CONTENTS

SAHÂBA ‘The Blessed’

Waqf Ikhlâs Publications No: 18

SAHÂBA
‘The Blessed’

by
Ahmad Fârûqî

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

Hakîkat Kitâbevi
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Fâtih-ISTANBUL/TURKEY
2000

ATTENTION

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

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

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THE SAHÂBA
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’

INTRODUCTION

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

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

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

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

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

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

The earliest of these heretical sects, the Râfidî sect, which is the worst, too, reappears from time to time and spreads among ignorant communities, and the faithless fan it to exploit it as a weapon. That this sect is a non-scientific assortment of distorted facts and events reinforced with some misinterpreted Koranic verses and Prophetic utterances manifests itself in the so-called book Husniyya, one of their recent publications, in the booklets which they sometimes hand out to uneducated people at the entrances of mosques, and in the statements they make. Naming a few valuable books is one of the stratagems that they use to make their absurdities believable, although they cannot cite a single line from those authentic books. When uneducated people hear the names of those books, they believe these people. Their absurd and unsound slanders, and the true tenets of belief explained in the light of Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs by the scholars of (the right path called) Ahl as-Sunnat, are collated under the adjudication of authentic documents in the book Ashâb-i-kirâm (Sahâba ‘The blessed’), by Sayyid Abdulhakîm Effendi ‘rahmatullâhi ’aleyh’. During the printing of this book, a list of the biographies of the two hundred and sixty-five celebrities mentioned in the book was appended in alphabetical order for the purpose of informing our dear readers about them. The Turkish original, Ashâb-i-kirâm, of our book ‘Sahâba the Blessed’ was printed in 1982 for the first time. Allâhu ta’âlâ has now blessed us with the lot of realizing its twenty-second edition, (and also this first edition in English).[1]

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

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

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

THE SAHÂBA
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1– “Do not speak ill of any of my Ashâb. Do not say something that would not be worthy of their honour! I swear in the name of Allâhu ta’âlâ, whose power holds my nafs, that if any one of you paid gold as huge as the mount Uhud in the name of alms, he would not earn thawâb (blessings, rewards that a Muslim will be given in the Hereafter for the pious acts he has done in the world) equal to the amount earned by one of my Ashâb for paying one mudd.” Giving alms is an act of worship. The thawâb earned for acts of worship is dependent on the purity of intention. This hadîth-i-sherîf shows how pure the hearts of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ were. [Mudd means ‘menn’, which is equal to two ritls, or 260 dirham-i-shar’î, or 875 grams. Sadaqa-i-fitr (the alms that a Muslim rich enough has to pay poor Muslims on the ’Iyd day after the holy month of Ramadân)[2] is half a sâ’ (at least), which makes two mudds, or 1750 grams of wheat.]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ attained martyrdom, all the Muslims elected Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ Khalîfa. The first thing Hadrat Khalîfa tried to do was to re-establish peace. Most of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ demanded of the Khalîfa that he arrest the murderers of Hadrat ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as soon as possible and retaliate on them. Among the people who supported this view were two of the ’Ashara-i-mubashshara,[3] i.e. Talha ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who was related to our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ by the seventh grandfather in retrospect and who had joined the Believers during the earliest days of Islam and had undergone very cruel torments inflicted by the unbelievers, –for instance, the unbelievers would tie him and Abû Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ to a post in order to prevent them from performing namâz-, (and he and Khâlid ibn Zayd abâ Ayyûb al-Ansârî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ were brothers of the Hereafter,) and Zubayr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’; and our Mother Âisha ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’, who had attained the honour of being praised in the Qur’ân al-kerîm by Allâhu ta’âlâ and who had been our Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ darling till death separated them. Yet the Khalîfa said, “The country is still in turmoil. If I start now, it may escalate the fitna and may perhaps cause a second catastrophe. Let me put down the insurrection first, and then I will carry out the retaliation, which is a commandment of Allâhu ta’âlâ[4]. The other party was of the ijtihâd that any delay would “make it quite impossible to find the murderers and carry out Islam’s commandment. Now is the best time to do it.”

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

It is reported on the authority of Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ that Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “Talha and Zubayr are my neighbours in Paradise.” Zubayr bin Awwâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was the son of Hadîja-t-ul-kubrâ’s[5] ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’ brother, and his mother was Safiyya, a paternal aunt of our master ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. He was fifteen years old when he embraced Islam during the earliest days of Islam. He was the first person to draw a sword in the way of Allâhu ta’âlâ. In other words, he was the first Islamic officer. At the most dangerous moments of most of the Holy Wars, he fought before the Messenger of Allah, which cost him many a wound. Our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “Every Prophet has a hawârî (apostle). My hawârî is Zubayr.” Two of the six people whom ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ named as the people whom he thought would be worthy of succeeding him as Khalîfa as he was about to pass away were Talha and Zubayr. Zubayr was very rich and had sacrificed all his wealth for the sake of the Messenger of Allah.

