For thirteen hundred years enemies of Islam failed to stand against Islam. All their attacks reflected harm on them. The Islamic religion spread far and wide. At last they realized that Muslims' chests, full with iman, were too firm for them to thrust a dagger into. They began to think of how to hit Muslims from the spiritual front, i.e. to corrupt their faith and morality, and concocted plans to destroy Islam from the inside.

As Islam rapidly spread over Asia and Africa in the times of hadrat 'Umar and hadrat 'Uthman, a sly Jew of Yaman, named Abdullah bin Saba', pretended to be a Muslim and beguiled an Egyptian group into martyring hadrat 'Uthman. Thus a very serious catastrophic fitna arose and millions of Muslims shed one another's blood. The factious sect which was thus founded in the name of Saba' came to be called the Hurufi sect in the eighth century (of the Hegira). Ringleaders of this sect wrote books spoiling the Islamic beliefs and deranging the moral qualities prescribed by Islam.

Later on, another miscreant group, whose major aim was to destroy Islam's Madhhabs, appeared sometime during the twelfth century of the Hegira and spread in Arabia.(Please see the book Confessions of the British Spy Named Hempher.) The British, who had fought against Muslims in World War I, founded a new state in Hijaz after the war. They took the two holy Islamic cities, Mecca and Medina, away from the Ottomans and gave these cities to this new state. Thus another fitna corroding Islam from within began to spread. Only those Muslims who hold fast to the books written by scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat have managed to survive this disastrous flood of fitna.

It has been seen recently that some heretical books have been published and serving the purpose of causing discordance in our country. We therefore have considered it would be appropriate to reveal the lies and slanders fabricated in these books, which have been prepared for the purpose of effacing young people's beliefs and are offered to them like wolves in lambs' hides or like poisoned honey. Trusting ourselves to the divine kindness and help of Allahu ta'ala, we have taken very injurious samples from these books and confuted them with documentary evidences, thus preparing a book, and named this book Let Us Be In Unity. May infinite hamd-u-thena be to our Rabb for granting us the lot of printing the book! We hope that our young brothers will read this book now, see clearly between right and wrong, and adhere to the true way guided by scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. We supplicate to Allahu ta'ala to bless them with the lot of attaining this greatest fortune.

LET US BE IN UNITY

1- Enemies of Islam have been writing various books in order to mislead Muslim children. A group of them deny the Madhhabs. They say that our religion does not contain any heavenly commandment justifying people's splitting into various different Madhhabs. They would not say so if they knew the meaning of Madhhab. Nothing could bring one a disgrace as deep as one's ignorance. Their ignorance blindfolds them so badly that they criticize Islam and Qur'an al-karim. These writings of theirs have been given detailed answers in the chapter Muslimana Nasihat (Advice for the Muslim) of the book Kiyamet ve Ahiret (The Hereafter).

2- There were no controversies among Muslims in the time of Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam'. The last ayat of Fat-h sura purports that the Ashab al-kiram loved one another continuously and very much. Allahu ta'ala informs that this love among them continued to exist after Rasulullah's passing away, too. As Rasulullah passed away, it was hadrat Aisha who waited in tears at his bedside. When Rasulullah died, none of the Ashab al-kiram struggled for position. They did not even think of seizing power. Enemies of Islam compare the four caliphate elections to disbeliever kings', dictators' and revolutionists' seizing power. The case with the four Khalifas, however, is quite the other way round, for, let alone criticizing them, each of their deeds must be taken as a documentary example by Muslims. Rasulullah stated, "Hold fast to the way guided by my four Khalifas!" There were cruel, sinful ones among the Umayyad and Abbasid Khalifas. Yet none of them was a disbeliever. None of them was an enemy of Islam. All of them were Islamically rightful Khalifas. They were elected not in accordance with the laws of presidential elections for, say, France, but in a manner prescribed by Allahu ta'ala. A person who denies Allah's prescription will certainly dislike the procedures followed in their election. Hadrat Muawiya 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' gave so much freedom that an equal level of tenderness and patience can never be seen on the dictators governing today's so- called democratic socialist countries. A poet who was indignant about a personal interest did not hesitate to remonstrate with the Khalifa:

"O Muawiya! We are human beings like you. Do not divert from justice!" Even governors and commanders appointed by Prophets 'alaihim-us-salam' had shed Muslims' blood unjustly. Hadrat Muawiya 'radi-allahu anh' cannot be blamed for some wrong behavior exhibited by a governor appointed by him!

3- Qur'an al-karim is Wahy-i-metlu. That is, the angel named Jabrail 'alaihis-salam' said the words and letters, which we know, and the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' memorized them as he heard them and then recited them to his Ashab. This fact is informed by numerous ayat al-karimas. Books written by separatists who distort the meanings of ayat al-karimas should not be believed.

4- Some people allege that "Originally there are 6666 ayats in Qur'an al-karim. Today's existing copies contain 6234 ayats. 432 ayats were annihilated by 'Uthman, who would not let those ayats informing about the virtues of Hashimis be recorded in the Qur'an. He changed the Qur'an from the Hashimi dialect to the Quraishi dialect."

They put forward their own books as documents to prove their allegation. On the other hand, that the Qur'an al-karim contains six thousand and two hundred and thirty-six ayats is informed by hadrat Ali, a fact written in the hundred and forty-eighth chapter of the book Bostan-ul-arifin, by the great scholar hadrat Abu-l-leys-i-Samarkandi.

In some copies, several short ayats are written in the form of a long ayat. So the number of ayats seem to vary. This numerical variation does not by any means indicate any interpolation in the ayats.

As is written in the book Tuhfa-i-isna ashariyya, the best response to this calumniation directed towards the three Khalifas is given by Allahu ta'ala: the ninth ayat of Hijr sura purports, "We revealed this Qur'an to thee. And We shall protect it." Can any man defile something protected by Allahu ta'ala? The above-mentioned allegation of theirs show that they consider hadrat 'Uthman to be more powerful than Allahu ta'ala. On the other hand, these people take every opportunity to vilify the three Khalifas. And yet in this occasion they promote hadrat 'Uthman to partnership with Allahu ta'ala.

Kulayni, a religious authority in Iran, says that Hisham bin Salim and Muhammad bin Hilali stated that the Qur'an had been changed. And scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat write that Allahu ta'ala purports, "No one can change Qur'an al-karim." The forty-second ayat al- karima of Fussilat sura purports, "No change can reach that Qur'an from any direction. For It has been revealed by One whose every deed is hakim and mahmud." Who could change something protected by Allahu ta'ala? It was wajib for our Prophet to communicate Qur'an al-karim exactly as it was revealed. In the time of Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam', when a person became a Muslim, he would first learn Qur'an al-karim. And everyone who learned Qur'an al-karim would teach it to others. There were thousands of Muslims who had memorized Qur'an al-karim in the presence of the Messenger of Allah. It is written in history books that more than seventy hafiz al-Qur'an (people who had memorized the Qur'an) were martyred in some Holy Wars. Until today hundreds of thousands of hafiz have been educated in Muslim countries. Their reciting the Qur'an was a great worship. Every Muslim recites Qur'an al-karim both as he performs the namaz and elsewhere. Every Muslim child, as soon as it reaches school age, is first taught passages from Qur'an al-karim. Qur'an al-karim is unlike the book written by Kulayni or Abu Jafar Tusi's book Tazhib, which are kept locked in chests and read secretly by one or two people! In fact, it is written in all Shiite books that all the Ahl al-bayt-i-Nabawi and the twelve Imams read this very Qur'an al-karim. They put forward this Qur'an al-karim as a document to friends and enemies alike. They explained its very ayats. The book of Tafsir which they have been keeping as the Tafsir of Imam-i-Hasan Askari is the tafsir (explanation) of this Qur'an. The twelve Imams would teach their children, their women and their disciples this very Qur'an al-karim. It is for this reason that Shaikh Ibni Babawayh, a Shiite scholar, says in his book Itiqadat that it would be wrong to attack hadrat 'Uthman 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' in this matter.

5- A zindiq (a kind of heretic) studied Qur'an al-karim for years. He saw the word (Salat) at more than sixty-five places. So he said that 'Salat' meant 'Prayer' and therefore one could make salat continually day and night. He confused the word Salat, which actually means Namaz, with the word Prayer. It is stated as follows in the thirty-eighth page of the Turkish book Durr-i yakta sharhi: "Recently some zindiqs have been misleading young people by disguising themselves as Shaikhs of Darwish convents. They put forward some heretical beliefs in the name of Islam. They assert that 'the word (Salat) which is written in ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs does not mean actions of bowing, prostrating and getting up as practiced by people today. It means Dhikr and Muraqaba. That is, it means mentioning the name of Allah, sitting, closing one's eyes, and meditating on the existence and the greatness of Allah.' The fact, however, is not so simple as that; Dhikr, which means to remember Allahu ta'ala through the heart, is a very difficult job. Performing the namaz facilitates making Dhikr. Muraqaba means to meditate over the fact that Allahu ta'ala sees and knows you every moment. And this, in its turn, can be managed by performing the namaz. The zindiq (mentioned above) puts forward the spiritual maturities that will be attained through the namaz and then denies the namaz. He who denies the namaz will be a disbeliever. He who believes in it but neglects it out of laziness will be a sinner. He is to be imprisoned until he begins to perform the namaz again. Every Muslim should, before anything else, learn the procedures that are fard, wajib and mufsid in the namaz. If there are daily prayers of namaz he has omitted, he must perform them as soon as possible. It is equally sinful to delay such omitted prayers, which are called qadha (qaza). When a child reaches the age of seven, it is necessary to teach him how to perform the namaz by having him perform it in your presence. And when he is ten you should sort of force him - if he is unwilling to perform the namaz - to perform it. This you can do, if necessary, by hitting him gently with your hand." Other types of prayers can be done any time. But there are certain times prescribed for each of the daily prayers of namaz. This fact is detailed in the Bukhari hadith, which is an account of the night of Miraj. There are many hadith ash-Sharifs commanding the five daily prayers of namaz. Our beloved Prophet would perform the five daily prayers of namaz even at the hardest times of trouble, during combats, for instance, and would command all those around him to follow his example. He was extremely ill before his death when he walked with utmost difficulty to the mosque, appointed hadrat Abu Bakr 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' imam for his place, and performed the namaz behind hadrat Abu Bakr.

That the meaning of the word Salat is Namaz is explained clearly at the end of the Juma (Friday) sura and in the ayat which purports, "Do not approach Salat when you are drunk!" Muslims, learning the times of the five daily prayers of namaz and how to perform them from their Prophet, have always performed the namaz like the Messenger of Allah did all over the world for fourteen hundred (1400) years.

Qur'an al-karim and hadith ash-Sharifs state that prayers can be done openly as well as secretly. Yet it is a commandment that the five daily prayers of namaz be performed in jamaat in mosques. Enemies of Islam, by quoting the ayat al-karimas stating that prayers are to be done secretly, are trying to extirpate the tradition of performing the namaz in jamaat in mosques. While saying on the one hand that they obey only Qur'an al-karim, they are, on the other hand, putting forward Biblical and Pentateuchal documents to prove that the namaz is superfluous. Pointing to the fabricated statements in the false copies of the Bible existing all over the world today, they are attempting to make away with the five daily prayers of namaz. Prayers of namaz that are fard must be performed in mosques even if there is the danger of pretention and ostentation. Mosques are made for performing namaz in them. Muslims do not believe books written by aberrant parvenus and enemies of religion. They perform their worships correctly as they learned from their fathers and grandfathers, who were true Muslims. Disbelievers and heretics follow the wrong courses they learned from their fathers. Allahu ta'ala castigates such disbelievers in Qur'an al- karim, and commands Muslims to learn what they do not know by asking those who know.

6- All the people without a certain Madhhab attack the four Sunnite Madhhabs as if they had made an agreement among themselves to do so. They never seem to understand what (Madhhab) means.

There cannot be differences of Madhhab in the religious principles to be believed. The belief held by Muslims throughout the world has to agree with the belief held by Rasulullah and the Ashab al-kiram. Anyone who believed otherwise would be either a heretic or a disbeliever. Some of the teachings which true believers need in carrying on their worships and worldly affairs are not clearly stated in Qur'an al-karim or in hadith ash- Sharifs. Such covert teachings, (which have been trusted to the comprehension and explanation of Islamic scholars), must be taken for granted as Islamic scholars understand them. Thus a person who adapts himself to the understanding of a profound scholar will be in his Madhhab. In matters not clearly explained in Qur'an al-karim or by hadith ash- Sharifs, it is certainly more appropriate for Muslims to adapt themselves to a profound Islamic scholar who obeys Qur'an al-karim in whatever he says and does rather than following the fabrications of heretics and enemies of religion.

