProphet's) dreams that the Shaikhayn would be (the earliest) Khalîfas. Likewise, by giving Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm' the Glad Tidings that He would send unto humanity a prophetwhose dispensation would be the finality of Divine Messengership, Allâhu ta'âlâ implied that all people should obey His final Prophet. " **Adhere to my path and, after me, to the path in which the Khulafâ-ar-râshîdîn** (the earliest four Khalîfas; namely, Hadrat Abû Bakr, Hadrat 'Umar, Hadrat 'Uthmân, and Hadrat Alî) **will be guiding you,** " is a hadîth-i-sherîfwhich commands to obey the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'. That they would assume caliphate was a presupposition imported in this hadîth-i-sherîf.

4) That it was implied that the Shaikhayn would assume caliphate is symptomatic of the fact that they were rightly-guided and true Khalîfas. It is identical with Îsâ's 'alaihis-salâm' happy prophecy about the advent of the final Prophet 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam.'

5) Two unclear pieces of information provided in the nass are united to indicate a clear fact. For instance, the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **After me pay homage to Abû Bakr and 'Umar** ," does not clearly foretell the Shaikhayn's caliphates although it contains their very names. However, the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **After me, adhere to the path in which the Khulafâ-ar-râshidîn will be guiding you** ," complements it into a clear indication of their future caliphates. When the two hadîth-i-sherîfs are combined, it becomes an established fact that the Shaikhayn were (rightly-guided) Khalîfas. Why the fact was divided into two complementary utterances is a prophetic mystery the ultimate divine benefits of which are known only to the owner of the utterances.

6) (The documentary sources of Islam called) the **Edilla-i-shar'iyya** are four. The third of these four sources is **Ijmâ'** , (which means consensus of the Sahâba on a religious matter). Realization of ijmâ' requires existence of a **delîl** , i.e. a document, based on the **Book** , (i.e. the Qur'ân al-kerîm,) or the **Sunnat** , (i.e. hadîth-i-sherîfs). The Ashâb-i-kirâm reached (a consensus called) ijmâ' by reminding the delîls to one another. They designated Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' as Khalîfa as a result of that ijmâ'. Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' statement, "We know that he is the most eligible for the office," attests this fact.

7) The terms **istikhlâf** , (i.e. leaving someone as one's successor,) and **sarîh nass** , which are used by Imâm Nawâwî and other scholars, have various meanings. If the head of the (Islamic) state convenes the prominent statesmen, towards his death, and tells them to pay homage to a certain person (after his death), he has done **istikhlâf** by way of **sarîh nass**. Otherwise, it is (only) istikhlâf to say that that person is eligible for being Khalîfa. This way of (indirect) designation does not stipulate conditions such as closeness of (the present Khalîfa's) death and (his) convening the prominent state authorities. It is a way of informing, rather than a commandment. If a certain person has been recommended by way of istikhlâf, this implicit priority he has gained does not place any restrictions on someone else's assuming office as (the new) Khalîfa. Istikhlâf is sometimes quite unclear. It can be clarified only by way of the presupposition imported in the (previous Khalîfa's) statement. Or, it becomes clear when two different (implicit) statements are collocated. Different scholars of Fiqh may derive different meanings from the presupposition imported in a certain statement.

We can now rest our conclusive answer on the informational background supplied by the above seven introductory paragraphs: According to Imâm Shâfi'î 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', who was the chief of the Madhhab with which Imâm Nawawî was affiliated, –in fact, Imâm Shâfi'î was the chief of all the scholars of Hadîth, as well as those of Fiqh–, the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **If I am not here when you come back, ask** (your questions to) **Abû Bakr** ," was a clear indication of the fact that Abû Bakr was to be (the first) Khalîfa. Imâm Shâfi'î was a scholar with profound knowledge, a keen perception, and an utterly solid reasoning. He was one of the documentary signs which Allâhu ta'âlâ specially created. He states that that hadîth-i-sherîf, an apparent order given to a certain woman as it was, was in actual fact an implication which must inevitably be construed as an information foretelling that Hadrat Abû Bakr was to be Khalîfa. As Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' uttered thathadîth-i-sherîf, he did not show any signs of regret or displeasure. This state shows that the event foretold was to be justified and canonically lawful. Other hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered at various places indicate Hadrat Abû Bakr's caliphate more directly. Collectively, they make up a (certain religious fact which is termed) **tawâtur**. Imâm Nawawî's argument, "If there were a nass, (i.e. a clear narration,) they would quote it and act accordingly. They did not quote a nass," is quite out of place. On the contrary, they did quote various **nasses** , i.e. clear narrations. For instance, they said that when a person is designated as an imâm (to conduct the public prayers of namâz for Rasûlullah's place), he is to be Khalîfa (after the Messenger of Allah). Because it was an established fact known by all the Ashâb-i-kirâm, they considered it unnecessary to search for and quote other nasses. Besides, bereaved of the Messenger of Allah, they were totally overwhelmed with grief and despair; worse still, intelligence had arrived that the Arabs had turned renegade and were marching towards Medîna. The caliphate election had to be done as soon as possible. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' summarizes the event as follows: "WhenRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' became ill, he ordered us to tell Abû Bakr to conduct the salâts. Afterwards, we (remembered this event and) thought the matter over upon Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' passing away. We elected Abû Bakr as Khalîfa, since he was a person whom the Messenger of Allah had made our leader in salât (namâz), which was Islam's flag and the archstone of all acts of piety."

**Question** : Hadrat Abû Bakr pointed to Hadrat 'Umar and Abû 'Ubayda 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' and said, "Pay homage to one of these two people." Doesn't this attitude of his show that there was not a nass to indicate that he was to be Khalîfa? Isn't it harâm to prefer someone else despite the nass?

**Answer** : That behaviour of Hadrat Abû Bakr's was a clever and polite technique applied to make others acknowledge the existence of a nass which indicated his caliphate. It was intended to announce what he knew through others' tongues.

That Hadrat Abû Bakr is the highest member of this Ummat is a fact stated by most of the Islamic scholars. Another fact which is unanimously stated (by the Islamic scholars) is that after Hadrat 'Uthmân, Hadrat Alî is the (fourth) highest. There were also scholars who stated that Hadrat Alî was higher than Hadrat 'Uthmân, and that he was even higher than the Shaikhayn.

According to a report narrated on the authority of Nizâl bin Sabra in the page containing the entry 'Abdullah bin Abî Quhâfa' in the book **Istî'âb** , Hadrat Alî stated, "After our Prophet, the most auspicious Muslim among this Ummat is Abû Bakr. Next after him comes 'Umar." This statement of Hadrat Alî's was also quoted by Muhammad bin Hanafiyya, one of Hadrat Alî's sons; by 'Abd-i-Khayr; and by Abû Juhayfa. Another quotation from Hadrat Alî reads as follows: "The Messenger of Allah was in the lead. Then Abû Bakr took over from him. Hadrat 'Umar was the third. Thereafter came fitna (chaos, turmoil, mischief, sedition)." Abd-i-Khayr quotes Hadrat Alî as having said: "May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless Abû Bakr with His Compassion, for he was first to bring this Ummat together." Abdullah bin Ja'far Tayyâr observed: "Abû Bakr became Khalîfa over us. He was utterly useful and extremely merciful." Mesrûq observed: "It is a symptom of Ahl as-Sunnat to love Abû Bakr and 'Umar and to believe in their superiority." This is the end of the passage we have borrowed from **Istî'âb**. Ibn Hajar Makkî observed: "Those (scholars) who stress Hadrat Alî's superiority mean that he was superior in some respects, which is by no means fadl-i-kullî (overall superiority)." This partial superiority provides him excellence over people other than the three Khalîfas (previous to him).

The Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Tâbi'în had various different merits. Most of the Tâbi'în were not mujtahids. **Ijmâ'** means 'consensus of mujtahids'. If there is an ijmâ' on a certain matter, it is not permissible to follow the muqallids' words in that matter. There are various ijtihâds on matters which have not been settled by way of ijmâ'. The differences of ijtihâds are eliminated by way of discussion and consultation, and thereby an ijmâ' (consensus) is reached. All the decisions which the Salaf as-Sâlihîn reached by way of ijmâ' were of this sort. Salmân Fârisî's statement, "There was correctness as well as error in the caliphate of Abû Bakr," means, "There were various ijtihâds as to the superiorities of Abû Bakr, and he was elected by way of ijmâ'." Abû Juhayfa observed: "My ijtihâd indicated that Hadrat Alî was superior to all. However, when Hadrat Alî mounted the minbar and acknowledged that Abû Bakr was the most superior member of this Ummat and that 'Umar was next after him, my ijtihâd became null and void." Also, Imâm Mâlik's remark, "I cannot hold anyone superior to a part from the Prophet," signifies fadl-i-juz'î (partial superiority; superiority in some respects). So is the case with all the remarks made by the minority who held Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' superior.

**Question** : Don't the utterances made by the scholars of Kalâm concerning the superiority of Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' seem to be pure guesswork rather than statements of definite facts?

**Answer** : True. There were scholars who surmised his superiority as well as those who were certain as to their statements. However, even those who only surmised opted to believe in the affirmative, and none of them took a negative approach to the matter. That indicates that the superiority of Abû Bakr is an ineluctable fact. Abul Hasan Ash'arî, the leader of the instructors of the Sunnî path, states the superiority of Abû Bakr definitely. Others' asserting that Hadrat Abû Bakr was elected Khalîfa in consequence of ijtihad based on guesswork could not eclipse this certain fact. There are two groups of **Ashâ'ira** , i.e. scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. In the first group are those scholars who always defeated their opponents in the discussions. Those people did not busy themselves very much in the science of Hadîth. Abû Bakr Bâqillânî and Imâm Râdî (ar-Râzî) and Qâdî Baydâwî and Qâdî 'Adûd and Sa'duddîn Teftâzânî are a few of them. The second group are the scholars of Hadîth. Those scholars kept away from discussions. Nor did they delve into depths. Ajûrî and Bayhakî are two of those scholars. We muqallids (imitators, non-scholars, ordinary Muslims) subsist on the remnants of the meals of those two groups of scholars. We feed ourselves by licking the dishes of those great scholars. If the arguments presented by those who hold that the superiority of Hadrat Abû Bakr is based on guesswork are studied with due attention, it will be seen that they are based on the apparently contradictory narrations coming from the Salaf as-Sâlihîn (the early Islamic scholars). However, as we have explained, those narrations are not actually contradictory. Some of those people, on the other hand, assess the superiority by a criterion based on the consensus reached on the caliphate election. Yet it is another fact we have already explained that many another criterion was taken into consideration concerning superiority. Earliness in embracing Islam, for instance, was one of the favourable qualifications. As is inferred from the words of the Salaf as-Sâlihîn, the caliphate election was posterior to the determination of superiorities. Superiority is a condition indispensable in **Khilâfat-i-nubuwwat** , i.e. in being the Prophet's Khalîfa. The tenure of office essential in that level of caliphate is thirty years. Caliphates in the aftermath do not stipulate superiority. The book **Sharh Mawâqif** provides a splendid explication of this matter. Here are the conclusive remarks presented in the book:

"Superiority is not something measurable by accurate gradations. Nor is it confined within mental areas of cognition. For instance, a certain person cannot be held superior because apparently he has more thawâb, (i.e. he has done more pious acts than other people have done and therefore deserves more rewards in the Hereafter). It can be assessed, to some extent, on the basis of the majority of reports. On the other hand, it has by no means any affinity with teachings of Fiqh, in which a Muslim can utilize his **zann-i-ghâlib** (preferrable guesswork) as a last resort in his religious concerns. It is a matter of knowledge, which in turn requires certainty and positive judgment. Contradictory nasses are not productive of definite knowledge. Nor is the profusion of the symptoms suggesting the abundance of merits and bleessings (thawâb) viable in accurate mensuration. For, thawâb is a gift from Allâhu ta'âlâ. He may not give any thawâb to a person for his acts of worship. For another person's worship, in contrast, He may give very much thawâb. Having been elected as Khalîfa, even if it is definite itself, is not a definite indication of superiority. At the most, it causes surmise. Then, how could it ever be confidently held that it is not sahîh (valid, canonically lawful) to elect someone inferior as Khalîfa despite the existence of a superior one? Besides, it is a fact conveyed to us by the Salaf as-Sâlihîn that the order of superiority (among the earliest four Khalîfas) is (coincidental with the order of their caliphates, i.e. it is as follows): Hadrat Abû Bakr was the highest; Hadrat 'Umar was the second highest; Hadrat 'Uthmân was the third highest; and Hadrat Alî was the fourth highest. As a requirement of the good opinion we have for the Salaf as-Sâlihîn, we say that 'They would not have communicated to us something they had not known for certain. It is wâjib (incumbent) on us Muslims to follow the Salaf as-Sâlihîn. Allâhu ta'âlâ knows all truth.'

"Âmidî [Sayf-ud-dîn Alî bin Muhammad] provides the following explanation: When someone is said to be superior to another person, it may be meant either that the former is knowledgeable and the latter is ignorant or that the former is more knowledgeable than the latter, (although he, too, is a knowledgeable person). None of these two sorts of superiority could have been the case among the Ashâb-i-kirâm. In fact, each and every one of them had special merits in addition to the merits which all of them commonly possessed. A certain merit can be more valuable than (the sum of) various other merits. Therefore, a person who has the greatest number of merits cannot be said to be the most superior." This is the end of the excerpt we have borrowed from Sharh Mawâqif. [Âmid is the former name of a city (in Southeastern Turkey) which is now called Diyâr-i-Bakr. According to information given within the chapter dealing with various kinds of testimony in the book **Durr-ul-mukhtâr** , and also in the book **Fawâid-ul-behiyya** , the **Salaf as-Salihîn** are the scholars of the first two (Islamic) centuries, who are commended in a hadîth-i-sherîf. Those blessed people are also called the **Sadr-ul-awwal**.]

**Ijmâ'** is one of the four (Islamic) documentary sources. When there is not a single report contradictory to the ijmâ', it is definite ijmâ'. When there is a contradictory report, even if it is (one of those kinds of reports called) shâz (weakly supported) or nâdir (rare), the ijmâ' in this case is suppositional, not definite. According to the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, the caliphate of Hadrat 'Uthman was rightly-guided. The scholars are unanimous in that. Yet there is not a consensus on that Hadrat 'Uthmân was superior to Hadrat Alî. As is seen, certainty of caliphate does not cause certainty of superiority. Nor does uncertainty concerning a person's superirotiy cause uncertainty concerning his caliphate. Actual superiority is to be loved very much by Allâhu ta'âlâ, which can be learned only from wahy. Being praised very much does not indicate (additional) superiority. Indeed, all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were praised very much.

**Question** : The hadîth-i-sherîfs indicating that Hadrat Abû Bakr would be Khalîfa are identical with prophecies about Allâhu ta'âlâ's future creations. They do not indicate an exclusive right. Even if we were to admit that they indicated a right, it would only be a permission. In fact, if there were two candidates equal in superiority, any one of them would assume office (as Khalîfa); however, that person may have been somewhat below the other one in superiority. The hadîth-i-sherîf, " **After me, pay homage to Abû Bakr and 'Umar** ," means, "Pay homage to them because Allâhu ta'âlâ decrees their caliphate!" For, it is wâjib to obey the Khalîfa even if he is not superior. Likewise, the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **I shall rise from grave together with Abû Bakr and 'Umar** ," informs about a future coincidence. Reports of this sort do not indicate superiority. Other hadîth-i-sherîfs and dreams also inform about future events.

**Answer** : Irâda-i-teshrî'î is dependent upon Irâda-i-tekwînî. Allâhu ta'âlâ knew in the eternal past that He would create certain people at certain times. He knew also what would be useful for those people. He willed to create those people in their times. He determined the harâms, the halâls, and His commandments. In other words, He decreed them. He creates them when their time comes. He willed in the eternal past that the Shaikhayn would be Khalîfas. He informed His Messenger about that decree of His. And the Messenger of Allah, in his turn, informed the Muslims about the ' **Irâda-i-tekwînî** ' by saying, " **After me** ," and about the ' **Irâda-i-teshrî'î** ' by saying, " **Pay homage**!" So was the case with Allâhu ta'âlâ's decreeing in the eternal past that He would create Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' and that it would be farz to believe him. That it is farz to believe the Messenger of Allah and it is wâjib to obey the Khalîfas indicates a special merit reserved for them. No other merit can be superior to that special merit. There are more than fifty evidences indicating the caliphates of the Shaikhayn. And most of them are clearly stated evidences.

**Question** : Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat 'Uthmân banned the kinds of hajj called Mut'a and Qirân.[] The Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were opposed to that banning. What would you say about that?

**Answer** : It is a fact stated by the scholars of the four Madhhabs that Hadrat 'Umar was not against Mut'a hajj. He merely said that Meccans would earn more thawâb if they performed Ifrâd hajj. The four Madhhabs differ in many of the acts of worship within hajj. The differences among them are based on ijtihâd. Differences of ijtihâd are not bid'ats. The Ashâb-i-kirâm described with all the minute details how Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' performed hajj. There is not an iota of difference among their descriptions. However, their speculations on the blessed Messenger's purposes for some of his performances varied. According to the Shâfi'î and Mâlikî Madhhabs, Rasûlullah's hajj was **Ifrâd**. Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat 'Uthmân also reported so.

**Question** : The (kind of temporary cohabitation termed) mut'a nikâh was widely practiced in the time of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Hadrat 'Umar banned it when he became Khalîfa. Didn't that mean to cancel an act of Sunnat?

**Answer** : The Ashâb-i-kirâm were at variance among themselves on the actual purport of the hadîth-i-sherîfs concerning the matter. Hadrat 'Umar put an end to the discussions. A consensus (ijmâ') was reached. It can be inferred from this event also that Hadrat 'Umar was a true Khalîfa of the Messenger of Allah. Thehadîth-i-sherîf informing that the mut'a nikâh was made harâm (forbidden) is written in the books Bukhârî and Muslim and Muwatta. This fact was reported also by Hadrat Alî.

**Question** : Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' asked for a pen and paper towards his death. Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' objected to the Prophet's order on the pretext that "He must be in a mental disturbance caused by illness to say so. The Book of Allah is sufficient for us."

**Answer** : After the revelation of the âyat-i-kerîma commanding consultation,Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' usually consulted with his Sahâba before making important decisions. The wahy that was revealed in the aftermath of the discussions was more often than not in favour of the Sahâba's arguments. The salât of janâza for Abdullah bin 'Ubayy was performed at the end of such consultations. Hadrat 'Umar's comment was in the same category. Approving of Hadrat 'Umar's comment, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' desisted from his demand. He never repeated his demand from Thursday till the following Monday. He would have repeated his order within the intervening days if he had wished to do so. If there had been something to be recorded, he would necessarily have repeated his demand. This event is an animated document indicative of the value and honour of Hadrat 'Umar in the view of the Messenger of Allah. He could not be blamed for having said, "Ask him (again). I am afraid he must have said so in a state of delirium (due to his fever)," to prevent others' attempt to fetch a pen and paper. Indeed, he would have meant, "The Prophet will not talk wildly (under normal conditions). He will always tell the truth. Ask him again for confirmation." Nevertheless, there is not an authentic report ascribing the utterance of the words, "... he must have said so in a state of delirium," to Hadrat 'Umar. What is even more farcical is the preposterous allegation that "The Messenger of Allah was going to write an order designating Hadrat Alî as his Khalîfa. That was why Hadrat 'Umar prevented others from getting a pen and paper." It is a squalid attempt of divination on past people's inner intentions. Had it been necessary to write the would-be Khalîfa's name, Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' also would have done so. In fact, it was during that period of illness when the blessed Messenger said to HadratÂisha: " **Send for your father Abû Bakr! I shall write** (out a document) **for him, for I am afraid that someone may come forward with the claim that he is more eligible than Abû Bakr for caliphate. It is Abû Bakr, alone, whom Allâhu ta'âlâ and the Believers will approve**." This hadîth-i-sherîf is written in **Muslim**. Thereafter the blessed Prophetordered, " **Leave (here, and let) me (be) by myself!** " That prophetic order shows that he wished the **Refîq-i-a'lâ** (to be with Allâhu ta'âlâ).

**Question** : Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' appointed his kinsmen to important positions. Is it something justifiable?

**Answer** : So did Hadrat Alî. Those great people cannot be criticized for such practices. Likewise, Hadrat Alî did not apply qisâs (retaliation) on Hadrat 'Uthmân's murderers. He did not show deference to Abû Mûsa-l-Ash'ârî and Abû Mes'ûd Ansârî. He failed to prevent bloodshed among Muslims. He did not join the Holy War of Tabuk. These facts do not detract from Hadrat Alî's great honour. On the contrary, Hadrat 'Uthmân's kindness towards his kinsmen was something Islam advised. By doing so, he attained the thawâb promised for **Sila-i-rahm**. Besides, he did all his kindnesses from his personal property. He could be held culpable if he had given presents from the Bayt-ul-mâl. Dispensing one's rightful deserts from the Bayt-ul-mâl to Muslims instead of making personal use of them, is pure meritorious, let alone blameworthy, conduct. Hadrat 'Uthmân's kinsmen made jihâd. They demonstrated very much heroism. He rewarded them by giving them their dues, as he rewarded the other mujâhids. The Islamic expansions over Asia and Africa in the time of Hadrat 'Uthmân were due to his profuse kindnesses. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah also would give more ganîmat to the Qoureishîs than to other people. And to the Hâshimîs (Hashimites) he would give even more. Hadrat 'Umar's statement, "I am afraid 'Uthmân will appoint the Benî Umayya to positions over the Muslims," was intended to offer his opinion as to the futility of (Hadrat 'Uthmân's) probable future preference, rather than his disapproval of Hadrat 'Uthmân's policies. A mujtahid cannot be blamed for acting upon his own ijtihâd. And it is the Khalîfa's prerogative to appoint any person he chooses to a position as he wishes. In fact, it is his duty. He preferred his kinsmen, considering that they would be more loyal to him. That policy of his proved gainful. Their wrongdoings, on the other hand, were not committed on his instructions. The Khalîfa does not have to know someone's future activities. His slowness in the qisâs (retaliation) to be inflicted on Walîd bin 'Uqba was intended to take time for a healthier investigation of the complaints. When the people of Kûfa reported that Walîd was guilty of wine consumption, he ordered Hadrat Alî to inflict the flogging termed hadd on him. And Hadrat Alî did as he was ordered (by the Khalîfa). By burning the copy of the Qur'ân al-kerîm prepared by Abdullah bin Mes'ûd, he united all the Muslims around the copy of theQur'ân al-kerîm prepared by the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'. His attitude was not intended to insult Abdullah bin Mes'ûd. On the contrary, it was a great service rendered to Islam. As for the banishment of Abû Zer from Medîna; it was because he had violated the ijmâ'; therefore it was not an arbitrary banishment.

**Question** : Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' paid no attention to Muhammad bin Abû Bakr's cries.

**Answer** : Muhammad bin Abû Bakr was not a faultless person; nor was he innocent at all. It was the Khalîfa's duty to chastise him. That the letter containing the order, "Kill both of them," was not written by Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', and that it was an act of duplicity contrived by some ignoble tribesmen, is written in a history book by **Yâfi'î**.

**Question** : Hadrat 'Uthmân did not inflict qisâs on Abdullah bin 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'.

**Answer** : The Khalîfa appeased the murdered person's inheritors by giving them plenty of property. This precaution forestalled an imminent fitna. The event was a typical example of administrative finesse.

**Question** : Hadrat 'Uthmân made fields and farms.

**Answer** : Yes, he did. And he made them not as his own property, but as pastures and habitats for the animals belonging to the Bayt-ul-mâl. This policy was a great service to the Bayt-ul-mâl.

There is no evidence to imply that Hadrat Alî had to do with the martyrdom of Hadrat 'Uthmân. Nor is there an iota of likelihood as to that. Because the murderers were numerous and dominant, Hadrat Alî could not perform the qisâs immediately. Moreover, Hadrat 'Uthmân's inheritors did not demand qisâs. Nor was the assassin known by name. As a matter of fact, the murderers were rebellious against Hadrat 'Uthmân, and, (strategically,) obedient to Hadrat Alî.

The election that brought Hadrat Alî to office as (the new) Khalîfa was canonically lawful. Most of the notables who had a say in the matter paid homage to him. Talha and Zubayr were not against his caliphate. Their only demand was the performance of the qisâs (as early as possible). It is stated as follows in the book **Istî'âb** : "Hadrat Alî was paid homage to on the very day when Hadrat 'Uthmân had been martyred. The Muhâjirs and the Ansâr paid homage to him. Hadrat Mu'âwiya and the Damascenes refused homage to him. Allâhu ta'âlâ declared that He would forgive them."

According to the group of **Imâmiyya** , it is permissible to announce the practices of an innocent (sinless) imâm (religious leader, khalîfa) in the name of the Prophet's practices. This belief induced them to concoct quite a number of false hadîths. Daylamî and Khatîb (Baghdâdî) and ibn Asâkîr saw that the scholars before them had compiled all the hadîths that were in the categories termed Sahih and Hasan. So they compiled the hadîths called Da'îf, (or Za'îf). That the hadîths written in the books **Bukhârî** and **Muslim** are true ones is acknowledged unanimously by all the dependable religious authorities.

The statement, "Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away on Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' lap and made his last will to Hadrat Alî," is untrue. The utterance, "Make war against people with whom Hadrat Alî makes war," is not a hadîth-i-sherîf.

None of the âyat-i-kerîmas which the group of Imâmiyya claim were revealed for Hadrat Alî contains the name of Hadrat Alî; nor is there any clue to show that they were revealed for him. On the other hand, there are clear signs symptomatic of the fact that the âyat telling the event in the cave and some other âyats were revealed for Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. This fact is acknowledged in Shiite books as well. The âyat of Tathîr concerns not Hadrat Alî, but the Zawjât at-tâhirât (the blessed wives of the Messenger of Allah). So does the âyat of Mubâhala. The âyat-i-kerîma which purports, " **I want you to love my kinsfolk** ," concerns not (only) Hadrat Alî, but (also) all the Prophet's believing kinsfolk.

The hadîth-i-sherîf which was uttered at a place called **Ghadîr-i-Hum** commands to love his (the blessed Prophet's) Ahl-i-Bayt. That hadîth-i-sherîf does not contain the final words that state, "He is the Khalîfa after me," or "He is your walî (guardian) after me," or any other words to that effect. They are concoctions. There are hundreds of hadîths fabricated in that manner. The Islamic scholars have divulged the liars responsible for such misleading accretions.

**Question** : It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **On the Rising Day, many people whom I know will be made to move away from my Pond** (Kawthar). **When I call them back, saying, 'My Sahâbâ,' a voice will be heard to say: You do not know what they did after you.** " Doesn't this hadîth-i-sherîf foretell that most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' will deviate from the right path?

**Answer** : The blessed Prophet warned during the valedictory khutba which he made at his final hajj: " **Do not turn renegade after me! And do not decapitate one another**!" This hadîth-i-sherîf indicates that those who did not make war against the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' and those who did not fight the Muslims are not within the scope of the (previous) hadîth-i-sherîf. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' blessed the Shaikhayn and most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm with the Glad Tidings that they would go to Paradise. This Glad Tidings shows that they will die with îmân (as Believers), go into Paradise, and dwell near Rasûlullah's Pond in company with the Best of Mankind. Furthermore, the fifty-fourth âyat of **Mâida** sûra purports: " **Ye who believe! If any from among you turns back from his faith, soon will Allâhu ta'âlâ produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him,– ...** " (5-54) This âyat-i-kerîma indicates that Allâhu ta'âlâ loves those who make a stand against people who become renegades. It was during the caliphate of Hadrat Abû Bakr that the threatened situation materialized. To have a bad opinion of those blessed people who have been listed by their well-known names and epithets among the people of Paradise, and worse still, to malign them, means to expose oneself to the greatest disaster. That the Muslims who joined the Holy War of Badr are people of Paradise is one of the plain Islamic declarations. It is abysmal ignorance to speak ill of those fortunate people.

**Question** : Isn't the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ will send twelve Khalîfas. All of them are from the tribe of Qoureish,** " indicative of the Twelve Imâms 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în?

