[fatwa against companions] Page 1 Photocopy of the original fatwa (religious verdict) encouraging the Shiite masses to curse the two Caliphs Abu Bakr and `Umar. signed by six of the contemporary Shiite scholars and clergy among them Khomeini and Shariat Madari The trustworthy scholar Muhammad `Ali Saoodi, chief consultant to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, and one of Sheikh Muhammad Abduhs special students, managed to examine an Iranian manuscript copy of the Quran owned by the orientalist Brown. He was able to make a photocopy of Surat-ul-Wilaayah with its Persian translation. Its existence was affirmed by At-Tabarsi in his book faslul-Khitaab, and by Muhsin Faani Al-ashmeeri in his book Dabisan Madhaahib. This book, written in Persian, was printed several times in Iran. The chapter (Surat-ul-Wilaayah) which is falsely attributed to Allahs revelation, was also quoted by the famous orientalist Noeldeke in his book History of the Copies of the Quran(9). It also appeared in the Asian-French Newspaper in 1842 C.E. At-Tabarsi also quoted a tradition from Al-Kaafi, which is to the Shiites what Sahih-ul-Bukhari is to the Sunni Muslims. It reads: A number of our associates narrated by way of Sahl bin Ziyaad through Muhammad bin Sulaiman that some of his friends reported Abul-Hasan Ath-Thaani `Ali bin Mioosa Ar-Rida as saying `May I be your ransom! We hear verses of the Quran different from those we have with us and we are not capable of reading them according to your reading which has reached us. Do we commit a sin thereby He replied, No, read the Quran as you have learned it; someone will come to you to teach you. Without a doubt, this conversation is fabricated by the Shiites and is falsely attributed to the Imam `Ali bin Moosa Ar-Rida; however, the statement is taken by the Shiites as a legal ruling in this matter. Its implication is that while one of them commits no sin by reciting the Quran the way Muslims have learned according to `Uthmans unanimously accepted text, the privileged class of Shiite clergy and scholars will teach each other a version other than the accepted one, a version which they claim came to their Imams from AhlulBait. It was the urge to strike a comparison between the Shiite Quran (which they secretly confide to one another, while hiding it from the general public as an act of taqiyyah) and the known and officially accepted `Uthmani Edition of the Quran, which motivated At-Tabarsi to write his book faslul-Khitaab. Although the Shiites pretended to disown At-Tabarsis book, as an act of taqiyyah, the glaring fact that it includes hundreds of quotations from the recognized works of their scholars clearly confirms their adherence to the tenet of alteration of the Quran. Of course, they do not want a clamor to be raised over this perverse article of faith of theirs The intended result of their claim is to leave us with the impression that there are two Qurans: one, the `Uthmani version accepted by the Sunni Muslims; the other, the allegedly hidden version of the Shiites, part of which is Surat-ul-Wilaayah. They are well aware that they fabricated the statement they attributed to the Imam `Ali bin Moosa Ar-Rida: ... read [the Quran] as you have learned it; someone will come to you to teach you. The Shiites also claim that a verse was deleted from the Quran from Surat-ul-lnshiraah. The alleged deletion is and we made `Ali your son-in-law. Have they no shame in making such an allegation, when it is a well-known fact that this particular surah was revealed in Mecca at a time when `Ali was not yet the son-in-law of the Prophet, Allahs blessing and peace be upon him. His only son-in-law a that time was Al-Ass Ibnur-Rabeeal-Ummawi. As for the fact that `Ali was a son-in-law of the Prophet, it should be pointed out that Allah also made `Uthman bin `Affaan the son-in-law of the Prophet through his marriage to two of the Prophets daughters. Upon the death of the second of `Uthmans wives (the second of the two daughters), the Prophet said to him, If we had a third one, we would have given her to you in marriage. Another of the Shiite scholars, Abu Mansoor Ahmad bin `Ali At-Tabarsi, in his book Al-lhtijaaj `ala Ahlil-Lajaaj (Argumentation with the Contentious Folk) claimed that `Ali said to one of the zanaadiqah,(10)whose name At-Tabarsi neglected to mention, As for your belligerent disagreement with me(11), it shows your feigned ignorance of Allahs statement, `And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphans, then marry of the women who seem good to you... At-Tabarsi then went on to say, by way of explanation as to why this verse was quoted by `Ali in his argumentation with his opponents: Now doing justice to orphans does not resemble the marrying of women, and not all women are orphans; thus, this verse is an example of what I have presented earlier in the book Al-Ihtijaaj; regarding the deletion of parts of the Quran by the hypocrites,(12) that deletion being between the statement about justice to orphans, and that which follows it, about the marrying of women. This deletion consists of addresses and stories, and amounts to more than a third of the Quran. 