People who adapt themselves to a Madhhab will do their worships correctly. People without a certain Madhhab, on the other hand, will be wrong both in belief and in deeds. They will swerve into various ways. They will arouse faction in society. They will instigate people against one another. Instead of adapting themselves to Muhammad's 'alaihis-salam' Islam, they will either follow their personal inadequate views or part into the corrupt and harmful ways invented by heretics, by enemies of religion.

Muslims love one another. They dislike separatists. Qur'an al-karim and hadith ash-Sharifs state that it is a great worship to dislike such people. People who are hostile to religion, to chastity, to life and to people will certainly be hated. Namaz of janaza will not be performed for a disbeliever (when he is dead).

Muslims do not accuse a person who is negligent in namaz and fasting with disbelief. However, a person who denies the fact that it is fard (a plain religious commandment) to perform the namaz five times daily, becomes a disbeliever. Our master, Rasulullah, curses such disbelievers regardless of whether they are dead or alive. A Muslim will be proud about adapting himself to his Prophet 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam'. Disbelievers, however, are proud about attacking Islamic scholars.

What we would like to tell those people attacking Islamic scholars is this: Islamic scholars observed the approval of Allahu ta'ala in all their actions. Whatever they did, they did it for Allah's sake. They performed their duty of Amr-i-maruf and Nahy-i-anil-munkar towards Rulers. In other words, they gave them advice for Allah's sake. They did not fear anyone in guiding to the right way. Hadrat Imam Azam Abu Hanifa, the greatest Islamic scholar, sacrificed his life in this way, a fact that no one could deny to know. Likewise, all Islamic scholars had no hesitation whatsoever to state facts. Millions of books which they wrote with dedication and ikhlas have spread knowledge and beautiful moral principles throughout the world and thus their blessed names have become known far and near. They have reflected the light of Qur'an al-karim on all nations. On the other hand, people without a certain Madhhab, somehow mixing with Muslim religious men, have swerved from the way guided by Qur'an al-karim and striven to hush up the truth. For these people are quite unaware of spiritual responsibility. Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain' have not left any religious fact covered or veiled. Yet those who are in the aberrant way have been planning to make sure that younger generations be quite ignorant in this respect. To this end, they have been endeavoring to eradicate the facts taught by scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat.

7- To perform the namaz five times daily is a commandment declared in Qur'an al-karim and in hadith ash-Sharifs. The seventy-second (72nd) ayat al-karima of Ahzab sura purports, "Verily, We offered the deposit (the responsibility) to heavens, to earth, to mountains. They refrained from assuming it. They shuddered with fear of it. Men shouldered it and thus did cruelty to their selves. They did not know the result." It is stated in the book of Tafsir called Baidawi that [This ayat al-karima denotes the greatness of the felicity promised in the ayat al-karima previous to itself. The previous ayat purports, "Those who obey the commandments and prohibitions of Allahu ta'ala will attain happiness in the world and in the Hereafter." The commandments and prohibitions mentioned in this ayat al-karima are compared to a deposit. Since a deposit is to be returned to its owner, this comparison expresses the importance of doing the worships. Some scholars have stated that the word 'deposit' means 'wisdom and Islam' in this context. For a person who has wisdom will obey Islam]. This ayat al-karima, whether the word 'deposit' used in it be interpreted as 'wisdom' or be it said to mean 'soul', points out the importance of doing the worships, e.g. performing the five daily prayers of namaz. The fifty-eighth (58th) ayat of Nisa sura purports, "O believers! Obey Allahu ta'ala and His Messenger!" The Messenger of Allah understood the word 'deposit' used in the ayat al- karima as 'worship' and therefore commanded Muslims to perform the namaz five times daily. Those who wish to obey the Messenger of Allah should perform the namaz five times daily. Whatever those who do not want to perform the namaz may say, Muslims should attach paramount importance to the namaz.

It is stated in the book of Tafsir named Baidawi, one of the most valuable books of Tafsir, "Hadrat Abdullah ibni Abbas 'radi- allahu ta'ala anhuma' was asked: In what part of Qur'an al-karim is the ayat al-karima commanding the five daily prayers of namaz? He answered: Read the seventeenth and eighteenth ayats of Rum sura. These two ayat al-karimas purport, "Make tasbih of Allahu ta'ala at evening and morning times. The hamds performed by heavenly and earthly beings and done in the afternoons and at noon times are for Allahu ta'ala." The 'tasbih' to be done 'at evening time' represents the prayers of namaz to be performed in the evening and at night. The tasbih to be done in the morning stands for the namaz be performed in the morning. The 'hamds done in the afternoons and at noon times' symbolize afternoon and noon prayers of namaz. The ayat al-karimas command to perform the namaz five times daily." Those who deny the five daily prayers of namaz become startled when they hear this ayat al-karima. They say that this ayat al-karima does not contain the word 'Salat'. When they are quoted the ayat al-karima commanding to 'make salat' and told that there are more than sixty-five such ayats, they make a U-turn and say that "Salat means prayer. We obey these ayats and pray in seclusion. Namaz is not an Islamic commandment."

The two hundred and thirty-ninth (239th) ayat of Baqara sura purports, "Protect the salats and the salat of wusta! [That is, perform the namaz continuously]. Obey Allah and make salat!" 'Protect the salat' means 'Perform the five daily prayers of namaz at their proper times and observing their conditions.' It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, which is written in the book Musnad by Imam-i-Ahmad and in Imam-i-Munawi's book Kunuz-ud-daqaiq: "The salat of wusta is the afternoon namaz." Hadrat Ali 'karram-allahu wajhah' narrated: Our Prophet stated in the combat of Hendek (Trench), "The enemy did not let us perform the wusta [afternoon namaz]. May Allahu ta'ala fill their abdomens and graves with fire!" Salat means both prayer and namaz. Hence the word 'salat' used in this ayat al-karima means the 'namaz' which we know. The ayat al-karima says to perform the prayers of namaz and the afternoon prayer. According to the Arabic grammar, the word 'salats' means 'three salats in the least'. Since the afternoon salat is called (Wusta), which means 'the namaz in the center', the number of salats meant here cannot be only three. There have to be at least four salats in addition to the afternoon so that the afternoon salat be exactly in the center, that is, between the second and the fourth salats. Kamaleddin-i-Shirwani 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' quotes the fifty-ninth ayat al-karima of Nur sura in his book Miftah-us-saada to prove that the number of salats to be performed daily is five. The names of morning and night prayers of namaz are written clearly, i.e. as 'Salat-i-fajr' and 'Salat-i-isha', in the fifty-ninth ayat of Nur sura.

The hundred and second (102nd) ayat of Nisa sura purports, "To perform the namaz at certain times has become fard for Muslims." It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, which exists in the books Riyad-un-nashin and Hulasat- ud-dalail: "I was by the entrance to Kaba, when Jabrail 'alaihis-salam' came near me twice. He performed noon prayer with me as the sun left its position at the zenith." In another hadith ash-Sharif, which is written in Abulleys-i-Samarkandi's book Muqaddimat-us-salat existing with number [701] at the section called (Asad Effendi) in the library of Sulaimaniya and also recorded in the book Fath-h-ul-Qadir at the section named Ayasufia (Saint Sophia), our Prophet 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' states: "Jabrail 'alaihis-salam' made me perform the namaz for two days by the entrance to Kaba. The first day, we performed morning prayer as the fajr-i-Thani [whiteness] appeared, noon prayer as the sun left it zenith, afternoon prayer as shadows were as long as the real objects they represent, evening prayer as the sun set, and night prayer as dusk disappeared. The second day we performed morning prayer at daybreak, noon prayer when everything had a shadow as long as itself, afternoon prayer when the shadow of everything was twice as long as itself, evening prayer at the time of breaking fast, and night prayer when one-third of the night time had elapsed. Then he said: O Muhammad! These are the times of the namaz for thee and for past Prophets and for thine Ummat." As Sulaiman bin Bereeda narrates from his father in the book Muslim, somebody asked Rasulullah about the times of namaz. The Messenger of Allah said, "Perform namaz with me for two days!" As the sun left the zenith, he ordered Bilal Habashi to call the adhan. We performed noon prayer. It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Afternoon prayer is performed before sunset."

It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, which is reported by Jabir bin Abdullah in the books Bukhari and Muslim: "As there would be no dirt left on your body if you washed yourself in a stream flowing by your house, so Allahu ta'ala will forgive the faults of those who perform the namaz five times daily." It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Namaz is the pillar of the religion. He who performs the namaz will have fortified his religion. And he who does not perform the namaz will have ruined his religion."

A hadith ash-Sharif, which exists in the books Bukhari and Muslim and belongs to the category called Mesh-hur, states, "Islam has five fundamentals. The first one is to utter the word Shahadat. The second one is to perform the namaz." It is stated in another hadith ash- Sharif, reported by Abu Dawud and written in the book Halabi: "Allahu ta'ala has commanded to perform the namaz five times daily. Allahu ta'ala will forgive those who make a proper ablution, perform these prayers of namaz at their proper times, and observe the ruku' (bowing) and sajda (prostration) in them."

Another hadith ash-Sharif reads as follows: "Allahu ta'ala has made it fard for His born servants to perform the namaz five times daily. If a person makes a beautiful ablution and performs the namaz correctly, on the rising day his face will shine like the full moon and he will pass the bridge of Sirat as fast as lightning." The author of the book Riyad-un-nasihin 'rahmatullahi alaih' relates, "I have studied books of Hadith. I have seen that it is stated in various hadith ash-Sharifs reported by more than twenty Sahabis: 'A person who omits a prayer of namaz without any religiously sanctioned excuse will become a disbeliever.' "

It is stated in a hadith ash- Sharif, which is reported by hadrat Ali 'radi-allahu anh' and exists in the books Tarih-i- Bukhari and Kitab-ul-iman: "He who gives up the namaz will become a disbeliever." That is, a person who is not sorry for neglecting the namaz and does not feel shame towards Allahu ta'ala for this reason, will take his last breath without iman.

There is detailed information in this respect in the (Turkish) book Se'adet-i ebediyye.

A hadith ash-Sharif, which the book Bukhari reports from Abu Said-i-Hudri, states, "The thawab that will be given for the namaz performed in jamaat is twenty-five times as much as that which is given for the namaz which one performs by oneself." However, according to a hadith ash- Sharif reported by Abdullah ibni 'Umar, it is "twenty-seven times as much."

A hadith ash- Sharif, which is reported by Dar-i-Qutni 'rahmatullahi alaih' and is written in Kunuz, states, "A person who lives near a mosque should perform his namaz in the mosque."

It is stated in a hadith narrated in the books Firdaws-ul-ahbar and Riyad-un-nasihin: "Not to go to the mosque though one hears the adhan would be a sign of being a munafiq."

It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif reported in Imam-i-Ahmad's 'rahmatullahi alaih' book Musnad and in Kunuz: "If a person forgets something during his salat, he should make two additional sajdas!"

The forty-third ayat of Baqara sura purports, "Perform the prayers of namaz and give the zakat and make ruku' with those who make ruku'." It is explained in Baidawi and in all books of Tafsir that this ayat al-karima commands to perform the namaz in jamaat. The purpose in representing the namaz with the word ruku' in this ayat al-karima is to distinguish it from the Judaic namaz and to emphasize that it is the Islamic namaz. For the namaz performed by Jewry does not contain ruku'. It is stated in the book Hulasat-ul- fetawa, "Accepting the Muaz-dhin's call (of adhan) is to be done by foot, not only orally. If a person who hears the adhan repeats it only and does not go to the mosque, he will not have accepted the Muaz-dhin's call."

8- There were mosques in the time of Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' and in the times of the Ashab al-kiram. There were imams in these mosques. The namaz would be performed in jamaat. The imam does not necessarily have to be innocent, sinless. For no one except Prophets 'alaihim-us-salawatu wattaslimat' is innocent. Allahu ta'ala commands to build mosques. Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' stated, "If a person builds a mosque Allahu ta'ala will bless him with a kiosk in Paradise." The last ayat of Juma sura purports, "O believers! When the adhan for salat is called on Friday, stop shopping and run for the Dhikr of Allah! Disperse when the salat is over!" This ayat al-karima also shows that salat means namaz. The namaz has been called Dhikr. Because Muslims assemble in mosques on Friday, the day has been called Juma.

People without a certain Madhhab say, "There is no heavenly commandment concerning the construction of mosques. Since the demolition of mosques it has been considered more appropriate and more virtues to do the worships in homes." This assertion is an extremely odious lie, a very wicked slander. And their misinterpreting ayat al-karimas in order to convince Muslims that they are telling the truth, is disbelief and heresy. The history book which they put forward as a document was written by a Hurufi of Shiraz.