**Answer** : At first sight, that the argument pressed by the group of Imâmiyya is a sound one seems to be a fair inference from that hadîth-i-sherîf. However, hadîth-i-sherîfs, like âyat-i-kerîmas, elucidate one another. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf quoted on the authority of Abdullah ibn Mes'ûd: " **The Islamic mill will run for thirty-five years. Thereafter, there will be people who will perish. And those who will come afterwards will promote Islam for seventy years.** " What we – Shâh Waliyyullah Dahlawî means himself– understand from the hadîth-i-sherîf is this: The beginning of the so-called thirty-five-year period is the second year of the Hijrat, which is at the same time the beginning of the earliest movement of jihâd. In the thirty-fifth year Hadrat 'Uthmân was martyred and disunion among Muslims broke out. Jihâd and the spreading of Islam came to a standstill. Muslims slaughtered one another in the wars of Camel and Siffîn. Allâhu ta'âlâ reorganized the caliphate and thereupon jihâd was resumed. It was maintained till the collapse of the Benî Umayya [Umayyad, Emevî] dynasty. Turmoil prevailed again as the Abbâsî [Abbasid] state was being established. Many Muslims lost their lives during the commotions. Then Allâhu ta'âlâ reorganized the caliphate once again. The newly established order lasted until Hulâghû burned and destroyed Baghdâd. A hadîth-i-sherîf quoted on the authority of Sa'd ibn Abî Waqqâs reads as follows: " **I pray to my Allah to maintain my Ummat's power till the end of half a day.** " When asked what was meant by "half a day," Sa'd replied that it was five hundred years. This hadîth-i-sherîfcovers the lifespan of the Abbasid state, [i.e. five hundred and twenty-four years]. Thehadîth-i-sherîf previous to it signifies the **Khilâfat-i-nubuwwat** , stating that it is a thirty-five-year period, and calling the Khalîfas who will assume office thereafter **Melîk-i-'adûd** , i.e. **Sultân**. So, the hadîth-i-sherîf (quoted in the question) implies that the total number of the Khalîfas within the two periods is twelve. It is quite wrong to confuse the twelve Khalîfas in the hadîth-i-sherîf with the Twelve Imâms. For, the word used in the hadîth-i-sherîf is **Khilâfat** (caliphate), not **Imâmat**. That most of the Twelve Imâms were not Khalîfas is a plain fact which is acknowledged even by the Shiites. It is stated in the hadîth-i-sherîf that the twelve Khalîfas are Qoureishîs, which indicates that not all of them are Hâshimîs. The group of Imâmiyya do not claim that the Twelve Imâms spread Islam and conquered lands. On the contrary, they say, "Islam was covered up after the death of the Messenger of Allah. The imâms, preoccupied with (the dissimulation called) **teqiyya** , failed to guide the people. Hadrat Alî could not say what he knew." Whereas the hadîth-i-sherîf foretells a slackening of Islamic principles after the Twelve Imâms, the Imâmiyya group claim that after the completion of the Twelve Imâms Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm' will descend from heaven and promulgate Islam. According to our understanding, the twelve Khalîfas (mentioned in the hadîth-i-sherîf) are the earliest four Khalîfas, who are called **Khulafâ-i-râshidîn** , and after them, Hadrat Mu'âwiya and 'Abdulmelik and his four sons, and 'Umar bin 'Abdul'azîz, and Walîd, who was 'Abdulmelik's grandson. Abdullah bin Zubayr should be outside of the group of twelve Khalîfas. For, thehadîth-i-sherîf quoted on the authority of Hadrat 'Umar has proved to have been prescient of the fact that Abdullah bin Zubayr's appearing as a Khalîfa would be one of the disasters to befall this Ummat (Muslims), inasmuch as his assuming office caused bloodshed in the blessed city of Mekka, which in its turn was sacrilege towards Kâ'ba-i-mu'azzama. Since Yazîd and the other Umayyad Khalîfas did not render services to Islam, they are not included among the twelve Khalîfas.

**Question** : Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' had many kerâmats. Aren't they symptomatic of his superiority?

**Answer** : Shihâbuddîn Suhrawardî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' stated: "Few kerâmats were witnessed on the Ashâb-i-kirâm. More kerâmats were seen on the Shaikhayn than on Hadrat Alî." [Most of those kerâmats are related in Yûsuf Nebhânî's book **Jâmi'u kerâmât-il-Awliyâ**.]

**Question** : What would you say about the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **I am the city of knowledge. Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' is its gate** "?

**Answer** : This hadîth-i-sherîf is a definite sign of superiority.

However, there is many another similar hadîth-i-sherîf. A few examples are: " **Acquire one-fourth of knowledge from Humeyrâ!** " " **After me, pay homage to Abû Bakr and 'Umar!** " " **If ibn Umm-i-Abd is pleased with a person, I am pleased with him, too!** " **Humeyrâ** is the epithet which Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' gave to Hadrat Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. It is a widely known fact that Hadrat Alî had superior religious lore and that he was ahead of most of the Sahâba in the science of Genealogy. All these superior qualities, however, fall short of making him superior to the Shaikhayn.

It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that Muhammad Bâqir and Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum', two of the descendants of Hadrat Alî, were perfect, in knowledge, in wara', and in worship. Kuleynî writes that Imâm Ja'far Sâdiq was hostile to men of Tasawwuf.

The group of Zaydiyya also are hostile to the orders of Tasawwuf. Abdullah Ansârî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ', one of the greatest Awliyâ, states: "I have seen one thousand and two hundred Walîs. Only two of them, namely Sa'dûn and Ibrâhîm, were Sayyids." And none of those only two Walîs is widely known. There were Sayyids among the Awliyâ of the later centuries. Yet those people received fayz from murshids who were not Sayyids.

The Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs command openly to obey Islam. None of the spiritual states experienced in the orders of Tasawwuf is stated in them. Therefore, superiority is assessed not by Tasawwuf, but by the degree of one's services to Islam.

**Question** : People who adapt themselves to prophets 'alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-taslîmât' attain Fanâ, Baqâ and other ma'rifats, as well as other valuable spiritual perfections such as Wahdat-i-wujûd. They are given kerâmats. On the other hand, every Muslim practices the five Islamic principles. Great scholars like Imâm Ghazâlî and Celaleddîn Rûmî 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ' state that Tawhîd-i-wujûdî is utterly valuable. Then, shouldn't Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' be superior since he is the source of the orders of Tasawwuf?

**Answer** : A person who says, "The five Islamic principles will not cause one to become closer to Allâhu ta'âlâ. They will only help people to form good habits and to get along well with one another," is a **zindiq**. His real purpose is to demolish Islam. Islam guides one to love of Allâhu ta'âlâ. Allâhu ta'âlâdislikes people who do not obey Islam. He will torment them. If a person asserts that orders of Tasawwuf are easier guides to love of Allâhu ta'âlâ, we ask him to prove his assertion. Islam is the basis of the orders of Tasawwuf. A person who does not obey Islam cannot be a Walî. We have explained in detail earlier in the text that the Shaikhayn were ahead of all in obeying Islam as well as in causing others to obey Islam. To try to purify the heart by way of dhikr and murâqaba is to obey Islam. Islam's four sources are: The **Book** (Qur'ân al-kerîm), the **Sunnat** (hadîth-i-sherîfs,), the **Ijmâ'i Salaf** (consensus of the scholars of the first two Islamic centuries), and the **Qiyâs-i-fuqahâ** (the onerous work carried on by the scholars of Fiqh in order to derive rules, commandments and prohibitions from the Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs by way of ijtihâd; rules and principles so derived). The **Qur'ân al-kerîm** contains five groups of teachings:

1– It teaches how to infer the existence and the unity of Allâhu ta'âlâ by observing the creation. [Scientific knowledge is in this group.]

2– Observing the annals of history, it reveals the fact that Believers and people who obeyed Islam always led a happy life, whereas unbelievers lived in excruciation in the world.

3– Stating the blessings and torments in the Hereafter, it encourages people to join the Believers.

4– It teaches how to live for attaining happiness in this world and in the next.

5– It shows ways of getting along with polytheists, with hypocrites, with Jews and Christians, and with the aberrant Muslims in the seventy-two heretical groups.

There are about ten thousand hadîth-i-sherîfs, the repeated ones excluded. With the repeated ones added, their number exceeds one million. All those **hadîth-i-sherîfs** contain twelve groups of teachings:

1– (They teach) how to adhere to the Kitâbullah (the Qur'ân al-kerîm) and the Sunnat (hadîth-i-sherîfs).

2– Islam's five principles, dhikrs and Ihsân, i.e. knowledge pertaining to heart. Ihsân is the target of Tasawwuf.

3– Mu'âmalât. Trade intended for a living, teachings of art and agriculture and social rights are all within this group.

4– Good moral qualities are stated and commended.

5– Manumission of slaves.

6– Meritorious deeds and the superior merits of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în'.

7– History of prophets and other important people.

8– Important events that will take place until the end of the world.

9– Facts about the Last Day. Hashr, Neshr, Paradise and Hell.

10– Life of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'.

11– Reading and explaining the Qur'ân al-kerîm.

12– Angels, shaytâns, medicine and various other sciences.

**Qiyâs** is employed in the ahkâm-i-shar'iyya, i.e. in the commandments and prohibitions. The knowledge of Tawhîd-i-wujûdî does not exist among all the teachings which we have cited.

**Islam** consists of the beliefs and practices of the Ashâb-i-kirâm and of the Tâbi'în-i-izâm, [i.e. Muslims who saw the Ashâb-i-kirâm]. Religious teachings which did not exist in those people's times and which were invented afterwards, are not Islam. The hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Follow the path which I and my Sahâba guide** ," indicates this fact. It is obvious that the knowledge of Wahdat-i-wujûd is not in the first group of teachings. Nor did that knowledge exist in the time the Sayyid-ut-tâifa Junayd-i-Baghdâdî. So is the case with the aberrant groups like **Mu'tazîla** , **Imâmiyya** , **Zaydiyya** , and **Ismâ'îliyya**. Those heretical groups also appeared after the Salaf as-Sâlihîn.

As for the pieces of spiritual knowledge called fayz, which emanated from Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' blessed heart, flowed into the hearts of the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Tâbi'în, and reached our time by flowing from one heart into another; they are perfectly Islamic. **Ihsân** was the term attached to them. [Later, they were called **Tasawwuf**.]

When the Islamic practices are done with ikhlâs and pure intentions, they are valuable. If they are done for the purpose of satisfying one's sensuous desires, (the desires of the nafs,) or for fame, they will cause one to get away from Allâhu ta'âlâ; they will lead one into Hell.

**Question** : Don't the words of the great men of Tasawwuf indicate that the knowledge of Tasawwuf is superior?

**Answer** : Islam has listed the deeds that will make you closer to Allâhu ta'âlâ, [and which will make you attain His love and approval]. A selection must be made from among them in accordance with each person's time and the situations and conditions he is in. The superior men of Tasawwuf have assigned their disciples such duties as will best suit them in their guidance. Hence, their picking out one or two of the various fruitful duties does not indicate that the ones not preferred are useless. What they stress concerning each useful practice, however, is purity of intentions. According to Imâm Ghazâlî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', ikhlâs is the essence of everypractice. Âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs command to serve Islam. A person who denies the merits of jihâd and learning is a **zindiq**.

**Question** : Shaikh Muhyiddîn Arabî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' states: "Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was created from the remnants of the clay that was used for the creation of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. That was why he was made a next-worldly brother to Rasûlullah." Can there be another merit superior to that?

**Answer** : That the Shaikhayn were higher (than Hadrat Alî) is inferable from Islam's teachings. The sources to be consulted to in this respect are the **Adilla-i-sher'iyya** , i.e. the Book, the Sunnat, the Ijmâ', and the Qiyâs. The hearts and the (spiritual explorations called) kashf of the great men of Tasawwuf cannot be documentary sources for shar'î (canonical) matters. None of the Islamic principles is based on (these spiritual states termed) kashf. Shaikh Muhyiddîn Arabî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' makes a list of the things that will bring a person closer to Allâhu ta'âlâ. He states that the grade of Siddîqiyyat, the highest one, belongs to Hadrat Abû Bakr, the grade of Muhaddithiyyat, (the second highest,) belongs to Hadrat 'Umar, and the grade of Uhuwwat belongs to Hadrat Alî. He writes also that the grade of Hawâriyyat belongs to Zubayr and the grade of Amânat belongs to Abû 'Ubayda. He cites many another grade. None of those grades is of the capacity to represent fadl-i-kullî by itself. At several places of the book Futûhât not only the grades of Wilâyat belonging to the Ashâb-i-kirâm but also their grades which make them similar to prophets are stated. It is written in detail (in the book) that those grades have been perpetuated after Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', except for the fact that they are not prophets. The kind of superiority which we understand from the term 'superiority' is the latter kind of superiority, i.e. that which makes them similar to prophets. And betterness in that similarity is what makes the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhuma' superior. This superiority is called **fadl-i-kullî** , which is explained at several places of the book **Futûhât**. It is observed in the final part of the sixty-ninth chapter of the book thatRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' is compared to Ibrâhîm (Abraham) 'alaihis-salâm' in the recitation of " **Allâhumma salli 'alâ ...** ," although he is higher than the latter, its subtle reasons are explained throughout its pages, and the superiority of the grade of Siddîqiyyat is described at full length.

Allâhu ta'âlâ chooses some of His very much beloved slaves and sends them His special fayz. First He creates those slaves of His in a nature eligible and fit for the special pieces of fayz He is going to send them. By the same token, He created the earthen substances in Hadrat Alî's body in a nature capable of receiving the fayz of nubuwwat like the earthen substances in the construction of the physical existence of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Yet that superiority is not fadl-i-kullî. It is fadl-i-juz'î. It represents the superiorities peculiar to the grade of Wilâyat. It does not represent a similarity in prophethood.

**Question** : Great men of Tasawwuf profess that they have had dreams denoting Hadrat Alî's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' superiority. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **A Believer's dream is one of the components of prophethood**." Doesn't that indicate the superiority of Hadrat Alî?

**Answer** : There is not a single Islamic principle revealed in a dream. Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **Hamd** (praise and gratitude) **be to Allâhu ta'âlâ, He has reinforced me with Abû Bakr and 'Umar.** " It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Abû Bakr and 'Umar are like my eyes and ears.** " Such are the indications of fadl-i-kullî. Prophets' 'alaihimussalawâtu wattaslîmât' Khalîfas must be like them. According to this faqîr, (i.e. in my understanding,) the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' are like the light-radiating layer around the sun. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is like the moon which receives and reflects the lights radiated. Whereas the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ' radiate the lights of the path of **Nubuwwat** , Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' radiates the lights of the path of **Wilâyat**. It is for this reason that our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **If I were to choose a halîl** [friend] **for myself, I would choose Abû Bakr** ," and " **If aprophet were to come after me, 'Umar would certainly be a prophet,** " and " **Alî is from me. And I am from him.** " This faqîr, [i.e. Hadrat Shâh Waliyyullah Dahlawî,] askedRasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' spiritual entity during a (spiritual meditation termed) murâqaba: What is the reason for the Shaikhayn's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' superiority over Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' despite his superiority in the honour of genealogy and in the sobriety of his judgments as well as his leadership of the orders of Tasawwuf? He blessed my soul with the following answer: "Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' has two blessed faces: One which is zâhir [visible, outward]; another one which is bâtin [invisible, inward]. His face which is zâhir administers justice among people, provides brotherhood, and shows the right path. In the performance of this duty, the Shaikhayn 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' are like his hands and feet. Through his other face, which is bâtin, he gives fayz to hearts. The Shaikhayn cooperate with him in this duty as well!" 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'.

Source of fayz and meanings were the lectures of Abdulhaqîm; Home of divine closeness was the company of Abdulhaqîm. Asylum for the wretched, medicine for all illnesses was Abdulhaqîm. A treasure of irfân, a light of Subhân, a key to Qur'ân was Abdulhaqîm!

The book **Maktûbât** by 'Urwa-t-ul-wuthqâ Muhammad Ma'thûm Fârûqî is in the Fârisî language and consists of three volumes. There are two hundred and thirty-nine (239) letters in the first volume, one hundred and fifty-eight (158) letters in the second volume, and two hundred and fifty-five (255) letters in the third volume. The following are the English translations of six of those six hundred and fifty-two (652) letters.

FIRST VOLUME, 56th LETTER

May Haqq subhânahu wa ta'âlâ bless you with realization of your religious and worldly wishes! The medicine for protection against the harms of worldly flavours and transient blessings is to use them in a manner compatible with the Sharî'at. In other words, it is to obey Allâhu ta'âlâ's commands and prohibitions. Those flavours will be harmful if they are not utilized compatibly with the Sharî'at. They will cause Allâhu ta'âlâ's wrath and torment. Maximum possible abstinence from enjoying them is the safest course to follow for real and definite salvation. Those who cannot manage that degree of abstinence should use the medicine requisite for protection. Thereby they will be safe from their harms. Shame on those people who can neither manage the necessary abstinence nor protect themselves by using medicine and who, thereby, leave themselves vulnerable to patent disasters and afflictions in addition to a pathetic deprivation from eternal happiness! [Islam does not prohibit worldly flavours and pleasures. What it prohibits is an exorbitant and bestial indulgence in them.] So pitiable are those people who succumb to the indulgences of their nafs and fail to enjoy the worldly flavours in manners and doses prescribed by the Sharî'at, thereby divesting themselves of the felicitous and everlasting flavours of Paradise. Do they not know that Allâhu ta'âlâ sees all? Have they never heard that enjoyment of worldly blessings within the limits of moderation drawn by Islam's Sharî'at is the only way of acquiring immunity from harms? There is the inevitable and imminent Judgment Day, when all the worldly activities of each and every person will be laid before them. [Apparently, those who chase after worldly pleasures and tastes do not seem to believe that there will be rising after death, that people who adapt themselves to Islam's Sharî'at will attain the blessings of Paradise, whereas those who flout the Sharî'at will be subjected to the fire of Hell. Paradoxically, Europeans and Americans, whom these deniers of the life to come look on as modern and great people, do believe in Paradise and Hell. They crowd into churches. Embrace the worse features of Europeans by imitating their immoralities and dishonest acts in the name of modernism, on the one hand, and criticize your countrymen, calling them regressive and bigoted people, on account of their belief in the Hereafter, –which is an asset they share with Europeans–, on the other: this ludicrous oddity unveils the fetid inner intentions. We should not believe these wretched people, who are merely slaves to their sensuous desires and pleasures.] How lucky for those who have attained love of Allâhu ta'âlâ by abstaining from His prohibitions in the world, when the Promised Day comes! How lucky for those who do not succumb to the temptations of the sequinned worldly life, who fear their Rabb (Allâhu ta'âlâ) and curb their sensuous desires, who advise their household and their inferiors that they should perform their daily salâts steadily, [and who teach their spouses and daughters how to cover themselves in a manner prescribed by the Sharî'at when they go out!] How lucky for them! Salâms to those people who follow the way to felicity shown byAllâhu ta'âlâ and who adapt themselves to Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'!

SECOND VOLUME, 38th LETTER

Man's own nafs is the most adamant obstructive curtain between man and Allâhu ta'âlâ. " **Abandon thy nafs, and come to Me! Thy very self is the cloud hiding the sun thou art after! Know thyself** ," says the divine Word. Pushing the nafs away from between requires a conscientious and delectable process [centred on the heart]. It cannot be described by words and writings. Nor is it something that can be learned by perusal. It has to be a gift that one was endowed with in the eternal past, and it has to be primed by the attraction of Allâhu ta'âlâ. Since we live in a world of causations, a Walî's sohbat will suffice, with the proviso that you should love the Walî. The more you love him, the more will you receive of the fayz and ma'rifats radiating from his heart, attaining perfection at the end. The hadîth-i-sherîf which reads, " **A person will be together with his beloved one** ," expresses this fact.

SECOND VOLUME, 29th LETTER

Existence of the Ahlullah, [i.e., Awliyâ, Men of Allah,] is Allâhu ta'âlâ's Compassion (for His slaves), when they are alive and after death alike. The fayz and barakat which they radiate as long as they live, continue after their death as well. After their death their fayz and barakat maintain their flow into the hearts of those people who do not deviate from their path. It is like the annihilation of the nûrs (lights) of Sunnat by the bid'ats which have been invented afterwards. Try to perform useful deeds! Race one another in prayers and worship! Deem it a source of happiness [and profit] to serve the children of the deceased! Please them in a manner compatible with the Sharî'at!

SECOND VOLUME, 45th LETTER

My dear son! The world is sweet in appearance, and yet venomous in essence. It is quite worthless. A person who is caught in its trap can never be free again. A person who dies with that poison is a mere carrion. It is madness to lose one's heart to it. It is like sequinned filth, or sweetened poison. A wise person will not fall for such false and deceitful beauty. He will not set his heart on vicious and harmful pleasures. He will spend his sojourn in this life trying to find favour in his Owner's eyes. He will earn what will be useful for him in the Hereafter. He will do his duties as a slave of Allâhu ta'âlâ. He will hold fast to the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ. He will abstain from His prohibitions, i.e. harâms. Shame on those who run after harmful things instead of doing so!

I'm afraid of hurting someone truely dear;  
Day and night I am burning with this strong fear!

[The world, (in this context,) means harmful things which Allâhu ta'âlâ dislikes and prohibits. A person who abstains from the harâms is one who has not fallen for the temptations of the world. Allâhu ta'âlâ does not prohibit any worldly tastes or pleasures. What He prohibits is excess and overindulgence in enjoying them. He commands to utilize them in the useful and decent way which He dictates.]

SECOND VOLUME, 61st LETTER

We were brought to this world so that we should acquire the ma'rifat of Allâhu ta'âlâ,(i.e. so that we should know Him properly). There are two kinds of ma'rifat (knowing Allâhu ta'âlâ). One of them is acquired scientifically, i.e. by way of observation and inference, [thinking]. This kind of ma'rifat is taught by the Islamic scholars. The other kind is acquired by way of kashf and shuhûd, [which takes place in the heart]. This (latter) kind of ma'rifat comes from experts of Tasawwuf, [i.e. from Awliyâ]. The former kind of ma'rifat is scientific and is acquired mentally. The latter is a spiritual state which exists in the heart. Whereas the former does not suspend the existence of the 'ârif, (person who has attained ma'rifat), the latter does; for, this (latter) kind of ma'rifat is to annihilate one's self in the ma'rûf, (i.e. the known one, i.e. Allâhu ta'âlâ).

Qurb[] is not a motion known;  
Qurb-i-Haqq is to rid existence!

The former (kind of ma'rifat) is 'ilm-i-husûlî. It involves detailed mental comprehension. The latter involves simple recognition, without any contextual details. For, in this kind of ma'rifat Haqq is the only existence. Man has ceased to exist. In the former, the nafs maintains its denial. In fact, the nafs exists, and so do all its vicious attributes. Therefore, its recalcitrant and avid nature has not ceased to exist. Nor has it rid itself of its characteristic excess and intemperance. Îmân exists only in appearance, and deeds and religious practices are on a perfunctory level. The nafs perpetuates its disbelief and animosity against its Mawlâ [Owner, Allâhu ta'âlâ]. It is declared in a hadîth-i-qudsî: " **Know your nafs as your enemy! For it is inimical towards Me**." This (former) kind of ma'rifat has been termed **îmân-i-mejâzî** (symbolic belief). Because man himself has ceased to exist in the latter kind of ma'rifat, the nafs has become a Believer. This kind of ma'rifat [îmân] is inextinguishable. It is therefore termed **îmân-i-haqîqî** (real îmân). The religious practices also are real. The following invocation is offered in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Yâ Rabbî** (O my Allah) **! I ask of Thee an îmân** (belief) **which will not end in kufr** (unbelief, denial)." It is this kind of îmân which is implied in the hundred and thirty-sixth (136) âyat of Nisâ sûra: " **O ye who believe! Believe in Allâhu ta'âlâ and His Messenger! ...** " (4-136). Imâm Ahmad ibn Hanbal, with all his ultimate grade in knowledge and ijtihâd, consulted to Bishr-i-Hafî to join his disciples for the acquisition of that (latter kind of) ma'rifat. When he was asked why, he said, "His 'ârif (knowledge) of Allâhu ta'âlâ is better than mine." Abû Hanîfa Nu'mân Qûfî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' desisted from ijtihâd and spent the final two years of his life in seclusion. Afterwards a dream was reported to contain his following acknowledgement: "Nu'mân would have perished had it not been for the last two years." His seclusion was intended to attain perfection in the latter kind of ma'rifat and thereby to attain perfection in îmân, which is the natural outcome of that ma'rifat. He did so despite his unattainable grade both in knowledge and in worship. As a matter of fact, no religious practice could equal the grade of ijtihâd, and no other act of worship could make one attain the grade of teaching. Perfection of deeds is dependent on the perfection of îmân. The nûrâniyyat (lightsomeness) in acts of worship is dependent upon the degree of ikhlâs (doing something with the only and pure intention of attaining love and approval of Allâhu ta'âlâ). And the perfection of îmân and the degree of ikhlâs are dependent on ma'rifat. Since this ma'rifat and the real îmân are dependent on fanâ (being nonexistent, dissolution of one's existence in the existence of Allâhu ta'âlâ), and on the dying of one's nafs before one's death; when a person's fanâ is perfect, his îmân will be perfect as well. For this reason, the îmân of Siddîq ekber weighed heavier than the total îmân of all this Ummat (Muslims). It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Were the îmân of Abû Bakr weighed against the îmân of my entire Ummat, Abû Bakr's îmân would prove heavier**." For he was peerless in fanâ. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **If you want to see a corpse walking, see Abû Quhâfa's son**." Abû Bakr's having been pointed out as a paragon for fanâ attested to his perfection in fanâ. In fact, all the Sahâba had attained fanâ. How lucky for a person who has attained that ma'rifat! We should run to the place where such a person is seen. Shameful to say, what must be seeked is being forsaken, and things which we are advised to extirpate are being repaired. What explanations and excuses are we going to provide on the Rising Day, and how are we going to face such a shameful situation?

SECOND VOLUME, 62nd LETTER
Man's honour is in his îmân and ma'rifat, not in his property or position. Try to make your îmân firmer! Make efforts to promote your grade in ma'rifat! It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **If a person works for the Hereafter, Allâhu ta'âlâ will make him attain all his wishes. As for those who always run after worldly concerns; He will perish them**." If a person has difficulty in making a living, it is permissible for him to work. It will be good if he earns. If he cannot, then he should not be persistent about it. Persistence will be futile. In fact, it will be harmful.

THE EARLIEST FITNA IN ISLAM  
INTRODUCTION

Allâhu ta'âlâ has mercy on all people in the world. He sends useful things to everybody. As a kindness to those Believers who deserve Hell (on account of the sins they have committed in the world), He will forgive them and bless them with Paradise. He, alone, creates every living being, keeps them always in existence, and protects all against fears and horrors. Trusting ourselves to the honourable Name of such an almighty being as Allah, we begin to write this book.

Praise and gratitude be to Allâhu ta'âlâ! Prayers and salutations be to His most beloved Prophet, Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'! Benedictions be to the pure Ahl-i-Bayt of that exalted Prophet 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam', and to each and every one of his faithful Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'!

It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf which is written in the abridged version of **Tadhkira Qurtubî** : " **Fitna will break out among my Sahâba. For the sake of the sohbats they have had with me, Allâhu ta'âlâ will forgive those who will partake in the fitna. People after them, however, will rekindle the fitna by repeatedly blathering on the events; they will go to Hell on account of their undue concern**." The great Islamic scholar Imâm Rabbânî Ahmad Fârûqî Serhendî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', who passed away in India in 1034 [1624 A.D.], sent letters to every country in order to teach the creed of Ahl as-Sunnat and the true way of Islam, as well as the fact that Tasawwuf was not something distinct from the Islamic faith. His letters, more than five hundred, were compiled and printed in three volumes. The thirty-sixth letter of the second volume enlarges on the fitna among the Sahâba.

It was during the time of the third Khalîfa Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' when a Jew of Yemen named Abdullah bin Saba' fomented the earliest fitna of separatism in Islam. People who had fallen victim to his misguidance mingled with the Sahâba. Throughout history they have been supported by masons and Jews. From time to time they have had recourse to violence, thus undermining Islam from within and causing considerable bloodshed among Muslims. The tragedy runs counter to Islam's instructions on unity and brotherly affection.

In the course of time, enemies of the Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' broke into twelve sectarian groups, maintaining their unison only in their systematic and cleverly planned activities to deceive and divide Muslims. They allege that the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were inimical towards one another, and cast all sorts of ignominious aspersions on those great Islamic celebrities on the chimerical ground that they refused to pay homage to Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. These instigators of fitna and fesâd, who represent themselves as enlightened men of religion or up-to-date writers, stigmatize the benevolent Sunnî religious teachers as uneducated fuddy-duddies, trying thereby to derogate and blemish those blessed teachers, who have been endeavouring to awaken the Muslims by divulging and refuting their abominable lies and slanders. As the aspersions cast by these abhorrent instigators will not detract from the high honour of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în', likewise, their attacks will recoil on them, adding to the value and honour of those virtuous teachers.

