INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

Today the Muslim Ummah is more divided than ever, and as every day passes, the enemies of Allah and
his Prophet (P.B.U.H.) conspire to widen these divisions and ru salt into the wounds of this nation. Their
sole desire is to destroy the reli!ion of "od and oliterate morality, so that they can once a!ain claim, as
their ideolo!ical forefather did, #$ am your hi!hest lord% (&uran '()*+). Today the duty of all Muslims is
to understand the true intention of the he!emonic powers, who see, to e-ploit our wea,nesses and
infi!htin!s y all means possile, and, as a conse.uence of this ,nowled!e, prevent them from inflictin!
further dama!e to our social faric. The .uestion of resistance a!ainst these unrelentin! waves of social,
economic, political and cultural invasions is one of survival, and thus, must e the numer one priority of
all Muslims.
The strate!y of neo)pharonic powers is to ,eep the masses unaware and i!norant of the truth and
therefore, create artificial enmities etween them. As a result they will remain preoccupied y ima!ined
threats from within their own ran,s, leavin! the e-ternal front open for them to do with it as they li,e.
Havin! understood this, we must raise a naturally resultin! .uestion. This ein!/ What is the core
catalyst and primary engine of nity !ithin a nation" The answer to this .uestion is also simple. The
core catalyst of unity amon!st different !roups within a nation is an environment of mutual
understandin!. $f the 0unni understand the eliefs and practices of the 0hia and the 0hia understand the
eliefs and practices of the 0unni, no enemy would ever e ale to sow the seeds of division and amon!st
them y spreadin! poisonous lies.
Thus is answerin! the call of Allah (0.1.T.) when he says in the &uran/
#And hold fast y the covenant of Allah all to!ether and e not disunited, and rememer the favor of
Allah on you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so y His favor you ecame rethren2
and you were on the rin, of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does Allah ma,e clear to you
His communications that you may follow the ri!ht way.% (3)453)
This oo,let only demonstrates one of hundreds of chains of ar!uments that can e used to enli!hten
0unni rothers aout 0hia eliefs. $ts audience is the common Muslim masses2 therefore, the level of the
discussion has een ,ept compatile to their !eneral level of ,nowled!e and understandin!.
1e hope this humle effort would help promote mutual rotherhood and respect amon!st the Ummah of
the "reatest Prophet (P.B.U.H.) till the comin! of $mam Mahdi (May Allah hasten his appearance) and
the final defeat of all in6ustice and tyranny.
SOURCES USED
This oo,let will see, to demonstrate, in an e-tremely summari7ed manner, that the eliefs of the 0hia are
a lo!ically derivation from the &uran, and can e proven usin! no other source ut the Hadith held to e
correct y the Ahl)e)0unnah. Therefore, no other source apart from the &uran and the 0i- 0ahih oo,s of
Hadith of the Ahl)e)0unnah (and even from amon!st , primarily The 0ahih of $mam Bu,hari and the
0ahih of $mam Muslim, ecause of their dominance over the others) have een used.
All references of the &uran are from the translation of 0ha,ir, freely availale everwhere. All references
from the 0ahih Hadith oo,s are from the $slamasoft Hadith 0oftware (version 4.5), freely availale on
the internet. 8urthermore, the Hadith of 0ahih Bu,hari have een cross referenced from the ori!inal
Araic printed y 9ar Al :ita Al Arai (www.academiainternational.com and www.dar)al,ita)
alarai.com) Beirut, ;eonon ) Printed *55<.
All references from 0ahih Muslim have een cross referenced from the ori!inal Araic printed y 9ar)ol)
:oto Al)ilmiyah (www.al)ilmiyah.com) Beirut, ;eonon ) Printed *55<.
T#E SUNNI $IEW A%OUT T#E SI& SA#I# %OO'S O( T#E A#)*E*SUNNA#
The 0i- 0ahih Boo,s of Hadith are considered the only totally authentic sources of reli!ious teachin!s,
after the "lorious &uran, y the scholars of the Ahl)e)0unnah.
The 0ahih of $mam Bu,hari is the first amon!st these oo,s, the most dominant etween them. $t is
considered y the scholars of Ahl)e)0unnah to y devoid of mista,es and completely 0ahih i.e. correct.
Therefore accordin! of the Ahl)e)0unnah, the 0ahih of $mam Bu,hari contains only authentic Hadith, and
is therefore at par with the &uran as re!ards authenticity.
After The 0ahih of $mam Bu,hari, ran,s the 0ahih of $mam Muslim, and these two to!ether are called the
0ahihain i.e. the two authentic oo,s.
All Hadith within these two oo,s are hujjat (irrefutale ar!uments) for the Ahl)e)0unnah side y side
with the &uran.
However oth $mam Bu,hari and $mam Muslim have written clearly in the forewards of their respective
oo,s that their 0ahihs do not contain all 0ahih (authentic) Hadith ecause if they had compiled all of
them the oo,s would have ecome too len!thy. Therefore, the scholars of the Ahl)e)0unnah also hold the
other four 0ahih oo,s to Hadith to e authentic, ut not at the same level as the first two.