When the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' migrated from Mecca to Medina, his first stay was in the village called Kuba, where he stayed for more than ten days. He built a mosque called Kuba Masjid in this village. Carrying a big stone with his blessed hands, he put it under the mihrab as a foundation stone for the mosque. Then he said, "O Aba Bakr! Bring another stone and put it beside my stone!" Then he had hadrat 'Umar and hadrat 'Uthman each put a stone. Hadrat 'Umar and hadrat 'Uthman 'radi-allahu ta'ala anhuma' had arrived in Medina before. Rasulullah performed his prayers of namaz in this mosque. During his stay in Medina he would come here every week and perform two rakats of namaz called Tahiyyat-ul-masjid.

Masjid al-dharar: It was during the preparations for the Holy War of Tabuk when some munafiqs in the village of Kuba, such as Hizam bin Khalid and the sons of Abu Jayba and Ibni Amir, namely Majma and Zayd, and also such vagabonds as Tabtal and Tajruj and Bejad and Abad and Wadia, provoked by Abu Amir, designated a place of meeting for themselves and termed this place the Masjid al-dharar. Abu Amir was the maternal first cousin of Abdullah ibni Abi, the chieftain of munafiqs. They asked the Messenger of Allah to perform the namaz in that mosque. The Prophet said he would do so on returning from the Holy War. When he was back from the Holy War they came to him and begged him. Allahu ta'ala informed His Messenger that these people were munafiqs and told him not to go there. So Rasulullah sent Malik bin Dehshem, Sad bin Adi and his brother Asim bin Adi to the so-called place and had it demolished. It is not known for certain today where the place exactly was. During the construction of the mosque, hadrat Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman were with the Messenger of Allah in Medina. They were helping Rasulullah with his preparations for the Holy War of Tabuk.

Masjid al-Juma: is in the valley of Ranona, between Medina and Kuba. This is the place where the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' performed his first namaz of Friday.

Masjid al-Fadih: is to the east of Kuba. In the Holy War of Bani Nadir Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' had the army encamped somewhere around this place and he and his Ashab performed the namaz for six nights in this mosque.

Masjid al-Bani Qureyza: Our master, the Messenger of Allah, performed namaz by the minaret of this mosque.

Masjid al-Ummi Ibrahim: is to the east of the mosque of Bani Qureyza (the previous one). The Prophet performed namaz here, too.

Masjid al-Bani Zafer: is to the east of Baki' cemetery. The Messenger of Allah performed namaz in this mosque and then, sitting on a rock, he had (some ayats from) Qur'an al- karim recited and listened to it.

Masjid-ul-ijaba: is to the north of Baki'. The Messenger of Allah, after performing namaz with his Ashab in this mosque, prayed that his Ummat (Muslims) should not be afflicted with such disasters as famine and drowning.

Masjid al-Fath: is on top of a hill accessible through a set of stairs. In the Holy War of Hendek (Trench) the Messenger of Allah prayed very earnestly for victory from Monday till Wednesday in this mosque.

Masjid al-qiblatayn: is close to Masjid al-Fath. Two months before the Holy War of Badr, the Messenger of Allah was conducting a noon prayer in this mosque and they were making the ruku' in the second rakat of noon, or afternoon, prayer, when (the order from Allahu ta'ala arrived and) they changed their direction from Jerusalem to Kaba.

Masjid al-Zuhaba: is somewhere on the way from Damascus to Medina, on a hill on the left hand side. They (Rasulullah and his Ashab) were encamped and performed namaz here. Masjid al-Jabal al-Uhud: On his way back from the Holy War of Uhud, the Prophet performed noon and afternoon prayers here. Also, ayat al-karimas praising religious scholars were revealed here.

Masjid al-Jabal al-Ayniyya: is the place where hadrat Hamza (Rasulullah's blessed paternal uncle) was martyred. Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' performed namaz with his weapons on his blessed body here.

Masjid al-wadi: is the place where Rasulullah performed morning prayer and the namaz of janaza for hadrat Hamza.

Masjid al-Baki': is on the right hand side as you exit the Baki' cemetery. Rasulullah performed many prayers of namaz here.

Names and places of thirty-eight other mosques where the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' performed namaz are written in detail in the book Mirat-i-Medina.

Masjid an-Nabi: is the greatest mosque in Medina-i-munawwara. It is the place where Rasulullah's 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' camel knelt down first when he migrated to Medina. First he stayed as a guest at Khalid bin Zayd Abu Ayyub al-Ansari's home for seven months. With the ten golds donated by hadrat Abu Bakr they bought a building plot and leveled it. Construction of the mosque was completed by the Safer month of the second year. It was roofed with branches and leaves of date. It had three entrances. The Mihrab was at the place where the (entrance called) Bab-i-Tawassul is today. The jamaat would go in and out through the entrance where the Mihrab stands today. The depth of the foundation was three arshins [one and a half meters], the same size as the thickness of the walls. The foundation was laid with stones and the walls were built with sun-dried bricks. The mosque was a hundred arshin long and wide, and seven arshins tall. He (the Prophet) placed the first foundation stone with his blessed hands. Then he ordered hadrat Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and Ali each to put a stone by this stone, respectively. When he was asked the reason why, he stated, "This is to signify the order of their caliphates!" On the right and left hand sides of the mosque nine additional rooms were made for his blessed wives. The room which was nearest the mosque was allotted to hadrat Aisha.

From the month of Safer till the time of his passing away, the beloved Messenger of Allah performed all his prayers of namaz in jamaat in this mosque whenever he stayed in Medina. Despite the apparent fact that Rasulullah and his Ashab performed namaz in the abovenamed mosques, these communists assert that "Salat means prayer. Islam does not contain any commandment pertaining to the performance of namaz." It is such a consternating assertion.

The hundred and twenty-fifth ayat of Baqara sura purports, "Perform the namaz at the place called Maqam-i-Ibrahim in the Masjid al-haram! We have ordered Ibrahim and Ismail to 'Clean My Home for those who visit it and who make ruku' (in it) and who sit (in it) and who make sajda in it!' " In this ayat al-karima Allahu ta'ala calls Kaba 'My Home.' For this reason, Kaba is called 'Bayt-ullah' (the Home of Allah). And in Hud sura Allahu ta'ala calls Salih's 'alaihis-salam' camel 'Naqat-ullah' (the Camel of Allah). These naming do not come to mean that Allahu ta'ala is in Kaba or that the Camel is with Him. Even an ignorant idiot would not infer such stupid meanings. Like Kaba, all mosques are called Beytullah. This designation is intended to point out the value and honor of mosques.

The thirty-sixth ayat of Nur sura purports, "Allahu ta'ala has commanded that some homes be valued highly. He commanded that His name be made Dhikr of in these highly valued homes. Tasbih of Allahu ta'ala is made in these places in the morning and in the evening." On the other hand, in ayat al-karima which we have quoted earlier Allahu ta'ala calls namaz 'Dhikr'. So this ayat al-karima shows that mosques are for performing the namaz. Hadrat Abdullah ibni Abbas say that [Mosques are called Baytullah. Therefore, to interpret the expression 'homes' in this ayat al-karima as 'their homes' would mean to change the ayat al- karima].

The hundredth ayat of Nisa sura purports, "When you set out on a journey on the earth you may shorten the Salat!" After the revelation of this ayat al-karima the Messenger of Allah performed two rakats of his prayers of namaz during journeys. After this ayat al- karima, another ayat al-karima, which purports, "When you and your Ashab perform the Salat during a combat, let a group of the jamaat perform it with you with their weapons on them. When one rakat is completed they should resume their positions against the enemy. Then those who have not made the Salat (because they have been fighting) should come and continue the Salat with you!", shows very plainly that Salat means Namaz, not (only) prayer.

A hadith ash-Sharif reported in Tabarani and Munawi states, "Do not make mosques into a (place that you walk through on your) route! Enter mosques (only) for Dhikr and Salat!"

Another hadith ash-Sharif, which states, "The Salat's perfection depends on straightening the lines," points out that Salat means Namaz and that the namaz which is fard is to be performed in jamaat.

A hadith ash-Sharif, which is cited in Ibni Abidin, at the end of its chapter dealing with acts of makruh in the namaz, states, "Your salat in your own home is more valuable than your salat in my mosque. However, this is not the case with (the salat which is) fard." As this hadith ash-Sharif shows, Salat means Namaz and it is better to perform the namaz which is fard in a mosque and that which is sunnat at home. It is stated in another hadith ash-Sharif, "The salat performed in my mosque deserves a thousand times as much thawab as the salat performed elsewhere. And the salat performed in the Masjid al-Haram will be given a hundred times as much thawab as the one performed in my mosque."

A group of those people without a Madhhab and zindiqs do not perform the namaz. They assert that "Salat is a commandment. It means prayer. Islam does not contain any worship consisting of such acts as bowing and prostration or building mosques. Prophets say not to attend mosques but to entreat Allah in the mosque of your heart." The ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs quoted above are plain evidences proving that these people are liars whose goal is to mislead Muslims.

9- Some of the people without a Madhhab claim that adhan also means prayer. On the contrary, our Prophet taught Bilal-i-Habashi, his Muaz- dhin, how to call the adhan (adhan). He had him mount a high place and call the adhan. The ayats that purport, "When the call for salat reaches you (when you hear it)," and "When it is called for salat on Friday," denote the adhan. A hadith ash-Sharif reported by Hakim and Munawi states, "The namaz of those who do not come there although they hear the call, will not be accepted." Nida (the Arabic word used in the two hadith ash-Sharifs quoted above) means calling the adhan. The first minaret for a mosque was built in Egypt, by hadrat Selmet-ebni Halef, one of the Sahaba. He was Egypt's governor in the time of hadrat Muawiya.

It is a worship to make Dhikr of Allahu ta'ala with a soft voice. It is for this reason that members of the group called Turuq-i-aliyya make Dhikr. Yet it would be nescience and heresy to confuse this Dhikr with adhan. Our master, the Messenger of Allah, praised Muaz-dhins (people who called the adhan) by stating, "On the Rising Day Muaz-dhins will have long necks." This statement denotes that on that day they will rise with luminous foreheads and swollen chests. Another hadith ash-Sharif, reported by Hakim and Dailami, states, "Do not say the initial takbir for salat (do not begin to perform the salat) until the Muaz-dhin has finished (calling) the adhan!" Abu Dawud and Munawi report a hadith ash- Sharif which states, "Do not call the adhan before dawn!" Hurufis compare Muaz-dhins' calling the adhan to braying of an ass. People who make such a comparison become disbelievers. The next generation will remember these zindiqs with curses.

10- True Muslims, who are called Ahl as-Sunnat, very well recognize the value of our Prophet's Ahl al-bayt 'ridwanullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain'. They love the twelve blessed Imams very much. They try to follow the fruitful way of the Ahl al-bayt, which guides to the luminous felicity. Words alone could not be the indication of love. One would have to adapt oneself to them.

Hadrat Abu Hanifa 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih', the exalted religious leader and the greatest scholar among the Sunnite Muslims, left aside all his worldly occupations, his duties and his disciples, and attended the sohbat of hadrat Imam Jafar Sadiq for two years. He obtained plenty of lore from Imam Jafar Sadiq's ocean of knowledge. He received fayd from his blessed heart, which reflected the spiritual lights coming from the Messenger of Allah. He stated, "If I had not served hadrat Imam Jafar Sadiq for two years, I would have been quite unaware of everything." Hadrat Imam Azam Abu Hanifa reached maturity through the knowledge and fayd which he acquired from Imam Jafar Sadiq. He attained high degrees that did not fall to the lot of other people.

It was from the Imams of Ahl al-bayt that the leaders of Ahl as-Sunnat learned most of their teachings pertaining to iman and fiqh, the majority of their marifats pertaining to Tasawwuf, and even a major part of their knowledge pertaining to Tafsir and Hadith. In their training systems they reached maturity. With their tawajjuh they attained high grades. From them they received glad tidings. Shiite books acknowledge this fact, too. Ibni Mutahhir-i-Hulli, a Shiite scholar, writes in his books Nahj-ul-haq and Minhaj-ul-kerama that Imam-i-Azam Abu Hanifa and Imam-i-Malik learned from Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim' and attained high grades in his company. Imam Azam Abu Hanifa was taught also by Imam-i-Muhammad Baqir and Zayd-i-Shahid. Why do Shiites, while advocating respect for their (false) Darwishes who have not even seen any one of the Imams of Ahl al-bayt, vituperate the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat who served those blessed Imams for years and acquired knowledge and received fayd from them? Is it not fard for Shiites to obey also these scholars, who were authorized by those noble Imams to give fatwa and to perform ijtihad? Shaikh-i-Hulli, a Shiite Imam, states that Imam-i-Azam Abu Hanifa was authorized (was given ijazat) to give fatwa by Imam-i-Baqir, by Zayd-i-Shahid and by Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq. That Imam-i-Azam possessed the requirements of ijazat is testified by the (twelve) faultless Imams. To speak ill of Imam-i-Azam would mean to deny the testimony of the twelve Imams, who were sinless people. And this, in its turn, would be disbelief according to the Shiite credo. Since there is not a sinless Imam today, is it not especially fard now for all Shiites to join the Madhhab of Imam-i-Azam?