In order to protect our Muslim brothers from believing the sequinned lies of these subversive people, whose purpose is to separate brothers from one another, we have translated the thirty-sixth letter from the Fârisî into Turkish, (and thence into English,) and entitled it **The Earliest Fitna in Islam**. We are certain that when the valuable younger generation read this letter with objectivity, their pure souls and unsoiled consciences will help them see that the Ahl as-Sunnat scholars are right.

May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect Muslims against divisions! May He unite us in the correct Sunnî path, which we all like and approve of! May He protect us from believing the lies of the enemies of Islam, and from falling into their traps! Âmîn.

THE EARLIEST FITNA IN ISLAM

**The thirty-sixth letter of the second volume of the book** **Maktûbât by Imâm Rabbânî Mujaddîd-i-alf-i-thânî Shaikh Ahmad Fârûqî Serhendî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' proves the greatness of the Ashâb-i-kirâm and quotes the remarks made about the Ashâb-i-kirâm both by the scholars of the Madhhab of Ahl as-Sunnat and by other people in heretical groups. It explains that the Shiite sect was the produce of the earliest fitna in Islam, that the Sunnî group are not eccentric like the Shiites, and that they do not follow a benighted and short-sighted course like the Khwârij (Khârijîs), either, and lauds and praises the Ahl-i-Bayt of our Master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'.**

In the name of Allah I begin to write this letter of mine. Praise and gratitude be to Allâhu ta'âlâ! Prayers and salutations be to His exalted Prophet! Benedictions be to the Ahl-i-Bayt of that exalted Prophet, to all his Sahâba, and to all Muslims!

One of the greatest and most valuable gifts and blessings of Allâhu ta'âlâ is for a person to love the followers of the right path, to yearn to meet and talk with those fortunate people, to hear the words of those great people, and to read their books. The Mukhbir-i-sâdiq, i.e. Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', who always tells the truth, stated, " **Al-mer'u ma'a man ahabba** ," which means, "If a person loves someone, he will be with him in both this world and the next." Hence, if a person loves great religious persons, he will be with them and get a share from their spiritual closeness to Allâhu ta'âlâ. According to the reports given by my valuable son Khwâja Sharaf-ad-dîn Husayn, who is a man of choice wording and a good prospect for spiritual promotions, you possess the utterly beautiful moral qualities required for that great blessing. With all your miscellaneous occupations and complicated cares, you do not forget about those great people. Beleaguered by all sorts of worldly problems as you are, you do not miss that most valuable blessing. Infinite praise and gratitude be to Allâhu ta'âlâ for that greatest favour of His! Indeed, your happiness and blessed attainments will reproduce happiness and attainments for many another person. Your salvation will cause others' salvation and attainment of peace. As is reported, again, by my son, you have been reading this faqîr's (Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî's) writings and cherishing my words. He said it would be very useful if I wrote a few words to you. So I attempt to write a few words at my son's request.

Recently, most people in India have been discussing subjects such as right of **caliphate** and making comments on the behaviours and attitudes of the Sahâba. Quite a few people have been frankly saying and writing their personal meagre heretical opinions and narrow views on this esoteric subject, which is one of the most delicate branches of the Islamic sciences. They do not hesitate to attach wrong meanings to âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs, or to try to hush up the true and rightful words of the Islamic scholars, in order to prove that they are right. I have therefore considered it requisite to reveal the truth by writing a couple of facts on the subject, informing the Muslims about the true and rightful words of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat and refuting the heresies of the aberrant groups of **bid'at** with the help of documentary proofs.

O my pure-souled and noble-natured brother! Scholars of the Madhhab of Ahl as-Sunnat 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ unanimously state that it is necessary to " **hold the Shaikhayn superior and love the two sons-in-law.** " In other words, Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar are superior to all the other Sahâbîs, and Hadrat 'Uthmân and Hadrat Alî should be loved. Every Muslim in the right path called Ahl as-Sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at is to hold the former two (Khalîfas) in higher esteem, feeling warm affection for the latter two.

That Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar are the highest (of all the Sahâba) is a fact on which all the Sahâba were unanimous. This unanimity of the Sahâba was reported to us by the Tâbi'în-i-izâm. The greater ones of our religious imâms, such as Imâm Shâfi'î, inform us that the unanimity was the case. Hadrat Abul Hasan Ash'arî, one of our two religious leaders in credal matters, states: "That Abû Bakr and 'Umar are the highest Muslims in the entire Ummat is an absolute fact." Imâm Zahabî writes that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was Khalîfa and was therefore holding the entire state power and authority in his hands when he said to a large audience of the Sahâba, "Abû Bakr and 'Umar are the highest of this Ummat," and adds that their superiority is a definite fact which has reached us through (an authentic way of narration called) tawâtur. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' stated: "After our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', Abû Bakr is the (second) highest human being. 'Umar is next after him. And next comes someone else." His son Muhammad bin Hanafiyya, who was among the audience, said, "You are the highest next after 'Umar!" Imâm Bukhârî reports that Hadrat Alî's reply was: "I am only one of the Muslims." So high is the number of the dependable and trustworthy people who acknowledge the superiority of Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', that it has become a tawâtur, i.e. a narration which is wâjib (necessary, compulsory) to believe. He who denies it must either be ignorant or strongly bigoted and obdurate. Abd-ur-Razzaq bin Alî Lâhijî (d. 1051 [1642 A.D.]), an eminent Shiite scholar, saw the incontrovertibly palpable truth and acknowledged that the two Imâms were the highest, stating, "Since Alî acknowledged that Abû Bakr and 'Umar were superior to him, I say so, too. I believe in the fact that both of them were superior to him. If Hadrat Alî had not stated that they were higher, I would not say so, either. I say as he did because I love Hadrat Alî. It would be sinful not to agree with him and to still profess love of him."

Because there were fitnas and tumults during the caliphates of Hadrat 'Uthman and Hadrat Alî, the two blessed sons-in-law of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', the people's hearts were rather depressed and cold. A general feeling of hostility and discord was prevalent among them. Therefore, the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat stated that the two Khatanas (In-laws), or Sons-in-law, should be loved. Thereby they anticipated any possible defamatory essay against Rasûlullah's Sahâba and closed the remotest loophole which might be exploited for fomenting grudge against any one of the Khalîfas, who were the representatives of the Messenger of Allah.

As is seen, love of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is an essential condition for being a Sunnî Muslim. He who dislikes Hadrat Alî is not in the group of Ahl as-Sunnat. He is called a **Khârijî** (pl. Khwârij). On the other hand, a person who is inordinate, excessive and eccentric in the affection due to Hadrat Alî; who asserts that loving Hadrat Alî requires swearing at Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' Sahâba; and who deviates from the path guided by the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the Tâbi'în-i-izâm and the Salaf as-Salihîn by vilifying the Ashâb-i-kirâm, is a **heretic**. As is seen, this last group are overzealous in their affection for Hadrat Alî, whereas the Khwârij bear grudge against Hadrat Alî, which obscures their insight and prevents them from recognizing that Lion of Allah. It is the group of Ahl as-Sunnat who have followed the moderate course without allowing the slightest digression towards either extremity. Truth is definitely in the medial course, and not in either of the two eccentric directions. Either one of the aberrations is both detestable and perilous. According to a narration reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal 'rahima hullâhu ta'âlâ', Hadrat Alî quotes Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' as having said to him: " **Yâ Alî! You will be identical with Îsâ 'alaihis-salâm'. Jews have pursued an inimical policy against him, calumniating his blessed mother Hadrat Maryam** (Mary) **. Christians, by contrast, have doted on him unduly, attributing preposterous grades to him. That is, they have called him Son of God.** " Afterwards, Hadrat Alî explicated the hadîth-i-sherîf as follows: "Two groups of people will perish because of me. One group will overflow the measure of affection due towards me, overstating my faculties and attributing to me merits that I do not really have. The other group, my enemies, will slander me." Hence, the Khwârij were compared to Jews, whereas the intemperate adherents have symbolized Christians. Both groups are apart from the right path. It is crass ignorance to assert that the Sunnî Muslims dislike Hadrat Alî, or to associate love of Hadrat Alî with being a Shiite. One thing should be known well: The heresy in this matter is based not on love of Hadrat Alî, but on animosity against three Khalîfas of the Messenger of Allah. What is wicked is to cast aspersions on the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Imâm-i-Shâfi'î 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' states, as is versified in the following couplet:

If love of Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' family involves being  
A Shiite, I'm one, be it known, every genie'n human being!

In other words, Shiites say that to be a Shiite means to love Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' Âl (family), i.e. the Ahl-i-Bayt. If being a Shiite really involves love of the Ahl-i-Bayt, then Shiites are people whom we love and respect very much. What is wrong, however, is animosity against people other than the Ahl-i-Bayt.

(Hadrat Alî and Hadrat Fâtima and their children are called the **Âl-i-Rasûl** , or the **Ahl-i-Bayt**.)

Certainly, the Sunnî Muslims are the only people who love the Ahl-i-Bayt of the Messenger of Allah properly. And certainly, again, they are the only true followers of the Ahl-i-Bayt. If a person who professes love of the Ahl-i-Bayt and claims to be following them does not nurse a grudge against the Sahâba and believes that the wars among the Sahâba were based on benevolent reasons, he is a **Sunnî Muslim**. This saves him from being a heretic. For, to hate the Ahl-i-Bayt means to be a **Khârijî**. A Sunnî Muslim both loves the Ahl-i-Bayt and respects the Sahâba and loves them all. As is seen, being a person without a certain Madhhab is a concomitant of enmity against the Sahâba. For, the Ahl-i-Bayt are Sahâbîs at the same time. And, to be a Sunnî Muslim means to love all the Sahâba. A wise and reasonable person simply does not hold enmity against the Sahâba above love of the Ahl-i-Bayt. Because he loves Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', he loves all his Sahâba.

Some people allege that the group of Ahl as-Sunnat are hostile towards the Ahl-i-Bayt. No degree of dismay felt at their extremely wrong and utterly detestable allegation would be too much. Indeed, love of the Ahl-i-Bayt is held by the Sunnî Muslims as the greatest source of hope for dying with îmân, (i.e. as Believers). The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat say that dying as a Believer requires loving the Ahl-i-Bayt very much. This faqîr's (Imâm Rabbânî's) father was a scholar. He was very profound both in the zâhirî sciences and in the bâtinî ones. He would always inculcate love of the Ahl-i-Bayt upon people. He would say that affection for them would be very useful at the time of death, helping one to die as a Believer. Afterwards, when my father was ill on his deathbed, I was by his side. He was spending his final minutes in this life. He was about to drop his last tenuous links with the world. I remembered him saying to love the Ahl-i-Bayt very much. I asked, "How much is your love of them at this moment?" He was almost completely unconscious when he breathed: "I have been bathing in the ocean of love of Ahl-i-Bayt." I made hamd-u-thenâ (praise and gratitude) to Allâhu ta'âlâ for my father's answer. Love of the Ahl-i-Bayt is capital for the Muslims of Ahl-i-Sunnat. Some people do not realize this fact. Turning away from the correct and moderate love held by the Sunnî Muslims, they follow an eccentric course. Disdainful of a manner of love which is not excessive or inordinate, they stigmatize the Sunnî Muslims as Khwârij. They do not understand that between excess in one direction and the other is a medial way, a moderate and correct way. The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat are the only people who have been blessed with the honour of finding the correct and right way, the medial way between the two wrong ways, one of which is unduly high and the other despicably low. May Allâhu profusely reward the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat for the incessant and relentless drudgery they went through for the sake of the research they carried on to find this right way. That it was only the Sunnî Muslims who fought the Khwârij, i.e. the enemies of Hadrat Alî and his progeny, is a fact which Shiites also know well. There were no Shiites, –or their number was infinitesimally small–, when the Sunnî Muslims ploughed a lonely furrow in giving the enemies of Ahl-i-Bayt their deserts. By the way, do these people call the Sunnî Muslims 'Shiites' on account of their love of Ahl-i-Bayt? And do they think, therefore, that those people who dispersed the Khwârij and frightened them away were Shiites? So surprising to say, sometimes they call the Sunnî Muslims 'Khwârij'. Perhaps they really think so, since the affection which the Sunnî Muslims display towards the Ahl-i-Bayt is not aggressive and excessive. And, conversely, they sometimes consider the Sunnî Muslims as Shiites on account of the moderate love which they show towards the Ahl-i-Bayt and which is the manner of affection proper towards those great people. Consequently, and because they are vulgarly ignorant, when they hear the expression 'love of the Ahl-i-Bayt' from the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, they conclude that those scholars side with them. On the other hand, when other scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat warn against excessive affection and admonish that the (other) three Khalîfas must be loved, this time they call those scholars 'Khwârij'. Shame on them for the unjust and inappropriate labels they hang on the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. Because of their anomalous affection towards Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', they say that love of Hadrat Alî necessitates animosity against the three Khalîfas and against most of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Why should they be so unreasonable? How could that ever be called love?

Could the name of love ever allow for the folly of animosity against the Khalîfas of the Messenger of Allah or defamation of his Sahâba. The only reason for the hatred they feel against the Sunnî Muslims and for the ugly aspersions they cast on them is the Sunnî Muslims' complementing love of the Ahl-i-Bayt with love of all the Sahâba, and their not maligning any one of the Sahâba although they know about the wars which took place among them. Because the Sunnî Muslims realize the value and honour of the sohbat of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', they state that each and every one of the Sahâba was a superior, valuable and pure Muslim who had been purged from all sorts of malice, recalcitrance and jealousy. The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat do discriminate between the right and the wrong parties in those wars. Yet they state that the mistakes were based not on the wicked desires of the nafs, but on ra'y and ijtihâd. If the Sunnî Muslims also were inimical and abusive towards most of the great Sahâba, these eccentric people would be pleased with them and would no longer speak ill of them. On the other hand, the Khwârij would sympathize with the Sunnî Muslims only if they, too, were enemies of the Ahl-i-Bayt. Yâ Rabbî! After showing us the right way, do not make our hearts slip away from it! Bless us also from Thine endless treasures of Compassion! Thou art the only source of goodness.

As the greatest ones of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat explain, the blessed Sahâba of our master the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' parted into three groups concerning the matters that caused the so-called wars:

1– The Sahâbîs in the first group 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' observed the events and reached the ijtihâd that those who were with Hadrat Alî were right.

2– According to the ijtihâd of the second group, the other party were right.

3– The third group were hesitant. Their ijtihâd did not show clearly which party was right.

It was wâjib for the blessed Sahâbîs in the first group to act in accordance with their own ijtihâd and support Hadrat Alî. Likewise, it was necessary for the second group to follow their own ijtihâd and support the opposing party. And the third group was to support neither party. It would have been wrong for them to support either party. Each of the three groups acted in accordance with their own ijtihâd. All three of them did what was wâjib and necessary for them to do. Then, how could we ever blame them for having done so? And which one of them could we blame? Imâm Shâfi'î 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' states: "Allâhu ta'âlâ has protected us from imbruing our hands with their blood. So we should protect our tongues from interfering with them." 'Umar bin Abd-ul'azîz also is reported to have made an identical statement. That statement shows that we should not make comments on the events among them, neither favourable nor unfavourable; we should not pass judgments, for instance, on who was right and who was wrong. We should only speak in praise of them. A hadîth-i-sherîfcommands us to do so. The hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: " **Keep your tongues when my Sahâba are mentioned** ," which means, "When people talk about my Sahâba and the wars among them, protect yourselves. Avoid expressing a predilection for some of them and blaming the others." We have to obey this commandment. However, according to the understanding of most of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, the Sahâbîs who fought on Hadrat Alî's side were right. The opposing party were erroneous. Yet they cannot be blamed, since theirs was an error of ijtihâd. An error of ijtihâd is not something open to criticism. Those (mujtahids) with erroneous ijtihâd, like the mujtahids whose ijtihâd was right, cannot be blamed or vilified. Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is reported to have made the following explanation amidst the so-called wars: "Our brothers disagree with us. They are neither disbelievers nor sinners. For, their ijtihâd is what they understand, which would not make them disbelievers or sinners." As is seen, the Sunnîs and the Shiites concur in that the Sahâbîs who fought with Hadrat Alî were wrong, and in that Hadrat Alî was right. They differ, however, inasmuch as the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat state that the erroneous party cannot be blamed because their error originated from their understanding and points of view. They hold that we should avoid criticizing and maligning those great people and that we should be considerate of the right and honour of the Best of Mankind 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Indeed, our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **FearAllâhu ta'âlâ lest you should fail to be considerate of my Sahâba's rights. After me, do not speak ill of them**!" He repeated the same statement twice in order to emphasize the importance of his commandment. It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **All my Sahâba are like the celestial stars. You will attain hidâyat and happiness if you follow any one of them**!" There is many another hadîth-i-sherîf which commands that each and every Sahâbî must be held great and respected. Therefore, we have to hold them valuable and superior. As for the trivial mistakes ascribed to them; we should, at the most, believe that there were benevolent intentions behind those mistakes. This is the Sunnî credo.

Some people exceed the limits in this matter. They call the Sahâbîs who fought with Hadrat Alî 'disbelievers' and utter about them such ugly, abominable and vulgar expletives as one could not even imagine oneself articulating. Their abusive language fouls their own tongues. If their attitude is intended to show that Hadrat Alî was right and those who fought with him were wrong, they might as well be moderate like the Sunnî Muslims, which would perfectly serve their cause. This moderacy is at the same time compatible with justice and reason. There cannot be a religion or a madhhab which is based on vituperation or criticism of those great religious celebrities. These eccentric people have adopted that vicious policy as a religion for themselves. They believe that inimical and opprobrious attitude towards our Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Sahâba is an act of worship. What kind of a religion and madhhab is it that its principal credal tenet is to curse Rasûlullah's Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în?

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Muslims will part into seventy-three groups. Seventy-two of them will go to Hell on account of their heretical beliefs. Only one group will attain salvation**." Each of the seventy-two groups deviated from the Sunnî path by inventing various bid'ats. The basest and the worst of the seventy-two heretical groups are those who have been waging an animosity campaign against the Ashâb-i-kirâm. They are the most aberrant and the farthest away from the Ahl as-Sunnat, (i.e. the Sunnî Muslims,) who are the seventy-third group, the only group whose direction leads to salvation. What foreign matter could be found in the pure name of right to associate with these miscreants, who believe that the basis of their religion and madhhab is to vituperate and curse the religious authorities? With time, this group broke into twelve sub-groups. Contentious as they are among themselves, all twelve sub-groups concur in insistently calling the Sahâba disbelievers. They say that it is an act of worship to swear at the Khulafâ ar-râshidîn. However, they avoid being called Râfidîs. They say that Râfidîs are other people. For they, too, know about the hadîth-i-sherîfs foretelling that Râfidîs will be tormented in the world to come. It would be great if they avoided the tenor as well as the vehicle of the word 'Râfidî' and desisted from their inimical stance towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Hindus in India call themselves Hindus, not disbelievers. They do not consider themselves to be disbelievers. They say that disbelievers are those who live in the Dâr-ul-harb. They are quite wrong. They are disbelievers, regardless of the country they live in. The way they follow is kufr (disbelief).

Or, do these people identify themselves with Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Ahl-i-Bayt? Do they think, in other words, that the Ahl-i-Bayt also are hostile to Abû Bakr and 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'? To think so would mean to consider the greatest ones of the Ahl-i-Bayt as hypocrites. They assert that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' dissembled his real feelings and intentions throughout his thirty-year-long friendship with the other three Khalîfas, that he suppressed his grudge against them for the sake of getting along well with them, holding them superior and showing deference to them although they did not deserve it. Their assertion is extremely appalling. If they loved the Ahl-i-Bayt because they loved Rasûlullah, they would be inimical towards Rasûlullah's enemies and curseRasûlullah's enemies more bitterly than they do the enemies of the Ahl-i-Bayt. However, they have never been seen or heard to curse or even criticise Abû Jahl, who wasRasûlullah's arch enemy and who hurt and persecuted him so cruelly. On the other hand, they cling to the heretical belief that Hadrat Abû Bakr, who was the most beloved companion of the Messenger of Allah, was an enemy of the Ahl-i-Bayt. In an unbridled fury, they hurl the most vulgar invectives at him. They cast on him such aspersions as would run quite counter to his great honour. What kind of a religion or madhhab is theirs? May Allah forfend! How could it ever be imagined that Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar and all the Ashâb-i-kirâm were enemies of Rasûlullah's Ahl-i-Bayt 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în'? It would be all right if these unreasonable and blasphemous people swore at the enemies of the Ahl-i-Bayt without mentioning the names of the greatest Sahâbîs and thereby putting themselves into the awkward position of maligning the greatest religious celebrities. If they did so, they would be no different from the Sunnî Muslims (in belief). Indeed, the Sunnî Muslims also know the enemies of the Ahl-i-Bayt as their own enemies, blame them and curse them. The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat provide the following very elegant and subtle explanation on the matter: "We should not say that a certain person is to go to Hell, even if he has gone into various kinds of kufr (disbelief). He may make tawba and become a Muslim again (before death). Such people should not be cursed in name. And we should not curse a certain disbeliever by mentioning his name. Disbelievers must be cursed en masse. A dead person can be cursed only if it is known for certain that he died without îmân, (i.e. as a disbeliever)." Some of these wretched miscreants shamelessly curse Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar and malign and pronounce maledictions on the greater ones of the blessed Sahâba. May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless these wretched people with guidance to the right path and deliverance from that wrong and heretical path! Âmîn.

There are two main differences between the Ahl as-Sunnat and these people on this matter:

1– According to the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, all (the earliest) four Khalîfas were rightly-guided. Indeed, it is declared in one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs foretelling the ghayb (unknown): " **After me there will be a thirty-year caliphate.** " The 'caliphate' in thehadîth-i-sherîf is 'caliphate in its full sense.' The thirty-year period of caliphate ended by the end of the caliphate of Hadrat Alî. This hadîth-i-sherîf shows that all four Khalîfas became Khalîfas rightfully, and so is the case with the order of their caliphates. Some non-Sunnî people assert that the earliest three Khalîfas assumed office unjustly and by force. According to them, Hadrat Alî was the only rightly-guided Khalîfa. They say that Hadrat Alî's tacit consent to the caliphates of his three predecessors was intended to handle the matter lest he should cause a fitna. They believe that the blessed Sahâba of our master, the Prophet, feigned friendship with one another, that they handled one another hypocritically, and that they pretended to be firendly with one another in order to get along well. According to these self-appointed supporters of the chimerical cause, the Sahâbîs who were of the opinion that Hadrat Alî should be (the first) Khalîfa had to feign being friendly with the men of the three Khalîfas and dissembled their predilections. Accordingly, the other party, in their turn, dissimulated their hostility towards Hadrat Alî under feigned endearing smiles and friendship. According to these people, all the Sahâba were double-faced liars who pretended to be of the opinion quite the opposite of what they actually thought. According to these people, the Sahâba are the worst of Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' Ummat (Muslims), and Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' sohbat (company) is the worst of all sohbats. For, according to these wretched people's reasoning, the Sahâba should have acquired the suppositional wicked habits from the sohbats and lectures of the Messenger of Allah, which in its turn means that they should have led a life of hypocrisy, animosity, jealousy and grudge. The fact, however, is quite the other way round; The final âyat of Fat-h sûra purports: " **They are utterly compassionate towards one another.** " We trust ourselves to Allâhu ta'âlâ's protection against such heretical beliefs. If the so-called iniquities were the case with the pioneers of this Ummat, could their posterior have an iota of goodness? I wonder if these people have never heard of the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs telling about the superb quality of Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' sohbat and the goodness of his Ummat? Or, do they deny them? It was the Ashâb-i-kirâm who conveyed the Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs to us. Defamation of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, therefore, means defamation of the religion they conveyed to us. May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us from perpetrating such abhorrent calumniations and from holding such heretical beliefs! Their allegations betray their insidious plans to annihilate Islam. They are trying to undermine Islam under the cloak of affection towards Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Ahl-i-Bayt. In the shadow of the feigned affection lurks the horrid intention to extirpateRasûlullah's Islam. May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect Muslims from believing them! I wish they at least spared some respect for the supporters of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' by not considering them as hypocritical people. Given the assertion that the supporters of Hadrat Alî and his adversaries dissembled their hostilities towards each other and handled each other with mendacious friendliness for thirty years, which one of them should be given a share from goodness thus left in abeyance? And which one of them should we trust? They vilify and curse Hadrat Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. They do not realize that by defaming him they defame and discredit half of Islam's commandments and prohibitions. Indeed, according to mujtahids, who were profound scholars, Islam's commandments and prohibitions were extracted from three thousand hadîth-i-sherîfs. In other words, three thousand of the Islamic principles and rules were based on hadîth-i-sherîfs. Fifteen hundred of those (three thousand) hadîth-i-sherîfs were reported and quoted on the authority of Abû Hurayra. Therefore, to malign him means to cast a slur on half of the Islamic rules. As Imâm Bukhârî observes, more than eight hundred of the Islamic scholars quoted hadîth-i-sherîfs on the authority of Abû Hurayra. Most of those scholars were among the Ashâb-i-kirâm or the Tâbi'în-i-izâm. For instance, Abdullah ibn Abbâs and Abdullah ibn 'Umar and Jabir bin Abdullah and Enes bin Mâlik conveyed hadîth-i-sherîfs from Hadrat Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum'. On the other hand, these wretched people quote a statement blaming Hadrat Abû Hurayra and assert that it is a hadîth-i-sherîf reported on the authority of Hadrat Alî. It is their own fabrication. That the statement is a concoction is a bare fact divulged by profound scholars. A hadîth-i-sherîfwherein our master, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', prays for an increase in Abû Hurayra's knowledge and intellectual capacity, is well-known among the scholars ofHadîth-i-sherîf and is written in the section captioned 'Kitâb-ul-'ilm' of the book Bukhârî-i-sherîf. Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' relates the event as follows: We were sitting with our master, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', when the blessed Messenger said: " **Which one of you will take off his garment and lay it on the ground? I shall say some things. Then he must fold his garment up. He will never forget my utterances.** " I took my coat off and laid it on the ground. The Messenger of Allah, our master, said what he wished to say. I put on my coat again and covered my chest. From then on, I never forgot whatsoever I heard. It is a rank injustice to accuse such a great religious authority as Hadrat Abû Hurayra as an enemy of Hadrat Alî and to denigrate and vituperate that blessed person on account of that false accusation. Their eccentricities must be consequent upon excessive affection. It is an excess that verges on loss of îmân. Supposing we took for granted all their allegations, agreed with their heresy, and believed that Hadrat Alî had obeyed the other three Khalîfas unwillingly and got along with them hypocriticially; then how would we explain away his widespread statements in praise of the (earliest) two Khalîfas, (i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar)? How would these people advise us concerning those statements? It is written, for instance, in all the books concerned with the matter that Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was Khalîfa and the State was thoroughly in his hands when he acknowledged that the three Khalîfas previous to him had been rightly-guided and canonically legal Khalîfas. How would they interpret that state of affairs? As a matter of fact, a double-faced policy could entail, at the most, self-abnegation from caliphate although one believed that it was one's right, or concealment of e.g. the fact that the other three Khalîfas did not deserve the office. Yet it would be quite zany to hunt for hypocrisy in the acknowledgement that the earlier three Khalîfas had been rightful and that Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar were the highest Muslims, which is merely the statement of a fact. Furthermore, there are sahîh and authentic hadîth-i-sherîfs stating the superiorities of the three Khalîfas and of many another Sahâbî, and those hadîth-i-sherîfs are universally known. Also, there are hadîth-i-sherîfs which mention the names of many Sahâbîs, giving the glad tidings that they will go to Paradise. What will they say about those hadîth-i-sherîfs? For, no justification could be found for ascribing hypocrisy toRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Every Prophet has to state all facts exactly as they are. Moreover, what will they say about the âyat-i-kerîmas praising the Ashâb-i-kirâm? Hypocrisy in âyat-i-kerîmas is something that can never be considered. May Allâhu ta'âlâ give them reason! Every person with an average wisdom knows that hypocrisy is a wicked habit. It is treachery. It is quite unfair to attribute this iniquity to Hadrat Alî, who was the Lion of Allah. It would have been human for him to have been so for a few hours or for a couple of days; yet it is an execrable slander against the Lion of Allah to say that he lived with that iniquity for thirty years. It is stated (by the Islamic scholars) that insistence on venial sins will generate grave sins. Then, what would become of a person who spent thirty years of his life span perpetrating that iniquity, which is a sign of treachery and hypocrisy? How I wish that these wretched people realized the gravity of their libellous allegation and desisted from denying the superiority of the first two Khalîfas lest they should cause an awkward situation in the name of Hadrat Alî. If they were conscious of the wickedness of hypocrisy, which is a habit peculiar to munâfiqs, they would avoid the disastrous misstep which brings disgrace on Hadrat Alî. They would thus choose the milder one of the two disastrous situations, weathering the worse one. One more fact that needs to be emphasized at this point is that it is by no means a disastrous situation for them to believe in that the first two Khalîfas were the most superior. In other words, this belief will not belittle Hadrat Alî at all. Nor will it divest him of his right of caliphate. His right of caliphate, his very high grade in (the spiritual area called) Wilâyat, and his power in (the spiritual branches such as) hidâyat and irshâd will all remain intact. On the other hand, to say that he unwillingly pretended to be friendly towards those who expropriated his right of priority to caliphate, means to degrade and belittle the great Imâm. For, hypocrisy is a habit of munâfiqs, liars and swindlers.