T#E S#IA $IEW A%OUT T#E SI& SA#I# %OO'S O( T#E A#)*E*SUNNA#
The 0hia scholars do not consider these oo,s to e authentic, due to a multitude of reasons dealin! with
the scholastic deate aout how the authenticity of a Hadith is proven (i.e. how verification of the veracity
of the chain of narrators and the te-t of the Hadith itself is carried out). 8or our purposes, it suffices to
mention that the use of Hadiths accepted y Ahl)e)0unnah is not ecause the 0hias too hold them to e
correct.
+ET#ODO)O,- O( T#IS DISCOURSE
1e shall deal all issues in a conversational style so that the reader does not e-perience the fati!ue
normally associated with discussions such as this. These .uestions are desi!ned to follow a lo!ical step y
step process so that the issues at hand ecome clear and all naturally occurrin! .ueries are tac,led.
;et us start, therefore, with the prayer that may Allah !rant us the !race to understand each other, so that
we would e ale to oey Him and His Prophet (P.B.U.H.) is a manner efittin! them.
The 0hias elieve that twelve leaders, all of whom elon!ed to &uraish, inherited the Prophet=s
(P.B.U.H.) position of leadership, one after the other, after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ade farewell to this
mortal world.
DID T#E PROP#ET TE)) T#E U++A# A%OUT TWE)$E )EADERS (RO+
.URAIS#"
$mam Bu,hari has .uoted the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) in his 0ahih re!ardin! this issue.
>arated By ?air in 0amura / $ heard the Prophet sayin!, @There will e twelve Muslim
rulers(who will rule the whole $slamic territory)AAA%. He then said a sentence which $ did not
hear. My father said, @All of them (those rulers) will e from &uraish.@
///The original Ara0ic does not inclde the 0rac1et statement inclded in the soft!are 2the Ara0ic te3t is as 0elo!4
#adith soft!are * $olme 5567 %oo1 5867 #adith Nm0er 9:6
Ara0ic cross reference ; 69< 'ita0 l Ah1am7 %aa0 =: 2After %aa0 Al Isti1hlaf4 #adith No< >:::
Ara0ic cross reference ; 69< 'ita0 l Ah1am7 %aa0 =: 2After %aa0 Al Isti1hlaf4 #adith No< >::9
$mam Muslim, in his 0ahih, .uoted similar Ahadith on several occasions.
4. $t has een narrated on the authority of Amir . 0aBd . Au 1a..as/ #C The $slamic reli!ion will
continue until the Hour has een estalished, or you have een ruled over y twelve Daliphs, all
of them ein! from the &uraishC%
#adith Soft!are * %oo1 5:57 #adith Nm0er ??89 and ??8?
Ara0ic cross reference ; 99< 'ita0 al Imarah7 %aa0 @ ; Alnas Ta0aAn li.raish !a Al1hilafat fil .raish7 #adith No< @8::
*. $t has een narrated on the authority of ?air . 0amura who said/ #$ 6oined the company of the
Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) with my father and $ heard him say/ This Daliphate will not end until
there have een twelve Daliphs amon! them. The narrator said/ Then he (the Holy Prophet) said
somethin! that $ could not follow. $ said to my father/ 1hat did he sayE He said/ He has said/ All
of them will e from the &uraish%.
%oo1 5:57 #adith Nm0er ??>>7 ??>8 and ??>6
Ara0ic cross reference * 99< 'ita0 al Imarah7 %aa0 @ ; Alnas Ta0aAn li.raish !a Al1hilafat fil .raish7 #adith No<
@8:@B@8:@*8
3. $t has een narrated on the authority of ?air . 0amura who said/ #$ heard the Messen!er of Allah
(may peace e upon him) say/ $slam will continue to e triumphant until there have een twelve
Daliphs. Then the Holy Prophet (may peace e upon him) said somethin! which $ could not
understand. $ as,ed my father/ 1hat did he sayE He said/ He has said that all of them (twelve
Daliphs) will e from the &uraish%.
#adith soft!are * %oo1 5:57 #adith Nm0er ??857 ??8@ and ??8:
Ara0ic cross reference * 99< 'ita0 al Imarah7 %aa0 @ ; Alnas Ta0aAn li.raish !a Al1hilafat fil .raish7 #adith No< @8:@*
>B@8:@*6
Thus we reach the @
st
)ogical conclsion of this oo,let/
@< There !ere to 0e t!elCe leaders of the Ummah after the Prophet and all of them !ere to 0e
from .raish
8rom here we shall !o towards the specification of who these ;eaders could e. A!ain our sole source
would e the &uran and the 0ahih Hadith of the Ahl)e)0unnah.
The 0hias elieve that the caliphate can not !o anyone e-cept the Twelve &uraishi ;eaders. Thus, we
must raise the followin! .uestions.
CAN A NON*.URAIS#I %ECO+E CA)IP#"
$mam Bu,hari, in his 0ahih, has .uoted the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) sayin! that the caliphate can not !o to any
other individual as lon! as the &uraish are present.