Shaikh Hulli reports from Abu-l-muhasin, who reports from Abu-l-buhtur: Abu Hanifa visited Abu Abdullah Jafar Sadiq. Upon seeing Abu Hanifa, Imam Jafar Sadiq said to him, "You will promulgate my father's Sunnat everywhere. You will show the right way to those who have lost their way. You will help those who are in peril. You will be a guide to salvation. May Allahu ta'ala help you!" Almost all Shiite books unanimously narrate the following event: Abu Hanifa visited Abu Jafar Mensur, the time's Abbasid Khalifa. Isa bin Musa was there, too. Upon seeing Abu Hanifa, he said, "O Khalifa! This newcomer is the world's greatest scholar!" Mensur asked, "O Numan! Who did you learn knowledge from?" "I learned it from Ali through Ali's disciples and from Abbas through Abbas's disciples," was the answer. Upon this the Khalifa said, "The documents you have given are very tenable". Another episode narrated in Shiite books reads as follows: Abu Hanifa was sitting in the Masjid al-Haram. There were many people around him, asking him a variety of questions, and he was answering them. He scattered the answers as easily as if they were all ready in his pocket. Suddenly, Imam-i-Abu Abdullah Jafar Sadiq came near him and stopped. As soon as Abu Hanifa saw the Imam he stood up, and said, "O the grandson of the Messenger of Allah! If I knew you were here I wouldn't even attempt what I am doing now." Hadrat Imam Jafar Sadiq's answer was, "Please sit down, o Aba Hanifa! Go on teaching Muslims what they do not know! Teach all people what you have learnt from my fathers." The two narrations given above are written in Ibni Hulli's explanatory book Tajrid.

Question: Shiites may inquire about the paradox that Abu Hanifa and other scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, although they were disciples of the twelve Imams 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain', gave fatwas not agreeable with those given by the twelve Imams. How can this be explained?

Answer: An answer to this question is written in the book Mejalis-ul-Muminin, by Qadi Nurullah Shushtari. It reads as follows: "Abdullah Ibni Abbas was a disciple to hadrat Amir (Ali). Under his supervision he attained the grade of ijtihad. He would perform ijtihad in his presence. Most of the time the ijtihad he performed would disagree with the ijtihad of his master (hadrat Ali). Yet hadrat Amir 'qaddas-allahu ta'ala wajhah' would accept such ijtihads of his. Hence, a mujtahid is to answer (a religious matter requiring explanation) in accordance with his own inferences. It goes without saying that ijtihad is not needed in teaching those ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs the meanings of which are already clear. In other words, it is haram to disagree with such plainly explained religious teachings. However, understanding those teachings that have not been stated clearly necessitates ijtihad. Nevertheless, an Imam who is impeccable will never err in his ijtihad. Others may. Yet such errors of theirs will be rewarded rather than punished, i.e. they will be given thawab (for their painstaking performance of ijtihad)." Identical statements are written in the Shiite book Me'alim-ul-usul. However, teachings inferred through ijtihad should not disagree with Qur'an al-karim or hadith ash-Sharifs or the ijma'i ummat (unanimity of the Sahaba).

If it had been a sin to give a fatwa disagreeable with the ijtihad of the Ahl al-bayt, hadrat Husain would have been sinful. As it is stated by Abu Muhnel Ezdee, a Shiite scholar; Hadrat Husain did not like his (elder) brother hadrat Hasan's making peace with hadrat Muawiya. He told his brother that he had made a mistake. If refusing the ijtihad of one of the twelve Imams and saying that he erred in his ijtihad indicated enmity towards him, hadrat Hasan would necessarily have been inimical towards hadrat Husain. This is another point of view from which it is seen quite clearly that those who criticize hadrat Muawiya 'radi-allahu anh' and who wage a campaign of vilification against him, are following a profane course.

Sunnite scholars of Hadith and mujtahids 'rahmatullahu alaihim' are renowned for their taqwa, equity, and piety. The hatred Shiites feel against scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat originates from the fact that the belief held by these scholars does not agree with their credo. They cannot say that these scholars are sinful, mendacious or fond of worldly advantages. On the other hand, they censure some people whom they themselves call scholars.

The earliest people who called themselves Shii (Shiite) were unit commanders in hadrat Ali's army in the Siffin War. All the statements and behaviors quoted and described in Shiite books and ascribed to hadrat Amir (Ali) were narrated by these people. On the other hand, it is written in Shiite books again, e.g. in Nehj-ul-belagha, that these people were treacherous, sinful, mendacious, and disobedient to hadrat Amir. Amir 'karram-allahu ta'ala wajhah' informed that these people were munafiqs. The beliefs held and the worships practiced by the inhabitants of Kufa city were all in accordance with the reports given by these people. The innocent (twelve) Imams always uttered maledictions against them, cursed them. They always repelled these people. Let us take one of them, namely Kesai. It is not known for certain whether he was a Muslim. Another one is Zekeriyya bin Ibrahim. Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Hasan Tusi and others wrote what they had heard from them. However, this Zekeriyya was a Christian.

Abbasid Rulers put the Imams of Ahl al- bayt into dungeons. It was forbidden to visit them or to talk to them. No one was allowed to go in and see them. Scholars of Ahl as-sunnat would risk the danger and visit them. Thus they would acquire knowledge and receive fayd from them. It is stated in all history books that when hadrat Musa Kazim 'rahmatullahi alaih' was in dungeon, Muhammad bin Hasan Shaibani and Qadi Abu Yusuf 'rahmatullahi alaihima', two Sunnite scholars, frequently visited him, asking and learning from him what they did not know. Having the courage of visiting hadrat Imam at such a critical time would require strong love and ikhlas. These facts are written in Shiite books, too. A scholar belonging to the Imamiyya group of Shiites wrote a book titled Fusul, in which he relates hadrat Musa Kazim's karamets. One of them, which he narrates from Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Yusuf, reads as follows: Harun Rashid imprisoned hadrat Imam Musa Kazim. One day we two visited him. We were sitting in his presence, when one of the guardians entered and said, "If you need something tell me! I'll bring it with me tomorrow." Hadrat Imam answered that he did not need anything. When the man left the Imam turned to us and said, "This man surprises me. He asks me if I need anything and says he will bring it tomorrow. Yet he is going to die suddenly tonight." Later we heard that he had died that night.

It is stated in the book Kamus-ul-alam, "Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq is a grandson of hadrat Ali's grandson. His mother, Umm-i-Ferwa, was a daughter of Qasim, hadrat Abu Bakr's grandson. Therefore, the Imam (Jafar Sadiq) 'rahmatullahi alaih' attained not only the maturities of Wilayat coming through hadrat Ali but also the perfections of Nubuwwat coming through hadrat Abu Bakr. He bestowed plenty of both sources of perfection on Imam-i-Azam Abu Hanifa. Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq was learned in jefr, chemistry and other sciences. Jabir, the celebrated Muslim Chemist, was a pupil of Imam Sadiq's. Abu Muslim Khorasani, who had been fomenting an insurrection against the Umayyads, wanted to declare Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq Khalifa in order to be successful in this attempt. Hadrat Imam would not accept his suggestion. In fact, he burned Abu Muslim's letters. Ismail, the oldest of his seven sons, had died before his father's death. Therefore the Imam was succeeded by his second son Musa Kazim 'rahimahum-allahu ta'ala'. A group of people who called themselves Shiites took a different course and recognized Ismail and his sons as successors to the Imam. These people were called Ismailiyya. It is written in the book Esma'ul-muallifin that Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq wrote three books, namely Taqsim-i-ru'ya, Al-jamiat-u-fil-jefr, and Kitab-ul-Jefr. Jefr means a four month old lamb. In scientific terminology it means a branch dealing with guessing future events beforehand. Plato and ancient Indians had written books on Jefr. The first Islamic book written in this science was by hadrat Ali. Because the two of the three books mentioned above were written on sheepskin sheets, the science dealt with in the two books was called Jefr. This is written in Kamus.

Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq did not write any books on religious teachings or worships. The book Imam-i Jafar Buyrugu (Imam-i-Jafar's Command), which is possessed by Shiites today, was written by Jafar bin Husain Qummi. This man died in Kufa in 340 [A.D. 951]. It is informed in the well known book Munjid also that this man was the first to write on fiqh, on religious practices in the Shiite sect. Also, it is stated in Kamus-ul-alam that the book Risala-i- Jafariyya possessed by Shiites was written by Abu Jafar Muhammad Tusi. This person died in 460 [A.D. 1068]. His Tafsir is of twenty volumes. Putting forward the book written by these two Jafars, Shiites call themselves Jafari, thus attempting to prove that they are following Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq. Exploiting the similarity between the words Jafar and Jefr, they assert that these (two) books also were written by hadrat Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq.

11- In order to ruin Islam from the interior, Hurufis assail hadrat Imam-i-Azam Abu Hanifa 'rahmatullahi alaih', the great scholar, the most beloved leader of the Ahl as-Sunnat. They do not feel shame at writing all sorts of abominable slanders and base lies in their efforts to malign this exalted Imam.

A biography of this noble Imam is written in the (Turkish) books Se'adet-i Ebediyye, Faideli Bilgiler and Ashab-i Kiram. We have considered it appropriate to write a few more words by borrowing from the Arabic book Khayrat-ul-hisan, by the great Islamic scholar hadrat Ibni Hajar-i-Makki 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih', from the Persian book Tazkira-t-ul- awliya, by hadrat Faridaddin Attar, and from the Turkish book Mevdu'at-ul'ulum, by Taskopru zada.

Imam-i-'Azam's name is Numan 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih'. 'Abu Hanifa' means 'Father of Muslims following the right way'. Contrary to some fabricated bruits, he did not have a daughter named Hanifa. Nor did the name belong to his mother. If his mother's name had been Hanifa, he would have been called Numan ibni Hanifa, like Isa (Jesus) 'alaihis-salam' has been called Isa-ibni Maryem (Jesus the Son of Mary). He has been called Numan bin Thabit (Numan the Son of Thabit) by all people, friends and enemies alike. His father's name is written in all books, with the exception of those written by enemies of Ahl as-Sunnat, who assert that his mother's name was Hanifa and forge abhorrent stories about him.

Hadrat Imam-i-Azam Abu Hanifa's 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' grandfather's name is Zuta, which is written as such in numerous books, e.g. in the book Jami'ul-usul, by the great scholar hadrat Ibni Eseer Jezree. This high person was a slave. Most scholars of fiqh have been from among slaves. Thabit, the Imam's father, was born through Muslim parents. Thabit attended hadrat Ali's sohbats and thus received abundant fayd from hadrat Imam (Ali). Imam-i-Ali asked blessings on Thabit and progeny in his prayers. Zuta's second name was Numan. On a Nevruz Day, this Numan offered hadrat Ali some jelly sweatmeat. Hadrat Imam-i-Azam was educated by Imam-i-Shabi and, when the latter passed away in 104, by Hammad. When Hammad passed away in the hundred and twenty-fourth year of the Hegira, lovers of knowledge from all Islamic countries streamed into Imam-i-Azam's quarter. Thus he started to educate pupils. At that time there was not a scholar named Shaddar. Nor is it written in any Islamic book that he was taught by a person in that name.

Everything hadrat Imam-i-Azam Abu Hanifa Numan bin Thabit said or did would be in agreement with Qur'an al-karim and hadith ash-Sharifs. It is stated in the book Mizan-ul- kubra: If a person studies the statements made by the Imams of the four Madhhabs reasonably and without any prejudice or recalcitrance, he will see that they all were like celestial stars. He will look on their traducers as imbeciles who take stars' images in limpid water as stars themselves. Imam-i-Azam stated, "Qiyas is not valid when there is nass [ayats and/or hadiths (with plain meanings)]. We do not perform qiyas unless it is inevitably necessary. When we confront an enigmatic question, we first look it up in Qur'an al-karim. If we cannot find an answer, we search through hadith ash-Sharifs. If there is still no answer, we look the matter up in the statements made by any of the Ashab al-kiram. If we cannot find a solution to the question in these documents, either, we find its answer through qiyas." At some other time he said, "When we meet a question and cannot find its answer in Qur'an al-karim or among hadith ash-Sharifs, and if the answers given to this question by the Sahaba vary, we choose one of the answers through qiyas." And once he said, "In matters to which we cannot find an answer through Qur'an al-karim and hadith ash-Sharifs, we choose one of the answers given by hadrat Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and Ali 'radi-allahu anhum'. We hold the hadith ash-Sharifs coming from the Messenger of Allah on top of everything. We do not make a statement contradicting them." When Imam-i-Azam performed qiyas on a matter because he had not found its answer in any of the sources and then heard a statement made by hadrat Abu Bakr on that matter, he would give up his own ijtihad and answer the question compatibly with that statement. He would follow this same policy when any of the Ashab al-kiram was involved. Abu Mutee' relates: One Friday morning Abu Hanifa and I were in Kufa mosque. Sufyan-i-Sawri and Muqatil and Hammad bin Muslim and Jafar Sadiq and others came in and questioned Abu Hanifa: "We have heard that you have been answering questions on religious matters always by way of qiyas. We are worried about you." Imam- i-Azam discussed with them till noon. He explained his Madhhab in detail. He told them how he would look up a religious matter first in Qur'an al-karim, then in hadith ash-Sharifs and finally in the unanimous statements of the Sahaba before answering a question asked on that matter. They all stood up, kissed the Imam's hand, and said, "You are the master of scholars. Please forgive us! We are sorry for annoying you, though inadvertently." The Imam's response was: "May Allahu ta'ala forgive us and you and have mercy on us!" All the mujtahids in the Hanafi Madhhab followed their leader's example and did not perform ijtihad unless it was strongly necessary to do so. So was the case with the other Madhhabs. They would not have recourse to giyas in matters which had been explained through the nass (ayats and/or hadith ash-Sharifs).