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

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

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

Abû Zur’at-ir-râzî, one of the great teachers who added to Imâm-i-Muslim’s education ‘rahimahumallâhu ta’âlâ’, states as follows in a book of his: “A person who belittles or vilifies the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ is a zindiq.[6] Muslims should know the enemies of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ as their own enemies, and they should feel deeper antipathy towards them than they do towards the enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt. While they do not accurse or even criticize Abû Jahl, who was an arch enemy of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and perpetrated the bitterest torments and persecutions against him, they look on Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who attained praisals and affections on the part of the Messenger of Allah ‘salla-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, as an enemy of the Ahl-i-bayt, vilify and accurse that blessed person - May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against that abominable misdeed! What kind of faith is that, and what kind of Muslims are they? The Ashâb-i-kirâm are the people who conveyed to us the fact that Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ is the Prophet of Allâhu ta’âlâ and that the Qur’ân al-kerîm is the heavenly book that Allâhu ta’âlâ revealed to him. Denying the greatness and the rectitude of the Ashâb-i-kirâm is synonymous with rejecting the information they conveyed to us, (which is Islam;) it goes without saying, therefore, that people who will do so will demolish their own faith.”

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

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

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

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

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

Some people stigmatize those who fought against Imâm-i-Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as disbelievers. However, more often than not there were differences of ijtihâd also between our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and some of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. These differences did not make them sinful. When Jebrâîl (Archangel Gabriel) ‘alaihis-salâm’ came (to rectify any possible mistakes), no message (in the nature of reproof) was sent (through him). Then, could those blessed people be blamed for disagreeing with Imâm-i-Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in ijtihâd? Could they ever be called disbelievers? In fact, the ones with the disagreeing ijtihâd were in the majority, and they were mostly greater ones of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’; among them were the beloved ones of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, as well as those who had been blessed with the good news that they were People of Paradise. Could they ever be criticized or called disbelievers? It is these people who conveyed to us almost half of Islam’s religious knowledge. To impute any fault to them means to undermine half of the religion. None of Islam’s great authorities has ever done anything that would mean disrespect to those great people. Leaders of the four Madhhabs[7] and greater ones of the Sôfiyya-i-aliyya[8] deemed those people as great and exalted.

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

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

“Beat those people who vilify my Ashâb and those who make statements offensive to their honour.”

Imâm-i-Jalâladdîn Suyûtî[9] quotes the following hadîth-i-sherîf in his book Jâmi’us-saghîr: “Allâhu ta’âlâ will forgive my Ashâb for the mistakes they will make after me. For, no other people did the service equal to theirs to Islam.” The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the same book: “I shall do shafa’ât, (i.e. I shall intercede in the Hereafter) for everybody. Yet I shall not intercede for those who vilify my Ashâb.”

