A Shi'ite Encyclopedia (chapter 10)

The Sunnis and the Idea of Al-raj'a

Quran aside, we have no Hadith from the Sunnis to support the idea of al-Raj'a, except probably for the case of return of Prophet Jesus (AS).

To disclaim the idea that the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt will finally have rule on the Earth without any rival, and to make contrast between the beliefs, the Sunni traditionists and commentators have suppressed any Hadith that could imply the issue of al-Raj'a. Wherever they found any narrator who has narrated a tradition implying al-Raj'a, they have accused him of being Shia and extremist.

They also interpreted the verses of al-Raj'a/al-Karra in Quran to the Day of Judgment, though we have already seen from the words of Ahlul-Bayt (AS) (who are the most and only qualified individuals to interpret Quran) that this would require believing in contradiction and non-sense.

The Sunnis discredit the notion of al-Raj'a as being a kind of transmigration of the soul. They have not, or choose not to differentiated between transmigration and bodily resurrection. The meaning of transmigration is that the soul moves into another body, and this is not the same as bodily resurrection.

The meaning of the latter is that the soul returns to the same body with all its individual characteristics; and al-Raj'a is the same as this. If al- Raj'a were a kind of transmigration, the restoring to life by Jesus (AS) must also be transmigration, and the Resurrection in the Day of Judgment would be like that as well, which we know it is not true.

The same evidence that proves the possibility of resurrection will also prove the possibility of al-Raj'a. There is no reason for amazement, except in that it is unusual for us and we are not accustomed to such things in the life of this world.

But we know of no cause or impossibility that would bring us near to refutation of al- Raj'a, except that human imagination does not find it easy to accept what is extraordinary. So there is no more reason to refute it than there is to refute resurrection. Allah states in Quran:

He said: Who will revive these bones when they have rotted away. Say: He will revive them Who brought them into existence in the first place, and He is Cognizant of all Creation. (36:78-79)

Those who belittle the idea of Raj'a of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and mock the followers of Ahlul-Bayt (AS) for their belief, should also know that their master Umar was one of those who claim a similar idea according to the historical evidences. Muslim historians agree that:

Umar stood at the Mosque of the Prophet when the Prophet passed away, and said: "There are hypocrites who allege that the Messenger of God has died. Certainly the Messenger of God did not die, but he went to his Lord, as Moses, son of Imran, went to his Lord (for receiving the heavenly commandments). By God, Muhammad will return as Moses returned, and he shall cut off the hands and legs of those who alleged that the Messenger of Allah has died."

Sunni Reference: al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, by Ibn Hisham, v2, p655

Although Umar's motives in this regard was different and his opinion was not completely identical to the notion of al-Raj'a, yet we can not say that Umar took this idea from Abdullah Ibn Saba. Ibn Saba did not exist at that time, not even in the imagination of Saif Ibn Umar al- Tamimi who invented this character. Saif wrote that Ibn Saba came to Medina and became Muslim during the reign of Uthman, which is far after the death of Prophet (PBUH&HF).

The Doctrine of Ali's Executorship

Sayf further alleged that Ibn Saba is the one who propagated the idea that Ali Ibn Abi Talib is the executor and the successor of the Messenger of God. He said that there were a thousand prophets before Muhammad, each of which had an executor after him, and that Ali is the executor of the Prophet. Furthermore, Sayf alleged that Ibn Saba said that the three caliphs who ruled after the Prophet were usurpers of the Islamic rule.

Sayf and his disciples forgot that they mentioned in their fiction that Abdullah Ibn Saba came to Medina and adopted Islam during the reign of Uthman.

This is long after the death of the Messenger of Allah. On the other hand, Sunni history testifies that the Messenger of God himself is the one who declared that Ali would be his executor right at the *beginning of his mission*. Here is the tradition concerning the first open preach the prophet (PBUH&HF):

Ali (AS) narrated: When the verse: "And warn your closest tribe" was revealed, the Messenger of God called me and said:" Ali, certainly Allah commanded me to warn my closest tribe, and I feel the difficulty of this mission. I know that when I confront them with this warning, I will not like their response." Then Prophet invited the members of his clan to dine with him on a small amount of food and little milk. There were forty of them. After they ate, the Prophet spoke to them:

"O Children of Abdul Muttalib, by God, I do not know of any young man from the Arabs who brought to his people better than I brought to you. I have brought to you the goodness of this world and the Hereafter. The Almighty commanded me to invite you to it. Who among you will assist me on this mission and become my brother, my executor, and my successor?"