2– According to the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ', the contentions and fights among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were based on benevolent thoughts and useful reasons. None of them followed his nafs or did anything for the sake of sheer resistance. In fact, the sohbat of the Messenger of Allah had thoroughly purified the nafses of all the Ashâb-i-kirâm. So pure were their hearts that they never felt any hostility, grudge or prejudice against one another. Each and every one of them had attained the grade of a mujtahid higher than all the other Islamic scholars. It is wâjib for every mujtahid to act in accordance with his own ijtihâd. Naturally, different mujtahids have different ijtihâds on some matters; in other words, they disagree with one another on what is right and correct in some matters. When their ijtihâds differ, so do their practices, since every one of them ought to act in accordance with his own ijtihâd. Hence, the attitudinal clashes among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were the fruits of their endeavours to bring truth and right to light. Their endeavours show that they agreed on the same purpose. Their differences and conflicts were not intended to satisfy the desires of the nafs-i-ammâra. Some people stigmatize those who fought with Hadrat Alî as 'disbelievers'. They vituperate those blessed people and utter violent expletives against them. The fact, however, is that there were a few matters on which the Ashâb-i-kirâm disagreed with Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and made statements contradictory with the conclusions drawn by the Messenger of Allah. Neither Allâhu ta'âlâ nor His Messenger castigated them for their arguments, which the events that took place in the aftermath sometimes proved to be right and correct. They were not blamed at all. Nor were they incriminated as the Wahy was revealed afterwards. Then, how can some people ever be called disbelievers on account of their ijtihâd disagreeable with Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd? How can they ever be blamed for having reached an ijtihâd contrary to Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd? Those who fought against Hadrat Alî were not only a few people whom these wretched miscreants continuously vilify. There were thousands of other Islamic authorities among them.

[According to some information presented in (the history book) Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ, the number of those who made war against Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was thirty thousand in the event of Camel, and that their number was a hundred and twenty thousand in the example of Siffîn. The number of casualties in both events amounted to forty-five thousand. As we have already detailed in the previous pages, a Jew named Abdullah bin Saba' and his collaborators sowed discord among the Ashâb-i-kirâm and caused the martyrdom of thousands of Muslims. It is a fact written in the Qur'ân al-kerîm that Jewry is responsible also for the martyrdom of a number of prophets.]

To call the greatest ones of the blessed Sahâba 'disbelievers', and to use abusive language about them, is not an easy dare to take, especially if those fortunate people have been blessed with the Glad Tidings that they will go to Paradise. I wish these wretched people were aware of the perilous consequences that their foul language would lead to. It is those blessed people who conveyed nearly half of Islam's teachings. If those people are reviled, half of the religious knowledge will lose its dependability. How can those people ever be maligned despite the fact that none of the Islamic scholars has rejected any narration reported on the authority of any one of them? Hadrat Alî also reported what he had heard from them. That the book entitled **Sahîh-i-Bukhârî** is the most authentic book on the earth after the Qur'ân al-kerîm is a fact which Shiites also know and acknowledge. This faqîr, –Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî means himself–, heard the following acknowledgement from Ahmad Tabtî, an eminent Shiite scholar: "After the Qur'ân al-kerîm, the truest book on the earth is the book Bukhârî." The book contains narrations reported on the authority of those Sahâbîs who were opposed to Hadrat Alî as well as those reported on the authority of his supporters. The narrators' being on either side did not add to or detract from the value of the narrations. The great scholar, (i.e. Imâm Muhammad bin Ismâ'îl Bukhârî,) wrote in his book those narrations reported on the authority of Hadrat Mu'âwiya as well as those reported from Hadrat Alî. If he had had any doubts as to the dependability of Hadrat Mu'âwiya or the authenticity of the hadîth-i-sherîfs he had narrated, he would not have let the narrations reported from him occupy a place in his book. Likewise, all the scholars of Hadîth borrowed narrations from both sides without any segregational considerations, since having fought with Hadrat Alî was not an offense or a fault in their view.

Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd is not necessarily always the right one in such clashes of ijtihâd; nor should it be taken for granted that those who reached an ijtihâd disagreeable with his were always wrong. It is true that Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd in the so-called wars was right. It is not a rare event that the greater ones of the Tâbi'în and leaders of our Madhhabs, whenever they had to make a choice between two antithetical ijtihâds, preferred the ijtihâd disagreeable with Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd, leaving aside Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd. If Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd had been necessarily always right, other ijtihâds disagreeable with his ijtihâd would not have been accepted. Qâdî Shurayh, an eminent scholar among the Tâbi'în, was a mujtahid. He refused to make his decision in accordance with Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd and rejected the testimony of Hadrat Alî's son, Hadrat Hasan, saying that he would not accept a person's testimony in favour of his own father. All the other mujtahids have followed Qâdî Shurayh's example and rejected a person's testimony for his father. There is many another example wherein ijtihâds counter to Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd were taken as a basis. Reasonable people who read religious books will see that what we say is quite right. Therefore we need not attempt any further exemplifications. As is seen, it is not an offence to reach an ijtihâd disagreeable with Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd or not to act in accordance with his ijtihâd. Those who do not follow his ijtihâd are not necessarily wicked or blamable people.

Hadrat Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' was Rasûlullah's darling. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' loved her very much and held her high till his death. Rasûlullah lived in her room till his death, passed away on her lap, and was buried in her most fragrant room. Aside from being so honourable, she was a profoundly learned mujtahid. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had assigned her the task of teaching half of Islamic knowledge. Whenever the Sahâba were confused about a religious matter or had difficulty solving a religious problem, they would run to her, learn what they needed to, and be back with the solution of their problem. It is not something a Muslim would do to malign and vituperate against such an honourable Siddîqa, a virtuous mujtahid, on account of her ijtihâd contrary to Hadrat Alî's ijtihâd. It is something which a Believer in the Messenger of Allah would shudderingly keep shy of. Whereas Hadrat Alî was Rasûlullah's son-in-law, Hadrat Âisha was his zawja-i-mutahhara, (i.e. pure and blessed wife,) darling, and most cherished lifelong companion. A few years ago this faqîr, –Imâm Rabbânî means himself–, developed a habit of giving food to the poor every week, intending that the thawâb (next-worldly rewards for the charity) be given to the souls of the **Ahl-i-abâ**. In other words, I would send the blessings that I would be given for the charitable act to the soul of Rasûlullah, our master, and also to the souls of Hadrat Alî, Hadrat Fâtima, Hadrat Hasan, and Hadrat Husayn. One night I had a dream in which I made salâm to, (i.e. greeted by saying "As-salâmu 'alaikum, Yâ Rasûlallah,") the Messenger of Allah, our master. He would not even pay attention to me. Turning his blessed looks away from me, the Best of Mankind said, reproachingly, " **I would eat in Âisha's home. Those who sent me food, would send it to Âisha's home**." When I woke up I knew that the blessed Messenger's inattentive attitude towards me was on account of my inattention towards Hadrat Âisha concerning the dispensation of the thawâb for charity to Rasûlullah's blessed family. From then on I sent the thawâb for the weekly food-giving charity not only to Hadrat Âisha, too, but also to all the other zawjât-i-mutahhara 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhunna'. Indeed, all those people were members of the Ahl-i-Bayt. Thusattained the honour of expecting help and shafâ'at from all the Ahl-i-Bayt.

To hurt Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' through Hadrat Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ' is more perilous than doing so through Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. This fact is quite palpable to wise and reasonable people.

As we have been emphasizing repeatedly, love of Hadrat Alî and the reverence to be shown to him should be based on the love and reverence we have for the Messenger of Allah. He must be loved and esteemed because he was beloved to the Messenger of Allah and on account of his kinship and in-law relationship with the Best of Mankind. If a person loves Hadrat Alî directly and holds him in high esteem without associating it with love of the Messenger of Allah, there is nothing we are to say to him. There is nothing we can discuss with that person, for he is trying to demolish the religion and to annihilate Islam. Turning away from the Messenger of Allah, he has been pursuing quite a different course. He has turned his face to Hadrat Alî instead of the Messenger of Allah, which is kufr (disbelief). Hadrat Alî does not like such people. Their words and writings hurt him. Our love of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, of the zawjât-i-tâhirât and of Rasûlullah's in-laws is only consequent upon our love of Rasûlullah 'alaihi wa 'alâ âlihi wa ashâbih-is-salawât'. We hold them great and respect them only for the sake of Rasûlullah 'alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm'. The hadîth-i-sherîf, " **He who loves them does so because he loves me** ," shows that what we say is true. By the same token, hostility towards any one of them means hostility towards the Messenger of Allah. As a matter of fact, another hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: " **He who is hostile to them is so because he is my enemy**." These twohadîth-i-sherîfs complement one another as follows: "To love my Sahâba means to love me. And enmity against them is enmity against me."

Hadrat Talha and Hadrat Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' were among the greatest Sahâbîs. They are two of the ten fortunate people who were blessed with the Glad Tidings (that they would go to) Paradise. It is quite erroneous to malign or criticize those two beloved Sahâbîs. Any curse uttered against them or any aspersion cast on them will recoil on the source of the curse or the aspersion. Talha was one of the six people whom Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' named and said that one of them should be designated as Khalîfa after him, and Zubayr was another. Khalîfa 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' could not make a choice among the six people because he did not know which one was the most superior. The two Sahâbîs, (i.e. Talha and Zubayr,) stated their wish to be excused from candidature for caliphate. One of them, Talha, was the kind of a person who had killed his own father on account of his failure to mind his manners towardsRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam'. Allâhu ta'âlâ praises him for his respect for the Messenger of Allah in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. As for the latter, Zubayr; Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had stated that his killer would go to Hell. A person who curses or maligns him is not less ignominious than the person who killed him.

Avoid speaking ill of great religious leaders and maligning great Islamic celebrities! Do avoid it, indeed! And avoid it very much! Those people spent their entire lives propagating Islam and supporting Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', who is the highest of the entire creation, and sacrificed all their property day and night and secretly and overtly for the promulgation of the religion. For love of the Messenger of Allah they abandoned their kith and kin, their children, their wives, their homes and countries, their streams, fields and trees. They preferred Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' to all these things and to their own lives. Leaving aside love of all these things and love of their own lives, they adhered to love of the Messenger of Allah. They attained the honour of talking with the Messenger of Allah and keeping him company. Owing to the barakat of his sohbat, they were blessed with the superiorities of prophethood. They saw the Wahy revealed byAllâhu ta'âlâ and attained the honour of being with the angel. They witnessed wonders and miracles beyond the laws of chemistry and physics. Things which others have only heard of were shown to them with all their clarity. They were blessed with such closenesses and superiorities as none of the later generations were given. Such were the heights they were promoted to, and so unique was the love lavished on them, that the blessings that would be given to others in return for mountains of gold dispensed in the name of alms are said, (in authentic narrations,) to hardly equal half the blessings which those most fortunate people attained by giving a handful of barley. Allâhu ta'âlâ lauds and praises them in the Qur'ân al-kerîm. He declares that He is pleased with them and that they are pleased with Allah. The final âyat of Fat-h sûra promotes them in honour. Allâhu ta'âlâ states in that âyat-i-kerîma that those who harbour a grudge against them are disbelievers. Therefore, hostility against them should be bewared from with the same alarm and trepidation as we would feel if we should lapse into kufr (disbelief).

So unprecedented was the affection which attached those blessed people toRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and so nonpareil were the honours which they attained by enjoying his special love and attention (tawajjuh), that it is quite preposterous to malign them or to dislike them on the pretext that they fell out with one another as a result of differring ijtihâds on matters whose solutions needed ijtihâd and that every group acted in accordance with their own ijtihâd. In matters of that nature difference was more appropriate than unity, and others' ijtihâd was not to be imitated. It would have been wrong, for instance, for Imâm Abû Yûsuf 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' to imitate the ijtihâd of Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh', (who had educated him,) after he himself had attained the grade of ijtihâd. It was compulsory for him to act in accordance with his own ijtihâd. Imâm Shâfi'î 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' would not hold the views and conclusions of any of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' preferrable to his own views. He would refuse any ijtihâd that was counter to his own ijtihâd, even if it belonged to Abû Bakr as-Siddîq or Hadrat Alî. He deemed it appropriate to act in accordance with his own ijtihâd even when his ijtihâd was contradictory with their ijtihâd. Since an ordinary (non-Sahâbî) mujtahid's disagreeing with the ijtihâds of the Sahâba is permissible and rightful, why should the Sahâba be blamed for disagreeing with one another's ijtihâd, and how can they ever be maligned on account of their rightful practices?

The Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' sometimes had ijtihâds contrary to the ijtihâd of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. They acted in contradiction withRasûlullah's ijtihâd. Their contradictory ijtihâd was not reproached in the Wahy that was revealed in the aftermath. None of them was castigated at all on account of their differing in ijtihâd. They were not prohibited from having ijtihâd contradictory with Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' ijtihâd. If Allâhu ta'âlâ had not approved of the differences of ijtihâd among the Ashâb-i-kirâm, certainly He would have prohibited them from such disagreements, and the Sahâbîs with contradictory ijtihâd would have been intimidated with torment (in the world to come). We all know about the proscription of talking loud with Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' and the intimidation that those who do so will be tormented. The second âyat of Hujurât sûra purports: " **Ye who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Messenger of Allah, nor speak aloud to him in talk, as ye may speak aloud to one another, ...** " (49-2). It was something He did not approve of; so He prohibited it on the spot. There was a difference of ijtihâd among the Ashâb-i-kirâm concerning how to deal with the prisoners of war captured during the Holy War of Badr. Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat Sa'd bin Mu'âdh proposed to kill the prisoners of war. Others were of the opinion that they should be set free in return for a certain amount of monetary payment. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was among those who held the latter ijtihâd. Putting the latter ijtihâd into practice, they started emancipating the captives; thereupon an âyat-i-kerîma was revealed and Hadrat 'Umar's ijtihâd was declared to have been correct. In many another similar event there were ijtihâds at variance with one another.

[One of them is related as follows in the book **Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ** , by Ahmed Cevdet Paşa 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ': In the sixth year of the Hegira the Messenger of Allah and fourteen hundred Sahâbîs were enroute from Medîna to Mekka for the purpose of paying a visit to the Kâ'ba-i-mu'azzama, when they received intelligence that the unbelievers were intent upon denying the Muslims' admission into Mekka. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' called a halt at a place called **Hudaybiya** and said to Hadrat 'Umar: " **Yâ 'Umar! Go to Mekka! Tell them that we do not mean war and that we will make a visit of the Kâ'ba and go back**!" Sensing that the commandment was a result of ijtihâd, Hadrat 'Umar proposed his own ijtihâd: "Yâ Rasûlallah! The unbelievers of Qoureish know that I am their arch enemy. They will tear me to pieces if I go there alone. 'Uthmân would be a more appropriate choice for the mission. 'Uthmân has many kinsfolk there. They will protect him." Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' wellcomed Hadrat 'Umar's suggestion, let alone taking exception to his apparent objection. So Hadrat 'Uthmân was sent to Mekka. There is many another example showing Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' concessions to the ijtihâds of his Sahâba. He stated, for instance: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has placed the right word into 'Umar's tongue.** "]

In his final illness, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' asked for paper to write some pieces of advice for his Companions. The Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân' did not agree on whether they should bring some paper. Some of them said they should do so, while others were of the opinion that they should not. Hadrat 'Umar-ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was among the latter group. He said, "The Book of Allah will suffice for us." Some people attack him on account of that event. They utter the most vulgar invectives unreservedly. Indeed, they do not have the right to criticize. For, Hadrat 'Umar knew that the Wahy (revelation of the Qur'ân al-kerîm) had already come to an end, that Allâhu ta'âlâ had already completed the declaration of His commandments, and that ijtihâd was the only source for deriving new religious information. What our master, the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', wanted to do was to write what he found by way of ijtihâd at that moment. The second âyat of Hashr sûra purports: "... **Take warning, then, O ye with eyes (to see)!** " (59-2). This âyat-i-kerîma commands those scholars who have attained the grade of ijtihâd to do ijtihâd. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm were mujtahids. They, too, were quite capable of the skill of ijtihâd needed for the pieces of information which the blessed Prophet meant to write at that moment. Another motive which induced Hadrat 'Umar's 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' apparently negative attitude was his anxiety not to let our Prophet "sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' bother himself with that toil at a time when his agonies were already on the increase. Because he loved the Messenger of Allah very much, he said that the Book of Allah would suffice for them, lest they should tire the Messenger of Allah for something whose solution would be possible with the Sahâba's ijtihâd. He meant to say that the Qur'ân al-kerîm was a source sufficient for them to derive the needed information by way of ijtihâd, since information based on ijtihâd is derived by mujtahids from the Qur'ân al-kerîm. It can be inferred from his literal expression, "The Book of Allah will suffice for us," that he must have sensed that the pieces of information that the Honour of the Entire Creation intended to write were in the category derived from the Qur'ân al-kerîm and not from hadîth-i-sherîfs. Hence, the extremely profound affection and the utterly self-sacrificial compassion which Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' felt for Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' deterred him from acceding to the bringing of paper, for it would have entailed an additional exertion for the Best of Mankind to attempt the business of writing at the most troublesome and painful moments of his final illness. As a matter of fact,Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' momentary wish to write something emanated from the exquisitely profuse feeling of compassion inherent in his blessed nature which always prompted him to do favours for his Sahâba and to be useful for them. What he was going to write was not one of Islam's essential teachings. His purpose was to save his Sahâba from the toil of ijtihâd. If the commandment, " **Bring me paper,** " had been a definite one, he would have repeated his commandment, making sure that his wishes be written. The difference of ijtihâd among his Sahâba would not have made him revoke his order.

**Question:** Hadrat 'Umar also said, "I wonder if he is talking subconsciously (because of fever)? Try and find out if it is so." What does that mean?

**Answer:** Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' may have considered that the Messenger of Allah was unconscious of what he was saying due to the pangs of illness. As a matter of fact, the Prophet's saying, " **I will write,** " contributes to that probability. Indeed,Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was ummî (illiterate). He had not been seen towrite a single word. Another factor which occasioned Hadrat 'Umar's considering that likelihood was the Prophet's completing his order with the causative clause, " **... lest you should deviate from the right path after me.** " For, Allâhu ta'âlâ had already declared that the teaching of Islam had been completed, that His blessings had culminated in perfection, and that He had been pleased with that state of affairs. How could deviation from the right path have been likely despite the consummate circumstances, and how could a brief piece of writing have been expected to protect a community from degeneration to which they are considered so prone? How could an aberration which an entire book written in twenty-three years is supposed to have fallen short of preventing have been prevented with a paragraph scribbled in haste amidst the increasing pains of illness? Realizing all these considerations and reasonings in a moment, Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' saw that the Prophet's order, " **Bring me paper** ," was a human mistake which inadvertently slipped out of his blessed mouth. In order to be sure, he suggested to ask the Prophet again. When the talks became somewhat louder, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' warned: " **Stand up! Do not make noise! It is not nice to make noise in the presence of the Prophet**." He did not say anything else. Nor did he repeat asking for a pen (and paper).

If the Sahâba's disagreeing with Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' in matters requiring ijtihâd had resulted from the sensuous recalcitrance of the nafs or from lack of respect, they would have become renegades –may Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us from such a disaster! They would have gone out of Islam. For any disrespectful or quarrelsome behaviour towards Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' is kufr (disbelief). Their disagreements were consequent upon their obedience to the commandment in the second âyat of Hashr sûra. Indeed, it is not right for a person who has attained the grade of ijtihâd to leave aside his own ijtihâd and act in accordance with someone else's ijtihâd in matters dependent on ijtihâd. Islam forbids to do so. It is true, however, that ijtihâd is not permissible in matters which are declared clearly in the Qur'ân al-kerîm or in hadîth-i-sherîfs. Everybody has to obey those overt commandments. It is wâjib to believe them and not to disagree with them.

None of the Ashâb-i-kirâm was fond of ostentation or judged by appearance. What they all were interested in was purification of the heart. They looked at the inner essence and meaning and were always mindful of (the Islamic manners called) adab. They would never adhere to superficialities or words. Their primary concern was to obey Rasûlullah's commandments and to avoid the mildest peccadilloes that might have hurt the Messenger of Allah. They would and did sacrifice their parents, their children and their families for the Messenger of Allah. So strong was the belief they held in him, so sincere and genuine was the adherence that attached them to him, so heartfelt was the affection that they felt towards him, and so profound was the respect for him by which their entire existence was pervaded, that his blessed spittle was never seen to reach the ground (before being caught by one of those most faithful admirers); nor were his nails clipped or hair cut. They would compete with one another to seize at least one small sample of those blessed pieces disposed of from his luminous body, and to keep it as the most valuable, blessed and fruitful souvenir. If a statement made by one of those pure people and explored recently should contain an expression that can be interpreted as an irreverence towards the Messenger of Allah in today's world of lies and deceits with which even the areas of meanings and semantics have been contaminated, the expression must be given a benevolent meaning and good meanings conveyed by the entire statement must be taken into consideration, rather than the semantic distortions that every individual word should have gone through in process of time.

**Question** : Inasmuch as mistakes are said to be likely in religious teachings obtained by way of ijtihâd, can all the religious information provided by Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' be said to be correct?

**Answer** : When the religious teachings which were found by way of ijtihâd in the time of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' were inconsistent with one another, the correct one would be revealed by Allâhu ta'âlâ. For it was not permissible for prophets to do something wrong. When there were contradictory ijtihâds concerning a certain matter,Allâhu ta'âlâ would declare which one was correct, and thus the correct one would be distinguished from the incorrect ones. When various differring ijtihâds were reached on a certain matter in the time of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', the angel in charge would descend with the wahy revealing the correct answer. Thus the correct ijtihâd would be acted in accordance with and what was done thereupon would be right and correct. Hence, every fact taught by Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was certainly true and everything he did was definitely correct. A slightest mistake in his teachings was quite out of the question. In fact, whereas the direct and overt religious teachings are correct because they were revealed by the angel in charge, the religious teachings inferred by way of ijtihâd are equally correct since they were verified by the revelation realized through the angel. Some matters were left to scholars' ijtihâd instead of being revealed directly and clearly; this divine policy should have been applied as a kindness to scholars and so that they would attain the blessings created in the nature of ijtihâd. The religious teachings which were inferred by way of ijtihâd caused mujtahids to be promoted to higher grades. Not so is the case with the ijtihâds done after Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passing away; religious teachings found by way of those ijtihâds are not guaranteed. They cannot be said to be definitely correct teachings. Therefore, it is not compulsory to believe that they are correct, although it is permissible to act in accordance with them. It is not kufr (disbelief) to deny their correctness. However, if the ijtihâds reached by all mujtahids indicate identical results, which is called ijmâ' (consensus, unanimity), it is compulsory to believe in the correctness of the teachings found by such unanimous ijtihâds.

We will beautify the conclusive part of our letter by writing the superiorities of the Ahl-i-Bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam':

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf quoted on the authority of Yûsuf bin Abdulberr: " **He who loves Alî will have loved me** (by doing so). **He who is inimical towards Alî will have been inimical towards me** (by being so). **He who hurts Alî will have hurt me. And he who hurts me will have hurt Allâhu ta'âlâ**."

[Some people exploit this hadîth-i-sherîf as an attestation to stigmatize those who fought Hadrat Alî as disbelievers. The fact, however, was that the parties who fought each other were not inimical towards each other. Their hearts were not angry with each other although they hurt each other physically. Amidst the fights Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' called the other party "Our brothers". And Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' wrote, "My master," about Hadrat Alî. It is written as follows in the hundred and forty-ninth (149) page of the seventh chapter of the 1331-Istanbul edition of the book Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ: When Hadrat Hasan ceded the caliphate (to Hadrat Mu'âwiya), which the greater ones of the Sahâba such as Sa'd bin Abî Waqqâs accepted, the government of Hadrat Mu'âwiya was canonically lawful. Hadrat Mu'âwiya seized the power by the use of force although he was one of the Sahâba. Yet the time and the circumstances had made it inevitable. People were acting in defiance of the Khalîfa's authority. Force and power were necessary, which meant the commencement of the era of sovereignty. Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was rightful and eligible for the position. As is seen, even the book Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ, which these exploiters rely on as a basis for their argument, writes that Hadrat Mu'âwiya was one of the Sahâba and attaches the phrase of blessing 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' to his name. The following account is given in its hundred and fifty-first (151) page: Things had taken a turn for the worse and the administration of the Muslims' matters and businesses required the use of force and power now. And Hadrat Mu'âwiya was considered eligible for the responsibility. Whereas formerly the Khalîfa's orders had been sufficient for the execution of Islamic principles, a sovereign power was necessary from then on. Since the main objective was the maintenance of Islam, all the Sahâba present at that time paid homage to Mu'âwiya 'ridwânullâhi 'alaihim ajma'în'. It is written as follows in its hundred and fifty-seventh (157) page: Hadrat Mu'âwiya was a Sahâbî and had been honoured withRasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' laudatory remarks. He was among the notables of Qoureish. On account of his exceptional competence with which he successfully enforced Islam, he was called the 'Khalîfa-i-Rasûlullah'.]

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Tirmuzî and Hâkim 'rahimahumullah': " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has given me the names of four people He loves. He commands that I should love all four of them. They are Alî, Abû Zer, Mikdâd, and Salmân**."

A hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Tabarânî, by Hâkim and by Abdullah ibn Mes'ûd quotesRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' as having stated: " **It is an act of worship to look at Alî**." According to a hadîth-i-sherîf which (the books) Bukhârî and Muslim report on the authority of Hadrat Berâ, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' lifted Hadrat Hasan, placed him on his blessed shoulder, and invoked: " **Yâ Rabbî! I love this one.** (I beg Thee that) **Thou, too, love him**!"

According to a hadîth-i-sherîf which Bukhârî reports on the authority of Hadrat Abû Bakr, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' mounted the minbar with Hadrat Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' in his arms. He was turning his blessed looks now to us, then to Hasan. He stated, " **This son of mine is a Sayyid. Owing to him Allâhu ta'âlâ will conciliate between two armies of Muslims**."

According to another hadîth-i-sherîf, which Tirmuzî reports on the authority of Usâma bin Zayd, Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had had Hasan and Husayn on his lap, each sitting on one of his blessed knees. He stated: " **These two are** **my sons, and they are my daughter's sons. Yâ Rabbî! I love these two.** (I beg of Thee that) **Thou, too, shouldst love them, and love also those who love them**!"

According to a hadîth-i-sherîf which Tirmuzî reports on the authority of Enes bin Mâlik, when Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was asked which one(s) of the Ahl-i-Bayt 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' he loved most, " **Hasan and Husayn** ," was his answer.

A hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Musawwir bin Muharram reads as follows: " **Fâtima** 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' **is a part from me. He who hurts her will have hurt me**."

A hadîth-i-sherîf which Hâkim reports on the authority of Abû Hurayra reads as follows: " **I love Fâtima more than** (I love) **Alî, and Alî is more valuable than Fâtima to me**."

Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' relates: The Sahâba would bring their presents (to the Messenger of Allah) whenever he was in my home. They would try to win his love by doing so. According to another report which Hadrat Âisha, again, reports, the blessed wives of the Messenger of Allah had parted into two groups. I was in the first group with Hafsa and Safiyya and Sawda. The other blessed wives, with Umm-i-Salama in the lead, made the other group. Sending Umm-i-Salama as their spokeswoman to the Messenger, the other group voiced their wish that he should order the Sahâba, "When any one of you wishes to give me a present, let him bring it to that home of mine where I happen to be at the moment." When Umm-i-Salama conveyed the wish, the Best of Mankind stated: " **Do not hurt me! The angel brings me wahy** (chapters of the Qur'ân al-kerîm) **only when I am in Âisha's home**." Upon this, Umm-i-Salama said, "Yâ Rasûlallah (O You, Messenger of Allah)! I trust myself to Allah to protect me from hurting you. Never again!" The same group of blessed wives repeated their attempt, delegating Hadrat Fâtima this time. " **O my beloved daughter! Will you not love someone whom I love** ," asked the Honour of Creation. When Fâtima 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ' replied, "Yes, I will," the blessed Prophetconcluded: " **Then, love her!** "

Âisha 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' relates: I envied no other wife of the Messenger of Allah as strongly as I did Khadîja 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhâ', although I had never seen her.Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' would mention her name very frequently. Whenever he killed a sheep, he would send some of the meat as a present to Khadîja's kinsfolk. When he mentioned Khadîja's name, I would say, "Is Khadîja the only woman in the world?" Thereupon the blessed Prophet would praise her, saying, " **She was so good, and so forth. I had children from her**."

A hadîth-i-sherîf reported on the authority of Abdullah ibn Abbâs reads: " **Abbâs is from me. And I am from him**."

It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf which Daylamî reports on the authority of Abû Sa'îd: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ will inflict very bitter torment on those who hurt me by traducing my progeny and descendants**."

A hadîth-i-sherîf which Hâkim reports on the authority of Abû Hurayra 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' reads as follows: " **The best one(s) among you is (are) the one(s) who will do kindness to my Ahl-i-Bayt after me**."

Ibn Asâkir quotes the following hadîth-i-sherîf on the authority of Hadrat Alî: " **If a person hurts my Ahl-i-Bayt, the torment he will suffer on account of it on the Last Day will be enough for him**."

Ibn Adî and Daylamî quote the following hadîth-i-sherîf on the authority of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh': " **A person who loves my Ahl-i-Bayt and my Sahâba very much will pass the bridge of Sirât most easily**."

[This is the end of the translation of Imâm Rabbânî's 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' letter.]

The great scholar Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' provides the following explanations in his booklet entitled **Ashâb-i-kirâm** ('Sahâba the Blessed'):Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Ahl-i-Bayt fall into three groups. One of the groups consists of his kinsfolk, i.e. those related to him by blood. His paternal aunts are in this group. His blessed and pure wives make the second group. In the third group are those female servants who always stayed with his blessed wives and served them by combing their hair, cooking for them, cleaning their rooms, doing the laundry and other housework. Bilâl, Salmân and Suhayb, who were responsible for outdoor services such as calling the adhân (azân), were among the people who ate and drank in the blessed home (of the Prophet). Hadrat Fâtima and all her children till the end of the world are also among the Ahl-i-Bayt. It is necessary to love them even if they are disobedient Muslims. To love them, to serve them with one's heart, body and property, and to behave respectfully towards them will cause one to die with îmân, (i.e. as a Believer). There used to be a court of justice allocated for Sayyids in the Syrian city of Hamâ. During the reigns of the Abbasid Khalîfas in Egypt Hadrat Hasan's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' descendants were called **Sherîf** s and Hadrat Husayn's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' descendants were called **Sayyid** s, and a decree was enacted that the former should wear a white turban and the latter should wear a green turban. Children born from both blessed families would be registered in the presence of a judge and two witnesses. In the time of Sultân Abdulmejîd Khân 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' the law courts were abrogated by the masonic vizier Reshîd Pâsha. People without a known genealogy and without a certain Madhhab began to be called Sayyids. Sham Persian Sayyids spread far and wide. It is stated as follows in the book **Fatâw-al-hadîthiyya** : "During the Sadr-i-awwal, all the members of the Ahl-i-Bayt were called Sherîfs. For instance, expressions like 'Sherîf-i-Abbâsî' and Sherîf-i-Zaynalî were being used. The Fâtimî sultans were in the Shiite sect. They called only the descendants of Hasan and Husayn 'Sayyids'. Eshref Sha'bân bin Husayn, one of the Turcoman sultans in Egypt, decreed in 773 [1371 A.D.] that the Sayyids wear a green turban so that they be distinguished from the Sherîfs. These regularizations, far-flung as they soon became, were of customary nature and had no canonical significance." Detailed information in this respect is available from the book **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** , as well as from the Turkish version of **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** or from the third chapter of the seventh part of its revision rendered by Zerkânî.

**ADDITION** : Some non-Sunnî impostors have been trying to mislead the Muslims in our country (Turkey). Baffled in their attempts to find at least some clues in the books written by Islamic scholars that they can distort into documentary evidence and adduce as grounds for their vilification of Hadrat Mu'âwiya and the other Sahâbîs who fought Hadrat Alî, they repair to a lower level of falsification by magnifying the tragic stories which the Abbasid historians concocted with considerations such as adulation, worldly gains and positional furtherance. Also, changing the writings in the Turkish book **Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ** , they try to use them as false evidence for their treacherous cause. For the purpose of divulging the slanders and lies which these traitors employ in their strategy to sow discord among the Muslims in our country and to set brothers against one another, we deem it relevant to borrow some excerpts from the book Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ and bring them to our dear readers' attention:

It is written as follows in the hundred and seventh (107) page of the book **Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ** : "Hadrat Hasan 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had entered into a series of short-lived marriages. The girls he had married would fall in love with him even sooner than the end of the fleeting marriages. Hadrat Hasan's last wife, Ja'da, apprehensive that he would divorce her, too, poisoned him." As is seen, Hadrat Hasan was poisoned by his wife because of jealousy. Contrary to the allegations of those lâ madhhabî people, Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' had no knowledge, let alone a part, concerning the felony.

The hundred and ninety-third (193) page contains the following observation: "Hadrat Mu'âwiya became ill in the sixtieth year of the Hijrat. He sent for his son Yazîd and gave him a long sermon of advice. The gist of the admonitory part of his advice was: Inhabitants of Kûfa may provoke Hadrat Husayn to march against you. If you are victorious over him, forgive him! Be kind towards him! He is very close to us. He has great rights over us, and he is Rasûlullah's grandson." These words of Mu'âwiya's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' are a most clear indication of the affection and respect he felt towards the Ahl-i-Bayt.

When Hadrat Mu'âwiya's illness became heavier, he stated: "Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' put a shirt on me. I have kept it ever since in order to be blessed with its barakat. One day I put pieces cut off from his blessed nails and hair into a bottle, which, also, I have kept up until now. When I am dead, put the shirt on me, and place the nail-clippings and the pieces of hair on my eyes and on my mouth. Perhaps Jenâb-i-Haqq will forgive me for the sake of them."

The following account is given in its hundred and ninety-fourth (194) page: Hadrat Mu'âwiya was tall, white-complexioned, stately, extremely patient, and sweet-tempered. His soft demanour was proverbial. One day a man entered his presence and insulted him in an unbearably rude manner. Hadrat Mu'âwiya was silent. When the other people in his presence asked if he would never run out of patience, he said, "We will not react to people's insults unless they mean harm to our sultanate."

According to a short passage in its hundred and ninety-fifth (195) page, Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' warned: "Do not malign Mu'âwiya's administration! Indeed, if you lose him you will see heads being cut off and falling down."

The following information is given in the book **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** : Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' and his father Abû Sufyân embraced Islam in the presence of Rasûlullah on the day when Mekka was conquered. They had firm îmân. Hadrat Mu'âwiya was one of Rasûlullah's secretaries. Rasûlullah asked a blessing over him several times, invoking, " **Yâ Rabbî! Keep this person in the right path and make him a means for other people's guidance to the right path**!" And once the blessed Prophet invoked this blessing over him: " **Yâ Rabbî! Teach Mu'âwiya knowledge and calculation! Protect him from torment! Yâ Rabbî! Make him dominant over countries**!" And at another time he gave him this advice: " **O Mu'âwiya! Do kindness when you dominate over countries**!" Afterwards Hadrat Mu'âwiya said that he had been awaiting the day when he would become Khalîfa since he had heard the blessed Prophet's invocation. One day Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was riding a beast of burden with Hadrat Mu'âwiya sitting behind him, when the Best of Mankind asked, " **Yâ Mu'âwiya! What part of your body is closer to me**?" When the latter replied that his abdomen was closer, Rasûlullah invoked: " **Yâ Rabbî! Fill this with knowledge and with mild temper**!" So richly gifted was Hadrat Mu'âwiya with forgiveness and clemency that a book of two huge volumes was written in praise of him. Four great geniuses have been raised in Arabia. Mu'âwiya is the first one of them. Whenever Hadrat 'Umar looked at Mu'âwiya he would say, "Among the Arabian rulers, this person is the one as majestic and as powerful as Persian sovereigns." So great was his magnanimity that he gave Hadrat Hasan eighty thousand gold coins when the latter said he was badly in debt. [The event is a clear indication of his special sympathy for the Ahl-i-Bayt and the services he rendered to them.]

Hadrat 'Umar was the first conqueror of the city of Jerusalem, and Hadrat Mu'âwiya was the second. Hadrat Mu'âwiya enlarged the Islamic lands to Tunis in Africa, to Bukhâra in Asia, and from Yemen to Istanbul, establishing full control over these vast countries. He was a stately, luminous-faced, handsome, good-tempered, congenial, right-minded, respectable and honourable state president. Always in clean, new, tidy and smart apparel, and fond of riding choice horses, he led a life of great splendor. However, owing to the barakat inherent in Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' sohbat, –since he was one of the Sahâba–, he had been immunized against aberration from Islam.

According to a narration reported in the four hundred and seventeenth (417) page of the book **Madârij-un-nubuwwa** , written in the Fârisî language by Hadrat Abdulhaqq Dahlawî, and also in the hundred and eighty-first (181) page of the first volume of the Turkish version of **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** , Abû Sufyân bin Harb displayed great heroism in the Holy War of Tâif. One of his eyes went out of its socket. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, " **Yâ Abâ Sufyân! Make a choice! If you wish, I will pray for you and your eye will be replaced. Otherwise, Allâhu ta'âlâ will give you an eye in Paradise, if you prefer this second choice**." Abû Sufyân replied, "Yâ Rasûlallah! I prefer that I be given an eye in Paradise," dumping the eye which he was holding on his palm onto the ground. Hadrat Abû Sufyân performed many acts of heroism in the Holy War of Yermûk, too, where he lost his second eye. He attained martyrdom in the same event.

The following account is given in the three hundred and fourteenth (314) page of **Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ** : After the conquest of Mekka, Abû Sufyân and his son Mu'âwiya joined the Messenger of Allah and migrated to Medîna. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' appointed Abû Sufyân as governor of Najrân, and made Hadrat Mu'âwiya a scribe of wahy.

It is written as follows in the four hundred and seventy-sixth (476) page of Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ: Three thousand Muslims attained martyrdom in the Holy War of Yermûk. There were many blessed Sahâbîs among them. Abû Sufyân became totally blind when an arrow hit his second eye 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în'.

According to information provided in the six hundred and eighty-fourth (684) page of the second volume of the book **Medârij-un-nubuwwa** , by Abdulhaqq Dahlawî, Yazîd bin abî Sufyân, governor of Damascus, designated his brother Mu'âwiya as his successor upon the approach of his own death. Hadrat 'Umar, the time's Khalîfa, ratified Hadrat Mu'âwiya's governorship. He retained his position as governor of Damascus for the next four years, i.e. until the death of Hadrat 'Umar, and the following sixteen years, i.e. throughout the caliphates of Hadrat 'Uthmân, Hadrat Alî, and Hadrat Hasan. In the forty-first year of the Hegira, when Hadrat Hasan ceded the caliphate, he became Khalîfa rightfully. By the end of his twentieth year in the office of caliphate, he passed away of facial paralysis at the age of seventy-eight. He was one of those who held the opinion that the murderers who had martyred Hadrat 'Uthmân should be arrested and punished immediately. Hadrat Alî, by contrast, considered that a hasty approach towards their punishment could aggravate the already turbulent matters of caliphate. Upon this he dismissed Hadrat Mu'âwiya from governorship. A hadîth-i-sherîf which Imâm Suyûtî quotes from Imâm Ahmad's book of Musnad reads: " **Yâ Rabbî! Teach Mu'âwiya how to write and how to calculate, and protect him from torment!** "

The facts which we have written so far bespeak the oddity of the course followed by those people who vilify Rasûlullah's two Sahâbîs, Abû Sufyân and his son Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ', over whom valuable Islamic books such as Qisâs-i-Anbiyâ say the blessing, 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', and praisingly state that they tried to serve Islam till they took their last breath.

Miracles bestowed on Ahmed[] were beyond calculation in numbers,  
Three thousand of them did the Sahâbâ tally at one time.

Miracles are proofs for a person's prophethood,  
Like the sun's heralding every new daytime.

Once seen, a miracle will suffice for confirmation,  
Muhammad himself was with infinite miracles a paradigm.

For his trueness Qur'ân alone would suffice, no doubt,  
Peerless, indeed, it is, in its belles-lettres and in rhyme.

So much so, none was able to imitate, genies and humans alike,  
"It really is Word of Allah," all had to admit in rhyme.

SUPERIORITIES of SAHÂBA 'the BLESSED'

The Turkish history book **Mir'ât-i-kâinât** , which is a compilation of a number of books and was prepared by Muhammad bin Ahmad Efendi, who is also known with the sobriquet 'Nişancızâde', provides a concise and explicit account of the greatness of the Sahâba and the superior merits each of them was gifted with. The following is an English translation of the passages borrowed from that book. Nişancızâde (Muhammad bin Ahmad Efendi) was born in the hijrî year 962, and passed away in 1031 [1622 A.D.]. He completed his book in the time of Sultân Ahmad Khân I, the fourteenth Ottoman Pâdishâh.

**Who is called a Sahâbî** : According to a great majority of scholars, once a male or female Muslim has seen Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' only for a short time, no matter whether he/she is a child or an adult, he/she is called a Sahâbî with the proviso of dying with îmân (as a Believer); the same rule applies to blind Muslims who have talked with the blessed Prophet at least once. If a disbeliever sees the Prophet and then joins the Believers after the demise of the Messenger of Allah, he is not a Sahâbî; nor is a person called a Sahâbî if he deserted Islam afterwards although he had seen the blessedProphet as a Muslim. A person who deserts Islam after having attained the honour of being a Sahâbî and then becomes a Believer again after the demise of the Messenger of Allah, is a Sahâbî. Since Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was a Prophet for genies as well, a jinnî also can be a Sahâbî. Sahâbîs in the mass are called **Ashâb-i-kirâm** or **Sahâba**.

**Superiorities of the Ashâb-i-kirâm** : According to information given in the book **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** , the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'alaihim-ur-ridwân', after prophets, and after the angels occupying special higher positions, are the highest community of the entire creation. Each and every Sahâbî is higher than all the rest of this Ummat (Muslims). All the people who believe in the prophethood of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm', i.e. all Muslims, regardless of their races and nationalities and the countries they live in, are the Ummat of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'. We, Muslims, are the Ummat of Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'. Despite the hadîth-i-sherîf which states, " **My Ummat are auspicious like rain. It cannot be known which Muslims** **are more auspicious, the earlier ones, or the later ones,** " advantageous positions attained on account of the amount of thawâb earned are not indications of superiority. Indeed, no other superiority can equal a superiority gained by having seen Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. When the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' conquered Damascus, the Damascene Christians observed their graceful manners and attitudes with profound admiration and swore that the new comers were superior to the Hawârîs, i.e. the Apostles of Îsâ (Jesus) 'alaihis-salâm'. Who on earth could ever argue against a superiority witnessed (and acknowledged) even bythe enemy? The hundred and tenth âyat of Âl-i-'Imrân sûra purports: " **Ye are the best of Ummats, ...** " And the hundredth âyat of Tawba sûra purports: " **The vanguard (of Islam) –The first of those who forsook (their homes) and of those who gave them aid, and (also) those who follow them in all good deeds,– Well-pleased is Allâhu ta'âlâ with them, as they are with Him: For them hath He prepared Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever: That is the supreme Felicity.** "

It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Do not vituperate against my Sahâba! If a Muslim belonging to the generations that will come after my Sahâba dispenses a mountain of gold in the name of alms, he will not attain thawâb half as much as the thawâb which one of my Sahâba would attain by giving a handful of barley.** " Ahadîth-i-sherîf quoted by Munâwî and Bayhakî reads as follows: " **My Sahâba are like the stars in the sky. If you follow any one of them you will attain hidâyat.** " It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Avoid being hostile towards my Sahâba! Fear Allah. He who loves them does so because he loves me. He who is hostile to them is so because he is my enemy. He who hurts them will have hurt me. And to hurt me certainly means to hurt Allâhu ta'âlâ.** " It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **The best of peoples are the Muslims who live in my time. Those who see them are the next best after them. And the third best people are those who see the people who have seen them. There will also be people not good at all among the generations that will come after them.** " Another hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: " **Muslims contemporary with me are the best among my Ummat. The** **next best people are those who will come after them. And those who will come after them are the third best.** " It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, which is quoted by Munâwî and Tirmuzî: " **The fire of Hell will not burn a Muslim who has seen me or one who has seen a Muslim who has seen me.** " These âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs clearly state the superiority of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'.

We must hold all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' in high esteem and love them all. As is unanimously stated in books of aqâid (credal matters), "It is necessary to know all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as great and superior people, to have a good opinion of them, and to believe that they were true and pious Muslims. We should not criticize or curse any one of them; we should never feel inimical towards any one of them; and we should avoid the ambivalence of loving some of them while feeling animosity against other Sahâbîs. We should avoid the absurd expectation that we will have loved some of them by being inimical towards others or by maligning or cursing them. The facts we have stated have been corroborated by definitely authentic documents and substantiated proofs.

It is not sinful to feel more sympathy for a certain Sahâbî, on account of his worldly accomplishments, than for another Sahâbî who you know is higher, although you believe certainly that the latter is higher. For instance, if one of the descendants of Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh', e.g. a Sayyid, loves Hadrat Alî, his ancestor, more than he loves Hadrat Abû Bakr although he holds Hadrat Abû Bakr in higher esteem than Hadrat Alî in matters pertaining to the Hereafter, he is not sinful for his emotional predilection. For, worldly sympathy is not something within a person's will.

Sa'duddîn Teftâzânî makes the following explanation in **Sharh-i-Aqâid** , one of the basic books of the Ahl as-Sunnat: "We have to believe in the fact that the differences and wars among the Sahâba were based on benevolent reasons. It is not permissible to curse or blame any one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. And it is kufr to malign a Sahâbî who is praised in the Nass (âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs with clear meanings); Hadrat Âisha is one of the Sahâbîs in that category. If a Sahâbî is not individually praised in the Nass, it is an act of heresy and a grave sin to malign him." It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in the book **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** : " **Hold your tongue when my Sahâba are mentioned! Do not say something that may be blasphemy against their honour!** " It is stated in anotherhadîth-i-sherîf: " **If a person vituperates against one of my Sahâba, beat him!** " Another hadîth-i-sherîf, quoted by Tabarânî and Munâwî, reads as follows: " **A person who curses a prophet is to be killed, and a person who curses my Sahâba is to be beaten.** " It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf quoted in the book **Jâmi'us-saghîr** , by Hadrat Jelâladdîn Suyûtî: " **My Sahâba will have faults and mistakes. Allâhu ta'âlâ will forgive them their faults.** " It is stated in the book Khulâsat-ul-fatâwâ: "It is an act of disbelief to curse Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar. Yet it is heresy and aberration, not disbelief, to believe that Hadrat Alî was higher than they were." When Hadrat Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfe was asked what the Madhhab of **Ahl as-Sunnat wa'l-jamâ'at** was, he replied: "It is to believe in the superiority of Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar, to love the two sons-in-law of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', to make masah on the two mests on your feet, during the performance of ablution,[] and to perform namâz behind any Muslim, regardless of whether he is good or bad." According to information given in the book **Âdâb-ul-menâzil** , it is not an act of disbelief to curse a certain Sahâbî only once; it is an act of aberration. A person who commits the act of cursing once or twice or three times is chastised with flogging. He who commits the act more than three times is to be killed.

Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat group the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' in three categories in respect of superiority.

1– **Muhâjirîn** (Migrators): Those who left their homes and countries, in Mekka or elsewhere, and migrated to Medîna, before the conquest of Mekka. Those people embraced Islam either before or after joining Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' (in Medîna). Hadrat 'Amr ibn al-'Âs was one of them.

2– **Ansâr** (Helpers, Supporters): Muslims who lived in the city of Medîna or in places near the blessed city, as well as those who belonged to the two tribes called Aws and Hazraj, are called Ansâr 'ridwânullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în'. Indeed, those people promised all sorts of help and sacrifice for the sake of our masterRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', and they did keep their promises.

3– **The other Sahâbîs** 'ridwânullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în': They are the people who became Believers upon the conquest of Mekka or afterwards in Mekka or elsewhere. They are not called Muhâjirîn or Ansâr. They are only called Sahâbîs. According to an observation in the book entitled **Jâmi'** , by ibn Esîr Izzaddîn Alî Jazrî, the Muhâjirîn are higher than the Ansâr, the earlier ones of the Muhâjirîn are higher than those Ansâr who embraced Islam later, the earlier ones of the Ansâr are higher than the later ones of the Muhâjirîn, and yet there is many a later Sahâbî higher than many another Sahâbî who embraced Islam earlier. For instance, Hadrat 'Umar and Bilâl Habashî are higher than a number of other Sahâbîs who joined the Believers earlier. Imâm Suyûtî states as follows in the book entitled **Târîh-ul-Khulafâ** : As is unanimously stated by scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, the (earliest) four Khalîfas of the Messenger of Allah are the highest ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. The next highest Sahâbîs are the remaining six of the ten fortunate people who were blessed with the Glad Tidings of Paradise, and also Hadrat Hasan and Hadrat Husayn. The highest Sahâbîs next after them are the three hundred and thirteen (313) Sahâbîs who, together with these twelve (highest) Sahâbîs, joined the Holy War of Badr. The next highest Sahâbîs are the seven hundred (700) heroes who fought in the Holy War of Uhud. The next highest Sahâbîs are the fourteen hundred (1400) people who promised the Messenger of Allah, under a tree, saying, "We will rather die than go back," in the sixth year of the Hijrat. The well-known covenant is called **Bî'at ur-Ridwân**.

It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf quoted in the book of tafsîr entitled **Bahr-ul-'ulûm** : **"Abû Bakr is the most compassionate Muslim in this Ummat. 'Umar has the rigidest religious perseverance. 'Uthmân has the most hayâ** (sense of shame) **. Alî is the one who answers every question in the Sharî'at. Mu'âdh is the one who is most knowledgeable in halâls and harâms. Abiyy bin Kâ'b is the** **best reader (or reciter) of the Qur'ân al-kerîm. Huzayfa-t-ibn Yemân is the one who recognizes the hypocrites. He who wants to see Îsâ's 'alaihis-salâm' zuhd should look at the zuhd Abû Zer has! Paradise is in love with Salmân-i-Fârisî. Khâlid bin Walîd is the sword of Allah. Hamza is the lion of Allah. Hasan and Husayn are the highest ones of the young people of Paradise. Ja'far bin Abî Tâlib will be flying with the angels in Paradise. Bilâl will be the first to open the gate of Paradise. Suhayb-i-Rûmî will be the first to drink from my pond Kawthar. On the Rising Day, Abû-d-Derdâ will be the first person with whom angels will shake hands. Everyprophet has a friend. Sa'd bin Mu'âdh is my friend. There are people whom everyprophet chooses from among his Ummat. Talha and Zubayr are the ones I have chosen. Every prophet has an assistant who performs his private chores. Enes bin Mâlik is my assistant. There are hakîms in every Ummat. Abû Hurayra is the one of my Ummat who utters the most hikmat. Hassân bin Thâbit's speech has been endowed with a powerful effect by Allah. The voice of Abû Talha in the battlefield is stronger than that of a division of soldiers.** " Alâuddîn Alî Samarkandî, the author of the book **Bahr-ul-'ulûm** , passed away in the Anatolian city Lârende in the year 860.

Hadrat Imâm Suyûtî quotes the following hadîth-i-sherîf in the book **Târîh-ul-Khulafâ** (History of the Khalîfas): " **Abû Bakr is the most compassionate one of my Ummat. 'Umar is the most austere one in performing the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ. 'Uthmân has the most hayâ** (sense of shame) **. Alî is the best in solving the difficulties in the Sharî'at. Abû 'Ubayda bin Jerrâh is the most trustworthy one of my Ummat. Abû Zer is the most zâhid** [] **one of my Ummat. Abû-d-Derdâ is the one with the most acts of worship. Mu'âwiya bin Abî Sufyân is the most clement and the most generous one of my Ummat.** "

Rasûlullah's governors:

The following information is provided in the book **Hamis** , which was written in 940 by Qâdî Husayn of Diyar-i-Bakr: Bâzân, who had been appointed governor of Yemen by the Persian Shâh Husraw, joined the Believers. The Rasûl (Messenger) 'alaihis-salâm' let him retain his position. Hence, Bâzân was the first Muslim governor. The Rasûl 'alaihis-salâm' appointed Khâlid bin Sa'îd to the city of San'a (in Yemen); Ziyâd bin Esed to the city of Hadremût; Abû Mûsa-l-Esh'ârî to the city of Aden; Abû Sufyân bin Harb to the province of Nejrân; Yazîd, who was Mu'âwiya's elder brother, to the city of Teymâ; Attâb bin Esyed to the city of Mekka; and 'Amr bin 'Âs to the city of Ammân, (in Jordan). Qâdî Husayn bin Muhammad passed away in Mekka in 960.

Rasûlullah's secretaries:

Hadrat Abû Bakr; 'Umar; 'Uthmân; Alî; Talha; Zubayr; Sa'd bin Abî Waqqâs; Muhammad bin Salama; Erqam bin Abî Erqam; Abdullah bin Erqam; Mughîra bin Shu'ba; Abiyy bin Kâ'b; Zayd bin Thâbit; Abû Sufyân bin Harb, and also his son Mu'âwiya, and also Mu'âwiya's elder brother Yazîd bin Abî-s-Sufyân; Khâlid bin Walîd; 'Amr ibn 'Âs; and Huzayfa bin Yemân were a few of them. He had other secretaries as well. Their total number is forty-three. Zayd bin Abî-th-Thâbit and Mu'âwiya bin Abî-s-Sufyân were the longest in office 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'.

He sent abroad fourteen diplomatic agents. Hadrat 'Amr bin 'Âs was one of them. The blessed Messenger sent him as an ambassador to Ammân, afterwards appointing him governor of Ammân.

The book **Istî'âb** consists of two thousand and seven hundred and seventy biographies of male Sahâbîs and three hundred and eighty-one biographies of female Sahâbîs. Hâfidh Yusûf bin Muhammad bin Qurtubî, the author of the book entitled **Istî'âb fî ma'rifat-il-Ashâb** , passed away in 463 [1071 A.D.]. According to an observation in the book entitled **Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya** , an untold number of people had already embraced Islam by the time Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away. There were ten thousand Sahâbîs by the time Mekka was conquered, seventy thousand Sahâbîs during the Holy War of Tabuk, and ninety thousand during the blessed Messenger's Farewell Hajj. The earth enjoyed carrying on its shoulders more than one hundred and twenty thousand living Sahâbîs by the time the Sultân of Creation honoured the Hereafter with his blessed presence.

With the exception of a few of Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' kinsfolk, all the Ashâb-i-kirâm of the Messenger of Allah 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' were junior to him in age.

According to information which the book entitled **Fawâyikh-i-Miskiyya** presents on the authority of Imâm Wâqidî, the following blessed Sahâbîs outlived all the others:

Abdullah bin Abî Awfâ 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' passed away in the city of Kûfa in the eighty-sixth year of the Hegira.

Abdullah bin Yesr passed away in Damascus in the eighty-eighth year (of the Hegira).

Sahl bin Sa'd 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' passed away in Medîna in the ninety-first year of the Hegira, when he was a hundred years old.

Enes bin Mâlik passed away in Basra in the ninety-third year.

Abû-t-tufayl Âmir bin Wâsila passed away in Mekka in the hundredth year of the Hegira.

He was the last blessed Sahâbî to pass away.