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

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

During the caliphates of Hadrat ’Uthmân and Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’, mischief and public disturbances were on the increase and people were mostly uneasy and hurt. Therefore, it was made a requirement of being in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at to love these two Khalîfas; thereby the Ashâb-i-Khayr-ul-bashar ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ were defended against ignorant people’s calumniations and Muslims were protected against the peril of feeling hostility against the Khalîfas of our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. As is seen, it is one of the requirements of being in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at to love Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as well. Yet, love also has its limitations. If a person exceeds the limitations in his love of Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, calumniates the Ashâb of our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and thereby dissents from the path led by the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the Tâbi’în-i-izâm and the Salaf as-sâlihîn[10], he is called a heretic. Nor are those wretched people who are devoid of loving Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in the Ahl as-sunna, for it is a requirement of being in the Ahl as-sunna. They are called Khwârij (Khârijîs). If those who claim to love Ahl-i-bayt loved all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as well, everything would be quite all right. If they admitted that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were based on benevolent reasons and good intentions, they would be in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at and would be immune from being Ahl-i-bid’at. It is a characteristic trait of the Ahl as-sunnat to embellish one’s respect and high esteem for all the Ashâb-i-kirâm with one’s affection for the Ahl-i-bayt. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “If a person loves my Ashâb, he does so because he loves me. And enmity against them is enmity against me.” Then, why should one not love the Ahl-i-bayt? All the Ashâb-i-kirâm loved one another and the Ahl-i-bayt as well. The Sunnîs have deemed the love of Ahl-i-bayt as a part of îmân. They have said that dying as a Believer is dependent upon the potency of this love.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ibn Hajar-i-Makkî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ states as follows in the beginning of his book: O you Muslim, whose heart is full with the love of Allâhu ta’âlâ and with the love of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’! Your first duty is to mix the love of our Prophet’s ‘alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm’ Ashâb-i-kirâm with the love of the Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî in your heart. As we love the Ahl-i-bayt because they are Rasûlullah’s descendants, so we should love the others because they are his Ashâb (Companions). For, the honour that the Ashâb-i-kirâm attained is very high. Others cannot attain that honour. An essential of that honour is that the blessed looks of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ penetrated into them, giving them spiritual support and help. Others do not have this exclusive merit. None of the later comers attained their perfections and vast learnings or the (spiritual property called) haqîqat which they inherited from our master, the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. Every Muslim has to know them all as just, pious and learned Muslims and as Walîs and mujtahids. Allâhu ta’âlâ gave them the good news that He would forgive them for any possible mistake on their part. An âyat of the Qur’ân al-kerîm purports, “Allah ‘jalla jalâluh’ is pleased with them all. Also, they are pleased with Allâhu ta’âlâ.” To blame or vilify any one of the Sahâba-i-kirâm means to deny this âyat-i-kerîma. There is no doubt that Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ is one of the notables of the Sahâba-i-kirâm with respect to genealogy. He is a very close and intimate relative of our master ‘alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm’, both through genealogy and through nikâh.[11] Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ praised his finesse and beneficence. Honours such as Islam, sohbat, kinship and relationship through nikâh came together in his person; each of these honours would in itself be enough to cause one to be close to Rasûlullah in Paradise. When the honours of finesse, knowledge and caliphate are added to them, a person with understanding and with an average degree of peace, faith, piety and belief in his heart would save us any extra words in this respect.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf:

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

He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf:

“How lucky for those who saw me, and how lucky for those who saw those who had seen me, and how lucky for those who saw those who had seen those who had seen me! All those people are so lucky and so happy. Their destination, Paradise, is the best place.” Those who saw the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ are the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘ridwânullâhi alaihim ajma’în’. Those who saw them are the Tâbi’în, and people who saw the Tâbi’în are the Taba’i tâbi’în. Two of the Tâbi’în are Imâm a’zam Abû Hanîfa and Imâm Mâlik, (the learders of the Hanafî and Mâlikî Madhhabs, respectively). And two of the Taba’i tâbi’în are Imâm Shâfi’î and Imâm Ahmad, (the leaders of the Madhhabs called Shâfi’î and Hanbalî, respectively).[12]

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

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

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

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

Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ states, “After me, Muslims will part into seventy-three different groups. Seventy-two of them will go to Hell, and only one group will enter Paradise.” This one group, called Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at, are those people who follow the way guided by our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and by his Ashâb. Leaders of our four Madhhabs and the great scholars educated by them are the people who learned this way from the Ashâb-i-kirâm, carried it safely throughout centuries, and made it reach us. It is these same great scholars, again, who say that one of the conditions for being in the Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat and a distinguishing symptom indicative of being so is to love all the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Hadîth-i-sherîfs show that it is necessary to say nothing but goodness about the Ashâb-i-kirâm, to respect them, to know all of them as great, and to say, “radiy-Allâhu ’anh”, when the name of any one of them is mentioned. Especially the Muhâjirîn, who migrated from Mekka-i-mukarrama to Medina-i-munawwara; the Ansâr, who met the Muhâjirîn in Medîna and granted them asylum and extended their warmest hospitality to them; the fourteen hundred Sahâbîs, who promised allegiance to our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ under a tree and who sacrificed all their existence for his sake; the Sahâbîs who joined the Holy War of Bedr and those who attained martyrdom in the Holy War of Uhud deserve profoundest reverence. The Ummat-i-Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ (Muslims) have reached a consensus on that these people (the Sahâba) are very exalted. What devolves on us Muslims is to think of the meritorious and self-sacrificing services they rendered to the Islamic religion and to pronounce the benediction ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’ on them all. For, they were the pioneers and guides in the Islamic religion. It is them who took the lead in following our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, in spreading his religion over the world and making it known to all, who took the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ from His Prophet and brought them to us, and who strengthened the foundation of the Islamic religion. It is them who made Islam reach every country. It is them who spread Allâhu ta’âlâ’s religion over His lands and among His human slaves. Is there a blessing greater than the Islamic religion that has reached us? All of us must be always thankful to them for their goodnesses. The acts of grudge, enmity, vilification and malediction perpetrated against the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ and based on concoctions, lies, slanders and false stories, which did not exist in times closer to that of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and which appeared afterwards, are all the soot and grime of the earliest sedition manufactured by Abdullah bin Saba’. It is wâjib[13] for us all to keep away from these corybantic movements and the like.

