The Role of Holy Imams in Revival of Religion

An Eyewitnessing

I remember something that happened on my first trip to Mecca. When we were returning to Iraq and we travelled by car, our caravan stopped in a place near Medina for 24 hours. There was a well at this halting-place and the pilgrims went towards it to draw water for drinking and for the cars. It was about dusk when the convoy wished to move on. I saw a young stranger amongst the pilgrims in our caravan who was yelling with great force and vehemence, speaking and saying things that had created a clamour among the Shiite pilgrims. I went closer. When he saw that I was getting closer he said:"Haza Motawwe Ohum" "This is their scholar, if I get my hands on him I'll cut off his head and lick up his blood" I knew that this was no place for a debate so I stood still and watched. In his words he said that these men are polytheists, they are infidels. Then he mocked our crying in a form of ridicule placing his hand on his forehead and pretending to cry!! One of the Shi'ite pilgrims stepped forward and said: We are Muslims, we are not polytheists. Why should we be polytheists when we performed the Hajj of God's house, visited the tomb of the Prophet, visited the tomb of Ali..... When the Shi'ite said that, the young man said: You have become a polytheist! Your execution has become necessary. Even if the father of Abu Saud (the King of Hejaz at that time) should come he will not help you! You have become one necessary to be executed! "There is no other inflicter of harm or giver of benefit than God", the Shiite pilgrim said to the man as he shook. The young man then began to say this, (which is the essential point of this story). (Who is Mohammad, he is a man like me!!) We see to what extent these Hadiths have lowered the worth and esteem of the Prophet when one person who calls himself a Muslims says: The Prophet is a man like me. After these words, our driver who was a native of Caucasia and a Shiite, stepped forward and asked him: Is Mohammad a man just like you? The young Wahabi said: Yes he is a man like me, he's dead! This question and answer was repeated three times. The Shiite driver then said: The Quran was revealed to Mohammad, is the Quran also revealed to you?

These Hadiths set out to prove that -God forbid!- the Prophet was fond of pleasure and mirth, music and singing, was very forgetful, and his followers were more bound to modesty, morals piety etc.

The Quran however says:

"You possess a very superior character".

"We have not revealed the Quran to you that you may be unsuccessful".

A group however, who believe in these Hadiths and think they are factual will have different religious beliefs about the Prophets character and identity. In their religious beliefs and thoughts is the Prophet higher in esteem or is Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr who hates musical instruments seeing them as Satans voice and doesn't want them to be played in the prophets' presence, while the Prophet himself has no objection! In this religious way of thought and belief, is the Prophet better or is Umar; an Umar from whom the jinn and human beings fled, while when they were in the Prophets presence not only did they not flee they danced and sang!

This is what we meant by an arrow with three heads or three targets:

1- Destroying the credibility and superior identity of the Prophet.

2- To promote the powerful and leaders after him to a higher stature.

3- The destruction of Islam in belief and action.

The Caliphate Is The Holiest Rank.

It was based on this way of thinking that one day Hojaj addressed the people on the greatness of the rank of Caliphate as such:

(Is your successor and Caliph in your family and the one who takes on your responsibilities in your absence of a higher position, or your messenger to them? It was also based on this foundation of belief that on another day in a letter to the Caliph Abdul Malek he wrote that: There would be no order in the heavens and earth without the mediation and blessing of the Caliphate, and the Caliph (who at that time was Abdul Malek the tyrant) is more superior in Gods eyes than the Arch- Angels, Prophets and Apostles. It is also based on this thought that today the Wahabis say: Rasool means messenger and post-man. He only brought Gods message to the people and this deed has no particular honour what so-ever! All of these ways of thought took root from the Hadiths we have seen and will see in the future.

Uthman On The Scales Of These Narratives

If you were to ask what they said about Uthman or if such Hadiths also exist about him it becomes necessary for you to pay attention to this Hadith related from A'ishah:

She says: The Prophet and I were sleeping under one cover when my father Abu Bakr came and asked permission to enter. Without moving the Prophet gave him permission, my father entered and after he was through speaking left. We were still under that some guilt when Umar asked if he could enter. Without moving he gave permission to Umar to enter and took care of his request from the bed and then Umar left. At that moment Uthman requested permission to visit the Prophet. The Prophet got up straightened his clothes and sat in his usual place, then gave him permission to enter. Uthman came and when he was finished left. A'ishah says: I said to the Prophet O' Messenger of God Abu Bakr came and you let him come in and in that bed in that condition took care of his request without moving. After him Umar came and just as you were in the bed with me you took care of his wish without moving. However, when Uthman came all of that changed and you got up, fixed your clothes and sat in your place. The Prophet said: Uthman is extremely modest and shy. I was afraid that because of extreme prudency he would not state his request and leave without finishing what he came for!!!