No one accepted the invitation, and I said: "O Messenger of God, I shall be your assistant." He held my neck and said to them: "This is my brother, my executor (Wasi), my successor (Caliph) among you. So listen to him and obey him." They laughed, saying to Abu Talib: He (Muhammad) commanded you to listen to your son and to obey him.

Sunni References:

(1) History of Tabari, English version, v6, pp 88-92 (two traditions) (2) History of Ibn Athir, v2, p62 (3) History of Ibn Asakir, v1, p85 (4) Durr al-Manthur, by al-Suyuti, v5, p97 (5) al-Sirah al-Halabiyah, v1, p311 (6) Shawahid al-Tanzil, by al-Hasakani, v1, p371 (7) Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v15, p15, pp 100-117 (8) Tafsir al-Khazin, by Ala-ud-Din al-Shafi'i, v3, p371 (9) Dala'il al-Nabawiyah, by al-Baihaqi, v1, pp 428-430 (10) al-Mukhtasar, by Abul Fida, v1, pp 116-117 (11) Life of Muhammad, by Hasan Haykal, p104 (First Edition only. In the second edition the last sentence of Prophet (PBUH) has been removed.) (12) Tahdhib al-Athar, v4, pp 62-63.

The above tradition was also reported by important Sunni figures such as Muhammad Ibn Is'haq (who is the most celebrated Sunni historian), Ibn Abi Hatem, and Ibn Mardawayh. It is also recorded by orientalists such as T. Carlyle, E. Gibbon, J. Davenport, and W. Irving.

Here we would like ask the following question: Imam Ali reported that the Messenger of God is the one who granted him the office of executorship, brotherhood, and successorship. Sayf Ibn Umar reported that the idea of the executorship of Ali had came from a Jew called Abdullah Ibn Saba. We should ask the members of the Takfeer University (who call everyone who disagree with them unbeliever) the following question: Do you believe in Imam Ali's report or Sayf Ibn Umar's? Sayf was accused by prominent Sunni scholars of weakness, forgery, and heresy.

Of course, we should not expect any true Muslim to choose the report of a liar such as Sayf Ibn Umar and to reject the report of the Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the Leader of the Faithful, the "brother" of the Prophet (PBUH&HF). The Messenger of God used to say to Ali:

"Your position to me is like the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there shall be no Prophet after me"

Sunni References:

(1) Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, Traditions 5.56 and 5.700 (2) Sahih Muslim, Arabic, v4, pp 1870-71 (3) Sunan Ibn Majah, p12 (4) Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, p174 (5) al-Khas'is, by al-Nisa'i, pp 15-16 (6) Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v2, p309

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) thereby meant that as Moses had left behind Aaron to look after his people as his Caliph when he went to receive the Commandments, in the same way he was leaving Ali behind as his deputy to look after the affairs of Islam after him. Allah said in Quran:

"... And Moses said unto his brother Aaron: Take my place among my community." (Quran 7:142).

Notice that "Ukhlufni" and "Khalifa" (Caliph) are exactly from the same root.

Do the mercenary writers who endeavor to spread hostility among Muslims forget that while returning from his farewell pilgrimage, and in the presence of over a hundred thousand pilgrims in Ghadir Khum, the Messenger of God declared:

"Do I not have more right over the believers than what they have over themselves?" People cried and answered: "Yes, O' Messenger of God." Then Prophet (PBUH) held up the hand of Ali and said: "Whoever I am his leader, Ali is his leader. O' God, love those who love him, and be hostile to those who are hostile to him."