All the hadith ash-Sharifs narrated to us by Imam-i- Azam Abu Hanifa were reported from the Ashab al-kiram to him by a group. He recorded each hadith ash-Sharif together with a list of its reporters. Those who protest against the Imam's ijtihad are people who did not realize the subtlety of his Madhhab. Or they are a group of heretics inimical towards the Ahl as-Sunnat. There are approximately twenty matters on which Hanafi and Shafi'i Madhhabs differ from each other. And this difference originates from the methodical and regulational differences between the two Madhhabs. I have studied all the hadith ash-Sharifs which Imam-i-Azam 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' put forward as documents. I have seen that his and his disciples' evidences are all tenable and true. I say these words not only as perfunctory statements or for the sake of courtesy like some people do, but as a result of long and painstaking observation. I have seen that all the hadith ash-Sharifs reported by Imam-i-Azam were taken from the eminent ones of the Tabiin, who, as is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, were all virtuous and good people.

Hadrat Taj-ud-din-i-Subki 'rahmat-ullahi alaih' says in his book Tabakat-ul-kubra, "One should be watchful about one's attitude towards the Imams of the Madhhabs! One should not value the rumors and slanders spread about great religious scholars! A person who protests against the statements of the religious Imams will end up in catastrophes. Everything they say is based on an evidence, a document. People who are not like them cannot comprehend these evidences. What devolves on us is it to praise these noble people and not to comment on their disagreeing on some matters. The disagreements between them are like the disagreements between the Sahaba. Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' prohibited us to censure the Ashab al-kiram on account of the disagreements among them. He commanded us to mention them all with praises."

If you wish to realize that the hadith ash-Sharifs reported by Imam-i-Azam 'rahmat-ullahi ta'ala alaih' are dependable and his Madhhab is correct, join the way of Ahl-ullah (people who have completely trusted themselves to Allah and are therefore devoted to Islam). Make progress with ikhlas in knowledge and worshipping! Attain Islam's ultimate essence! You will then see that the Imams of the four Madhhabs and those scholars who follow them are in the right way and all their statements are compatible with Islam.

Hadrat Shakik-i-Balhi states that Abu Hanifa had a great deal of wara' and religious lore and he was extremely pious [worshipping much], noble and very diligent in religious matters. He never made personal comments on religious matters. When he was asked a question, he would get his disciples together, discuss the question with them and, when a unanimous conclusion was reached, he would tell Abu Yusuf or another disciple to "record it in such and such page of a certain book." Abdullah Ibni Mubarak relates, "During a stay in the city of Kufa I visited various scholars and asked them each who (they thought) was the greatest scholar among them. The answer was the same: they all thought Imam-i-Azam was the greatest. When I asked who was the most zahid (person who has completely turned away from worldly interests), the unanimous answer was again: Abu Hanifa. When I asked them who was the one who was most deeply devoted to knowledge, each and every one of them acknowledged that it was Abu Hanifa." Here we end our translation from Mizan-ul-kubra.

The hundred and fifty-ninth (159) ayat of Anam sura purports, "O My Messenger! You could not have anything to do with those who break into various groups in their religion. Allah shall punish them. On the Rising Day Allahu ta'ala shall remind them of what they did in the world"." The various groups mentioned in the ayat are the groups of heretics. This ayat al-karima states plainly that such people are out of Islam and without iman. Since the Madhhabs of the four Imams of Ahl as-Sunnat do not differ from one another in matters pertaining to iman, it is obvious that this ayat indicates heretical groups of bidat.

12- It is alleged in a book written by a heretic without a certain Madhhab that "the day of Qurban, i.e. the day when (Prophet) hadrat Ibrahim attempted to sacrifice his son (to Allahu ta'ala), is not certainly known, and the person to be sacrificed was Ishaq (Isac), not Ismail (Ishmail)."

Ali Zaynalabidin and Muhammad Baqir and Abdullah Ibni Abbas and Hasan-i-Basri state that the intended sacrifice was Ismail. Our Prophet stated, "I am the child of two (intended) sacrifices." This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the person intended to be sacrificed was hadrat Ismail. For our Prophet is a descendant of hadrat Ismail.

A hadith ash-Sharif, reported by Abdullah Ibni Abbas 'radi-allahu anhuma' and recorded in Bukhari and in other books of Hadith, states, "No worship could be as virtuous as one performed during the first ten days of the month of Zilhijja." It is stated in another hadith ash-Sharif, "Fasting performed on the day of Arafa will be kaffarat (will indemnify) for the sins belonging to the previous one year and the future one year." This hadith ash-Sharif can be paraphrased as follows: The fasting performed on the ninth day of Zilhijja will be useful for the acceptance (by Allahu ta'ala) of the tawba you will make for the sins you have committed during the previous year and those you may commit the following year.

Putting forward the fake copies of the Torah possessed by Jewry, the attempt to prove that the intended sacrifice was hadrat Ishaq. However, Qur'an al-karim informs that the existing copies of Torah are defiled, interpolated copies. That the intended sacrifice was Ismail 'alaihis-salam' is indicated through Qur'an al-karim. The hundredth and later ayats of Saffat sura purport, "Ya Rabbi (o my Allah)! Give (me) a son from among the good. So We gave him the good news of a halim [very good-tempered] son. When the child reached the age to walk with Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam', Ibrahim said unto him: 'O my dear son! I have been having dreams in which I am jugulating you. Lo, what would you say about it?' (The son said), 'O my dear father, do whatsoever you have been ordered to do! Insha-allah (If Allahu ta'ala wills it be so), you will find me among the patient.' Both of them being submissive to the decree of Allahu ta'ala, Ibrahim had his son lie on his forehead on the ground. [The knife would not cut the child's throat]. We said, 'O Ibrahim! You have proved true to the dream. So we reward those who behave well." This event was an open test. We gave him a big ram [to be jugulated] instead of his son.

"Thereafter we gave him the good news of Ishaq (Isac) from among the good as a Prophet. We bestowed abundance on him and on Ishaq. Among their descendants there are good ones as well as those who are cruel to their nafs."

These ayat al-karimas show clearly that the would-be sacrifice was Ismail 'alaihis-salam'. For, when Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam' said, "I shall go wherever my Rabb (Allah) commands me to go," and migrated, he was first blessed with Ismail 'alaihis-salam'. Ishaq 'alaihis- salam' was bestowed on him afterwards. We do not understand why they are trying to conceal this fact.

As it is stated in the book Mirat-i-Mecca: In the time of 'Umar bin Abdulaziz, a Jewish rabbi became Muslim. The Khalifa, 'Umar bin Abd-ul'aziz asked him, "Who was the child to be sacrificed, Ismail or Ishaq?" The new Muslim's answer was: "O Khalifa! Jews know that the intended sacrifice was hadrat Ismail. Yet because Ismail 'alaihis-salam' was Muhammad's 'alaihis-salam' ancestor they say that their own ancestor, Ishaq 'alaihis-salam', was the sacrifice." And now these people, following the course guided by Jews and Christians, deny the fact that Ismail 'alaihis-salam' was intended to be sacrificed.

To know which one of his sons Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam' intended to sacrifice, is not one of Islam's principles of belief. Yet these people, in order to attack Sunnite scholars, put forward this matter as if it were something important. They censure Ummayyads, Abbasids and Ottoman Turks. For Mukhtar-i-Sakafi was razed by Umayyads, Qarmatis (Carmatians) and Fatimis (Fatimids) by Abbasids, Hurufis by Timur Khan (Tamerlane), and Safawis by the Ottoman Turks. It is stated at the end of the fifth book of Ibni Abidin, "It is not an approvable behavior for Muslims to discuss religious matters that do not concern themselves. Such questions as "Who is more virtuous, (Prophet) Ismail or (Prophet) Ishaq?", "Who was going to be sacrificed?", "Who is higher, hadrat Aisha (Rasulullah's blessed wife and hadrat Abu Bakr's daughter) or hadrat Fatima (Rasulullah's blessed daughter)?" We are not supposed to know the answer to these questions. Allahu ta'ala has not commanded us to learn facts of this sort. May Allahu ta'ala bless these heretics with wisdom and hidayat so that they will give up their efforts to destroy Islam from the inside.

13- It is allegedly stated in a book that the Umayyads changed Islam. This allegation is a grave slander. There were scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat in the time of Umayyads. The way taught by these scholars are the way guided by the Messenger of Allah and the Ashab al- kiram. The book misleads Muslims by calling the way guided by the Messenger of Allah 'a fabrication of Umayyads'.

14- A few of the sacred nights are named clearly in Qur'an al- karim. Our Prophet taught all these nights to his Ashab. And our religious Imams, learning them from the Ashab al-kiram, wrote them in their books. The Umayyad Khalifas did not attack the Islamic religion. Today's Islam is the very Islam itself taught by our master, the Prophet. Calling the holy nights 'bidat', which some people do, means calling our Prophet's hadith ash-Sharifs 'bidat'. Islam is to be protected not by falling for the statements made by some ignorant idiots, but by following the instructions which scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat learned from the Ashab al-kiram and wrote for us in their books.

15- To say that "They were derelict in leaving Rasulullah's janaza unattended" would mean grave calumniation against hadrat Ali. Yes, when the sad news was heard, hadrat Ali was no less deeply depressed than the others, so that he did not know what to do. He shut himself up in his home, weeping and lamenting.

Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' had appointed hadrat Abu Bakr 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' imam for Muslims before he passed away. Upon Rasulullah's death, therefore, Muslims unanimously elected Abu Bakr imam for themselves. Hadrat Abu Bakr sent for hadrat Ali and commanded him to do the funeral services for Rasulullah. Thus the Prophet's funeral was held.

Hurufis vilify the Ashab al-kiram by alleging that "after our Prophet's 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam' death they recruited soldiers against hadrat Ali and fought him." This allegation is another lie, another slander. The three Khalifas cherished hadrat Ali very highly. They never did anything to hurt his blessed heart. Those who read Islamic histories know these facts. They will not fall for these lies.

Exploiting the insolent behavior displayed by a couple of cruel idiots during Imam-i- Hasan's funeral, they distort the events into grounds convenient for attacking Sunnite Muslims. Thus they try to mislead pure Muslims. 'Umar, who fought aganist hadrat Husain at Karbala and caused his martyrdom, was the son of Sad Ibni Abi Waqqas, one of the Ashara-i-mubash-shara, i.e. the ten fortunate Sahabis who had been given the good news that they would go to Paradise. Now these enemies of Islam are trying to generalize this 'Umar's sin so as to include all Muslims and attempt to exploit it as an excuse for cursing even those Muslims who had died earlier than the occurring of that sin. We should not fall for the mournful and exaggerated stories forged by these people and cause segregation among Muslims. It is haram to have a bad opinion of a muslim, to backbite him, to slander him, or to hurt him. Each of these things is a grave sin in itself. Another sin is to nurse a grudge against a Muslim. Each of these sins is forbidden in Qur'an al-karim. The interior enemies of Islam, Jewish converts, whose real purpose is to break Muslims into inimical groups and to set them against one another, rekindle covered historical events with exaggeration, try to dig out some sad events which, let alone being principles of belief to be learned, are to be covered, and provoke brothers against brothers. Let us not fall for the lies of these insidious enemies and break into groups. Let us be united in the right way taught by scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, who are praised through hadith ash-Sharifs. Unity will produce power. And disunity will bring disasters.

These people sow disunity of iman and ideas among Muslims and make brothers hostile against one another.

The Sunnite Muslims' parting into four Madhhabs is not a disunity of iman and ideas. Muslims being in the four Madhhabs are in agreement with respect to iman and thoughts. They look on one another as brothers in Islam. They love one another. They differ from one another only in a few unimportant matters that have not been taught clearly through Qur'an al-karim or hadith ash-Sharifs. And then they follow one of the other three Madhhabs when they have to in these matters.