In another narrative quoted in Muslims "Sahih" the matter is narrated in a more indecent and disastrous way. According to this narrative the Prophet and Aishah are in one bed and they have pulled A'ishahs cloak over them. It is only when Uthman enters that he says to Aishah: put your clothes on and pull them around you! Aishah says: Why had you no fear of Abu Bakr and Umar but have become frightened of Uthman - Allahu akbar! The Prophet replied: Should I not be ashamed before a man whom the Divine Angels are ashamed before!!

What do you think will be left for the Prophet in the minds of those Muslims who believe these Hadiths? Is the Uthman introduced in them more valuable and of greater esteem, or the Prophet introduced in them?

The Holy Quran also has something to say about the modesty and prudency of the Great Prophet of Islam which is interesting to read here:

"O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its cooking being finished - but when you are invited, enter, and when you have taken the food, then disperse - not seeking to listen to talk; surely this gives the Prophet trouble, but he forbears from you, and Allah does not forbear from the truth....."

By confirmation of the Quran, the Prophet is so modest and prudent that he doesn't ask the people to leave his house. They have eaten and now sit and talk, not only taking up the Prophets valuable time but also tormenting his pure soul. He, however, is so bound by the rules of courtesy and character that he bears all of the discomfort of their talk but will not ask them to leave his home. It was thus correct for God to praise him in the second Quranic chapter revealed to him because of his great, superior character:

'---Arabic text---'

These are the unquestionable, completely factual and true sayings of the Quran and those the creditable narratives of Bukhari and Muslim. A point that is necessary for me to bring to your attention is that in the afore-mentioned narratives Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman came to see the Prophet in precisely that order and this order is observed in many of these types of narratives. The fabricators in this way wished to give their successive rule and Caliphate a feeling of holiness and genuineness in the peoples minds. In these types of narratives they usually appear one after another in many incidents, meaning that they will become rulers one after the other in that order.

It is a very precise plan and was designed taking all things into account. Those who fabricated these things strived hard to bring about readiness in minds (for later acceptance).

The Prophet In The Grips Of Sorcery

We will evaluate this story and narrative and then end our discussion. God knows how difficult it is for me to narrate these words. This has been related from A'ishah in the "Sahih" of both Bukhari and Muslim. Bukhari narrated it in three places and Muslim in one. In one of these narratives we read: Thy had practiced magic on the Prophet. As a result of this he had lost his normal perception and would think that he had done something that he had not. For example he would think he had eaten when he really had not and thought of the spell was such. This situation continued until one day when he was sitting with me he said: O' A'ishah two angels came, one sitting at my head and one at my feet and informed me of the true reason for my present state of mind. The Angel at my head asked the Angel at my feet: What's wrong with him? The other Angel replied: They have cast a spell on him. He asked: What did they do with it? The other answered: With a date-palm branch and ..... thus naming a few other things saying that with all of these they had cast the spell. He asked: Where is it? The other answered: In such and such a well!

The Prophet then went to that well with his companions and when he returned said: O A'ishah! The water in that well had changed so much because of the effect of that spell that it had turned to the colour of Henna, and the date-palm, branches around it had all taken the form of devils heads.

In another narrative the matter takes an even worse form and its indecency is even more apparent. The narrative states that the spell on the Prophet was so strong that sometimes he would think that he had slept with one of his wives when he really had not!! How tasteless this is. In principle can lowness be claimed in relation to a person in a better way?

Unfortunately all of this is found in creditable texts.

We will refer to a remark by Amir Al-Mo'meneen that rejects all this. In sermon number 195 it is related from the Imam that: (From the time he was weaned God sent his greatest Angel to him as a companion to watch over him so that day and night he could lead the Prophet towards the great ways and best character).