8 SHIITE LIES, EVEN AGAINST `ALI The foregoing is an example of the Shiite lies which were at- tributed `Ali may Allah be pleased with him). That it is A slanderous fabrication is proven by the fact that `Ali never declared, during the whole period of his caliphate, that a third of the Quran was missing from the section mentioned above. He did not command the Muslims to record this missing portion, nor to seek guidance from it, nor to apply jurisprudential rulings derived from it. 9 REJOICING OF THE MISSIONARIES AND ORIENTALISTS Upon the publication of the book Faslul-Khitaab over eighty years ago, there was great rejoicing amongst the enemies of Islam, in par- ticular, the missionaries and orientalists. They liked the book so much that they decided to translate it into their own languages. It is no wonder, since it contained hundreds of lies such as those mentioned above, along with slanderous fabrications against Allah and the choicest of His creation, the Holy Prophet of Islam (upon whom be peace), and against the venerable Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all).(13) There are two clear texts from Al-Kaafi of Al-Kulaini, which elucidate the Shiites perverse position regarding the Quran. The first reads: I heard Abu Jafar (upon whom be peace) say: None of the people has claimed that he collected the Quran completely as it was revealed except a liar. No one collected and memorized the Quran as it was revealed except `Ali bin Abi Taalib and the Imams after him.(14) Every Shiite is required to believe in this text from Al-Kaafi as an article of their faith. As for us, Ahlus-Sunnah, we say that in fact the Shiites have false- ly attributed the above text to Al-Baaqir Abu Jafar. The proof of our position is that `Ali, during the period of his caliphate in Kufah, never resorted to or applied any version of the Quran other than that with which Allah had favored the Caliph `Uthman by the distinction of its collection, publication and popularization and by its legal application in all Islamic lands for all time up to the Day of Judgment. If it were true that `Ali had a different version of the Quran he surely would have applied it in making legal rulings, and he would have commanded the Muslims to abide by its injunctions and guidance. Clearly, since he was the supreme ruler, none would have challenged his authority to do this. Furthermore, if indeed `Ali had a different version of the Quran and concealed it from the Muslims, then he would have betrayed Allah, His Messenger and the religion of Islam by so doing. As for Jaabir Al-Jufi who claims that he heard that blasphemous conversation from the Imam Abi lafar Muhammad Al-Baaqir, it must be noted that although the Shiites consider him a trustworthy narrator of traditions, the fact is that he is well known in the Sunni schools of theology as a liar and forger of traditions. Abu Yahya Al-Hammani reported that he heard the Imam Abu Hanifa saying, Ataa is the best i.e., the most truthful and precise in reporting from amongst those I have come across in the field of transmitting traditions, while Jaabir Al-Jufi is the greatest liar I have come across amongst them.(15) The second of the two texts from Al-Kaafi mentioned above, is attributed to the son of Jafar As-Saadiq. It reads: It is related that Abu Baser said: I entered upon Abu `Abdullah [Jafar As-Sadiq]... [Who] said `Verily we have with us the Quran of Fatimah (upon whom be peace). I said: `What is the Quran of Fatimah? He replied: `It contains three times as much as this Quran of yours. By Allah, it does not contain one single letter of your Quran .(16) These fabricated Shiite texts which are falsely attributed to the Imams of Ahlul-Bait are of fairly early date. They were recorded by Muhammed bin Yaqoob Al-Kulaini Ar-Razi in the book Al-Kaafi over a thousand years ago, and they are from before his time, because they were narrated on the authority of his ancestors, the master engineers of the false foundations of Shiism. During the time when Spain was under the reign of Arab Muslims, the Imam Abu Muhammad bin Hazam used to debate with Spains priests regarding the texts of their sacred books. He used to bring forth proofs which established their having been tampered with, and altered so much that their authentic origins had been lost. Those priests used to argue with Ibn Hazam that the Shiites had asserted that the Quran also had been altered. Ibn Hazam refuted their argument by replying that the allegation of the Shiites is not a proof against the Quran, nor against the Muslims, because Shiites are not Muslims.