4. >arrated By $n Umar / The Prophet said, @Authority of rulin! will remain with &uraish, even if
only two of them remained.@
#adith soft!are * $olme 55?7 %oo1 5=D7 #adith Nm0er >5=
Ara0ic cross reference ; D@< 'ita0 l +anaEi07 %aa0F +anaEi0 e .raish7 #adith No< 9=5@
$mam Muslim .uotes a similar Hadith in his 0ahih.
4. $t has een narrated on the authority of BAdullah that the Messen!er of Allah (may peace e upon
him) said/ The Daliphate will remain amon! the &uraish even if only two persons are left (on the
earth)
#adith Soft!are * %oo1 5:57 #adith Nm0er ??>D
Ara0ic cross reference * 99< 'ita0 al Imarah7 %aa0 @ ; Alnas Ta0aAn li.raish !a Al1hilafat fil .raish7 #adith No< @8:5
As we all ,now, the trie of &uraish continues to e-ist to this day. Therefore, these Ahadith apply to the
past, to the present and will continue to e relevant as lon! as the trie of &uraish does not !o e-tinct.
Thus we reach the :
nd
)ogical conclsion of this oo,let/
@< The Twelve leaders will all e from &uraish
:< And7 the caliphate can not 0e in the hands of a non*.raishi 2since !e are all a!are that the
.raish tri0e contines to e3its to this day4
The 0hia elieve that the twelve leaders will elon! to a select !roup within &uraish i.e. ein! a
&uraishi is only the first pre)re.uisites for ein! a caliph. Thus the followin! .uestion must e
raised.
CAN AN-ONE (RO+ T#E TRI%E O( .URAIS# %ECO+E CA)IP#
$mam Bu,hari has narrated two Hadith from the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) that shed ample amounts of li!ht on
this su6ect.
4. >arated By Au Huraira / AllahBs Apostle said, @This ranch from &uraish will ruin the people.@
The companions of the Prophet as,ed, @1hat do you order us to do (then)E@ He said, @$ would
su!!est that the people ,eep away from them.@
#adith Soft!are * $olmn 55?7 %oo1 5=D7 #adith Nm0er 85@
Ara0ic cross reference ; D@< 'ita0 Al +anaEi07 %aa0F Alamaatin N0!a (il Islam7 9D5?
*. >arated By 0aid Al)Umawi / $ was with Marwan and Au Huraira and heard Au Huraira sayin!,
@$ heard the trustworthy, truly inspired one (i.e. the Prophet) sayin!, BThe destruction of my
followers will e rou!ht aout y the hands of some youn!sters from &uraish.@ Marwan as,ed,
@Foun!stersE@ Au Huraira said, @$f you wish, $ would name them/ They are the children of so)
and)so and the children of so)and)so.@
#adith Soft!are * $olmn 55?7 %oo1 5=D7 #adith Nm0er 85:
Ara0ic cross reference ; D@< 'ita0 Al +anaEi07 %aa0F Alamaatin N0!a (il Islam7 9D5=
Gven thou!h the Hadith falls short of mentionin! the names of the destructive se!ment of &uraish, it
ecomes utterly clear that the whole of &uraish can not e trusted with the office of leadership, and that
the .ualifications of a Daliph must e more that 6ust simply elon!in! to this trie, even thou!h the pre)
re.uisite stands firm as it is. These two Hadiths clearly specify that there were people amon! the &uraish
who had the potential to destroy the Ummah, whereas the previous Hadiths have clearly hi!hli!hted the
$slam and the Ummah would e !lorious durin! the rule of the &uraishi Daliphs. Thus we must conclude
that only a select !roup from amon! the &uraish trie could hold this office.
Therefore, we see that ein! a &uraishi is a #>ecessary He.uirement%, ut it is not a #0ufficient
He.uirement% i.e. one must e a &uraishi and, apart from that, also hold some other pre)defined
characteristics to e eli!ile for the office of ;eadership of the Ummah.
Thus we reach the 9
rd
)ogical conclsion of this oo,let/
4. There were to e twelve &uraishi leaders to lead the Ummah after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
*. The Daliphate can not e held y a non)&uraishi
9< Only a select grop !ithin .raish is to hold the office of leadership<
The 0hias hold that the caliph must have two additional .ualifications, apart from ein! a &uraishi. $n
specifyin! these .ualification it is sou!ht to estalish e-actly what !roup within the &uraish has the
necessary .ualities to hold the office of leadership.
W#AT ARE T#E .UA)ITIES O( A CA)IP#"
$mam Bu,hari has narrated a fascinatin! Hadith from the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) re!ardin! this issue.