It would be disastrous for Muslims to be broken into credal sects. Our master the Prophet informed that Muslims would be broken into seventy-three different groups and that seventy-two of these groups would go to Hell. The group called Ahl as-Sunnat 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain' is the one with the correct belief. These Muslims have parted into four Madhhabs, which differ only in some Islamic practices. This parting is a rahmat (Allah's compassion) on Muslims and facilitates matters for them.

Those who had copies of Qur'an al-karim trampled by horses were a number of people without a certain Madhhab living in Hijaz, chiefly a heretic named Abu Tahir Qarmati. The names of the people who turned the Rawda-i-mutahhara into a battlefield and plundered the Messenger's treasury are recorded in Mirat-ul-harameyn. Yes, there were some tyrants among the governors appointed by Umayyads and by hadrat Ali. These people tormented Muslims. Yet these people cannot be grounds for censuring or blaming hadrat Ali or hadrat Muawiya. For both of them are Sahabis and hadrat Ali is more virtuous than hadrat Muawiya. Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' informed that none of the Sahaba would become a disbeliever afterwards and that they would all go to Paradise. He prohibited us to criticize any one of them. Allahu ta'ala declares that He loves the Ashab al-kiram and that He is pleased with them. The Attributes of Allahu ta'ala are eternal. His loving them is eternal. Ashab (or Sahaba) means Sahabis, that is, Companions. A person who has iman and sees the Messenger of Allah (at least) once becomes a Sahabi. The first three Khalifas and hadrat Muawiya and Amr Ibni As were Sahabis. None of the Ashab can be a renegade or a munafiq. The fact that Allahu ta'ala loves them will never change. If a person who states that one or more of the Ashab al-kiram renegaded or became sinful after Rasulullah's death makes this statement because he interprets a doubtful nass (ayat or hadith) incorrectly, he will become an aberrant man of Bidat. If an ignorant person who is quite unlearned in such branches as Nass and Tawil makes this same statements, he will become a disbeliever. Munafiqs cannot have been Sahabis. That some munafiqs revealed their hypocrisy afterwards does not mean that some of the Sahaba 'radi-allahu ta'ala anhum ajmain' became apostates afterwards.

Abd-ul-'aziz Dahlawi gives the following explanation about the sixty-eighth Shiite allegation in his book Tuhfa-i-isna-Ashariyya: "There were munafiqs among the Ashab al- kiram. Formerly it was not known who they were. However, Muslims were distinguished from munafiqs towards the termination of our Prophet's lifetime. A short time after Rasulullah's 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' passing away, there was none of these munafiqs left still alive. The hundred and seventy-ninth ayat of Al-i-'Imran sura purports, 'O munafiqs! Allahu ta'ala will not leave you to yourselves. He will distinguish true believers from munafiqs!' It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, 'The city of Medina will sever munafiqs from believers. It will do so like a blacksmith's furnace severing rust from iron.' The ayat al-karima and the hadith ash-Sharif quoted above show quite plainly that the four Khalifas and hadrat Muawiya 'radi-allahu anhum', whom our master the Messenger of Allah had praised till his death, did not become disbelievers afterwards."

Muslims will not curse, and have never cursed, Rasulullah's Ahl al-bayt 'radi-allahu anhum' anywhere, nonetheless in mosques. Muslims know that loving and praising the Ahl al-bayt will cause them to die as believers. To generalize a wrongdoing committed by a couple of munafiqs so as to involve all Muslims in it and thus to arouse fitna among Muslims, is an act of animosity against Islam. These treacherous people traduce Muslims as enemies of the Ahl al-bayt. To call the followers and lovers Ahl al-bayt 'enemies of Ahl al-bayt' is a horrifying attack launched by ill-willed, malevolent munafiqs with the sheer purpose of breaking Muslims into groups.

Muslims love Rasulullah's Ahl al-bayt 'radi-allahu ta'ala anhum ajmain' more than anyone else and they love also those who love the Ahl al-bayt. Muslims who love the Ahl al-bayt and follow the right way guided by the Ahl al-bayt are called Ahl as-Sunnat.

As it is stated in the book Tuhfa, the twenty-fourth allegation made by Hurufis is that the Ahl as-Sunnat Muslims are inimical towards the Ahl al-bayt. In order to convince others that they are right, they fable some sad stories. All these detestable stories are lies and slanders. Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat unanimously state that it is necessary, it is fard for every male and female Muslim to love all the members of the Ahl al-bayt. It is one of the principles of iman to love them. Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat wrote numerous books telling about the virtues of the Ahl al-bayt 'radi-allahu ta'ala alaihim ajmain'. For their sake these scholars stood against Umayyad and Abbasid governors and even sacrificed their lives. Sad bin Jubair and Nasai and many others were martyred on account of their struggles for the Ahl al-bayt. A considerable number of them suffered persecutions and spent their lives in dungeons. Meanwhile, those who did not belong to a certain Madhhab concealed themselves in a hypocritical way termed Taqiyya and pretended to be against the Ahl al- bayt in order to attain their goals, which were either money or worldly positions. It is the Ahl as-Sunnat who have always supported the Ahl al-bayt. All Sunnite Muslims have been asking blessings on the Ahl al-bayt in all their prayers of namaz.

Sunnite Muslims love all the members of the Ahl al-bayt without discriminating among them. This is not the case with people who do not have a certain Madhhab. When one of their imams died, his own brothers and relatives would call him a disbeliever. They would appoint one of their sons as their new imam, cursing and vituperating the others. No one except Sunnite Muslims loved all the Ahl al-bayt and would always run to help any one of them in need of help. Our Prophet 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' stated, "I am leaving behind me two guides for you: I am leaving Allah's Book and my Ahl al-bayt." As this hadith ash-Sharif indicates, as it will be useless to believe a certain part of Qur'an al-karim and to disbelieve the rest, so will it do one no good in the Hereafter to believe and love some of the Ahl al-bayt and to curse and vilify the others. As it is necessary to believe in Qur'an al-karim as a whole, so is it a must to love all the members of the Ahl al-bayt. And loving all the members of the Ahl al-bayt, which is a blessing of Allahu ta'ala, has not devolved to anyone's lot except Muslims holding the belief of Ahl as-Sunnat. For instance Kharijis entangled themselves in the opprobrium of harboring a grudge against hadrat Ali and his pure children. Some Shiite groups tumbled into the misfortune of bearing hostility towards hadrat Aisha-i- Siddiqa and hadrat Hafsa, who are Muslims' blessed mothers, and towards Zubair bin Awwam, who was Rasulullah's paternal aunt's son. The Kiramiyya group denied hadrat Hasan's and hadrat Husain's being Imams. The Mukhtariyya group disbelieved Imam Zaynalabidin, Imamiyya group denied Zayd-i-Shahid, and Ismailiyya group would not accept Imam Musa Kazim. These are only a few examples of numerous people who deprived themselves of the great fortune of loving the Ahl al-bayt and obeying the hadith ash-Sharif quoted above.

When Imam Ali Rida arrived in Nishapur, more than twenty scholars met him. They begged him to recite a hadith ash-Sharif transmitted through his ancestors (coming from his earliest grandfather, Rasulullah). The noble Imam quoted the hadith-i-qudsi that purported, "(The word) La ilaha il-l-allah, is My shelter. He who says this word will have taken asylum in the fortress. And he who has entered the fortress will be safe against My torment." Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat state that if this hadith-i-qudsi is recited in the manner that will be prescribed below and blown unto an ill person, that person will heal. When the love which Sunnite Muslims have for the Ahl al-bayt is so exuberant, would it not be either sheer nescience or idiocy or blind hostility against the Ahl as-Sunnat to suppose that Sunnite Muslims were inimical against the Ahl al-bayt? Here we end our translation from Tuhfa. The following prayer must be written in its (original) Arabic letters and read correctly: "Rawa Aliy-yul-Rida, fe-qala, Haddasani Abi Musal-Kazim an abihi Jafar-is- Sadiq an abihi Muhammad-il-Baqir an abihi Zaynalabidin Ali an abih-il-Husain an abihi Ali bin Abi Talib 'radi-allahu anhum', qala haddasani habibi wa qurratu ayni Rasulullahi 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam', qala haddasani Jibrilu, qala sami'tu Rabb-ul-'izzati yaqulu, 'La ilaha il-l-allahu hisni, man qala-ha dahala hisni, wa men dahala hisni emina min 'azabi."

16- Whenever we Muslims say or write the name of any of the beloved Ahl al-bayt or the virtuous Ashab al-kiram 'radi-allahu ta'ala alaihim ajmain' of our master the Prophet, we say, "radi-allahu anh." This expression means, "May Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him." As is written in the section before the one dealing with Faraiz in the fifth book of Durr-ul- mukhtar, one of Muslims' most valuable books, and also in its commentary, "It is mustahab (an act which deserves much reward in the Hereafter) to say 'radi-allahu anh' for the Ashab al-kiram. For all of them struggled very hard to please Allahu ta'ala. They welcomed everything coming from Allahu ta'ala with pleasure. Allahu ta'ala is pleased with them. The thawab given to others for their alms in gold as big as a mountain could not equal the thawab that would be given to these people for dispensing half a handful of barley as alms."

The book Mesabih-i-Sharif and the book Izalat-ul-hafa an khilafat-il-khulafa, the latter by Shah Waliyyullahi Dahlawi 'rahmatullahi alaih', quote Abdullah Ibni 'Umar 'radi-allahu anhuma' as having said, "In the time of the Messenger of Allah we would say 'radi-allahu anh' whenever we mentioned the names of hadrat Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman."

We Muslims do not like people who do harm to the Islamic religion. We remember their names with hatred. Therefore we remember with hatred the names of such villains as Abdullah bin Saba', Hasan Sabbah, Abu Tahir Qarmati, Shah Ismail Safawi, who caused thousands of Muslims to be martyred. We love very much hadrat Abu Bakr, hadrat 'Umar, hadrat 'Uthman, hadrat Ali and hadrat Muawiya, who dedicated themselves faithfully to the Islamic faith and who loved the Messenger of Allah very much and therefore would sacrifice their lives, property and homelands for his sake. We also love and praise people who love our Prophet's Ahl al-bayt and these Sahabis 'radi-allahu ta'ala anhum ajmain'. Could a Muslim sympathize with those who cast such preposterous aspersions and slanders on Sahabis such as hadrat Muawiya and hadrat Amr Ibni As, who rendered great services to Islam and fought against Byzantines, the enemies of Islam, for years? They are poisoning the pure young brains with their irrational, unfounded interpretations. This poison is evil property to be inherited. In order to transfer this property to the sinless, innocent generations of the future, they are publishing heretical books and aberrant magazines and distributing them everywhere. Have we forgotten the hadith ash-Sharif, "When fitnas and lies become widespread, may those who do not tell the truth though they know it be accursed!"?

By the way, we would like to relate the following episode: As hadrat Jabir bin Abdullah narrates, a villager came to hadrat Ali and asked, "O Amir-al- Muminin! Is Abu Bakr in Paradise?" This question hurt hadrat Ali 'radi-allahu anh' considerably. So he said, "I wish I had never come to the world. This statement has never been made by anyone else before, neither by Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' nor by any other Muslim after him. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq 'radi-allahu anh' was always with the Messenger of Allah; he was his vizier and counsellor. He succeeded him as the Khalifa after his passing away. He who denies this fact will become a disbeliever. O villager! Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq sent for me towards his passing away. He said to me, 'O my darling brother! I am going to pass away soon. When I die, wash me with those blessed hands of yours with which you washed the Messenger of Allah! Wrap me in my shroud and put me in my coffin! Take my corpse to the entrance of Hujra-i-saadat! Say unto Rasulullah: Abu Bakr is at the door. He asks for (your) permission to enter.' O my brother in Islam! When Abu Bakr as-Siddiq passed away, I did whatever he had told me to do. When we put his coffin in front of the door of Hujra-i-saadat and I asked for permission, we heard a voice saying, 'Bring the darling near the darling!' Therefore we buried hadrat Abu Bakr beside the Messenger of Allah!"

Hadrat Ali "karram-allahu wajhah' and all the twelve Imams narrated hadiths from hadrat Abu Bakr and from the other Khalifas and from Jabir bin Abdullah 'radi-allahu ta'ala anhum ajmain'. This means to say that they confirmed the hadith ash-Sharifs transmitted by them. They acknowledged that those noble people were just and faithful. For this reason, a person who follows hadrat Ali and Ahl al- bayt ought to have the same love for hadrat Abu Bakr 'radi-allahu ta'ala anhum ajmain'. For it is a generally known fact that a friend's friends will be liked, and a friend's enemies will be disliked. Qur'an al-karim informs that all the Ashab al-kiram loved one another very much. Our master, the Prophet, declared, "He who loves me will love my Ashab, too! Love all my Ashab!" Some people today have abandoned the way prescribed by Qur'an al- karim and guided by Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'. They say, "Among the Sahaba there were people inimical toward the Ahl al-bayt. So we are inimical to them." Such allegations - may Allahu ta'ala protect us from believing them - are vilifications fabricated by the Jewish convert named Abdullah bin Saba'. We Muslims should not fall for such lies! We should love very much both the Ahl al-bayt and all the Ashab al-kiram. For our master, the Prophet, stated, "My Ashab are like the stars in the sky. A person who follows any one of them will attain hidayat!" That is, a person who does so will go to Paradise.