(17) 10 SHIITE VIEWS ON THE MUSLIM RULERS The attention of the governments of all Muslim nations must be drawn to the dangerous and distorted views of the (So-called) Shiite Twelve Imams, or Jafari sect. It is their view that all governments from the death of the Prophet-until now are illegitimate, except for that of `Ali bin Abi Taalib. It is therefore not permissible for any Shiite to be loyal to- those governments or sincere in dealing with them. Indeed, they must engage in flattery and hypocrisy, in accordance with their tenet of taqiyyah. They consider all past, present, and future governments in the Muslim world to be established by forcible seizure, and therefore illegal. According to them, the only legitimate rulers are the Twelve Imams, whether they ruled directly or indirectly, and all other rulers, from the time of Abu Bakr and `Umar until the present time, are con- sidered usurpers, and oppressors of the people. The Shiites tenaciously hold this perverse view of the Muslim rulers regardless of the great services they have rendered to the noble cause of Islam, and to humanity in general. 11 MALICE AGAINST ABU BAKR AND `UMAR The Shiites curse Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), along with all the rulers of the Islamic Nation, with the exception of `Ali. They fabricated a lie and attributed it to the Imam Abul Hasan `Ali bin Muhammad bin `Ali bin Moosa, claiming that he approved of his followers calling Abu Bakr and `Umar Al-jibt wat- Taaghoot.(18) This claim was made in one of their most extensive works on the science of the ascertation of the veracity and competence of the narrators of Prophetic Traditions, Tanqeehul-Maqaal fee Ahwaalir- Rijaal, by a sheikh of the Jafari sect Allama Ath-Thani Ayatullah Al- Mamqaani.(19) Al-Mamqaani referred to the scholar Ash-Sheikh Muhammad bin Idrees Al-Hillis book As-Saraair, in which Al-Hilli cited the work Massaailur-aijaal wa Mukaatabaatihim ila Mowlaana Abil-Hasan `Ali bin Muhammad bin `Ali bin Moosa, the subject of which is questions and letters directed to Abil Hasan `Ali bin Muhammad. Among them is a question from Muhammad bin `Ali, who is quoted as saying: I wrote to him asking about ar-naasib [one who is hostile to Ahlil-Bait]. I asked him whether I needed proof of his hostility towards Ahlil-Bait other than his recognition of Al-jibt wat-Taaghoot i.e. Abu Bakr and `Umar] as the rightful holders of the office of imam [leader of the Muslim community]. His reply was that anyone whose condition was like that just described, was adequately shown to be a naasib. Thus, any person would be counted as an enemy of the Prophets family merely by his giving precedence of rank to Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq and `Umar Al-Farooq, and by his acknowledging their positions as imams. The expression Al-Jibt wat-Taaghoot is used by the Shiites in the prayer of imprecation which they call Duaa Sanamay Quraish (imprecation against the two idols of the Quraish). They mean by these expressions, the two caliphs Abu Bakr and `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). This vicious Shiite prayer of imprecation is mentioned in their book Miftahul-Jinaan; it reads: O Allah, bestow Your blessings upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad and upon his family, and curse the two idols of the Quraish, their Al-Jibt wat-Taaghoot, as well as their two daughters... They are referring to the two Mothers of the Believers, Aaishah and Hafsah, the pure and noble wives of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them). 12 Shiites Exalt The Assassin Of The Caliph `Umar The hatred the Shiites have for the Caliph `Umar reached such a pitch that they gave his murderer Abu Luluah Al-Majoosi the title `Baba Shujaaud-Din (the one who is brave in the cause of religion). `Ali bin Mathahir, a Shiite narrator of traditions, reported that Ahmad bin Ishaq Al-Qummi Al-Ahwas, a sheikh of the Shiites, said: Verily the day ` Umar was murdered- is the greatest day of celebration, the day of pride and honour, the day of the great purification and the day of blessing and consolation. In the history of Islam there have been many great personalities, men like the two Caliphs Abu Bakr and `Umar and the great warrior Salahuddin Al-Ayyoobi, who ruled for the sake of Islam, and who conquered various lands and peoples and brought them into the fold of Islam. Yet these great men, and indeed all of the great rulers of Islam, past and present, are believed by the Shiites to be overpowering tyrants and illegal rulers and consequently, are considered to be in habitants of Hell-Fire. Among the Shiites most important tenets is the belief that when their Twelfth Imam, the awaited Mahdi, rises and comes forth after his long absence of over eleven hundred years, and brings his revolution, then Allah will resurrect for him and for his forefathers, the past and present Muslim rulers, including the two noble Caliphs Abu Bakr and `Umar. Those Muslim rulers will then be tried for having illegally seized the reins of government from the Mahdi and his ancestors, the first eleven Imams