4. >arrated By Au 0aBid Al):hudri/ The Prophet said, @Allah never sends a prophet or giCes the
Caliphate to a Caliph ut that he (the prophet or the Daliph) has two !roups of advisors/ A !roup
advisin! him to do !ood and e-horts him to do it, and the other !roup advisin! him to do evil and
e-horts him to do it. %t the protected person (a!ainst such evil advisors) AAA is the one
protected 0y Allah<%
/// The original Ara0ic does not inclde any sch commentary or 0rac1eted te3t 2the original te3t is as 0elo!4 nor is the
Ara0ic indicatiCe of any sch inferred meaning<
#adith Soft!are * $olme 5567 %oo1 5867 #adith Nm0er 95D
Ara0ic cross reference ; 69< 'ita0 Al Ah1am7 %aa0F %itanatil Imam !a Ahl e +ashrateh7 >@68
*. >arated By Au 0aid Al):hudri / That the Prophet said, @>o Daliph is appointed ut has two
!roups of advisors/ Ine !roup advises him to do !ood and ur!es him to adopt it, and the other
!roup advises him to do ad and ur!es him to adopt it2 and the protected is the one whom Allah
protects.@
#adith soft!areF $olme 5567 %oo1 5867 #adith Nm0er 95D
Ara0ic cross referenceF 8:< 'ita0 al .adar7 %aa0F Al+asoom +an Asam Allah7 #adith No< DD@@
These two Hadith shed !reat li!ht on what other pre)re.uisites for ein! the caliph could e,
apart from ein! a &uraishi. 8irstly, it mentions that #(Allah) !ives the caliphate to a caliph% thus
the caliph must e nominated and desi!nated y Allah, with a divine charter. 1e see this also, in
the comparison created y placin! the phrases concernin! the selection of prophets and the
!rantin! of caliphates side y side. By doin! thus the meanin! ecomes richer and relates that
there is a definite comparale similarity etween these two actions. 0econdly, it clearly shows
that people try to lead the caliph in different directions, ut the protected ones are protected y
Allah, and that this situation is similar etween caliphs and messen!ers of Allah i.e. the
protection mentioned is not a !eneral protection li,e the one e-tended to all people y Allah, ut
a special protection which allows a messen!er and a caliph to carry out the wor, which Allah has
!iven them, with complete honesty and accuracy. Thus, we must conclude that Allah protects his
caliph in the same manner as he protects his messen!ers. The interestin! thin! is that the word
used here is #Masoom meanin! innocent or protected from wron!)doin! and sin, someone so
protected that he ecomes completely cleansed of faults and vices.
>o wonder the followin! Hadith says that $slam will continue to e !lorious only so lon! as the twelve
caliphs are in control. After all, how can triumph elude a nation lead y someone appointed and protected
y Allah himself.
;et us narrate the Hadith reported y $mam Muslim once a!ain.
4. $t has een narrated on the authority of ?air . 0amura who said/ #$ heard the Messen!er of Allah
(may peace e upon him) say/ Islam !ill contine to 0e trimphant ntil there haCe 0een
t!elCe Caliphs. Then the Holy Prophet (may peace e upon him) said somethin! which $ could
not understand. $ as,ed my father/ 1hat did he sayE He said/ He has said that all of them (twelve
Daliphs) will e from the &uraish%.
#adith soft!are * %oo1 5:57 #adith Nm0er ??857 ??8@ and ??8:
Ara0ic cross reference * 99< 'ita0 al Imarah7 %aa0 @ ; Alnas Ta0aAn li.raish !a Al1hilafat fil .raish7 #adith No< @8:@*
>B@8:@*6
Thus we reach the ?
th
)ogical conclsion of this oo,let/
4. There were to e twelve caliph after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) all of whom were to e from &uraish
*. The Daliphate can not e held y people other than the &uraish Trie
3. Inly a select !roup within &uraish can hold the office of ;eadership
?< This select grop mst haCe the Ealities of 0eing selected 0y Allah7 and protected 0y him
from all forms of sins and errors
The 0hias are certain that they have een ale to identify the particular !roup within &uraish, the
memers of which, have all the necessary re.uirements, specified y the &uran and the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.), needed to hold the office of Daliph and leader of the Ummah.
;et=s see whether the &uran has identified any such !roup within &uraish.
W#IC# ,ROUP WIT#IN T#E .URAIS# (IT T#E NECESSAR-
RE.UIRE+ENTS
#C Allah only desires to ,eep away the uncleanness from you, I people of the HouseJ And to
purify you a (thorou!h) purifyin!%. (33)33)
$n this verse Allah identifies a certain !roup of people as havin! ein! purified a thorou!h purification,
meanin! that they are no lon!er touched y moral, intellectual and spiritual impurities and filth2 the
classical and contemporary scholars are all in a!reement that this is a definite act of Allah and not a vain
wish which was not fulfilled (as some modern day pseudo scholars claim, a claim which !oes a!ainst the
&uran itself and a!ainst all interpretations and Hadiths that have come down throu!h the centuries
re!ardin! this verse).
The .uestion that must e raised here is this/ 1hat does Allah mean y the #People of the House% for if
the identities of the individuals comprisin! this household were to e ,nown, we would ,now for certain
which &uraishi individuals were selected y Allah to e protected from sin and error.
W#O ARE GT#E PEOP)E O( T#E #OUSEH "
;ets loo, at a Hadith from 0ahih Muslim which is narrated y none other that Um)ul)Momineen Aisha
herself.