The blessed Messenger never told anyone clearly who was to succeed him as Khalîfa. By appointing Hadrat Abû Bakr as imâm (to conduct the prayers of namâz in jamâ'at) for his place eight days before his demise, he implied Hadrat Abû Bakr's future caliphate. It was a considerably long time before Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' became ill, when one day he stayed home instead of going out to the mosque (to conduct the namâz in jamâ'at), sending his blessed Sahâba the message that he wished them to perform the namâz (without him as their imâm). Because Hadrat Abû Bakr was absent, Hadrat 'Umar assumed the duty as imâm. When the blessed Messenger heard Hadrat 'Umar's voice, he stated: " **No. No. Allâhu ta'âlâ and Muslims approve of Abû Bakr. Let Abû Bakr conduct namâz!** " At another time he said to Hadrat Alî: " **I asked of Allâhu ta'âlâ three times that you be the highest of my Sahâba. Allâhu ta'âlâ approved that Abû Bakr be the highest.** " On various occasions Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' implied that after him Hadrat Abû Bakr would be (the first) Khalîfa. For instance, during the construction of (the mosque called) Mesjîd-i-sherîf after the blessed migration to Medîna, the Best of Mankind placed a stone for the foundation with his blessed hand and said to Hadrat Abû Bakr to get a stone and place it next to his. Then he asked Hadrat 'Umar to put another stone next to Hadrat Abû Bakr's stone. Then he ordered Hadrat 'Uthmân to put another stone near the one which Hadrat 'Umar had placed. When Hadrat 'Uthmân put his stone next to Hadrat 'Umar's stone, the blessed Prophet stated, " **These people are my Khalîfas after me.** " It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf quoted in Imâm Ahmad's Musnad and in Munâwî's book **Kunûz-ud-deqâiq** : " **After me, pay homage to these two people: Abû Bakr and 'Umar.** " One day a woman came with a request. The blessed Messenger told her to come back later. When the woman asked him what she was to do in case she did not find him there when she came back, the Prophet said: " **If you cannot find me go to Abû Bakr! He is my Khalîfa after me.** " Towards his demise he ordered: " **Fetch me some paper and a pen! I shall write something for Abû Bakr.** " Then he stated: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ and Muslims are pleased with Abû Bakr.** " Allâma ibn-ul-Hemmâm provides the following explanation in his book entitled **Musâyara:** Allâhu ta'âlâ had imparted to His blessed Messenger 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' that Hadrat Abû Bakr would be (the first) Khalîfa. Yet He had not ordered him to tell his Ummat (Muslims) about it.

Hadrat Abû Bakr was born two years and a couple of months after the Messenger of Allah. His father's name was Abû Quhâfa 'Uthmân. His ancestral chain converges with that of the Messenger of Allah on the seventh father backwards. Formerly, his name was Abdulkâ'ba. The blessed Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' changed it to 'Abdullah'. 'Abû Bakr' means 'Bakr's father'. He did not have a son named Bakr. However, it was customary in Arabia to prefix the surname ('Abû', which means) 'Father of a son' to a male baby's name so that he should have a son (when he grew up). Therefore his father had named him Abû Bakr. He was also called **Atîq** , which means 'emancipated (man)', on account of the various hadîth-i-sherîfs containing the Glad Tidings that he had been emancipated from Hell. Another sobriquet he had had the honour of being called was **Siddîq** , which Allâhu ta'âlâ had conferred on him upon his instant affirmation of Rasûlullah's (ascent to heaven called) Mi'râj. He was a white-complexioned, luminous-faced and slim person. Even before embracing Islam, he was among the eminent, notable, distinguished and authoritative disbelievers of Qoureish. It was in those days of nescience yet when he was renowned for his exceptional chastity, dignity and integrity. Nor had he ever tasted wine or recited poetry. He was one of the prominent and wealthiest merchants of Mekka. He had an intrinsic disposition to goodness and a singular taste of charity. Long before the advent of Islam, he and the Messenger of Allah had shared the sincere and compassionate feelings of an intimate friendship in their early youth. So heartfelt and so pure was the affection that the two adolescents had had for each other. Many a soothsayer and religious scholar he had met during his trade expeditions would tell him that a latest-time Prophet would come and that he would be one of his Sahâbîs. As soon as the Messenger of Allah called him to Islam, he became a Believer willingly. His mother Umm-ul-khayr was one of the earliest Believers. However, his father 'Uthmân was very old when he embraced Islam upon the conquest of Mekka. Abû Bakr was the only Sahâbî whose parents, children and grandchildren, all of them, embraced Islam; there was none else.

In Mekka, during the Hegira, in Medîna, in all the Holy Wars as well as in peace-time, he would never leave the Messenger of Allah alone. He was Rasûlullah's faithful companion, confident, and counsellor in all matters. The hadîth-i-sherîf, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has supported me with four viziers. Two of them are angels. Their names are Jebrâ'îl and Mikâil. And two of them are human. Their names are Abû Bakr and 'Umar** ," indicates his high honour. The Ashâb-i-kirâm would make a ring around the Messenger of Allah when they sat in his presence. The blessed Messenger would have Abû Bakr seated on his right-hand side, with 'Umar seated on the Prophet's left. He would never let anyone occupy a seat prior to that of Abû Bakr or take his seat in his absence. His seat would be vacant when he was absent. In moral and habitual aesthetics, in valour, in generosity, in knowledge, in intelligence, and particularly in taqwâ (fear of Allah, abstinence from His prohibitions), he was superior par excellence to all the other Sahâbîs. "Abû Bakr is the bravest of us all," was Hadrat Alî's acknowledgement. When the Messenger of Allah passed away, most of the Arabian peasants abandoned Islam and lapsed into apostasy. When Hadrat Abû Bakr became Khalîfa, he ordered to make war against the renegades. The Sahâba asked how they could make war against entire Arabia. Upon this he drew his sword and proceeded. And so did the Sahâba, behind him. The sûra of Wa-l-layl was revealed to praise him. The blessed Messenger's statement, " **Abû Bakr's property has been of such great benefit as no one else's has been to me** ," is written in Imâm Ahmad's Musnad as well as in Munâwî. He dispensed all his earnings from trade for the sake of the Messenger of Allah.

Whenever a canonical question arose during his caliphate, he would look up theQur'ân al-kerîm and the hadîth-i-sherîfs he knew for an answer. When he could not find an answer, he would ask the Sahâba. If they could not find a hadîth-i-sherîf by which to solve the question, they would continue their research, trying to reach a consensus in the last resort and adapting their practices to the result of the consensus. In case they did not reach a consensus, he (Hadrat Abû Bakr) would solve the matter with his own ijtihâd. As for Hadrat 'Umar's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' policy during his caliphate; whenever he did not find an answer for a certain question after the first stage of his research which he would normally do by minutely scanning the Qur'ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs, he would search for an ijtihâd which Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' might have employed for the solution of the question. Otherwise, he would employ his own ijtihâd.

He had remarkably great intelligence. When, one day, the beloved Prophet 'alaihis-salâm' stated, " **Allâhu ta'âlâ has told a slave of His to make a choice between the world and the Hereafter. The slave said he would prefer the blessings closer to his Rabb** (Allâhu ta'âlâ)," he immediately inferred that Rasûlullah's demise was imminent, and wept bitterly. That unbelievable comprehensive speed displayed by Hadrat Abû Bakr aroused great admiration among the Sahâba. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had stated: " **The imâm should be one with the best knowledge of the Qur'ân al-kerîm**." When the blessed Prophet ordered Hadrat Abû Bakr to take his place and conduct the prayers of namâz as the imâm of the jamâ'at, that prophetic instruction connoted, incidentally, the implication that Hadrat Abû Bakr was the best of all the Sahâba in knowledge of the Qur'ân al-kerîm. He was at the same time the best-informed Sahâbî concerning hadîth-i-sherîfs and Rasûlullah's âdâb (beautiful manners which Islam commends highly and which the Prophet himself exemplified best). Whenever the Sahâba had difficulty solving a certain canonical problem, they would ask him and he would solve the problem. The reason for the relatively low number of the hadîth-i-sherîfs which have been conveyed to us on his authority was his rather short life after the Messenger of Allah, and that limited period he spent grappling with renegades and rebels. Another area wherein he was best among the Sahâba was interpretation of dreams. According to ibn Shîrîn, who was one of the notables of the Tâbi'în and renowned for the accuracy of his dream interpretations, "With the exception of the Messenger of Allah, Abû Bakr is the most superior in interpreting dreams." In genealogy of the Arabian tribes, especially in fixing the names of the Qoureish ancestry, he had no rival. The best was he also in foresight, in accurate guesswork, and in circumspection. In secular matters, the Messenger of Allah would always consult with him. A hadîth-i-sherîf reads: " **Jebrâ'îl said to me: Allâhu ta'âlâ commands that you should consult with Abû Bakr**." The injunction, " **Consult with them in your activities** ," in the hundred and fifty-ninth âyat of 'Imrân sûra was revealed to order consultation with Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar. Hadrat Abû Bakr was one of the few Sahâbîs who learned the entire Qur'ân al-kerîm by heart.

There are a number of âyat-i-kerîmas and myriads of hadîth-i-sherîfs stating that Hadrat Abû Bakr was the highest of mankind, with the exception of prophets. A few of them are:

The phrase, " **... No more than one companion: They two were in the Cave, ...** " in the fortieth âyat of Tawba sûra, praises Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'. It is unanimously stated (by Islamic scholars) that the fifth âyat of Wa-l-layl sûra indicates the high honour of Hadrat Abû Bakr. Also, the seventeenth âyat of the same sûra was revealed for the sake of Abû Bakr. Another âyat-i kerîma which is said to have been revealed for Hadrat Abû Bakr is the two hundred and seventy-fourth (274) âyat of Baqara sûra. As a matter of fact, he gave ten thousand coins of gold secretly at night and ten thousand openly during the day in order to attain the various blessings inherent in giving alms. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Daylamî and written in Munâwî: " **Abû Bakr is the best and the highest of all mankind. Only, He is not a prophet**." Another hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Daylamî and written in Munâwî reads: " **Abû Bakr's title is Atîq among the creatures of heaven. It is Atîq on the earth as well.** "

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported on the authority of Abû Nu'aym 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' and written in Munâwî: " **Abû Bakr is a person whom Allâhu ta'âlâhas freed from fire**."

Another hadîth-i-sherîf states: " **Except for prophets, the sun has not risen over a person higher than Abû Bakr.** "

It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **No other person has been so useful as Abû Bakr to me, both in terms of sohbat and in property. If I were to have a friend other than my Rabb,** (i.e. Allâhu ta'âlâ,) **I would have Abû Bakr as a friend**."

Another hadîth-i-sherîf reads: " **Of all my Ummat, Abû Bakr will be the first to enter Paradise**."

It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Daylamî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' and written in Munâwî: " **It is wâjib** (incumbent) **upon all my Ummat to love Abû Bakr and to pay gratitude to him**."

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Khatîb-i-Baghdâdî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' and written in Munâwî: " **On the Judgement Day, everybody shall be judged. Only Abû Bakr shall not be judged**."

When, one day, the Messenger of Allah stated, " **There are three hundred and sixty beautiful moral habits. Allâhu ta'âlâ will give one of those beautiful moral habits to one of His slaves, if He wishes to do so. Then He will let him go into Paradise on account of that beautiful moral habit** ," Hadrat Abû Bakr asked, "Yâ Rasûlallah! Do I have one of those beautiful moral habits?" " **Yes. You have all those moral habits** ," was the blessed Prophet's reply.

One day, the âyat-i-kerîma, " **O you the nafs who is mutmainna!...** " was recited completely. Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' asked: "Yâ Rasûlallah! What a beautiful thing that is!" Upon this the Best of Mankind gave the Glad Tidings: " **As you die, the angel will say so to you**."

One day Hadrat Abû Bakr was offended by one of the Sahâba. When the blessed Messenger 'alaihis-salâm' heard about that, he convened the Ashâb-i-kirâm and admonished them: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ sent me as His Messenger to you. You would not believe me. Abû Bakr was the only one to believe me. He supported me both with his property and with his life. For my sake, do not hurt this friend of yours!** " From that day on, no one ever said or did anything to hurt Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'.

It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **I asked Jebrâ'îl 'alaihis-salâm' about 'Umar's superior merits. Jebrâ'îl said to me: If I were to list 'Umar's high merits for a period of time as long as the prophethood of Nûh** (Noah) **'alaihis-salâm'** , (i.e. nine hundred and fifty years,) **I would not be through with them** (at the end of that long period) **. However, all the goodnesses which 'Umar possesses would amount to equal only one of the goodnesses of Abû Bakr**."

When Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' was asked to name the person he loved most, he uttered the name " **Âisha**." When he was asked to name the man he loved most, he said: " **Âisha's father**." And when he was asked who was the man he loved second most, he replied: " **'Umar bin Khattâb**."

One day the blessed Prophet pointed to Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar and said: " **These two are the highest of the people of Paradise, with the exception of prophets**."

One day, with Abû Bakr on the Prophet's right-hand side and 'Umar on his left 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ', and the Prophet holding their hands with his blessed hands, they entered the mesjîd-i-sherîf (the blessed mosque), and the blessed Prophet said: " **On the Rising Day, we, three of us, shall arrive like this**."

One day, upon seeing Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar, the Best of Mankind stated: " **These two are identical with my sight and hearing**."

One day he said to those two blessed people: " **May hamd** (praise and gratitude) **be to Allâhu ta'âlâ, who has supported me with you two**!"

In another hadîth-i-sherîf, he said to the two people: " **I will not disagree with you on anything whereon you two agree**."

He stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf which is reported by Daylamî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' and written in Munâwî: " **Every prophet has a halîl** (sincere friend) **. And my halîl is Abû Bakr**."

It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **Among every prophet's Ummat there are people very dearly beloved to the prophet. Abû Bakr and 'Umar are my choice**." 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'.

The blessed Messenger stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **As I ask of my Ummat** (to say and believe in the meaning of) **the phrase 'Lâ ilâhe il-l-Allah', likewise, I ask of them to love Abû Bakr and 'Umar**." 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ'.

In another hadîth-i-sherîf, which is reported by ibn 'Âbidîn 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' and written in Munâwî, the Honour of Creation stated: " **It is îmân** (belief, Islamic faith) **to love Abû Bakr and 'Umar. And enmity against them is kufr** (unbelief)." On account of this hadîth-i-sherîf, all the Islamic scholars agree on that it is kufr to anathemize Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar or to bear hostility against them; they (the Islamic scholars) invoke Allâhu ta'âlâ's condemnation on Shiites on account of their inimical attitude towards the two most blessed Sahâbîs.

It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf: " **If the îmân of Abû Bakr were to be weighed against the total sum of the îmâns of all other people, Abû Bakr's îmân would prove to be heavier**." 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'.

Hadrat Alî acknowledges: "I have found Abû Bakr ahead of me in all the areas of goodness in which I have endeavoured to be the best." He, again, acknowledges: "After the Messenger of Allah, Abû Bakr and 'Umar are the most auspicious of all people. Love of me and animosity against Abû Bakr and 'Umar cannot coexist in a Believer's heart." Whenever Hadrat Alî made a khutba he would invoke: "Yâ Rabbî! Rectify our manners (so that we may attain Thine approval), as Thou hast done with the Khulafâ-ir-râshidîn!" When he was asked who were the people he meant by 'Khulafâ-ir-râshidîn', he said, "They are Abû Bakr and 'Umar, whom I love very much."

Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' would always say: "Abû Bakr is our sayyid (master)." One day he said: "I wish I were one of the hairs on Abû Bakr's chest!" On another occasion he said: "I wish to see Abû Bakr every moment in Paradise." Another acknowledgement from Hadrat 'Umar: "I have failed in all my emulations with Abû Bakr in all sorts of goodness."

Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was called 'Eywâh' on account of his great clemency and compassion.

Whenever (the angel) Jebrâ'îl 'alaihis-salâm' talked with the Messenger of Allah, Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was the only Sahâbî to hear the angel's voice.

The great scholar Bedreddîn Mahmûd bin Ahmad Aynî provides the following information in his book **Zayn-ul-mejâlis** : Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' held a pebble in his blessed mouth for twelve years lest he should say something whichAllâhu ta'âlâ would dislike, as the saying went: "The worst disaster will come via one's own tongue." He would take the pebble out whenever he meant to say something compatible with the Sharî'at and with the Islamic manners (adab). He would fast in summertime, and not in winter. So great was his fear of Allâhu ta'âlâ that one day he saw a bird and said to it: "O you, bird! How lucky for you! You eat fruit and perch in the shades of leaves. You will not be called to account on Judgement Day. I wish Abû Bakr were a bird like you!" At another time he said, "I wish I were green grass, so that animals would eat me and I would not be recreated and called to account on Judgement Day!"

When Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' passed away, the Ansâr came together and proposed a two-caliph system, one from among them and one from among the Muhâjirîn. Upon hearing about their proposal, Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' made for the scene, taking Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' along. He quoted thehadîth-i-sherîf, " **Khalîfas are from the tribe of Qoureish** ," to the Ansâr. And Hadrat 'Umar added: "O you Ansâr! Have you forgotten that the Messenger of Allah designated Hadrat Abû Bakr as imâm (for his place)? Which one of you could claim to be higher than Abû Bakr?" The Ansâr replied with one accord: "We consign ourselves to Allâhu ta'âlâ to protect us from professing superiority to Abû Bakr." They unanimously voted Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' Khalîfa. Hadrat Alî and Hadrat Zubayr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' were not present. The following day the two blessed Sahâbîs joined the others in the mosque, and thus Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was elected Khalîfa by a unanimous vote of all the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'. According to books of Tafsîr (exegesis of the Qur'ân al-kerîm), the injunction which purports, " **Tell the ones of the Arabs who turn away from thee ...** ," in Tawba sûra, implies that Hadrat Abû Bakr's caliphate was rightly-guided. Indeed, it is an established fact that, after the revelation of this âyat-i-kerîma, calling Muslims to Holy War against the Pagans was after Hadrat Abû Bakr's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' calling to Holy War against renegades. The âyat-i-kerîma purports: " **If you obey himAllâhu ta'âlâ will reward you with thawâb**." If Hadrat Abû Bakr's 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' caliphate had been unjust, obedience to him would not have been blessed with a promise of thawâb (rewards in the Hereafter).

According to an observation in the book entitled **Mawrid-il-letâfa** , by Amîr Jemâleddîn Yûsuf Zâhirî, of all people, three persons were called 'Khalîfa' by Allâhu ta'âlâ: Âdam 'alaihis-salâm'; Dâwûd (David) 'alaihis-salâm'; and Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh'.

Hadrat Abû Bakr appointed Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' hâkim (judge) and Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' secretary. Abû Ubayda 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was Chief of the Police Office. He wore Rasûlullah's 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam' silver ring on his finger. He did not give up trade after becoming Khalîfa. The Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' would not approve of his continuing with the business of trade, and thereupon he was entitled to receive a stipend, which consisted of half a sheep daily; an annual income of twenty-five hundred (2500) silver aqchas; and two sets of clothing, one in summer and one for winter months.

This is the end of the part we have borrowed from the book entitled **Mir'ât-i-kâinât**.

Allâhumma innî a'ûdhu-bika min 'azâb-il-qabri min 'azâb-in-nâr;  
Wa min fitna-t-il-mahyâ wa-l-memâti wa min fitna-t-il-Mesîh-id-dejjâl.

HADRAT MU'ÂWIYA 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'

**Most Islamic scholars have written about the greatness and superiority of Hadrat Mu'âwiya in their books, corroborating their writings with quotations ofâyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. The chapter captioned 'The** **Earliest Fitna in Islam' in this book and also the book entitled 'Documents of the Right Word' enlarge on their writings and the documents they have forwarded. We have deemed it appropriate to write a few more lines in the following passage, which is a translation from the book entitled 'Tat-hîr-ul-jenân wa-l-lisân', by Hadrat ibn Hajar-i-Makkî. The second edition of the book was printed in Egypt in 1385 [1965 A.D.]. It is stated as follows in its fifth page:**

Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was an accumulation of various honours, e.g. the honour of Islam; the honour of being one of the Sahâba; the honour of belonging to the tribe of Qoureish, which is an honour specially commended in hadîth-i-sherîfs; and the honour of being related by way of marriage to Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. So high an honour is the last one, i.e. the honour of being one of Rasûlullah's relatives, that it has been stated that people with that honour of relationship will be with the Messenger of Allah in Paradise. If any Muslim possesses any one of the superiorities we have cited presently, it is incumbent on us to love him. Hence, it takes only average wisdom and reason to realize the magnitude of love that should be spared for a person who was in possession of the total sum of all these honours.

The disagreements and fights among the Ashâb-i-kirâm did not emanate from discord among them. For instance, Khâlid ibn Walîd and Sa'd ibn Abî Waqqâs 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhumâ' disagreed with each other on a certain matter. Someone began to speak ill of Khâlid bin Walîd in the presence of Sa'd bin Abî Waqqâs. He (Sa'd bin Abî Waqqâs) presently stopped the person, saying, "Do not talk behind his back! The disagreement between us will not ruin our brotherhood in Islam." Likewise, one day Hadrat Alî met Zubayr bin Awwâm in the street. The two blessed Sahâbîs had a somewhat harsh tiff on a certain matter in which Hadrat 'Uthmân also was involved. Abdullah, Zubayr's son, became indignant with Hadrat Alî and began to curse him, when his father, furious at the boy's interference, gave him a beating.

It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **The torment which my Ummat** (Muslims) **deserve will be inflicted in the world**." That means to say that the tumults and problems among Muslims in the world cause them to get rid of their sins. As is indicated by this hadîth-i-sherîf as well as by many another similar one, the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were only temporal clashes, which added to the blessings to be given to them in Paradise. Each and every one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în' would try to please Allâhu ta'âlâ and to win His love in everything they did, clinging to whatsoever they thought was a commandment of Allâhu ta'âlâ. According to a unanimous statement of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat 'rahimahumullâhu ta'âlâ', committing a grave sin will not cause a Muslim to become a disbeliever. Then, it is by no means something canonically sanctionable to stigmatize those Sahâbîs who fought Hadrat Alî as disbelievers, to vituperate against them or to criticize them 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum ajma'în'.

As is stated in the Sahîh (authentic book of hadîth-i-sherîfs) entitled **Muslim** , which is one of the two most valuable basic books of Muslims, and also in other books, Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' was a secretary of the Messenger of Allah. He would write in his presence. Zayd bin Thâbit 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' would write the Wahy. Mu'âwiya would write both the Wahy and the letters (of the Messenger of Allah).

Abdullah ibn Mubârak 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ' observes: "The dust that entered the nostrils of the horse which Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' rode as he accompaniedRasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam', is a thousand times as valuable as 'Umar bin 'Abdul'azîz." The superiority of Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' can be inferred clearly from this statement. The following hadîth-i-sherîf would suffice to tell about the greatness of Hadrat Mu'âwiya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh': As Tirmuzî 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ reports, Rasûlullah'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' made the following invocation: " **Yâ Rabbî! Make him hâdî and muhdî**!" It means: "O my Allah! Guide him to the right path and make him a guide leading (others) to the right path!"

Let us be good people, and let us always do good.

Allâhu ta'âlâ likes good people. A person who tries to win the love of Allâhu ta'âlâ is called a **sâlih** (pious, devoted) **person** , or a **good person**. A person who has won the love of Allâhu ta'âlâ is called a **Walî** , (pl. **Awliyâ** ). A Walî who guides others to goodness is called a **murshîd**. Being a good person requires being good towards Allâhu ta'âlâ, being good towards our master, the Prophet, and being good towards all people. A person who does not fulfil these three conditions for goodness cannot be said to be a good person. To be good towards Allâhu ta'âlâ means to believe that He exists and is one and that He is the creator and maker of all. He, alone, wills and creates everything done by every person, by every living being, by every lifeless being, and by every source of power. To be good towards Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' means to have **îmân** in him, i.e. to believe that he is the Prophet of Allâhu ta'âlâ, that he is the highest of all prophets and other human beings, and that all his utterances are from Allâhu ta'âlâ, and to adapt oneself to him, i.e. to follow him. His utterances are termed **hadîth-i-sherîf**. To believe in him and to follow him, it is necessary to learn his words, manners and deeds, as well as the things he classifies as good and those which he says are bad. In other words, it requires **'ilm** (knowledge).

Pieces of knowledge which a Muslim has to learn are called **Islamic teachings**. There are two groups of Islamic teachings: **Religious teachings** , and **scientific teachings**. Religious teachings fall into two categories: **Physical teachings** , and **teachings pertaining to heart and îmân** (belief, faith). Physical teachings guide people about things that are good and necessary to do, [which are called farz, or fard,] and those which are bad and therefore forbidden to do, [which are termed **harâm**.] The religious teachings were communicated by Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm'. They are called **Islam**. Physical teachings are termed **Ahkâm-i-ilâhiyya** (Divine rules), or teachings of the **Sharî'at**. Scholars who learn Islam correctly and teach it to others and write it (in their books), are called **scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat**. Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat have acquired their knowledge from the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** and from **hadîth-i-sherîfs** , and they have never interpolated Islam's teachings with their personal views. There are scholars who have inserted their own thoughts into Islam's teachings; they are called **ahl-i-bid'at** , or **religious reformers** , or **heretics**. Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat are murshids (guides) who have attained the grade of **ijtihâd** in knowledge. They are also familiar with the scientific teachings of their time.

A person who attends the sohbat of a Murshid-i-kâmil, i.e. who attends his company and lessons, will not only learn the Sharî'at but also attain the nûrs (lights, haloes) emanating from his blessed heart. The nûrs so spread are called **fayz**. The sun, in addition to its visible rays which we always see, spreads rays beyond and below the visible spectrum, such as the ultraviolet and infra-red rays, respectively. There are other invisible rays, such as **laser beams** , **roentgen rays** (x-rays), **cathode rays** , and **death-rays** , and sources that generate each of these rays. Likewise, there are invisible rays continuously emanating from Rasûlullah's blessed heart. These rays are called **nûr**. These rays flowed into the hearts of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, i.e. those Muslims who were in his company, each receiving an amount in proportion to his capacity. A person's capacity (to receive these blessed rays) is dependent upon his success in keeping within the limits drawn by the Sharî'at. Each of the Ashâb-i-kirâm was a scholar of Ahl as-Sunnat. As the nûrs and fayz reached the hearts of the Sahâba, each Sahâbî received an amount proportionate to the firmness of his belief in the Messenger of Allah and the strength of the affection he felt towards him. Because Hadrat Abû Bakr's îmân was the firmest and his love was the strongest, he received the most fayz. Loving someone necessitates loving his lovers, hating those who hurt him, and following and serving him. Man's heart has a special fluorescent property. It absorbs the nûrs coming and then emits them. The nûrs emitted by the hearts of the Ashâb-i-kirâm entered the hearts of the loving ones of the Tâbi'în. By way of a sort of relay conveyance, the loving hearts of each century both acquired the teachings of the Sharî'at and received fayz from their murshids.

If a person's heart gets attached to his murshid's heart and thereby attains the nûrs coming from the Messenger of Allah, his îmân will become firmer, and it will be easier and more pleasurable for him to adapt himself to the Sharî'at, his nafs gradually ceasing from its evil and sinful aspirations. Preoccupied as his mind may be in temporal interests and deliberations such as trade, agriculture, making a living (in a canonically legitimate way which is) called halâl; in science, arts, laws, jihâd and astronomy; and busy as he may be solving others' problems, his heart will keep clear of all these worldly cares. He will perform all his acts of worship, carry on all his daily occupations and do all his goodnesses only for the purpose of doing the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ. He will not expect any other benefit. Pieces of knowledge from the world of souls will flow into his heart. Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' was one such person. He was ready for all sorts of questions in the teachings of îmân and fiqh as well as in all the branches of business and science, and the answers he gave would arouse great wonder and admiration in the audience. Religious and scientific knowledge acquired through a mental process of studying and learning is called **'ilm**. The knowledge which flows into a murshid's heart is called **shuhûd** or **ahwâl** , (which is plural of **hâl** ). The **shuhûd** of Allâhu ta'âlâ and His Attributes is called **ma'rifat**. To acquire a ma'rifat ofAllâhu ta'âlâ means to realize that He, alone, exists, that creatures are non-existent, and that they exists only in appearance like visions in a mirror. This two-staged ma'rifat is termed **ma'rifatullah** , or **fanâ-fillâh**. A person who has attained it is called **'ârif**. A person who is 'ârif cannot harm anyone. He does favours to all people. He becomes a beloved slave of Allâhu ta'âlâ, a murshid. He spreads both the teachings of the Sharî'at and fayz. The teachings which he spreads are not called murshid. The person who spreads the teachings is called a murshid. In other words, murshid means a perfect human being, a mature Muslim who is useful to everybody, to his country and nation. To receive fayz from a murshid it is essential to know and obey the Sharî'at. For instance, a woman who wishes to obey the Sharî'at mustn't expose her head and hair, her arms and legs in the presence of men who are nâ-mahram to her[]; therefore, as she goes out; she has to cover all her body except her face and palms. Fayz will not come to a person who does not obey the Sharî'at. On the contrary, that he will suffer fire of Hell in case he does not make tawba, has been said (by Islamic scholars). The heart's receiving the fayz coming to it requires realizing and believing the perfection of the murshid and loving him on account of his perfection. If a person is possessed of that love, he will receive fayz as he reads the murshid's books as well. Also, once a person has attained the murshid's fayz, by listening to him or by reading his books, he will receive fayz by establishing remote **râbita** with the murshid, i.e. by visualizing the mursihd's blessed face, regardless of the distance between them. Also, fayz can be received from past murshids by visiting their graves.