of the Shiite religion. This, as they believe, is because government is the God-given right of the Shiites alone, from the time of the Prophet Muhammad death until the Final Hour! After the trial of those tyrannous usurpers, this awaited Mahdi will awaken himself by ordering their execution. Five hundred of them at a time will be killed until their number reaches three thousand. this; being the total of all who ruled during the various eras of the history of Islam! All of this is supposed to occur just before the final revival of mankind on the Day of Resurrection! It is a prelude, as it were, to that final great gathering and resurrection, the result of which is either Paradise or Hell-Fire; Paradise for Ahlul-Bait and the Shiites, and the Fire for everyone who is not a Shiite! The Shiites call this resurrection of the Muslim rulers, and the subsequent trial and execution, Ar-Rajah (the return). This belief is one of the fundamental tenets of their faith, which no common Shiite doubts at all. I have met a number of naive and simple-minded people who claim that the Shiites have departed from such tenets as these in recent times; however, this is a gross error on their part as is evident from the actual state of affairs. 13 DESIRE FOR REVENGE AND DESTRUCTION In Al-lrshaad fee Taarikhi Hujajillahi `alal-lbaad (Instruction in the History of Gods Proofs Against His Slaves), Abu `Abdullah Muham- mad An-Numan, known to the Shiites by the title `Ash-Sheikhul- Mufeed, quoted several of their traditions about Ar-Rajah: Al Fadl bin Shathaan reported that Muhammad bin `Ali Al-Koofi related that Wahab bin Hafs narrated through Abi Baseer that Abu `Abdullah [Jafar As-Saadiq] said: The Mahdi will be called upon on the Twenty-third night by the name `The Risen One . He will arise, and that rising up will be on the day of `ashooraa.(20) It is as if I am there with him on that tenth day of the month of Muharram. He is standing between the comer of the Kabah containing the black stone, and the maqaam [place of prayer] of the Prophet Abraham. The Angle Gabriel is standing to his right calling out, `The pledge of allegiance to the Mahdi] is for the sake d Allah! Then the Shiites will march towards the Mahdi to give him the pledge, from all corners of the earth. that having been made easy for them to achieve. There has come lo us the report that the Mahdi will ravel from Macca until he arrives al Koota and settles in our [Shiite] holy city of Najaf. Then he will dispatch armies from there to the various lands. It was also reported, by Al-Hajjaal from Thlaha via Abu Bakr Al- Hadrami that Abu Jafar [Muhammad Al-Baaqir] said: It-is as if I am with the Risen One at the city of Najaf, in Al-Koofa which he had marched to from Mecca, in the company of five thousand angels, with Gabriel on his right side, and Michael on his left, and the believers in front of him, while he dispatches armies to the various countries. So too, it is narrated that `Abdul-Kareem Al-Jufi reported: I said to Abu `Abdullah [Jafar As-Saadiq]: `How long will the Risen Ones reign last? ;Seven years, he replied. He elaborated: `The days will grow longer, till a year of his reign equals ten of your years. His reign will last for seventy years of your reckoning. Upon this, Abu Baseer said to him [i.e., to Jafar As-Saadiq]: `May I be your ransom! How will Allah make the years longer? The reply was: `Allah will command the celestial spheres to decrease in their speed of movement, and the days and years will consequently become longer. When the time of his rising up arrives, rain will fall during the last month of Jumada and for ten days of Rajab, a rain which the world has never seen before. Allah shall cause the flesh of believers and their bodies to come to life in their graves. It is as if I am seeing the resurrected ones coming for- ward, shaking the soil out of their hair. `Abdullah bin Al-Mugheera narrated that Abu `Abdullah [Jafar As- Saadiq] said: If the awaited Mahdi from the family of Muhammad rises, he will cause to be raised up five hundred members of Quraish, and their necks would be struck by the sword. They would be follow- ed by another set of five hundred, and yet another, until that recurred six times. Would they reach that great number? I asked. [His astonishment upon hearing that great number was due to the fact that the rightly-guided Caliphs, the Umayyad rulers and those of the Ab- basi era, along with all the Muslim rulers up until the time of Jafar As- Saadiq do not amount to a hundredth of that number.] Jafar As- Saadiq replied: Yes; it includes the rulers and their supporters. And in another narration: Verily, our state is the last of the states. There would be no dynasty but that which has had its turn before us, so that there may be none to witness our reign and say: If we were to rule we would follow their path. Jaabir Al-Jufi reported that Abu `Abdullah [Jafar As-Saadiq] said: When the risen Mahdi from the family of Muhammad comes forth he will pitch pavilions to teach therein the Quran just as it was revealed.