$mam Muslim records/
4. #Aisha reported that AllahBs Apostle (may peace e upon him) went out one mornin! wearin! a
striped cloa, of the lac, camelBs hair that there came #asan 0< IAli. He wrapped him under it,
then came #sain and he wrapped him under it alon! with the other one (Hasan). Then came
(atima and he too, her under it, then came BAli and he also too, him under it and then said/
#Allah only desires to ta,e away any un)cleanliness from you, O people of the hosehold, and
purify you (thorou!h purifyin!) ) (&uran 33)33)%.%
#adith soft!are * %oo1 59@7 #adith Nm0er =6==
Ara0ic cross reference * ??< 'ita0 (aJail lis Saha0a7 %aa0 6 ;(aJail Ahl e %ait an Na0i7 #adith No< :?:?
0ome individuals also claim that this section of the verse addresses the Prophet=s (P.B.U.H.) wives, which
is stran!e since Um)al)Momineen Aisha, accordin! to $mam Muslim, seems never to have considered this
interpretation.
There are also other ar!uments, related to the laws of Araic !rammar, which ma,e it clear that the
addressees of this verse are not an e-clusively, or lar!ely, female !roup. Apart from these, we also see
Ahadith is the other 0ahih oo,s of the Ahl)e)0unnah which clearly mention that the wives of the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) were e-plicitly e-cluded from the Ahl)e)Bait y the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) himself.
However the four names, eside the name of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), narrated y Um)al)Momineen Aisha
in the Hadith displayed aove, are most definitely part of the Ahl)e)Bait, re!ardless of whether the wives
of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) are to e included or not.
8urthermore we have more evidence from $mam Muslims 0ahih which clearly states who the People of
the House are.
*. This hadith has een narrated on the authority of 0huBa with the same chain of transmitters. Amir
. 0aBd . Ai 1a..as reported on the authority of his father that Muawiya . Ai 0ufyin
appointed 0aBd as the "overnor and said/ 1hat prevents you from ausin! Au Tura (Hadrat
BAli), whereupon e said/ $t is ecause of three thin!s which $ rememer AllahBs Messen!er (may
peace e upon him) havin! said aout him that $ would not ause him and even if $ find one of
those three thin!s for me, it would e more dear to me than the red camel. $ heard AllahBs
Messen!er (may peace e upon him) say aout BAli as he left ehind him in one of his campai!ns
(that was Tau,). BAll said to him/ AllahBs Messen!er, you leave me ehind alon! with women
and children. Thereupon AllahBs Messen!er (may peace e upon him) said to him/ ArenBt you
satisfied with ein! unto me what Aaron was unto Moses ut with this e-ception that there is no
prophethood after me. And $ (also) heard him say on the 9ay of :haiar/ $ would certainly !ive
this standard to a person who loves Allah and his Messen!er and Allah and his Messen!er love
him too. He (the narrator) said/ 1e have een an-iously waitin! for it, when he (the Holy
Prophet) said/ Dall BAli. He was called and his eyes were inflamed. He applied saliva to his eyes
and handed over the standard to him, and Allah !ave him victory. (The third occasion is this)
when the (followin!) verse was revealed/ @;et us summon our children and your children.
(&uran 3)<4) @ AllahBs Messen!er (may peace e upon him) called IAli7 (atima7 #asan and
#sain and said/ I Allah, they are my family .
#adith soft!are * %oo1 59@7 #adith Nm0er =6@=
Ara0ic cross reference * ??< 'ita0 (aJail lis Saha0a7 %aa0 6 ;(aJail Ali 0in A0i Tali07 #adith No< :?5?*9:
But efore we !o any further let us shed some li!ht upon another .uestion/
W#AT IS T#E STATUS AND I+PORTANCE O( T#E GPEOP)E O( T#E
#OUSEH"
$mam Muslim has narrated in his 0ahih/
4. Fa7id . Hayyan reported, that Kaid, narrated to us/ Ine day AllahBs Messen!er (may peace e
upon him) stood up to deliver sermon at a waterin! place ,nown as :humm situated etween
Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, e-tolled Him and delivered the sermon and e-horted (us)
and said/ >ow to our purpose. I people, $ am a human ein!. $ am aout to receive a messen!er
(the an!el of death) from my ;ord and $, in response to AllahBs call, (would id !ood)ye to you),
ut $ am leavin! amon! you two wei!hty thin!s/ the one ein! the Boo, of Allah in which there
is ri!ht !uidance and li!ht, so hold fast to the Boo, of Allah and adhere to it. He e-horted (us) (to
hold fast) to the Boo, of Allah and then said/ The second are the mem0ers of my hosehold I
remind yo 2of yor dties4 to the mem0ers of my family< 2#e repeated this sentence three
times4<
#adith soft!are * %oo1 59@7 #adith Nm0er =6:5
Ara0ic cross reference * ??< 'ita0 (aJail lis Saha0a7 %aa0 6 ;(aJail Ali i0n A0itali07 #adith No< :?58
$t is important to mention that the actual words of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) end here, ut $mam Muslim
narrates that Kaid !oes on to say that the Ahl e Bait include Ali and the offsprin! of BAli, BA.il and the
offsprin! of BA.il and the offsprin! of ?aBfar and the offsprin! of BAas. This is however clearly not a
.uotation from the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) nor does Kaid or $mam Muslim claim it to e so, ut only what
Kaid personally understood as the meanin! of the phrase Ahl e Bait.