Some of Sunni References:

(1) Sahih Tirmidhi, v2, p298, v5, p63 (2) Sunan Ibn Maja, v1, pp 12,43 (3) Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, pp 84,118,119,152,330, v4, pp 281,368,370, 372,378, v5, pp 35,347,358,361,366,419 (from 40 chains of narrators!!!) (4) Fada'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Hanbal, v2, pp 563,572 (5) al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p129, v3, pp 109-110,116,371 (6) Khasa'is, by al-Nisa'i, pp 4,21 (7) Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p103 (from several transmitters) (8) Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v12, pp 49-50 (9) al-Durr al-Manthur, by al-Hafiz Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, v3, p19 (10) Tarikh al-Khulafa, by al-Suyuti, pp 169,173 (11) al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah, by Ibn Kathir, v3, p213, v5, p208 (12) Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v2, pp 307-308 (13) Habib al-Siyar, by Mir Khand, v1, part 3, p144 (14) Sawaiq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, p26 (15) al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v2, p509; v1, part1, p319, v2, part1, p57, v3, part1, p29, v4, part 1, pp 14,16,143 (16) Tabarani, who narrated from companions such as Ibn Umar, Malik Ibn al-Hawirath, Habashi Ibn Junadah, Jari, Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas, Anas Ibn Malik, Ibn Abbas, Amarah,Buraydah,... (17) Tarikh, by al-Khatib Baghdadi, v8, p290 (18) Hilyatul Awliya', by Abu Nu'aym, v4, p23, v5, pp26-27 (19) al-Istiab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, Chapter of word "ayn" (Ali), v2, p462 (20) Kanzul Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v6, pp 154,397 (21) al-Mirqat, v5, p568 (22) al-Riyad al-Nadirah, by al-Muhib al-Tabari, v2, p172 (23) Dhaka'ir al-Uqba, by al-Muhib al-Tabari, p68 (24) Fayd al-Qadir, by al-Manawi, v6, p217 (25) Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn Athir, v4, p114 (26) Yanabi' al-Mawaddah, by al-Qudoozi al-Hanafi, p297

... And hundreds more...

No Muslim would ever doubt that the Messenger of God is the leader of all Muslims for all generations. The Prophet in his statement granted Ali the same position as his, when he said that Ali is the leader of everyone who follows the Prophet.

This declaration which was narrated by more than one hundred and ten companions and rated authentic (Sahih) and frequent (Mutawatir) by the leading Sunni scholars, not only indicates that Ali is the executor of Messenger, but also indicates that Ali takes the place of the leadership of all Muslims after the Messenger of Allah.

However, these mercenaries still allow themselves to say that the belief that Ali was the executor of the Messenger had come from a Jew who declared his Islam during the days of Uthman!!!

Abdullah Ibn Saba has no base on the disputes immediately after the death of prophet related to his successorship, and all relevant claims of Shia is proven to be on the death of the prophet or even before that, not during the reign of Uthman which is far long after prophet's demise.

At the very start and immediately after the death of the prophet (PBUH&HF), the Shia of Ali included those companions who where loyal to Imam Ali, such as Ammar Ibn Yasir, Abu-Dhar al-Ghafari, Miqdad, Salman al-Farsi, Ibn Abbas ...etc., all gathered in the house of Fatimah (AS). Even Talha and Zubair were loyal to Imam Ali at the beginning and joint the others in the house of Fatimah. al-Bukhari narrated:

Umar said: "And no doubt after the death of the Prophet we were informed that the Ansar disagreed with us and gathered in the shed of Bani Sa'da. 'Ali and Zubair and whoever was with them, opposed us, while the emigrants gathered with Abu Bakr."

Sunni Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, v8, Tradition #817

Other Sunni traditionists narrated that on the day of Saqifah:

Umar said: "Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Zubair Ibn Awwam and those who were with them separated from us (and gathered) in the house of Fatimah, the daughter of the messenger of Allah."

Sunni References:

  • Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, p55
  • Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, by Ibn Hisham, v4, p309
  • History of Tabari (Arabic), v1, p1822
  • History of Tabari, English version, v9, p192

Also:

They demanded confirmation of the oath, but Ali and al-Zubair stayed away. al-Zubair drew his sword (from the scabbard), saying, "I will not put it back until the oath of allegiance is rendered to Ali." When this news reached Abu Bakr and Umar, the latter said, "Hit him with a stone and seize the sword." It is stated that Umar rushed (to the door of the House of Fatimah) and brought them forcibly while telling them that they must give their oath of allegiance willingly or unwillingly.

Sunni reference: History of al-Tabari, English version, v9, pp 188-189 Certainly that Jew did not have any role in the division of the companions into two factions right at the death of Prophet since he was non-existent at that time.