(21) It will be most difficult then for the one who has memorized [that which is memorized] today. [i.e., it would be difficult for the one who memorized the official `Uthmani edition which was extant at the time of Jafar As-Saadiq, because it would differ from the version which the Mahdi supposedly will bring.] Al-Mufaddal bin `Umar narrated that Abu `Abdullah said: Along ,with the Risen One shall come twenty-seven men from the people of the Prophet Moses, seven from the people of the cave, and Joshua, Solomon Abu Dujaanal Al-Ansaari, Al-Miqdaad and Maalik Al-Ashtar. These will be in the company of the Mahdi as helpers and judges in his service. These fabricated traditions from the book of Ash-Sheikhul-Mufeed, have been quoted meticulously, complete with their concocted chains of transmission. They have been falsely attributed to the family of the Prophet, whose greatest misfortune is to have such liars pretending to be their only partisans. Of course, since the belief in Ar-Rajah and the trial of the Muslim rulers is an important part of Shiite doctrine, it is commonly mentioned in the works of Shiite scholars and clergy. One example is AI-Masail An-Naasiriya, by As-Sawid Al-Murtadaa, in which is to be found the following: Verily Abu Bakr and `Umar shall be crucified upon a tree in the time of Al-Mahdi... That tree would be green and tender before the crucifixion and would turn parched after the crucifixion. 14 SHIITES WAY OF THINKING UNCHANGED The Shiite scholars and clergy throughout the span of Islamic history have taken a disgraceful stand against the two Companions and appointed ministers of Allahs Prophet, Abu Bakr and `Umar, and against other great Islamic personalities such as the Caliphs, governors, generals, and warriors in the sacred cause of Islam. Now we have heard their propagandist, who was responsible for Darut-Taqreeb (the centre for the promotion of reconciliation and a coming together of Sunnis and Shiites), claiming before those who were unable to critically study these issues themselves, that these beliefs were held in the old days, and that the situation now is different. This claim is plainly false and misleading, because the books which are taught in all of their educational institutions contain all of these tenets and hold them as essential and rudimentary elements of their faith. Furthermore, the books presently being published by the scholars of Iran, Najaf and Mount `Aamil are even more evil than the older Shiite publications, and more detrimental to the cause of reconciliation and mutual understanding. To further clarify this we mention as an example one person amongst them who never ceases announcing day and night that he is a proponent of unity and reconciliation, Muhammad bin Muhammad Mahdi Al-Khaalisi. He is known to have many friends in Egypt and elsewhere who broadcast the same call for taqreeb, and who work for it among the Ahlus-Sunnah. This supposed advocate of unity and understanding goes so far as to deny that Abu Bakr and `Umar possessed the grace of Iman (faith). In his book Ihyaaush-Sharia fee Madhhabish-Shiah (Revival of the Law in the Shiite School of Thought), he says: Even if they [Sunnis] argue that Abu Bakr and `Umar were among the people of Baiatur- Ridwan(22) with whom Allah was pleased, as shown by the reference made to them in the Quran: Verily Allah was pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you (Muhammad) beneath the tree,(23) we say that if Allah had said: Verily Allah was pleased with those who swore allegiance to you beneath the tree, then the verse would indicate that Allahs pleasure included everyone who made the pledge of allegiance. Since the verse says: Verily Allah was pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance.. . , there is therefore no proof in this verse that Allah is pleased with anyone except those who have acquired pure iman. Al-Khaalisi is insinuating by this that Abu Bakr and `Umar were of those who had not acquired iman-and were excluded from the pleasure of Allah.(24) 15 DISTORTION OF HISTORICAL FACTS Al-Murtadaa and Al-Khaalisi are modern Shiite scholars who boldly claim to belong to the echelon of those who are zealous in struggling for the sake of Islam and Muslims, and who have the keenest interest in upholding the rights of Muslims and maintaining their well- being. Having seen, however, what they have written about Abu Bakr and `Umar, who are among the best of Muslims next to the Prophet, ordinary people like ourselves must wonder what hope there can be of our reaching a common understanding and reconciliation with people such as them. While on the one hand the Shiites shamelessly defame the Com-panions of the Messenger of Allah, and those who followed them in piety, and succeeded them as rulers, on the other hand we find them ascribing to their Imams attributes of such extravagant