They are trying to destroy Islam from the interior. These people deny the true teachings which scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat learned from Qur'an al-karim and wrote in their books. In order to deceive Muslims, they say that these teachings are extraneous to Qur'an. In order to make their lies believable, they give wrong meanings to ayat al-karimas and hadith ash- Sharifs. They call these heretical meanings the true Islamic religion. According to these zindiqs, Muslims all over the world have been holding wrong beliefs and practicing wrong worships for more than fourteen hundred years and now they are recovering the original correct forms.

17- Heretics attempt to call things that are forbidden to eat 'permissible' and vice versa.

It is stated in Muslim and Abu Dawud, "Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' prohibited to eat those wild animals that have canine teeth and birds that hunt their prays with their talons." It is not halal (permitted) to eat insects, that is, small animals that have their nests in earth. It is haram to eat rats, lizards, hedgehogs, snakes, frogs, bees, fleas, lice, mosquitos, flies, ticks. For they are insects. It is not halal to eat meat from domestic donkeys, which live among people. Meat and milk obtained from wild donkeys living in mountains are halal. Meat from a mule is not halal. Hyenas, foxes, tortoises, (turtles), carrion crows, vultures, wolves, elephants, mountain lizards, field mice, weasels, eagles, cats, squirrels, sables, polecats, other animals of this sort, insects without blood, maggots living in fruits, cheese or meat are not edible. A mountain lizard, which is termed 'dab' in Arabic, is similar to an ordinary lizard.

Field crows are halal. For they eat field grains. It is halal to eat rabbit meat, too.

It is written in the book Multaqa that it is halal to eat rabbit meat. It is not makruh (prohibited by the Prophet). This fact is explained as follows in the book Majma'ul-anhur: It is halal to eat rabbit meat. They brought some kebab made from rabbit meat to our master the Prophet. He said to his Ashab, "Eat this!" It is stated in the book Durr-ul-muntaqa, "It is halal to eat rabbit meat. For the rabbit is not a beast of prey."

The author of the book Quduri "rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' states that it is halal to eat all sorts of rabbit meat. Commenting on this, the book Jawhara states that "It is halal to eat rabbit meat, for a rabbit is not a beast of prey and does not eat carrion. A rabbit is like a deer."

Mawlana Abd-ul-halim Effendi 'rahmatullahi alaih', Qadi of Damascus, states in his commentary Durar, "It is stated unanimously (by scholars) that erneb, that is, rabbit meat, is mubah (permissible) to eat. For a rabbit is not a beast of prey and does not eat carrion. It is like a deer. It is herbivorous. It is written plainly in books of fiqh that rabbit meat is halal. This means to refute those who say that it is haram."

As is seen, eating rabbit meat is halal according to the unanimity of scholars. No Islamic scholar has said 'haram' or even 'makruh' about rabbit meat. Above all, since our master the Prophet advised to eat rabbit meat, could a Muslim say that rabbit meat should not be eaten? Certainly, no Muslim could say that rabbit meat is haram. There has never been a dispute among Muslims on whether or not rabbit meat can be eaten. Yet these people say that rabbit meat should not be eaten. No Muslim has taken any heed of this assertion of theirs. All Muslims have been eating rabbit meat for centuries. Our Prophet's stating "Eat the rabbit" has shed a light for all Muslims. This subject is not worth being dwelt on. Our master the Prophet has settled the matter. Hurufis' gossips could not change our Prophet's prescription.

They allege that rabbit meat should not be eaten because it is stated in the Torah that it should not be eaten. Muslims adapt themselves to Qur'an al-karim and to the commandments of our master, the Prophet, in whatever they do. They do not follow the Torah. Qur'an al-karim has abrogated, invalidated most of the commandments in the Torah. Moreover, nowhere in the world today is there left an original copy of the Torah revealed by Allahu ta'ala. Is it worthy of a Muslim to say that rabbit meat is not edible only because it is stated so in the copies of the Torah manufactured by Jews? However, Hurufis, who are the followers of a Jew of Yaman named Abdullah bin Saba', imitate him and value the Torah highly.

The forty-first ayat of Baqara sura purports, "Believe in the Qur'an, which verifies the Torah you possess in the knowledge pertaining to the unity of Allah, to the torments and rewards, and in (the teachings pertaining to) iman!" And its sixty-third ayat purports, "We said: o the sons of Israil! Adhere respectfully to the Book We have given to you!" These ayats do not show that the Qur'an is the Torah. Its ninety-first ayat purports, "That Qur'an is true. It confirms the Torah, which existed at that time." Yes, teachings pertaining to belief are not different in the Torah than they are in the Qur'an or in any other heavenly Book. Yet teachings pertaining to worships, halals and harams are different in every heavenly Book. The ninety-seventh ayat, which purports, "The Qur'an confirms the Books previous to itself," points out that teachings of belief are all the same in those heavenly Books that have not been interpolated.

The fifty-second ayat of Maida sura purports, "We have revealed the Qur'an as the right Book to thee. It confirms the previously revealed books." The twelfth ayat of Ahkaf sura purports, "Before the Qur'an, the Torah, the Book of Musa (Moses), was revealed as the Book to guide to the way to follow and as (Allah's) compassion on those who would follow it. And this Qur'an, which has been revealed to threaten the cruel with Hell and to give the good news of Paradise to those who do good, is a Book that confirms the Torah."

Imam-i-Baidawi 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih', a scholar of Tafsir, states that [The expression, "The Qur'an confirms the Torah," which is purported in these ayat al-karimas, means, "The Qur'an is the Book (whose revelation was) informed (beforehand) by the Torah. Yes, the two Books agree on principles of belief, episodes, information given on various events, on the torments in Hell and the blessings in Paradise, enjoining worships and justice and prohibiting wicked deeds. Yet, kinds of halals and harams and forms of worships are not the same. These things could not be the same for different people living in different times. Each heavenly Book contains a formula of principles suitable and useful for the Ummat for whom it has been sent down. Our Prophet stated, "If Musa 'alaihis-salam' were alive now, he would do nothing but follow me."]

The fiftieth ayat al-karima of Al-i-'Imran sura answers Hurufis expressly. Allahu ta'ala quotes the statements made by Isa 'alaihis-salam' in the ayat al-karima, which purports, "I have come to confirm what was declared in the Torah before me. I have come to make halal the things that were made haram for you." This ayat al-karima shows clearly that the Injil of Isa 'alaihis-salam' confirms the Torah on the one hand and makes halal some of the harams in it on the other. By the same token, Qur'an al-karim both confirms the Torah and abrogates its permissions and prohibitions. Most of these changes are explained in books written by the Islamic scholars.

Followers of Ibni Saba' are called Hurufis. These people attach wrong meanings to ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs. He who gives wrong meanings to Qur'an al-karim becomes a disbeliever. For instance, the fifth ayat of Juma sura purports, "Those who deny the Torah are likened to an ass loaded with a burden of books on its back." However, this ayat al- karima is explained as follows in books of Tafsir: "People who have been commanded to carry the burden of obeying the Torah's principles and yet only read it and do not observe its commandments and prohibitions, [i.e. Jews], are like an ass suffering the toil of carrying books of knowledge for nothing." We Muslims believe in the Torah as a heavenly Book revealed by Allahu ta'ala. What we do not believe is that the book possessed by Jews today is the original Torah itself. Jews defiled, changed many parts of that Torah. The fifteenth ayat of Maida sura, which purports, "They changed the words in the Book of Allah, that is, in the Torah," informs with this fact. The seventy-fifth ayat of Baqara sura purports, "A group of Jews would hear the Torah. After understanding the commandments and prohibitions in it, they would change them."

A hadith ash-Sharif, which is reported by Tabarani and written in Kunuz, states, "Israelites followed a religious book they themselves wrote. They deserted the Torah of Musa 'alaihis-salam'." This hadith ash-Sharif informs that the existing books named Talmud, Mishna and Gemara, which Jews have been keeping in the name of Torah, are not the Book of Musa 'alaihis-salam'.

What animals are edible and which ones should not be eaten? Muslims learn this from Qur'an al-karim and hadith ash-Sharifs. Jews and heretics, however, look it up in the existing copies of the interpolated Torah. The Islamic religion has prohibited the consumption of carrion, liquid blood, pork, meat from beasts that hunt their preys with their canine teeth or paws (or talons), and insects. Others are halal. If an animal that is halal to eat is killed in the name of someone other that Allahu ta'ala or by an unbeliever who does not believe in any heavenly Book, it becomes haram to eat it.

The hundred and forty-fifth ayat of Anam sura purports, "Say: things that are forbidden through the Qur'an to eat are carrion and liquid blood and the foul pork and animals killed in any name except that of Allah." This ayat al-karima informs that four things are haram. And six more harams were reported by our master the Prophet. It is narrated by Abdullah ibni Abbas that the Messenger of Allah prohibited beasts of prey that have canine teeth and birds of prey that hunt with their talons. The liquid (running) blood mentioned in the ayat al-karima is the blood running out of the veins of a living or newly butchered animal. It is halal to eat meat with blood in it, such as a liver or a spleen.

Then, it is halal to eat mutton, beef and rabbit meat even when they have blood in them. It would be wrong to say that a rabbit is wholly blood. After the blood is gone, the rabbit is cooked or roasted and then eaten. It has a delicious flavor. As a matter of fact, our master, the Prophet 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam', had his Ashab eat rabbit meat.

The hundred and forty-sixth ayat of Anam sura purports, "We prohibited Jewry to eat all sorts of nailed animals. We also prohibited the suet of sheep and cattle." Qur'an al-karim informs that Jews were prohibited to eat suet. Would it be correct to say it should be haram for Muslims because it was haram for Jews? Of course, it would not. These zindiqs, who are the inner enemies of Islam, are misleading Muslims by saying that since nailed animals are haram, the rabbit should be haram, too. They are distorting the facts by giving the impression as if nailed animals were haram for Muslims. Actually, Qur'an al karim informs that nailed animals were made haram for Jews, not for Muslims.

Their statement, "Meat of an animal with an ugly outward appearance should not be eaten," is another lie. There is not a hadith ash-Sharif saying so. Hurufis make this allegation in order to use it as a fulcrum for comparing the rabbit to an ass, which would automatically lead to the conclusion that rabbit meat should not be eaten inasmuch as the ass is not an edible animal. We would like to ask these heretics this question: Only a while ago you were saying that the rabbit was blood entirely and there would be nothing left when the blood was gone. And now you are saying that rabbit meat is like the meat of an ass. How can these two statements be reconciled?

A person may or may not like rabbit meat. Yet, calling something which one does not like 'haram' and giving wrong meanings to ayat al-karimas in order to prove this lie true would indicate heresy and sheer enmity towards Islam.

So far we have proved through ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs that rabbit meat is halal. We should not push aside ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs and read and believe copies of the Torah defiled by Jews or misleading books written by enemies of Islam!

18- Allahu ta'ala is the Rabb of both Muslims and disbelievers and zindiqs. However, He has informed that He likes Muslims and hates disbelievers and zindiqs.

Every Prophet 'salawatullahu ta'ala alaihim ajmain' held the same iman. Yet their Shariats are different. Furthermore, the heavenly Books revealed to past Prophets were changed by vicious people afterwards. Yet the religion revealed to Muhammad 'alaihis- salam has never changed. Qur'an al-karim informs that no one will be able to change it till the end of the world. Enemies of Islam are striving to change this religion. Books written by scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat are spreading this religion in its correct form all over the world and protecting it against interpolation.

In order to deceive Muslims' children, these people put forward various ayats of Qur'an al-karim, e.g. the sixty-second ayat of Ahzab sura, which purports, "Munafiqs are accursed. They are to be arrested and killed wherever they are found! Since the earliest times it has been the divine law of Allahu ta'ala that people who do so should be killed. You will find no change in the divine law of Allahu ta'ala." They say that this ayat al-karima shows that all Prophets 'salawatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain' taught the same religion. However, this ayat al-karima shows that it is the divine law of Allahu ta'ala to reward believers and torment disbelievers and that this divine law will never change.

The sixty-sixth ayat of Al-i-'Imran sura purports, "Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam' was neither a Jew nor a Nazarite. He was a Muslim with correct belief. Nor was he a polytheist." This ayat al-karima shows that Jews and Christians are not Muslims. Ibni Abidin states in its chapter about the namaz for janaza that the word Islam has two distinct meanings: (1) the religion brought by Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'; (2) obedience. The same definition is written in the books Kamus and Munjid.