Allâhumma salli 'alâ Muhammadin wa 'alâ Âlihi wa Sahbihi wa sellim.

He who observes the Awliyâ with physical eyes,  
Is without sight, dead, lifeless, and inert.

The Awliyâ are alive, so they'll be seen with eyes alive;  
For, living ones will be to life alert.

The (English translation of the) eightieth letter in the first volume (of Maktûbât), by Imâm Rabbânî mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî:

EIGHTIETH LETTER

**This letter, written to Mirzâ Fathullah Hakîm, explains that, of the seventy-three groups of Muslims, the group of Ahl as-Sunnat are the only Muslims who will attain salvation** (from Hell) **:**

May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless you with the fortune of walking along the path of Sharî'at-i Mustafâwiyya 'alâ sâhibissalâtu wassalâm'! Persian line in English:

This matters, nothing else!

A hadîth foretells that Muslims will fragment into seventy-three groups. Each of these seventy-three groups claims to obey the Sharî'at. Each group says that it is the one that will be saved from Hell. It is declared in the fifty-third âyat of Mu'minûn Sûra and in the thirty-second âyat of Rûm Sûra: **"... Each party rejoices in that which is with itself."** However, among these various groups, the sign, the symptom of the one that will be saved is given by our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' as follows: **"Those who are in this group are those who follow the way which I and my Sahâba follow."** After mentioning himself, the owner of the Sharî'at did not need to mention the Sahâba 'ridwânullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în'; yet his mentioning them may come to mean: "My way is the way which my Sahâba follow. The way to salvation is the only way which my Sahâba follow." As a matter of fact, it is declared in the eightieth âyat of Nisâ Sûra: **"He who obeys my Messenger has certainly obeyed Allâhu ta'âlâ."** To disobey the Messenger is to disobey Allâhu ta'âlâ. Disobeying him is disobeying Allâhu ta'âlâ. Declaring: **"They want to differentiate between the way of Allâhu ta'âlâ and the way of His Messenger. They** **say, 'We believe some of what you say but we do not believe others.' They want to open a different way between the two. Certainly they are disbelievers,"** about those who presume that obeying Allâhu ta'âlâ is different from obeying His Messenger, in the hundred and fiftieth âyat of Nisâ Sûra, He informs us that they are disbelievers. He who says that he follows the Prophet 'alaihissalâtu wassalâm' though he does not follow the way of the Sahâba 'ridwânullahi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în' is wrong. He has not followed him 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'; he has disobeyed him. He who has taken such a way will not be saved in the Hereafter. In the eighteenth âyat of Mujâdala Sûra, **"They think they are doing something right. Be it known that they are liars, disbelievers,"** He shows how such people are.

Those who follow the way of the Sahâba 'alaihimurridwân' are no doubt the group of the Ahl as-Sunnat wa-l-jamâ'at. May Allâhu ta'âlâ give plenty of rewards to the superiors of this group, who worked incessantly without falling tired! The group that will be saved from Hell is only this one. For, he who speaks ill of our Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' Sahâba 'alaihimurridwân' is certainly deprived of following them. Such is the case for the sect of **Shiite** and the group of **Khârijî**.

[There are twelve groups of Shiites. Each group has parted into sub-groups. Some of them lead a life without an ablution, without a ghusl. Few of them perform namâz. They all hold non-Sunnî beliefs. They are not Alawîs. **Alawî** means a person who loves and follows the Ahl-i Bayt. Imâm-i Alî and his children from Hadrat Fâtima are called the **Ahl-i Bayt**. The honour of loving the Ahl-i Bayt has fallen to the lot of the Ahl as-Sunnat, who have said that loving and following them will cause one to die with îmân. Then, the real Alawîs are the Ahl as-Sunnat, not the Shi'îs. Therefore, a person who wants to be an Alawî has to be Sunnî. Today, zindîqs, and people who have no relationship with Islam appropriate the name of Alawî, plagiarizing it from the Ahl as-Sunnat. Under the shade of this beautiful name, they try to mislead the youth from Rasûlullah's way. Our book entitled **Documents of the Right Word** provides detailed information on this subject.]

The **Mu'tazila** group appeared later. Wâsil bin Atâ, its founder, used to be a disciple of Hadrat Hasan-i Basrî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh'; because he dissented from Hasan-i Basrî's way by saying that there was a third mode between îmân and kufr, Hasan-i Basrî said, "I'tazala annâ," about him, which means, "He has dissented from us." All the other groups appeared later.

To slander the Sahâba means to slander Allâhu ta'âlâ's Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. As declared: "He who disrespects the Sahâba does not have îmân in Allâhu ta'âlâ's Messenger." Indeed, to slander them means to slander their owner, their master 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us against lapsing into such a dirty creed. It is the Sahâba who conveyed to us the Sharî'at, which originated from the Qur'ân and from hadîths. When they are slandered, the thing which they conveyed too loses its value. The Sharî'at was not conveyed to us by a few certain persons among the Sahâba. Each of them has a service, a share in the blessed work. They are all equal in trueness, in justice and in (the authenticity of) their teaching. When any one of the Sahâba 'alaihimurridwân' is slandered, the Islamic dîn has been slandered and cursed. May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect us all from lapsing into such a loathsome situation!

If those who vituperate against the Sahâba say, "We still follow the Sahâba. It is not necessary to follow them all. In fact, it is not possible, for their words do not agree with each other. Their ways are different," We will answer them as follows:

Following some of the Sahâba requires not denying any of them. When some of them are disliked, the others have not been followed. Amîr [Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'], for instance, respected the other three Khalîfas, deemed them great and knew that they were worth obeying. He obeyed them willingly and accepted them as Khalîfas. Unless the other three Khalîfas are loved, it will be a lie, a slander to say that one follows Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anhum'. In fact, it will mean to dislike Hadrat Alî and to refute his words. It would be a stupid and ignorant word to say about Hadrat Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh', who is Allâhu ta'âlâ's Lion, that he handled them and that he only smiled at them. What wisdom could admit that Allah's Lion, despite his great knowledge and bravery, concealed his enmity against the three Khalîfas, pretended to be friends with them and established a superficial friendship with them for a full period of thirty years. Even the lowest Muslim could not stomach such hypocrisy. We should recognize the ugliness of such words which belittle Hadrat Amîr to such an extent and which misrepresent him as impotent, deceitful and hypocritical. Even if we could suppose for a moment that Hadrat Amîr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' was so —may Allah protect us from such a supposition— what would they say about the fact that our Master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' praised these three Khalîfas, lauded them and esteemed them throughout his life? Would they say that our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' was hypocritical, too? Never! It is impossible. It is wâjib for the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' to tell the truth. He who says that he was deceiving them becomes a zindiq and becomes irreligious. Allâhu ta'âlâdeclares in the sixty-seventh âyat of Mâida Sûra: **"O My dear Messenger! Proclaim what was sent down to you from your Allah! If you do not communicate this message correctly, you will not have done your duty as a Prophet! Allâhu ta'âlâ will protect you against those who mean enmity towards you."** The disbelievers had been saying that Hadrat Muhammad 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had been communicating whatever suited his purpose and not communicating whatever did not suit his purpose of the Qur'ân that had been revealed to him. Upon that, this âyat was revealed to declare that he had been telling the truth. Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' praised the three Khalîfas and held them above all others until he honoured the Hereafter with his presence. This means to say that it cannot be erroneous or wrong to praise them or to hold them superior.

It is necessary to follow all of the Sahâba in the tenets to be believed, for there is no difference among them in the facts to be believed. There may be a difference in the furû', that is, in practices.

A person who speaks ill of one of the Sahâba 'ridwânullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în' has blemished all of them. For, the îmân, the belief held by all of them was the same. He who slanders one of them has followed none of them. He has said that they disagreed with one another and that there was no unity among them. To slander one of them means to deny what he said. Let us say once more that all the Sahâba communicated the Sharî'at. Each of them was just and right. There is something in the Sharî'at conveyed by each and every one of them. The Qur'ân al-kerîm is a collection of âyats; and each and every one of the Sahâba conveyed to us at least one or two of those âyats. He who dislikes some of them will have disliked the one who communicated the Sharî'at. As is seen, that person will have acted in contradiction with all of the Sharî'at. Can such a person be saved from Hell? Allâhu ta'âlâ declares in the eighty-fifth âyat of Baqara Sûra: **"Do you believe some of the Qur'ân and disbelieve some of it! The punishment of those who do so will be abasement and humiliation in the world. And in the Hereafter they will be hurled down into the most vehement torment."**

The Qur'ân was collected by Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. In fact, it was collected by Abû Bakr-i Siddîq and 'Umar Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ'. The Qur'ân that was collected by Hadrat Amîr was other than this one. As it can be understood, to slander these great people means in effect to slander the Qur'ân. May Allâhu ta'âlâ protect all Muslims from lapsing into such a disastrous situation! One of the mujtahids of the Shiite sect was asked, "The Qur'ân was collected by Hadrat 'Uthmân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'. What would you say about the Qur'ân collected by him?" He answered, "I do not see any use in finding fault with the Qur'ân, for slandering the Qur'ân causes the dîn to be demolished."

Certainly, a wise person cannot say that all the Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în' agreed on a wrong decision on the day when our Master the Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' died. In fact, on that day thirty-three thousand of the Sahâba unanimously made Hadrat Abû Bakr-i Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum' Khalîfa willingly. It is impossible for thirty-three thousand Sahâbîs to agree on a mistake. As a matter of fact, our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' had declared: **"My Ummat never agrees on a wrong decision."** The reason why Hadrat Amîr was first sorry was because he was not called to those talks. He himself acknowledged that this was so and said, "I was sorry because I was called to the talks late. But I know well that Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' is superior to us all." There was a reason why he was called late. That is, he was then among the Ahl-i Bayt; he was busy consoling them.

The disagreements among the Sahâbîs 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în' of ourProphet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' were not because of the desires of the nafs or for evil thoughts, for their blessed nafses had been purged and become quite pure. They had gotten rid of being ammâra and attained itmînan (to believe and understand the truth). Their only desire was to obey the Sharî'at. Their disagreements were based on a difference of ijtihâd. Their intention was to find what was right. Allâhu ta'âlâ will give one grade of thawâb to those who erred, too. There are at least two grades of thawâb for those who were right. We should not hurt any of those great people with our tongues! We should mention each of them with good terms. Hadrat Imâm-i Shâfi'î 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh', who was one of the greatest savants of the Ahl as-sunnat, said, "Allâhu ta'âlâ did not smear our hands with their blood. So let us not smear our tongues!" Again, he said, "After Rasûlullah, the Sahâba pondered very much. Finding no one on earth superior to Abû Bakr-i Siddîq, they designated him as Khalîfa. They accepted to serve under him." This statement of Imâm-i Shâfi'î also shows that Hadrat Alî was never hypocritical and that he willingly accepted Abû Bakr-i Siddîq as Khalîfa.

Mayân Shaikh Abulkhayr's son, Mayân Sayyid, is a descendant of great and noble people. Also, he was in your service in the Dakkan expedition. It is hoped that he will be blessed with your help and kind treatment. Mawlânâ Muhammad 'Ârif is also a student of knowledge and a descendant of the great. His father is dead. He was a khodja. He came to you in order to receive his stipend. It is hoped that Your Highness will help him. Wassalâm wa-l-ikrâm!

[Islamic scholars have written very many books in order to prove that the Shiites have deviated from the right path and that especially the most unbridled and the most excessive of them have altogether dissented from Islam and have been striving to demolish Islam. The titles of some of them together with their authors have been given below. On behalf of religious brotherhood and humanity, I pray to Allâhu ta'âlâ that our brothers in Islam who say that they are Alawîs will read these books carefully and will observe the difference between the Ahl as-Sunnat and these people and choose the right way by using their wisdom, conscience and reason and not believe the lies and slanders of the ignorant separatists. Thereby they will attain happiness in this world and in the Hereafter by holding fast to the way of safety and salvation.

Of the books written by Islamic savants in order to advise the Shiites, here are a few:

1— The book **Ibtâl-ul-Manhaj-il bâtil** was written by Fadl bin Ruzbahân. It refutes the book **Minhâj-ul-karâma** by Ibn-ul-Mutahhir, one of the Shiite savants, and rebuts its falsifications by means of documents. He wrote the book in Isfahan in 852 [1448 A.D.]

2— The book **Nuzhat-ul-ithnâ ashariyya,** written by Mirzâ Ahmad bin Abdurrahîm-i Hindî, gives information about Shiites. He passed away in 1255 [A.D. 1839].

3— The book **Nawâqid** was written by Mirzâ Mahdûm. The book **An-nawâqid lil-Rawâfid** was written by Sayyid Muhammad bin Abdurrasûl Barzanjî, who was drowned in the sea in 1103 [1711 A.D.].

4— The book **Muhtasar-i Nawâqid** is an abridged version of the book **Nawâqid.** The abridgement was made by Muhammad bin Abdurrasûl-i Barzanjî.

5— The book **Sayf-ul-bâtir li-riqab-ushshî't-i warrâfida-til-kawâfir** was written by Shaikh Alî bin Ahmad Hitî in Istanbul in 1025 A.H.

6— The book **Ajwiba-tul Irâqiyya Alal'as'ilatil-Îrâniyya** was written by Shihâbuddîn Sayyid Mahmûd bin Abdullah Âlûsî, a Shâfi'î scholar in Baghdâd (d.1270 [1854 A.D.]

7— The book **Ajwiba-tul Irâqiyya Alal'as'ilatil-Lâhûriyya** was written by Âlûsî. Also, Haydarî wrote a book with the same title.

8— The book **Nafahât-ul-qudsiyya fî mabâhis-il-imâmiyya fî-radd-ish-shî'a,** written by Âlûsî, refutes the Shiites.

9— The book **Nahj-us-salâma** also was written byShihâbuddîn Âlûsî.

10— The book **Sârim-ul-hadîd** was written by Muhammad Amîn bin Alî Baghdâdî. It confutes the slanders of Ibni Abil-Hadîd.

11— The book **Raddu-alal-imâmiyya** was written by Alî bin Muhammad Suwaydî Baghdâdî. He was in the Shâfi'î Madhhab. He passed away in Damascus in 1237 [1822 A.D.].

12— The book **Hâdîqa-tus-sarâir** was written by Abdullah bin Muhammad Bitûshî. He was a Shâfi'î of Baghdâd, and passed away in Basra in 1211 [1797 A.D.].

13— The book **Tuhfa-i ithnâ asharîyya fî radd-ir-rawâfid** was written in Persian by Shâh Abdul'âzîz-i Dahlawî. He passed away in 1239 [1824 A.D.]. Its Arabic translation wasabridged by Shukrî Âlûsî and printed with the title **Mukhtasar-i Tuhfa** in Baghdad, and the abridged version was reproduced in Istanbul in 1976.

14— The book **Minha-tul-ilâhiyya mukhtasar-i Tuhfa-i ithnâ ashariyya** was written by Mahmûd Shukrî Âlûsî. It was printed in Cairo in 1373 A.H.

15— Imâm-i Rabbânî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' explains the superiorities of the Sahâba very well with documentary proofs in his book **Maktûbât.**

16— The book **Hujaj-i qat'iyya** was written in Arabic by Abdullah-i Suwaydî. It was printed together with the Arabic book **An-Nâhiya an'ta'n-i-Amîr-ul-mu'minîn Mu'âwiya** in Istanbul in 1981.

17— In the books **Milal-Nihal** by Shihristânî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' and in its Turkish, English, French and Latin versions, Shiism is explained in detail and answers are given.

18— The Turkish book **Tazkiya-i Ahl-i Bayt** gives beautiful answers to the Shiites. It was written by 'Uthmân Bey, who was the Shaikh of Topkapı Mevlevîhânesi, and it was printed in Istanbul in 1295 A.H. Along with **Hujaj-i Qat'iyya,** it was printed in the Latin alphabet within the Turkish book **Hak Sözün Vesîkaları** in Istanbul.[]

19— Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî's 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' book **Radd-i-Rawâfid** is in Persian and its Turkish version has been printed in the Latin alphabet within the book **Hak Sözün Vesîkaları** in Istanbul. (Please see footnote.)

20— The great savant Ibni Hajar-i Haytamî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' proves that Shiites are wrong with âyats and hadîths in his book **Savâ'iq-ul-muhriqa.**

21— Ibni Hajar, again, proves very well that Hadrat Mu'âviyya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' cannot be spoken ill of in his book **Tathîr-ul-janân wallisân an Mu'âwiyya-tabni-Abî Sufyân.**

22— Ibni Taymiyya, in his book **Minhâjus-sunna-tinnabawiyya fî naqdi kalâm-ish-shî'as wa-l-qadariyya,** refutes the book **Minhâj-ul-karâma** by Ibnil-Mutahhîr, one of the Shiite savants, with sound documents.

23— Ibni Taymiyya, again, explains the superiorities of the Sahâba, with sound documents in his book **Fadâil-i Abû Bakr wa 'Umar.**

24— In the translation of **Mavâhib-i ladunniyya** and in **Mir'ât-i kâinât** the glory of the Sahâba is explained.

25— The Turkish pamphlet captioned **Sahâba-t-al kirâm** by Sayyid Abdulhakîm-i Arwâsî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'aleyh' was printed in Istanbul.[]

26— The book **Nûr-ul-Hudâ,** written by Karakashzâda 'Umar bin Muhammad Bursawî Halwatî in 1005 A.H. [1597 A.D.], confutes the Shiites and Baktâshîs. It was printed in Istanbul in 1286 A.H. He passed away in Edirne in 1047 [1638 A.D.].

27— **Manâqib-i Chihâr yâr-i ghuzîn,** which is in Turkish, explains the superiorities of the Sahâba 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în' very well. It was written by Sayyid Ayyûb bin Siddîq Urmawî. It was reprinted various times. The edition of 1264 A.H. is so beautiful.

28— Shiism is explained and the advice which Islamic savants gave to them are explained in full length in the Turkish books **Ashâb-i kirâm, Hak Yolun Vesîkaları, Herkese Lâzım Olan Îmân,** and **Fâideli Bilgiler,** which have been edited various times in Istanbul. [Of these three books, the second one, **Hak Sözün Vesîkaları,** was rendered into English in 1992. The English version, entitled **Documents of the Right Word,** consists of 480 pages and is vastly informative and competently corroborative.]

29— It is written in the books **Berîqa** and **Hadîqa** that those who believe in transmigration and those who hold the belief that Allah entered a certain person's body are disbelievers.

30— Yûsuf Nabhânî, in the final part of his book **Shawâhid-ul-haqq,** gives very beautiful responses with documents to the Shiites.

31— Sayyid Ahmad Dahlân 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' vehemently refutes the Shiites in his book **Al-fat-hul-mubîn.** This book of his was printed as a complementary at the end of Hujaj-i qat'iyya by Suwaydî. (Please see item 18.)

32— Shah Waliyullah-i Dahlawî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' refutes the Shiites with strong documents and praises Hadrat Mu'âwiyya very highly in his book **Izâlat-ul-hafâ an khilâfat-ul-khulafâ.** The book, in Persian, was printed in Pakistan in 1392 [1972 A.D.] together with its Urdu translation. It consists of two volumes.]

Muhammad Ma'thûm Fârûqî Mujaddidî, a Walî-yi kâmil and one of the greatest scholars of India, states as follows in a passage of his twenty-ninth letter:

Allâhu ta'âlâ asked Mûsâ (Moses) 'alaihis-salâm': " **Yâ Mûsâ! What deed have you performed for Me?** " When Hadrat Mûsâ replied, "Yâ Rabbî! I have performed namâz, fasted, paid zakât, and mentioned Thine Name very often for Thee," Allâhu ta'âlâdeclared: " **Performing namâz is burhân** (proof, evidence, document) **for you. Fasting is a shield that will protect you from Hell. Zakât will give you welcome shade in the sweltering heat of the day of mahsher** (assembling of people for judgement in the world to come). **And dhikr** (mentioning, remembering the name of Allâhu ta'âlâ) **will be a nûr** (light) **for you in the darkness of that day. What have you done for Me?** " Mûsâ 'alaihis-salâm' said, "Yâ Rabbî! What is the deed which is for Thee?" Allâhu ta'âlâ declared: " **Have you loved for My sake a slave of Mine whom I love? And have you looked on My enemies as your enemies as well?** " Then Mûsâ 'alaihis-salâm' realized that the deed which Allâhu ta'âlâ loved was to love His beloved ones and to hate His enemies. As is seen, it is a symptom of love to love those who are beloved to the beloved one and to feel enmity towards his enemies. This love is not something within the lover's willpower; nor is the concomitant animus. They are spontaneous. Other acts of worship, by contrast, necessitate wish and intention. People loved by the beloved one appear beautiful to the lover. And his enemies seem ugly. Everyone knows that the same rule applies to all the cases of worldly love. If a person says that he loves another person, he will not be believed if he does not feel hostility towards that person's enemies. On the contrary, his claim will be interpreted as hypocrisy. Shaikh-ul-islâm Abdullah Ansârî relates: "One day Abû-l-Husayn bin Sem'ûn hurt my teacher Muhammad Husrî. Since that day I have never felt any sympathy for him. If a person hurts your master and you do not feel hurt, too, you are lower than a dog." Allâhu ta'âlâ declares as follows in the Mumtahina sûra: " **Ibrâhîm** (Abraham) **'alaihis-salâm' and his Sahâba** (Companions) **said to the polytheists: We are far from you and your idols. We do not believe you. There will be enmity between you and us until we see that you believe in Allah, who is one. That beautiful attitude of theirs should be an example for you** (to follow)." Another âyat-i-kerîma, which comes later, purports: " **Therein is a beautiful example for those who have belief in Allâhu ta'âlâ and in the Last Day.** " As these âyat-i-kerîmas indicate, that enmity is essential for being a true Believer, and it annihilates one's îmân (belief) to feel sympathy for enemies of Allâhu ta'âlâ. That means to say that antipathy should be felt towards the enemies of the beloved one. This subtle maxim, however, is what the Râfidîs delude themselves with. They say that "Loving Hadrat Alî necessitates animosity against the Ashâb-i-kirâm." They do not seem to realize that the enmity stipulated should be against the enemies of the beloved one, not against the friends. People who had attained the honour of Rasûlullah's sohbat loved one another very much. They were inimical not towards one another, but towards unbelievers. The twenty-ninth âyat-i-kerîma of the Fat-h sûra purports: " **...; and those who are with him are strong against unbelievers, (but) compassionate against one another. ...** " (48-29). This âyat-i-kerîma corroborates our argument.

FIRST VOLUME, 177th LETTER

The kashfs that appear in the heart and dreams are not dependable. What we should depend on are the Book and the Sunnat, which are the sources that guide mankind to eternal happiness. [These two sources are the Qur'ân al-kerîm and (Rasûlullah's utterances, which are called) hadîth-i-sherîfs, and also the books written by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat and which elucidate and expound the two sources. A person who wishes to learn the Book and the Sunnat will have to read these books written by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. People who read books written by holders of bid'at, by people not affiliated in one of the (four) canonically sanctioned Madhhabs, or by people who advocate that Islam should be reformed, will drift down into perdition.] We should learn the Book and the Sunnat [from the books written by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat] and perform our acts of worship in a manner they prescribe. Dhikr (remembering and mentioning) of the name of Allâhu ta'âlâ is something which the Sharî'at commands. Do dhikr very much and continually! The highest grade of Wilâyat (being a Walî, pl. Awliya) is to attain the ma'rifat of Allâhu ta'âlâ [ **Ma'rifat** means to comprehend the Attributes of Allâhu ta'âlâ. It is realized after attaining the spiritual grade termed Fanâ.] There are two stages of Fanâ: The first stage of Fanâ, called **Fanâ-i-qalb** , means the heart's forgetting about everything except Allâhu ta'âlâ. Once a person has attained this grade, his heart will not remember anything except Allâhu ta'âlâ, try hard as he may to do so, and love ofAllâhu ta'âlâ has permeated through his heart so as to leave no place for love of anything else. The second stage, termed **Fanâ-i-nafs** , is a person's forgetting about his own existence as well. A person who has attained this grade can no longer say, 'I.' To remember or love anything but Allâhu ta'âlâ is a poison for the 'ârif, (i.e. a person who has attained ma'rifat of Allâhu ta'âlâ); it is a desease which will drag the heart to death. Once Fanâ has been attained, the heart will free itself from loving the mâ-siwâ [everything (with the exception of Allâhu ta'âlâ)]; it will attain real îmân, and it will be easy and pleasant (for the person who has such a heart) to adapt himself to the Sharî'at. Ikhlâs will be attained. The nafs will get rid of its (evil attribute called) ammâra, attaining (the blessed attribute called) itmi'nân. The nafs-i-ammâra is hostile towards the Sharî'at, [i.e. Allâhu ta'âlâ's commandments and prohibitions.] Once it has attained itmi'nân, it will take pleasure from obeying the Sharî'at. The state attained is termed **Islâm-i-haqîqî** (true, real Islam). In short, Tasawwuf means sayr and sulûk. Its target is to make one attain Fanâ and Baqâ, to make one a true slave of Allâhu ta'âlâ, and to purge the nafs of its wayward, disobedient and pleasure-seeking attributes. One's purpose in Tasawwuf, therefore, should not be the opening the sight of one's heart so that one can see nûrs, souls, angels and genies, to join their world, or [to learn what is naturally unknown (to other people) by asking those invisible creatures]. It is not something reasonable to try to learn about the unknown by means of the heart's sight, turning away from the scientific phenomena, which can be perceived by the senses and found by calculation and experimentation. Both the types of phenomena, i.e. those found by scientific methods as well as the ones that will be perceived by the hearts's sight, are Allâhu ta'âlâ's creatures. All of them were nonexistent. Allâhu ta'âlâ created all of them afterwards. Allâhu ta'âlâ cannot be seen in the world. He will be seen in the Hereafter. The suppositional perception (of Allâhu ta'âlâ) which can be experienced in the world and after which one believes that one has seenAllâhu ta'âlâ, (though one actually has not,) is called îqân.

In short, the purpose in (undertaking the onerous spiritual process called) Tasawwuf, or Tarîqat, should be to attain an immaculate and delectable obedience to the Sharî'at in the world. It should not be to attain a state of seeing or approaching Allâhu ta'âlâ. These things will be attained in the Hereafter. Then, our primary concern should be to try to obey the Sharî'at, not to be remiss in [spreading the Sharî'at, which is called] amr-i-ma'rûf and nahy-i-munkar, and to resuscitate those commandments of the Sharî'at which people have forgotten about. In case some kashfs and other spiritual states occur in our heart, we should not tell anyone about them. These states and dreams are not dependable. What is the use of a person's dreaming himself as, say, a Sultan or the chief of Awliyâ? What is of value is to attain these things as one is alive. However, valuable as it is, what is its use, either? Will it save one from torment in grave or in Hell? A wise person will not attach any importance to such things. He will try to do things which Allâhu ta'âlâapproves of. He will hold fast to the blessing of hubb-i-fillâh (love for the sake of Allah) and bughd-i-fillah (enmity for the sake of Allah). [First of all, it is necessary to learn the creed of Ahl as-Sunnat and the teachings of the Sharî'at, to adapt your belief to that creed and to adhere to the Sharî'at.]