$n this Hadith the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) mentions the Ahl e Bait (People of his House) as ein! one of two
wei!hty thin!s (Thaqalain) that he was to leave amon!st the Ummah. He clearly see,s to say that these
two are the only sources of !uidance for the Ummah after him, and he does not stop there ut, in a typical
Ara manner for puttin! stress upon a most vital issue, warns the Ummah aout their responsiility
towards the Ahl e Bait three times. 8urthermore, y usin! the word Thaqalain (two wei!hty thin!s) he
s,illfully points to the fact that these two thin!s are a couple i.e. only to!ether do they ecome complete,
earin! e.uivalent wei!ht (importance) with re!ards to one another.
Thus we e!in to understand what a position the Ahl)e)Bait hold, a position which accordin! to the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) is at par with the &uran. This too is a clear proof of the protection and selection that
this !roup en6oyed.
Allah says in the &uran/
#0urely 1e have revealed the Heminder (the &uran) and 1e will most surely e its !uardian. (4L)
()
1hen we place this verse in conte-t of the Hadith narrated aove, we see that when the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) says that the Ahl e Bait and the &uran are utterly inseparale dual sources of !uidance, he is in
fact e-plainin! the meanin! of this very verse of the &uran. Thus, he is sayin! that oth these wei!hty
thin!s are from Allah, and the protection of oth is a duty Allah has ta,en upon himself. 8rom this verse
Allah has also made clear what protection means, the &uran is protected from all thin! not divine in
ori!in that mi!ht see, to enter into it and from all errors, mista,e, and from the tric,eries of those who
mi!ht want to pollute it with errors and mista,e. 8rom here we come to comprehend what the Hadith
narrated y $mam Bu,hari aout the protection e-tended y Allah to his caliph truly implies.
As we have seen that the phrase Ahl e Bait (People of the House) is a phrase clearly meanin! Ali, 8atima,
Hasan and Husain. 1e must conclude that they are the only !roup within the &uraish who were selected
y Allah and whose comprehensive protection was a duty Allah too, upon himself, was non other than
the People of the House. >o other !roup can e proven to hold such .ualities and no other !roup has ever
claimed to hold such characteristics either.
Thus, we reach =
th
)ogical conclsion of this oo,let/
@< There were to e twelve caliph after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) all of whom were to e from &uraish
:< The Daliphate can not e held y people other than the &uraish Trie
9< Inly a select !roup within &uraish can hold the office of ;eadership
?< This select !roup must have the .ualities of ein! selected y Allah, and protected y him from
all forms of sins and errors
=< The only grop proCen to haCe these Ealities is the People of the #ose 2Ahl e %ait4 i<e< Ali7
(atima7 #asan and #sain<
The 0hias elieve that neither Ha7rat Aua,r, nor Ha7rat Umar, ever claimed that Ha7rat Aua,r was
nominated y the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) as his successor.
WAS #AKRAT A%U%A'R NO+INATED TO T#E CA)IP#ATE %- T#E
PROP#ET 2P<%<U<#<4"
There is widely held misconception, within the masses of the Ahl e 0unnah, that the Prophet nominated
Ha7rat Au Ba,r for leadership after himself. This idea is contrary to what the te-t of the 0ahih of $mam
Bu,hari, who has .uoted Ha7rat Umer on two occasions as havin! said that the Prophet had not
nominated Ha7rat Au Ba,r for leadership at all, infact Ha7rat Au Ba,r=s election was a prompt and
sudden decision and nothin! else.
$mam Bu,hari .uotes/)
4. >arated By BAdullah in BUmar / $t was said to BUmar, @1ill you appoint your successorE@ Umar
said, @$f $ appoint a Daliph (as my successor) it is true that someody who was etter than $ (i.e.,
Au Ba,r) did so, and if I leaCe the matter ndecided7 it is tre that some0ody !ho !as
0etter than I 2i<e<7 AllahIs Apostle4 did so. . . .@
#adith soft!are * %oo1 5867 #adith Nm0er 9:=
Ara0ic cross reference ; 69< 'ita0 e Ah1am7 %aa0F Al Isti1hlaaf7 #adith No< >:@8
*. >arated By $n BAas / Umar in :hatta climed the pulpit at Medina and said/ G< < < One
shold not deceiCe oneself 0y saying that the pledge of allegiance giCen to A0 %a1r !as
giCen sddenly and it !as sccessfl< No do0t7 it !as li1e that7 0t Allah saCed 2the people4
from its eCil7 and there is none amon! you who has the .ualities of Au Ba,r. Hememer that
whoever !ives the pled!e of alle!iance to anyody amon! you without consultin! the other
Muslims, neither that person, nor the person to whom the pled!e of alle!iance was !iven, are to
e supported, lest they oth should e ,illed . . .%
#adith soft!are * %oo1 58:7 #adith Nm0er 8@>
Ara0ic cross reference ; 8:< 'ita0 al #adood ; 'ita0 almhari0een min ahl e 1fr !ar rada< %aa0F RaLm Al#0li +in Kina
iJa Ahsanat< #adith No< D895
Thus discussions re!ardin! the nomination of Ha7rat Aua,r are .uite clearly contradictory to these and
followin! Ahadith.