It is purported as follows in Hujurat sura: "Those who came from the desert said, 'We believe'. Say unto them: 'You do not believe. Yet say that you have entered Islam and obey. Iman has not settled in your hearts'." The word 'Islam' in this ayat al-karima means 'to obey, to follow'. It does not mean 'to believe in Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'. All Ummats had the same iman. Yet not all of them are called Muslims. The eighty-ninth ayat of Nahl sura purports, "We have sent thee the Qur'an, which informs with everything and which is hidayat and rahmat for everybody and which gives Muslims the good news of Paradise." The nineteenth ayat al-karima of Al-i-'Imran sura purports, "The religion which Allahu ta'ala approves is the Islamic religion." The eighty-fifth ayat of the same sura purports, "If a person wishes any religion except Islam, the religion he wishes will be rejected. This person will be a loser in the Hereafter!" The word 'Islam' used in these ayat al-karimas covers both meanings at the same time; it means 'belief in the religion brought by Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' and obedience to him.' Allahu ta'ala gives Muslims the good news of Paradise. Each Muslim is a believer.

19- Our Prophet Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' was born in the city of Mecca towards a Monday morning on the twelfth night of the month of Rabi'ul-awwal, that is, on the night between the eleventh and the twelfth days, fifty-three years before the Hijrat (Hegira). History books write that the Mawlid-i-Nabi (birth of the blessed Prophet) took place on the twentieth of April five hundred and seventy-five years after Isa's 'alaihis-salam' Milad (birth). Since Isa's 'alaihis-salam' birth-year is not known exactly, that the Hijrat took place in the six hundred and twenty-second year of the Milad is not a scientifically proven fact.

Like all other Prophets, Isa 'alaihis-salam', too, said that Allahu ta'ala is One. Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher contemporary with Isa 'alaihis-salam' proposed the doctrine of three gods. This doctrine, which was called Trinity, did not find much acceptance. Constantine the Great, East Roman Emperor, accepted Christianity. With a view to unifying Christianity, which had been broken into sects, he convened three hundred and nineteen priests in 325 A.D. He inserted into the Christian religion prepared by priests a number of idolatrous rites and Plato's doctrine of Trinity. In order to convince everyone that this doctrine of three gods was not Plato's invention but a teaching of Isa's 'alaihis- salam', he declared that Plato had lived three hundred years before the Milad. Thus the beginning of the Christian era was pushed three hundred years backwards.

Our Prophet 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam' passed away in the city of Medina on a Monday afternoon, which was the twelfth of the month of Rabi'ul-awwal in the eleventh year of the Hijrat.

20- Mourning is not Islamic. Our master the Prophet prohibited mourning. A hadith ash- Sharif reported in the book Muslim states, "If a mourner has not made tawba before dying, he shall be subjected to severe torment in the Hereafter." Our Prophet states in another hadith ash-Sharif, which, too, is reported in Muslim, "Two things would drift one to disbelief. The first one is to swear at someone's ancestors and the second is to mourn."

It is written in the initial pages of Tuhfa that mourning, crying and wailing on the Ashura day, the tenth of Muharram, is a practice invented by Mukhtar Saqafi. The bidat spread like a kind of worship among people without a certain Madhhab. Actually, Mukhtar's real purpose was to exploit this as a stratagem to dupe the inhabitants of Kufa into fighting against the Umayyads and thus to seize power.

If mourning had not been prohibited, our master the Prophet 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa salam' would have taken priority over anyone else to be mourned for upon his death. Then we would have mourned over the martyrdoms of hadrat 'Umar, hadrat Ali and hadrat Husain. We love them all very much. We are deeply sad about their martyrdoms. Yet we do not mourn over them. We do not mourn although we do feel extremely sorry. We do not mourn because Muslims are forbidden to mourn or to curse others.

Islam licenses celebrating one's birthday and thanking Allahu ta'ala for this. Our master the Prophet 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam' would fast on Mondays. When he was asked the reason, he stated, "It is my birthday. I am fasting to show my gratitude."

21- Birthday celebrations and holy nights should be observed in accordance with the Hijri calendar. The thirty-seventh ayat of Tawba sura purports, "The number of months have been twelve since Allahu ta'ala created heavens and earth. Four of them are months that are haram. It is a powerful faith, [that is, it has been known since the times of Ibrahim and Ismail 'alaihis- salam'], that these four months are haram. Do not torment yourselves in these four months!" That the four haram months are Rajab, Zilqada, Zilhijja, and Muharram was informed by our master the Prophet. The twelve months are the Arabic months whereby Hijri years are calculated.

The thirty-eighth ayat of Tawba sura purports, "To postpone a month's being haram to another month would only aggravate the state of disbelief. Disbelievers deviate in this matter. In order to equalize the number of months made haram by Allahu ta'ala, they make a haram month halal for one year and make it haram again in another year. Thus they make halal what Allah has made haram." Before Islam it was a common practice among the Arabs; when they wanted to make war in a haram month, say, in Muharram, they would give the name Muharram to the month following the actual month of Muharram, giving in turn this second month's name to the month of Muharram. Thus the month immediately coming after Muharram would become the haram month. This ayat al-karima prohibited to change months' places. To say that the observed months move ten days forward each year would be a void explanation of the matter. A more correct explanation would be that the Arabic year whose months are mentioned in Qur'an al-karim and used in the Islamic technicalities is ten days shorter than a solar year. The Hijri lunar new year is therefore ten days earlier than the Hijri solar and the Christian new years. Consequently, Muslims' holy days and nights are ten days earlier each year when they are calculated by solar years. After all, Muslims' sacred days are calculated and arranged not by solar months, but by Hijri lunar months. This is a commandment of our religion. A sacred day of the year means a certain day of the Arabic month, not a certain day of the week. For instance, the Day of Ashura means the tenth of Muharram. This day cannot be the same day of the week every year. It can as well be other days. However, there are sacred ones among the days of the week, too. For instance, Monday is a valuable day on account of its always being the day when happy events took place.

The tenth of Muharram is a sacred day for Muslims. Our master the Prophet informed that that day was a holy day. He gave the good news that abundant thawab would be given for worships performed on that day. It became sunnat to fast that day.

In Islam solar months do not contain a certain holy day. For instance, the Nevruz day, which is the twentieth of March, the Hidirelles day, the sixth of May, and the Mihrican (Mihrgan) day, which is the twenty- second of September, are observed as holy days in some places. These days are valuable not in Islam, but among disbelievers, i.e. non-Muslims. So is the case with Christmas day and eve. Durr-ul-mukhtar, while giving information on miscellaneous matters towards the end of its fifth book, treats this matter as follows: "It is not permissible to offer anything to anyone in honor of the days of Nevruz on Mihrgan. In other words, it is haram to give presents in the name of these days or with the intention of observing these days. If a person does so because he respects these days, he becomes a disbeliever. For these days are respected by polytheists. Abul-Hafs-i-kabir states that if a person worships Allahu ta'ala for fifty years and then gives an egg as a present to a polytheist in honor of the Nevruz day, he will become a disbeliever. The thawab for all the worships he has performed will become null and void. However, if he gives a present to a Muslim on this day without paying a special attention to this day or because he has to follow the custom, he will not become a disbeliever. Yet it would be safer to give the present one day earlier or later. If a person who bought on that day something which he would not buy on any other day did so because he respected that day, he would become a disbeliever. If he bought it only for consuming it without specially observing that day, he would not become a disbeliever."

22- Hurufis allege that "The conflicts between Sunnites and Shiites, which have been continuing throughout centuries, originated from the vulgar curses put upon hadrat Ali 'karramallahu wajhah' and his Ahl al-bayt in the time of a person accursed by Allah, namely Muawiya the son of Sufyan." This statement of theirs is not only false, but also vulgarly ignorant and idiotic. People called Alawi in Turkey should not believe these lies. The Islamic history does not contain any event in the name of Sunni-Alawi conflict. What took place in the name of Sunnite-Shiite conflict was a result of provocations done for political and imperialistic considerations. Sunnites have proven in their books that Shiites are wrong. In these books of theirs they have shown their respect and love for Alawis. They have borne the name Alawi like a crown on their heads. For Alawi means Sayyids and Sharifs. In other words, our noble Prophet's descendants were called Alawi. Who would not love these Alawis? Certainly we all love them. Enemies of Islam, upon seeing that Muslims loved Alawis very much, called Hurufis Alawi in order to dupe Muslims. Hurufis curse the four Khalifas and hadrat Muawiya. Hadrat Muawiya 'radi-allahu anh' is one of the Ashab of our master the Prophet. At the same time, he is the Prophet's brother- in-law. That is, he is one of the Ahl al-bayt of our master the Prophet. He is a champion of Islam who served as the governor of Damascus and performed Jihad against the Byzantine Greek armies during the caliphates of hadrat 'Umar, hadrat 'Uthman and hadrat Ali. Hadrat Hasan relinquished his right of caliphate to hadrat Muawiya of his own volition. He would not have yielded his right to him if he had not thought he would be worthy of it. On the contrary, he would have fought him. To say that hadrat Hasan waived his right of caliphate to someone who did not deserve it would mean to vilify hadrat Hasan.

Our master the Prophet stated, "Love my Ashab! He who is hostile to my Ashab, is hostile to me." It is for this reason that we true Muslims love hadrat Muawiya very much. For we true Muslims love Muhammad's 'alaihis-salam' Ahl al-bayt very much. People without a certain Madhhab claim that they love hadrat Ali's Ahl al-bayt. They love the Ahl al-bayt for the sake of hadrat Ali. On the other hand, we true Muslims call them Muhammad's 'alaihis-salam' Ahl al-bayt. We love the Ahl al-bayt for the sake of Muhammad 'alaihis- salam'. And we love hadrat Ali because he is one of the Ahl al-bayt.

No Muslim has slandered or would slander Muhammad's 'alaihis-salam' Ahl al-bayt. A few of the Umayyad Khalifas and most of the Abbasid Khalifas did not recognize the value of some of the descendants of the Ahl al-bayt. They hurt those blessed people on account of some worldly differences. Yet they never swore at them or vilified them. And their hurting the Ahl al-bayt was because of some meddlesome, provocative heretics. Some politicians, whose aim was to obtain high positions, to wield power and thus to disturb Muslims and defile Islam from the interior, pretended to be supporters of the Ahl al-bayt in order to allure partisans for themselves and become powerful. They went in for politics in the name of the Imams of Ahl al-bayt. They aroused fitna and turbulence. They did get their deserts in the end, of course; yet the sad conclusions had to be shared by the blessed innocent Imams, too.

Hadrat Muawiya 'radi-allahu anh' had deep respect for the descendants of Ahl al-bayt, so that he would frequently give them presents.

People who were disrespectful towards some of the descendants of the Ahl al-bayt cannot be censured; and they are not to be called disbelievers, either. Some of these descendants treated one another disrespectfully, persecuted and even vilified one another. These facts could not be any grounds for us to criticize any one of them. Commenting on the mistakes of those people who conveyed to us the religious information we possess now, could not devolve on us.

Muslim Alawis in Turkey are far from the detestable attributes possessed by these people who do not have a certain Madhhab. The following historical document exemplifies the abhorrent, vicious attributes of these attackers.

It is stated as follows in a fatwa recorded in the book Bahjat-ul-fatawa, by Abdullah Effendi of Yenisehir, who was the fifty-seventh Shaikh-ul-islam of the Ottoman State: "Is a person who imputes fornication to Aisha-i-Siddiqa 'radi-allahu anha', Muslims' mother, and who swears at and vituperates hadrat Abu Bakr and hadrat 'Umar and denies the fact that they are rightly-guided Khalifas and who imputes disbelief to most of the Ashab al- kiram and says that the twelve Imams are more virtuous than Prophets and asserts that it is mubah (permissible) to kill Sunnite Muslims and holds many other wrong, heretical beliefs, within Muslim community or not? Is it legal (in Islam) to fight them, and what will their position be if they are killed in a fight of this sort?

Answer: Hurufis, who live in certain parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria, are without the Islamic community. They are apostates. It is wajib to fight them. It is not permissible to leave them to muddle through on their own unless there is some strong necessity to do so or some benefits are anticipated from doing so. When they die they are to go to Hell. Namaz of janaza should not be performed for them. They should not be buried in Muslim cemeteries."

He states in his fatwa which is recorded two pages ahead:

Answer: "Being called 'Sayyid' would not save a person from the state of apostasy." People who are excessively hostile to the Ahl as-Sunnat have been (erroneously) called Sayyid. These Sayyids are not real Sayyids.

May Allahu ta'ala protect our Sunni and Alawi brothers from falling for corrupt, separatist allegations. May He bless us all with the lot of being united in the right way and loving one another! Amin.

O owners of majestic property!
Who's the first owner of thine property?