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

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

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

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

One day Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ related: Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ said to me, “He who loves you is a Believer. He who dislikes you is only a munâfiq[14].”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is related as follows in the ninth episode in the two hundred and forty-first [241] page of the same book: Imâm-i-Hasan and Imâm-i-Husayn ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ became ill at a very young age. When the children recovered health, their father and their mother Fâtimatuzzahrâ and their servant Fidda began to fast. The first day, they were about to have (the dinner called) iftâr[15], when some orphans came to the door. Giving all the food to the orphans, they began the next day’s fast without eating anything. The second day’s food also was dispensed with, this time to some very poor people who had knocked on the door at the same hour as the orphans had done the previous evening and asked for something to eat “for Allah’s sake.” So the third day’s fasting began, hungry as they were. The third evening’s visitors were some slaves, who, too, were given all the day’s food lest they should go back empty-handed. Upon this, an âyat came down; it purported, “These people have kept their vows. With the fear of the Rising Day, which is long and perpetual, they have given their food which they liked so much and hungered so strongly for to very poor people, to orphans and slaves. They said, ‘It is for the sake of Allah that we give this food to you to eat. We expect nothing in the name of gratitude on your part. Nor do we demand anything in return.’ Therefore, Janâb-i-Haqq (Allâhu ta’âlâ) has blessed them with the drink called sharâb-i-tahûr (purest drink).”

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

The Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî have myriad virtues and perfections, which would cost an endless list to attempt to make a tally of. It is beyond the human power to tell about them or to praise them. The values and greatnesses they possess are best understood from the âyat-i-kerîmas. Imâm-i-Shâfi’î puts it so beautifully: “O you the Ahl-i-bayt-i-Rasûl! Allâhu ta’âlâ commands in the Qur’ân al-kerîm to love you. The greatness of your value and your high grades can be imagined from the fact that (a daily ritual prayer called) namâz[16] performed without a benediction pronounced on you will not be acceptable. Your honour is so great that Allâhu ta’âlâ salutes you in the Qur’ân al-kerîm.”

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

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

There is not a single Muslim unaware of Abdullah ibn Mubârak’s high grade in knowledge. He was a religious imâm (leader). He was quite advanced in every branch of knowledge. He had accumulated in his person all the branches of scientific knowledge as well as those of the traditional knowledge. He was possessed of profound knowledge in fiqh (knowledge teaching Islam’s commandments, prohibitions, practices, daily transactions, etc.), in adab (Islamic manners and rules of behaviour), in nahw (Arabic grammar), in lughat (an extensive branch in linguistics that includes sub-branches such as lexicon, syntax, semantics, etc.), fesâhat (rhetoric), belâghat (eloquence, belles lettres), shejâ’at (bravery, valor), furûsiyyat (horsemanship), sehâ (beneficence), and karam (generosity, kindness). He was steady with midnight prayers of namâz (called tahajjud). He made hajj[17] various times and joined numerous Holy Wars against the enemies of religion. At the same time, he was a great merchant and dispensed a hundred thousand gold coins to the poor yearly. He feared Allâhu ta’âlâ very much. He avoided the harâm and doubtful things. He offered financial help to his friends and people who were in straights and ran for their rescue when they were in trouble. He did many a generous kindness to great religious luminaries such as Sufyân-i-Sawrî, Sufyân bin Uyayna, Fudayl bin Iyâd, Ibn Sammâk, and Mesrûq. His practices were always in concordance with his theory. His learnings were a perfect reflection of Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ teachings. Mawlânâ Abd-ur-Rahmân Jâmî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ praises Abdullah bin Mubârak very highly and explains his superiority with examples in his book Shawâhid-un-nubuwwa, which he wrote in the Fârisî language. The so highly praised, great scholar states as follows: “The dust that went into the nostrils of the horse that Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ rode as he accompanied Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ is a thousand times as good as ’Umar bin Abd-ul-’azîz’.” What other words do you think would be needed to confute the obdurate claims?

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

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

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

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

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

These ignorant people call some blessed Sunnî scholars ‘Khârijîs’ on the grounds that they prohibit from an excessive and harmful affection for the Ahl-i-bayt ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ and try to establish an all-embracing affection that includes also love of the other three Khalîfas.[18] Shame on these two groups of ignorant people, and shame on them thousan