8urthermore, if the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) had ever nominated Ha7rat Aua,r for the caliphate, Ha7rat
Aua,r himself would have narrated this Hadith at the shed of Banu 0aida, and elsewhere, where he
presented evidence and ar!uments in support of his ri!ht to the caliphate.
Here is a selection from what $mam Bu,hari narrates/
4. >arated By BAisha / C (after the demise of the Prophet), the Ansar were assemled with 0ad in
BUada in the shed of Bani 0aida. They said (to the emi!rants). @There should e one BAmir from
us and one from you.@ Then Au Ba,r, Umar in Al):hatta and Au Baida in Al)?arrah went to
them. BUmar wanted to spea, ut Au Ba,r stopped him. BUmar later on used to say, @By Allah, $
intended only to say somethin! that appealed to me and $ was afraid that Au Ba,r would not
spea, so well. Then Au Ba,r spo,e and his speech was very elo.uent. He said in his statement,
@1e are the rulers and you (Ansars) are the ministers (i.e. advisers),@ Hua in Al)Mundhir said,
@>o, y Allah we wonBt accept this. But there must e a ruler from us and a ruler from you.@ Au
Ba,r said, @>o, we will e the rulers and you will e the ministers, for they (i.e. &uarish) are the
est family amon!st the BAras and of est ori!in. 0o you should elect either BUmar or Au
BUaida in Al)?arrah as your ruler.@ BUmar said (to Au Ba,r), @>o ut we elect you, for you are
our chief and the est amon!st us and the most eloved of all of us to AllahBs Apostle.@ 0o BUmar
too, Au Ba,rBs hand and !ave the pled!e of alle!iance and the people too !ave the pled!e of
alle!iance to Au Ba,r. 0omeone said, @Fou have ,illed 0ad in Uada.@ BUmar said, @Allah has
,illed him.@ BAisha said (in another narration), (@1hen the Prophet was on his death)ed) he
loo,ed up and said thrice, (Amon!st) the Hi!hest Dompanion (0ee &urBan +.<() BAisha said, Allah
enefited the people y their two speeches. BUmar fri!htened the people some of whom were
hypocrites whom Allah caused to aandon $slam ecause of BUmarBs speech. Then Au Ba,r led
the people to True "uidance and ac.uainted them with the ri!ht path they were to follow so that
they went out recitin!/ @Muhammad is no more than an Apostle and indeed many Apostles have
passed away efore him...@ (3.4++)
#adith soft!are ; %oo1 =>7 #adith @6
Ara0ic cross reference ; 8:< 'ita0 al (aJail As Saha0a7 %aa0F (aJail e A0 %a1r 0in A0i .ahaffa7 #adith No< 9DD>7 9DD8
9urin! an apparently e-plosive situation where the disa!reement was rife and the threat of division was
most ovious, Ha7rat Aua,r would not have left out of his speech any stron! ar!ument that could
diffuse the situation, ut still we see that he never claims to have een nominated y the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) for leadership. He does however, vent only a sin!le ar!ument, the veracity of which we too
have proven, and that ar!ument is that the caliphate can not !o into the hands of a non)&uraishi.
Thus, our conclusion can not e other than this that apart from Ali, Hasan and Husain, no one within
&uraish could claim to e fittin! the re.uirements set so clearly y the Ahadith narrated y the two most
important oo,s of 0ahih Hadith of the Ahl)e)0unnah. 0ince all other individuals, considered y various
!roups, to e part of the Ahl)e)Bait were women, and the scholars of the Ummah are in consensus that
women can not ecome caliphs.
Thus, we reach D
th
)ogical conclsion of this oo,let/
@< There were to e twelve caliph after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) all of whom were to e from &uraish
:< The Daliphate can not e held y people other than the &uraish Trie
9< Inly a select !roup within &uraish can hold the office of ;eadership
?< This select !roup must have the .ualities of ein! selected y Allah, and protected y him from
all forms of sins and errors
=< The only !roup proven to have these .ualities is the People of the House (Ahl e Bait) i.e. Ali,
8atima, Hasan and Husain
D< Only Ali7 #asan or #sain from among the .raish fitted the reEirements laid ot clearly
0y the Prophet 2P<%<U<#<4 for someone eligi0le to 0e Caliph<
;et=s move on to more contemporary issues.
0hias elieve that in all times a Daliph of Allah is present for the Ummah and every Muslim must e
ound y an oath of alle!iance to the Daliph in all times.