description, that the Imams themselves would wish to declare their innocence of them. Al-Kulaini recorded in his book Al-Kaafi attributes and descrip- tions of the Twelve Imams such as would imply their elevation from the human level to that of the gods of the ancient Greek pagans. To quote all such fables from Al-Kaafi and other books would require a large volume. By way of illustration, it will suffice to list some of the chapter headings from Al-Kaafi: * The Imams possess all the knowledge granted to angels, prophets and messengers(25) * The Imams know when they will die, and they do not die except by their own choice(26) * The Imams have knowledge of whatever occurred in the past and whatever will happen in the future, and nothing is concealed from them(27) * The Imams have knowledge of all the revealed books, regardless of the languages in which they were revealed(28) * No one compiled the Quran completely except the Imams, and they encompass all of its knowledge(29) * Signs of the prophets are possessed by the Imams(30) * When the Imams time comes, they will rule in accordance with the ruling of the Prophet David and his dynasty. These Imams will not need to ask for presentation of evidence before passing their judgments(31) * There is not a single truth possessed by a people save that which originated with the Imams, and everything which did not proceed from them is false 35 * All of the earth belongs to the Imams(32) 16 THE SHIITES PLACE THEIR IMAMS ABOVE THE MESSENGER While the Shiites claim for the Twelve Imams the superhuman power of knowledge that encompasses the realm of the unseen, they deny the Prophets knowledge of unseen things granted him by Allah, things such as the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the description of Paradise and Hell-Fire. This blasphemy was stated in the magazine Risalatul-lslam (The Message of. Islam), published by Darut-Taqreeb. In an article entitled Min Ijtihaadati Shia Al-lmamia (Some Independent Shiite Opinions), the head of the Shiite supreme court in Lebanon quoted the Mujtahid scholar Muhammad Hasan Al-lshtiyani: If the Prophet made a stipulation regarding the divine legal rulings on what invalidates ablution, or the rulings pertaining to menstruation and post-natal bleeding, it is imperative to believe him, and the application of these rulings is binding upon us. But if the Prophet made a statement regarding the unseen, for example on the creation of the heavens and earth, or the virgins of Paradise and its palaces, then it is not incumbent or binding upon one, even when it is known of a surety that the statement has proceeded from the Prophet. How strange, that they should falsely attribute to their Imams knowledge of the unseen, and that they should adhere to that falsehood although they have not a single proof to establish its verity. Meanwhile they consider that they are not bound to accept the revela- tions of the unseen mentioned in verses of the Quran and authentic traditions, and thereby conclusively proven. Add to all this that everything which has been verified to issue from the Prophet is nothing other than revelation revealed to him; and truly the Prophet does not speak from his own desires. He who makes a comparison between what the Shiites ascribe to their Imams and what is authentically attributed to the Prophet regar- ding matters of the unseen comes to the conclusion that what can be verified to issue from the Prophet regarding the unseen, as mentioned in the Quran and the authentic, authoritative traditions does not even constitute a fraction of the multitude of fabricated reports of knowledge of the unseen which are attributed to the Twelve Imams; and this in spite of the indisputable fact that divine revelation had totally ceased upon the death of the Prophet. As for those who attributed this knowledge of the unseen to the Twelve Imams, it suffices to say that they are well known to the Sunni scholars of hadith (prophetic traditions) as liars, and forgers of hadeth literature. The Shiite partisans of those narrators are indifferent to this, however, and blindly accept the accounts of the unseen which are im- puted to their Imams. They also gladly accept the claim that acceptance of what had been authentically attributed to the Prophet with regard to the unseen is not binding upon them. In fact, it pleases them to limit the scope of the mission of the Messenger of Allah to matters of a secondary juristical nature, such as those mentioned by Al-lshtiyani (see above). Since they elevate the status of their Imams, in regard to knowledge of the unseen, above that of the Messenger of Allah (even though it was he who received the revelation; their Imams did not claim it for themselves), we do not know how there could develop, after such blasphemy, any reconciliation between us and them.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:12:58 +0000
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