FIRST VOLUME, 178th LETTER

I pray so that we will not deviate from the path followed by our fathers and grandfathers, who were true Muslims. The true path, the path to salvation, is the path they followed and also taught in their books. O my brother! We are living in the latest time. Religious knowledge is on the decrease. There has been a general slackening in obeying the Sharî'at. Sunnats have been abandoned, and bid'ats have been spread far and wide. [The masonic organizations of infidelity established by British agents and priestly missionaries, propagated with fallacious books, supported with monstrous amounts of money and weaponry, and in cooperation with heretical groups of soi-disant Muslims called Râfidîs and Wahhâbîs, are waging a universal smear campaign against the true Muslims called Ahl as-Sunnat.] In this time of obscurity, when unbelief and heresies are so widespread, it is the primary duty of the descendants of true Muslims to learn their religion, (Islam), from books written by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat and to spread these books everywhere. It is the most valuable work to resuscitate forgotten religious teachings. Work round the clock to learn the teachings of the Sharî'at and to publicize them. Do not go into politics. Pray continuously and call upon Allâhu ta'âlâ for help! [We are slaves of Allâhu ta'âlâ. We have to do our duties as His slaves. For doing so, we have to have a correct belief (îmân) and obey the Sharî'at. Do not think even for a moment of having your heart's sight opened and being able to see genies, angels and spirits, to talk with them and to learn about unknown things! Learn the existence, the unity and the greatness of Allâhu ta'âlâ not from such transcendental reports, but from scientific and medical phenomena. The human mind is the place for the teachings acquired from such phenomena. Mind's busying itself with science, medicine, arms race, trade or agriculture will not prevent the heart's attaining Fanâ or forgetting about worldly occupations. Preoccupied as a person's mind may be in worldly occupations, not even momentarily will his heart be oblivious of Allâhu ta'âlâ. As a matter of fact, the Sharî'at commands such occupations, e.g. to emulate the enemy in the preparation of means of war in peace time. Doing this commandment of the Sharî'at will polish the heart, thus helping it to attain Fanâ. Râfidîs or Wahhâbîs, or their Christian and Jewish sponsors will not understand these facts which we write. Both mentally and spiritually, they are entirely absorbed in worldly interests and sensuous desires and pleasures. All four groups cooperate in their inimical activities against the Ahl as-Sunnat. Their ignominious campaigns are manipulated by British plotters.]

FIRST VOLUME, 228th LETTER

Due to the great distance between the time in which we live and the luminous and blessed time of Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'alaihi wa sallam', and the time of Doomsday being rather closer, unbelief and heresies (bid'ats) have spread far and near. The entire world is suffused with their gloom. The Sunnat of the Messenger of Allah, [i.e. his path, the commandments and prohibitions of the Sharî'at,] has been forgotten. The nûrs (lights, haloes) of the Sharî'at have disappeared. Try to revitalize the Sharî'at and to promulgate Islam's teachings! This work is atop all the other deeds that will please Allâhu ta'âlâ. It is this work which will be most prolific in attaining the shafâ'at (intercession) of the Messenger of Allah. It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: " **A person who recovers one of my forgotten sunnats will be rewarded with thawâb equal to the amount of the thawâb that will be given to a hundred martyrs**." [Sunnat in this context means one of the commandments of the Sharî'at.] To recover a sunnat, (i.e. a commandment of the Sharî'at,] you will first have to practise it yourself, and then publicize it so that others also should practise it.

You write that you feel deep anxiety about how you will be at the time of death, (i.e. whether you will be able to retain your îmân and die as a Believer.) No one has been immune from that anxiety. You say that you do not believe you have attained a state with which Allâhu ta'âlâ is pleased. Only in the era of Wahy (revelation of the Qur'ân al-kerîm) was it possible for a person to be invulnerable to that feeling of uncertainty. What the times that followed it could afford were no more than facsimiles and analogues of the original Glad Tidings. Because of the uncertainty of the result, anxiety cannot be helped. You say that you suffer for want of hope as to whether your acts of worship will be accepted (by Allâhu ta'âlâ, and that the absence of hope sometimes transforms into laxity in your acts of worship. Acts of worship have been enjoined on us. Therefore, it is our primary duty to do the acts of worship. Regardless of whether we know that our worship will be accepted, we have to perform the acts of worship, say (the prescribed phrase of apology called) istighfâr for our faults during the performance, and beg Allâhu ta'âlâ to accept our worship. Thereby, there will be more probability of our worship being accepted, less zulmat (darkness, gloom, obscurity) (caused by our faults), and more luminosity. Worship is our essential duty as slaves. Anything else is a misgiving infused by the devil. You ask if I am pleased with you. The affection that you feel for us is the fruit of the affection that we have for you. Whatsoever appears on the branches of a tree comes from the trunk. It is declared in the Mâida sûra: " **Allâhu ta'âlâ loves them, and they in turn love Him.** " " **Allâhu ta'âlâ is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.** " He states His love of them and His being pleased with them before stating their love of Him and their being pleased with Him.

No one do I blame, for myself I shed tears,  
Anxious about my future, trembling with fears!

FIRST VOLUME, 230th LETTER

This is a long letter. At one place it says: Greek philosophers argue that "Nonexistence will not come into existence. And something which exists will not cease to exists." [Today's science imitators say so, too. Not only is this view incompatible with Islam, but these people call those who hold this view 'progressive people'. And they call Muslims 'regressive people' because they say that "All things were nonexistent. Allâhu ta'âlâ created all of them from nothing."] What these science imitators say is only a product of their fancy and imagination. It is quite easy for Allâhu ta'âlâ, who is almighty, to create all things from nothing or to annihilate the existence. When Lavoisier (Antoine Laurent, 1743-94), French chemist and physician, who was executed by the French revolutionary leaders in 1209 (1794 A.D.), observed that substances did not cease to exist during chemical reactions, he said, "Nothing in nature ceases to exist, and nothing comes into being from nonexistence." He said so because he thought everything was dependent on chemical reactions. The irreligious science imitators, who call themselves 'illuminated modernists' and Muslims 'fuddy-duddies', exploited Lavoisier's theory as a document and clamoured that nothing had been created from nonexistence, thus misleading many a Muslim student of science. Einstein (Albert, 1879-1955), German-American physicist, (developed the theory of relativity and) proved that matter ceased to exist by turning into energy. The dumbfounded progressive impostors of science, whose idiotic notion of Allâhu ta'âlâ had been confined to chemical reactions, stopped vociferating and began fumbling around for other ploys to undermine Islam.]

All heavenly religions concur in the fact that the entire existence was created from nothing, and deniers of this fact are 'unbelievers' in their credal nomenclatures. The sixty-seventh âyat of Maryam sûra purports: " **But does not man call to mind that We created him before out of nothing?** " Qâdî Abdullah Baydâwî, whom the scholars of Tafsîr (exegesis, expounding of the Qur'ân al-kerîm) hold as their most beloved master and guide, makes the following observation in his book of Tafsîr entitled **Anwâr-ut-tanzîl** : "Allâhu ta'âlâ created man from nothing." To theorize that creation of all new beings from nothing is not a constant process would mean to imply that Allâhu ta'âlâ has no more to do (with the new things' coming into being) and therefore His power is no longer effective.Allâhu ta'âlâ creates all substances from nothing and then every moment keeps each and every one of them in existence. Therefore, matter cannot cease to exist from itself. Objects come into being from substances. Their attributes change continuously. Allâhu ta'âlâ is the only maker of all these material transfigurations and attributive changes.Allâhu ta'âlâ and His Attributes are the only beings which remain in existence eternally and never change. Neither they were created from nonexistence, nor will they cease to exist.

'Âlam, i.e. the entire existence, existed in the 'ilm-i-ilâhî (Allâhu ta'âlâ's knowledge) as it was (materially) nonexistent. What existed in the 'ilm-i-ilâhî has been termed **a'yân-i-thâbita** ; that state of existence has been termed **thubût-i-eshyâ** ; (material state of) existence in the outside has been termed **wujûd-i-eshyâ** (by the scholars of Islamic science called Kalâm).

'Abdiyyat, i.e. being a slave of Allâhu ta'âlâ, requires believing in Him and loving Him. Obeying the Sharî'at and avoiding bid'ats are symptomatic of this belief and love. As we observe, all things, nonexistent as they were, have been created in a perfectly calculated order. For instance, all the human organs are created in ultimate neatness, each representing immaculately well-planned sketches. These utterly admirable phenomena indicate that everything has been created by an owner of endless knowledge and power.

SECOND VOLUME, 89th LETTER

We are so happy to hear about your aspirations to obtain ikhlâs in spite of all your various occupations and activities. "If They were not to give (what is desired), They would not have given the desire," goes the saying. The patient has to tell the doctor his complaints. Rasûlullah is the source of fayz. Yet the fayz coming from him undergoes changes as it goes through intermediaries. In the path of our superiors, it is essential to attend the Murshid's sohbat. Of the fayz emanating from the Murshid's heart, an amount proportionate with the disciple's personal capacity and the affection he feels (towards his Murshid) will flow into his heart. If the tâlib (disciple) cannot find a murshid (to guide him), he must read a past murshid's books and receive from the murshid's soul an amount of fayz proportionate to the affection which is formed in his heart towards the murshid (by reading his books). Uways Qarnî, [i.e. Ways-al-Qarânî,] did not attain a grade equal to the one attained by any one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, since he had not seen Rasûlullah, although he became a great Walî, –in fact, he was the highest of the Tâbi'în–, by receiving fayz (from the Prophet's blessed soul) remote as he was (from the Best of Mankind). The affection you feel towards men of Tasawwuf is a great blessing. Appreciate the value of this blessing! There is Glad Tidings for you in the hadîth-i-sherîf, " **A person will be with people he loves.** " It bears the good news that we will reap benefits from the hearts of the people we love. Attach great importance to acts of worship! Do not waste your valuable time on revelries, romps or merriments! Always keep in mind that we are merely transient lodgers in the world and be constantly apprehensive about the torment in grave and on the Last Day. Never forget that the only way to salvation leads through obedience to the Sharî'at and clear of bid'ats! Do not make friends with holders of bid'at and people not affiliated in any of the (four canonically validated) Madhhabs! Those people are thieves of faith. They will steal your îmân. Do not believe those shaikhs and men of Tarîqat who are slack in obeying the Sharî'at! [Avoid the Râfidîs, the Wahhâbîs, and their books and radio and television programmes!]

A PIECE of ADVICE

O you, young man! As follows is the Sunnî Creed,  
Written in verse and expressed in clear diction:

If you want a correct belief, o my brother,  
Read this book day'n night with devout attention!

May Haqq bless Abû Hanîfa's soul with compassion,  
For he's guided us to Qur'ân's way of salvation!

Man can create none, do not believe the Shiite!  
Worse for the Wahhâbî; hold the Sunnî profession!

Paradise'n Hell are now, tawba is possible,  
The sinful will be saved by way of intercession.

Do not attach thyself to the world, life's but a fast stream;  
Happiness forever is in Islam's instruction.

First learn the 'ilm al-hâl, and teach your child;  
Otherwise, insufferable will be your frustration!

Look'n see how slyly the enemies strive;  
Lose no time in working for Islam's promulgation!

Communists deceive the youth with lies to destroy Islam;  
Wake up, O young man, rid thyself of that inaction!

The Muslims also are mostly ensnared by heresies;  
Off the right path, qibla as is their direction.

Without learning the 'ilm al-hâl, one cannot be immune.  
Non-Sunnî is in unbelief or aberration!

Help the people who spread the correct knowledge!  
Be blessed with Jihâd at the cost of thine possession!

Did Rasûlullah ever pause, or did his Sahâba sleep?  
Each of them was a hero in Islam's expansion!

You, too, should work hard, for hard the enemies work;  
To ruin Islam they attack from every direction.

Do not malign the Sahâba, appreciate them all!  
Qur'ân witnesses to their common affection!

Abû Bakr the highest, then come 'Umar; 'Uthmân; Alî;  
Love Mu'âwiya, too; he wrote the Qur'ân's version!

Our Rabb is not material; He's free from time'n place;  
He is in no substance, should be Muslim's conviction!

He neither needs creatures, nor has a likeness;  
He creates all, and sustains all creation.

Good, bad; belief, disbelief; matter, power, energy; He makes all;  
Far beyond man is the business of creation!

Everyone He's given will'n wisdom, and guidance as well.  
Any good wished will attain Rahmân's[] creation.

First put your belief right, and observe the injunctions;  
Whoever leaves Islam never attains salvation!

It's ever the rule: You reap what you sow;  
To count on the wheat unsowed brings frustration!

Out of seventy-three groups, Sunnîs, alone, head for salvation;  
It is them who showed us Rasûlullah's direction!

CONVERSION OF THE HIJRI LUNAR YEAR into THE CHRISTIAN YEAR

A hijrî lunar year is 10.875 days shorter than a Christian year. A hijrî year begins approximately eleven days earlier in the Christian year following the Christian year in which the previous hijrî year began. Once every 33.58 hijrî years, which means once every 32.58 Christian years, the beginning of hijrî year coincides with one of the first days of January. Chart I shows the hijrî years beginning in December. The hijrî year-beginnings following these move yearly from this twelfth month backwards to the first month, coinciding with each of the Christian months. For finding the Christian month corresponding with the beginning of any of such hijrî years which the chart does not contain, the hijri year that is closest to it and which the chart contains is found on the chart, and thereby the Christian year next to this hijrî year on the chart. The difference between the two hijrî years is added to the Christian year found on the chart. For instance, let us find the Christian year coinciding with the beginning of 1344 hijrî: 1344-1330=14; 1911+14=1925. It coincides with July, which is below number 14 on Chart II. The Christian year with which a certain Christian month within a certain hijrî year coincides, if this certain month is before the month with which the beginning of the hijrî year coincides, is one year ahead of the year found.

Before your body goes out of your possession,  
Before destiny demolishes your construction.

As the façade and the inner essence are together,  
As both the worlds are still in your possession.

Dispel love of the world from your heart,  
So that from the world of souls you get information!

Abstain from harâms, engage in doing the farz,  
Negligence of the farz will bring you destruction!

Bi-s-m-illâh-ir-Rahmân-ir-rahîm

There are very many books teaching Islam. The book **Maktûbât** , written by Imâm Rabbânî and consisting of three volumes, is the most valuable. Next after that book is another book with the same title, **Maktûbât** , and consisting of three volumes, yet written by Muhammad Ma'thûm (Imâm Rabbânî's third son and one of his most notable disciples). Hadrat Muhammad Ma'thûm states as follows in the sixteenth letter of the third volume of his Maktûbât: "Imân means to believe both of the facts stated in the (special expression of belief called) Kalima-i-tawhîd, which reads: Lâ ilâha il-l-Allah, Muhammadun Rasûlullah." In other words, being a Muslim requires also belief in the fact that Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' is the Prophet. Allâhu ta'âlâ sent him the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** through the angel named Jebrâ'îl (Gabriel). This book, the Qur'ân al-kerîm, is the Word of Allah. It is not a compilation of Hadrat Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' personal views or of statements made by philosophers or historians. Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' made a tafsîr of the Qur'ân al-kerîm. In other words, he expounded it. His expoundings are called **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. Islam consists of the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** and **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. The millions of Islamic books worldover are the expoundings of the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** and **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. A statement not coming from the Qur'ân al-kerîm cannot be Islamic. The meaning of Îmân and Islam is to believe the **Qur'ân al-kerîm** and **hadîth-i-sherîf** s. A person who denies the facts stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîm has not had belief in the Word of Allah. Muhammad 'alaihis-salâm' conveyed to his Sahâba the facts which Allâhu ta'âlâ had stated to him. And the Sahâba, in their turn, conveyed those facts to their disciples, who in their turn wrote them in their books. People who wrote those books are called **scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat.** Belief in those books of Ahl as-Sunnat, therefore, means belief in the Word of Allah, and a person who holds that belief is a Muslim. Al-hamd-u-lillah, we are learning our faith, (Islam,) from books written by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, and not from fallacious books fabricated by reformers and freemasons.

Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: " **When fitna and fesâd become rife among my Ummat** (Muslims), **a person who adheres to my Sunnat will attain thawâb** (blessings, rewards in the Hereafter) **equal to the total sum of the thawâb that will be given to a hundred people who have attained martyrdom**." Adherence to the Sunnat is possible only by learning the books of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. The scholars affiliated in any one of the four Madhhabs of Muslims are **scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat**. Imâm a'zam Abû Hanîfa Nu'mân bin Thâbit was the leader of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. The anti-Islamic campaigns which the British had been carrying on for centuries for the purpose of Christianizing at least one Muslim ended in outright failure. In their search for new methods to achieve their goal, they established the masonic lodges. Masons deny Hadrat Muhammad's 'alaihis-salâm' words as well as all heavenly religions, and such basic religious facts as Rising after death, and existence of Paradise and Hell.

Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated, **"A person whom Allâhu ta'âlâloves very much is one who learns his religion and teaches it to others. Learn your religion from the mouths of Islamic scholars!"**

A person who cannot find a true scholar must learn by reading books written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunna, and try hard to spread these books. A Muslim who has 'ilm (knowledge), 'amal (practising what one knows; obeying Islam's commandments and prohibitions), and ikhlâs (doing everything only to please Allâhu ta'âlâ) is called an **Islamic scholar.** A person who represents himself as an Islamic scholar though he lacks any one of these qualifications is called an 'evil religious scholar', or an 'impostor'. The Islamic scholar will guide you to causes which in turn will open the gates to happiness; he is the protector of faith. The impostor will mislead you into such causes as will make you end up in perdition; he is the Satan's accomplice.[] (There is a certain) prayer (called) Istighfâr (which), whenever you say, (recite or read) it, will make you attain causes which will shield you against afflictions and troubles.
FOOTNOTES (1-15)

[1] This English version does not contain the biographies.

[2] Please see the third chapter of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** , for **Sadaqa fitr** , available from **Hakîkat Kitâbevi** , 34262 Fâtih, İstanbul, Türkiye.

[3] The ten people who were given the good news that they would go to Paradise.

[4] This commandment, retaliation, is termed 'Qisâs'.

[5] The first Blessed Wife of the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. She was very rich, deeply learned and wise. She gave all her property to the Messenger of Allah. She served him perfectly for twenty-four years.

[6] A heretic; a blasphemous person.

[7] There are four correct but different ways, called Madhhabs, in matters pertaining to acts of worship and behaviour in Islam. Please read our other publications for details.

[8] A chain of great Islamic scholars.

[9] Jalâladdîn Abdurrahmân bin Muhammad (849 [1445], Egypt-911 [1505 A.D.], Egypt), one of the greatest mujtahids of Hadîth in the Shâfi'î Madhhab. Even Christians praise him in their books. For instance, it is written about him as follows in the well-known scientific encyclopaedia Meyer Lexicon: "Suyûtî, who spent his entire lifetime with dedicated and untiring lucubration, has more than three hundred written works."

[10] Who the Ashâb-i-kirâm were has already been explained in the text. The Tâbi'în-i-izâm are those fortunate people who saw at least one Sahâbî although they had not seen the Messenger of Allah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. Salaf as-sâlihîn were the earliest Islamic scholars.

[11] Marriage as prescribed by Islam.

[12] There are four different ways, called **Madhhabs** , with respect to religious practices. A Muslim has to adapt himself to any one of these Madhhabs in his daily acts of worship. For further information, please see our other publications, such as **The Sunni Path** , **Endless Bliss** , five fascicles.

[13] Necessary; a religious duty; incumbent on.

[14] A person who pretends to be a Muslim though he is not.

[15] Iftâr means the dinner that you eat when you break fast after sunset. There is detailed information about fasting in the second chapter of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.
FOOTNOTES (16-27)

[16] The first chapter of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** contains detailed information about namâz, importance of namâz, kinds of namâz, and how to perform it.

[17] Hajj means an act of worship, which, alongside its other rituals and technicalities, mainly consists of visiting the Ka'ba. Detailed information about hajj can be found in the seventh chapter of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[18] The first four Khalîfas, called **Khulafâ-ar-râshidîn** , are Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân and Alî 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhum ajma'în'. 'The other three Khalîfas' means, therefore, 'the first three'.

[19] Please see the fourth chapter of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** for detailed information about ghusl for a better understanding of the subject and of such terms as darûrat and haraj.

[20] 'Nikâh' means a marriage contract performed in a manner prescribed by Islam. 'Talâq' means 'breaking of marriage'. Please see **Endless Bliss** , twelfth chapter of the fifth fascicle.

[21] Two and half percent of one's property dispensed to poor Muslims. Please see **Endless Bliss** , first chapter of the fifth fascicle for details.

[22] Please see **Endless Bliss** , seventh chapter of the fourth fascicle for detailed information on water and kinds of water.

[23] There is detailed information in the fifth and sixth chapters of the second fascicle of **Endless Bliss** about kinds of hadîth-i-sherîf and books reporting hadîth-i-sherîfs.

[24] The word used in the âyat-i-kerîma is 'hamr', which means 'To blur (mind)'.

[25] The parenthesized explanations of the technical Arabic terms are intended to help the reader develop an idea about the magnitude of the job of ijtihâd. In fact, they are quite short of reflecting the intrinsic meanings in the terms.

[26] Lexical meaning of 'ra'y' is 'opinion'. Throughout the English version we have avoided using its lexical English equivalent lest we should confine the colossal world of meaning treasured up in the scientific and technical word 'ra'y' into the cubicle of 'opinion'.

[27] There is detailed information in the eighth chapter of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** about the situations and conditions that make it harâm for a Muslim to marry any one of the certain women.
FOOTNOTES (28-47)

[28] Someone who has newly converted, or expected to convert, to Islam.

[29] Hairs from the Prophet's 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' blessed beard.

[30] Hurûfîs are a heretical group among Muslims. Please see the thirty- seventh chapter of the second fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[31] The Prophet's family.

[32] Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî 'quddisa sirruh' means himself.

[33] There is detailed information about ablution and ghusl in the second and fourth, respectively, chapters of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[34] **Shifâ-i-sherîf** , by Qâdî Iyâd 'rahimahullâhu ta'âlâ'.

[35] (Lexically), orator, speaker; (in this context), performer of a certain sermon, termed khutba, made before Friday prayer and after 'Iyd prayers.

[36] An answer given by an Islamic scholar to Muslims' questions.

[37] Please see the thirty-fifth and fortieth chapters of the third fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[38] There is detailed information about Lawh-il-Mahfûz in the thirty-sixth chapter of the third fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[39] Islamic science dealing with the explanation of âyats of the Qur'ân al- kerîm.

[40] May he be accursed.

[41] Mawlânâ Khâlid Baghdâdî 'rahmatullâhi 'aleyh' (1192, Zûr-1242 [1826 A.D.], Damascus).

[42] Lexically, barakat means abundance, blessing, fruitfullness. When something has barakat, it is somehow more nutricious and more healthful than it would have been otherwise, although barakat does not materially add to its amount.

[43] Reckoned from the blessed Prophet's migration to Medina.

[44] Solar.

[45] Reckoned from the time supposed to be Îsâ's 'alaihis-salâm' birth-time.

[46] Literature that deals with facts about our blessed Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam', his biography, his beautiful moral qualities, his utterances, which are called **hadîth-i-sherîf** , etc.

[47] For detailed information about **ghusl** (ritual washing); **namâz** (Islam's prescribed daily prayer); **wudû** (ablution); and **jihâd** (serving Islam physically, financially and spiritually), please see **Endless Bliss** : 4-4; **ibid** : 4-1; **ibid** : 4-1, 2, 3, 5; and all the publications of Waqf Ikhlas, respectively.
FOOTNOTES (48-61)

[48] A renegade who claimed to be a prophet.

[49] The hundred and tenth (110) sûra (chapter) of the Qur'ân al-kerîm.

[50] Any sort of addition, deviation, misinterpretation, invention and heresy in Islam's tenets of belief or practices is termed **bid'at**. People who practise bid'ats or hold beliefs that are bid'ats are called **holders of bid'at** (heretics).

[51] The dinner which is eaten after breaking fast after sunset.

[52] Person who recites a certain invitation to the five daily prayers termed namâz or salât. This invitation, called adhân (or azân), is explained in detail in the eleventh chapter of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[53] The Holy War fought against the tribes called Hawazin and Saqîf in the eighth year of the Hegira (629 A.D.)

[54] Detailed information on the 'Iyd of Qurbân, as well as how to sacrifice (perform) Qurbân is available in the fourth chapter of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[55] Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'.

[56] 'Umar ul-Fârûq 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'.

[57] 'Uthmân Zinnûrayn 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh'.

[58] The ten Sahâbîs who were given the good news that Allâhu ta'âlâ had guaranteed them Paradise. These ten Sahâbîs were Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, Alî, Talha, Zubayr bin Awwâm, Abd-ur-Rahmân bin 'Awf, Sa'd ibn Abî Waqqâs, Sa'îd bin Zayd, Abû 'Ubayda bin Jerrâh 'ridwânullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaihim ajma'în'.

[59] A kind of zakât paid by non-Muslims. Detailed information is provided in the first chapter of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[60] Authorization, diploma, certificate of proficiency.

[61] Outward; of religious practices and acts of worship.
FOOTNOTES (62-78)

[62] Inward; of the heart and soul, spiritual.

[63] People who refuse to be affiliated to any of the four authentic Madhhabs in Islam; Hanafî, Mâlikî, Shâfi'î, and Hanbalî. Detailed information for the four Madhhabs, see **The Sunnî Path** and the five fascicles of **Endless Bliss**.

[64] Hadrat Muhammad's ascent to heaven. Please see the fifty-sixth chapter of the first fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[65] Please see the seventh chapter of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** for Hajj and 'Umra.

[66] Some âyats invalidated the rules, principles, commandments and prohibitions in other âyats previous to them. Those revocatory âyats are called **nâsikh** , while the ones whose rules they cancel are called **mansûkh**.

[67] Please see the eleventh chapter of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** for information about azân.

[68] 'Uthmân bin Affân 'radiy-Allâhu 'anh' had the honour of marrying two ofRasûlullah's blessed daughters, Ruqayya 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ', who passed away at the age of twenty-two, and Umm-u-Ghulthum 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhâ' whom the Messenger of Allah married to Hadrat 'Uthmân after Hadrat Ruqayya passed away.

[69] To teach the commandments and prohibitions of Allâhu ta'âlâ, encouraging to do the commandments and dissuading from committing the prohibitions.

[70] Not to set one's heart on worldly matters, even if they are mubâh (permitted by Islam).

[71] Abstention from mushtabihât (doubtful things).

[72] (He) who has attained perfection in Islam and in spirituality.

[73] (He) who can guide others to perfection.

[74] Rizq means food preordained for a certain person.

[75] A bilateral cursing wherein two parties wish evil to the wrongful or mendacious one between them.

[76] Zâhid is the adjectival form of the noun 'zuhd'. Accordingly, a zâhid person is one who has much zuhd.

[77] Please see the sixth chapter of the second fascicle of **Endless Bliss** for kinds ofhadîth-i-sherîfs.

[78] The expression which is used in the original text is 'to get barakat'. 'Barakat' means 'abundance caused by blessedness'.
FOOTNOTES (79-89)

[79] The Qur'ân al-kerîm; revelation of the Qur'ân al-kerîm; messages which Allâhu ta'âlâ sent to His Messenger in âyats.

[80] A Muslim who performs Mut'a hajj is called a Mutamatti' hadji, and one who performs Qirân hajj is a Qârîn hadji. Please see the seventh chapter of the fifth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**.

[81] Closeness to Allâhu ta'âlâ.

[82] The Messenger of Allah.

[83] There is detailed information on how to make masah on the pair of mests as you make ablution in the third chapter of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss**. Please see the list at the end of this book.

[84] Person with much zuhd, which in turn means to abstain from most of the mubâhs (Islam's permissions) for the fear that they may be harâm (forbidden by Islam).

[85] The eighth chapter of the fourth fascicle of **Endless Bliss** provides detailed information on women nâ-mahram to a man and men who are nâ-mahram to a woman.

[86] This book was translated into English in 1992. The English version, entitled **Documents of the Right Word,** is available from Hakîkat Kitâbevi, Darüşşefeka Cad. 57/A P.K. 35 34262 Fâtih-İstanbul-Türkiye.

[87] The book you have been reading is its English version.

[88] Compassionate, (He) whose compassion encompasses all in the world; one ofAllâhu ta'âlâ's Attributes.

[89] Knowledge that is acquired not for the purpose of practising it with ikhlâs, will not be beneficial. Please see the 366th and 367th pages of the first volume of **Hadîqa,** and also the 36th and the 40th and the 59th letters in the first volume of **Maktûbât.** (The English versions of these letters exist in the 16th and the 25th and the 28th chapters, respectively, of the second fascicle of **Endless Bliss** ).