CAN +US)I+S )I$E AND CONTINUE TO %E +US)I+S WIT#OUT A
CA)IP# RU)IN, T#E+"
$mam Muslim narrates/
4. $t has een reported on the authority of >afi, that BAdullah . Umar said/ C $ have not come to
sit with you. $ have come to you to tell you a tradition $ heard from the Messen!er of Allah
(P.B.U.H.). $ heard him say/ Ine who withdraws his and from oedience (to the Amir) will find
no ar!ument (in his defence) when he stands efore Allah on the 9ay of ?ud!ment, and one !ho
dies !ithot haCing 0ond himself 0y an oath of allegiance 2to an Amir4 !ill die the death of
one 0elonging to the days of Mahillyya<
#adith Soft!areF %oo1 5:57 #adith Nm0er ?=D:<
The .uestion that must e raised here is that/ if one must e ound y an oath of alle!iance so as to
.ualify as a Muslim, and thus save one self from the death of the #a!e of i!norance% (pre)$slam), to whom
have we (present day Muslims) !iven this oath of alle!iance. And if the answer turns out to e #no one%
are we and our ancestors not dyin! as non)MuslimsE 0ince we ,now, that the words of the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) are not idle chatter, nor can there e-ist even a most minimal proaility of a falsehood aout
what the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said, we must conclude that even today the Daliph of Allah is present within
the Ummah in one form or the other. By placin! this Hadith side y side with other Ahadith that we have
already analy7ed, we e!in to understand that a Daliph (matchin! all the re.uirements discussed aove)
must e present lest Allah=s law e ro,en and the Prophet=s (P.B.U.H.) word falsified.
$f we were to analyse this Hadith further we would also see why the Daliph must e appointed y Allah
and not elected y the Ummah itself. 0imply, as we have seen, one must die in a state in which he or she
is ound to an oath of alle!iance. An oath of alle!iance e-ists as valid as lon! as the ruler, to whom this
oath is !iven, remains alive. This is the only lo!ical conclusion possile, ecause if it were not so, this
hadith would ecome meanin!less. $f we were to suppose that caliphs must e chosen y election, the
time la! etween the death of one caliph and the appointment of an other would e such that if one were
to die in that period one would have died the death of #?ahiliyah%. This can simply not e, since it would
ma,e Allah=s law totally illo!ical (that we ,now that this is not possile). And if the inheritin! caliph were
to e chosen durin! the life of the rulin! caliph, this would have no precedence for this act in the sunnah
(accordin! to the Ahl)e)0unnah since they elieve that the Prophet P.B.U.H. appointed no one as his
successor M refer to the hadith .uoted aove from Umar in Al :hata) or the way of the four Daliphs and
thus e a #idah% or innovation in the law of Allah accordin! to the Ahl)e)0unnah.
$t is ut natural that we accept that caliphs are not to e elected, ut appointed y Allah, and suse.uently
announced to the Ummah y the present caliph (as the shias elieve to e true with re!ards to the
nomination of Ali y the Prophet P.B.U.H. at "hadir :hum shortly efore his sad demise).
Thus, we reach >
th
)ogical conclsion of this oo,let/
4. There were to e twelve caliph after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) all of whom were to e from &uraish
*. The Daliphate can not e held y people other than the &uraish Trie
3. Inly a select !roup within &uraish can hold the office of ;eadership
+. This select !roup must have the .ualities of ein! selected y Allah, and protected y him from
all forms of sins and errors
L. The only !roup proven to have these .ualities is the People of the House (Ahl e Bait) i.e. Ali,
8atima, Hasan and Husain
<. Inly Ali, Hasan or Husain from amon! the &uraish fitted the re.uirements laid out clearly y the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) for someone eli!ile to e Daliph.
>< A Caliph of Allah mst 0e present at all times and in all ages7 and ths there mst 0e a
Caliph !ithin the people today<
SO W#O IS T#E CA)IP# O( T#E U++A# TODA-"
As we have already estalished that accordin! to the &uran and the 0ahih Hadith of the Ahl e 0unnah, a
caliph must e/)
4. 8rom an specific !roup within &uraish namely the Ahl)e)Bait (People of the House)
*. Appointed and protected y Allah
3. Present at all times and in all a!es
Any lo!ical individual ,nows that no one with such .ualities is currently rulin! any $slamic
country, or any country for that matter. 0o does this mean that these Ahadith and our conclusion
were all falseE 1ere the words of the Prophet P.B.U.H. ("od forid) falseE Are the &uran and
0ahih Ahadith invalid in current timesE
Iviously the only correct answer to these .uestions is >IJ The Ahadith .uoted (and those not
.uoted for sa,e of revity) and our conclusions are all true, the words of the Prophet P.B.U.H.
are all true2 and of course, the &uran and the Ahadith remain valid to this day and for all day to
come.
0o how do we interpret our duty todayE
All $slamic schools of thou!ht hold it to e true that the last caliph of the Ummah is to e $mam
Mahdi (A0), the .ualities of whom are well elaorated in the various holy te-ts availale to
scholars. Accordin! to the