These are the words of the Imams of the Imamate school, and those are the words of the Caliphate schools creditable narrators. The result of our study into the Caliphate schools texts is that the second great means for changing Islamic law was that series of Hadiths which tried to make the Prophet lose his esteem, value and sanctity. Not only did they try to remove the superiority in his rank of Prophethood but also to lower him to a level below many average people! As a result not only would his Hadiths have no effect, neither would his commands and prohibitions regarding worldy matters. They wished all to know that he had no real acquaintance with worldy affairs and or that his understanding on these grounds was even less than the average person. Even he himself said: I don't know anything about your wordly duties, you understand them better than I do!! They also wanted his remarks about certain persons to have no value, to say his memory was not sufficient and his work remained incomplete as his mind was not that powerful. Didn't they say that one day he left the house while in a state, commanding the people to wait for him and after returning from a trip home to cleanse himself then lead the prayer. They say that he has forgotten verses of the Quran and was reminded in the mosque which part it was he had been leaving out. It is with regard to part it was he had been leaving out. It is, with regard to this kind of Prophet that it may be said: "He gave his own opinion on this particular Islamic matter! He has given his own idea here! Then it becomes possible for any person - of course any person of power - to give his own opinion and idea and have it become a part of Islam. They say that if the Prophet was a jurisprudent and can give his own opinion then the rulers after him are also jurisprudents and may give their own opinions wherever they see fit, and reject and alter the Prophets' rulings or opinions!!

If our minds can accept all of these matters and understand all of their aspects we can precisely figure out into what form they changed Islam and how they altered it by means of realities. Then we can recognize the deeds of the Imams of Ahlul Bait, what Amir al-Mu'meneen did and Imams Baqer, Reza and Javad (a.s), what they must have accomplished and what they did. We realize what the era of Imamate was for, and also the reason for the major occultation and its responsibility. Until we don't understand and recognize these things we can't understand those. This is because the Imams of Ahlul Bait reformed these very impairments and revived these destroyed truths.

A Look At European Knowledge Of Islam

With the clarification of the topics brought up in this lesson we may now go over another important point together. I didn't know or realize this point before coming to Iran. In Iran, when I was writing the second volume to (Abdullah Ibn Saba) I discovered it. This was an important discovery for me. The matter concerned the question of why western orientalists only refer to the Caliphate schools books and texts, not usually using the Imamate schools texts. In the past I thought that it was because Europe was first introduced to the Islam of the Caliphate school and its relationship and connection was with them, and they were left uninformed of our texts because they were far from us. According to history we know that Napoleon Bonaparte set out for Egypt in the year 1797 A.D with 300 ships and close to 40,000 soldiers so that after conquering Egypt he could move on to India and take it away from the British. In the beginning of the summer he entered Cairo after a brief victorious battle and he remained in Egypt until the year 1801. In September of that year he vacated there after pressures by the military forces of England and Turkey. Napoleon had taken a group of scholars with him and during the period of the French armys stay there they researched and investigated. One of the fruits of these scholars work was informing European scholars about the East and its culture, religion and customs. The sciences of orientalism, archaeology and linguistics and studies of the religions and history of eastern countries gained their footing and foundation to a great extent at this turning point in history.

We also know that the Lebanese Christians who were of the first heralds of modern thought and cultural relationships with the Arabs became the cultural mediators between the Arabic speaking nations and Europe, especially since the French army entered Lebanon in 1860 A.D and remained there for many years.

In the past I saw the relationship between the French and British in Egypt and the Lebanese Christians with Europe as the most important factor in European knowledge of Islam. Because of this relationship and these connections the west was to some extent informed of Islam according to the Caliphate school and their texts and scholars, therefore I saw it as natural that they should not know of our see as official any other Islam except that of this school. This was my previous belief and way of thinking. In reality I saw what they were doing as right!

However, when I came to Iran I recognized the real secret behind this distance and it occured to me as a sudden flash of light. The truth of the matter was that those who wished to learn of Islam were not looking for the truth and don't want to search for a Heavenly, Divine religion and discover and understand its various aspects. No, they are looking to discover Islams weak points and also those of its personalities and history. In the hadiths of our school the Prophet is infallible, all-Merciful, the noblest of God's creatures, possessing the best character and qualities etc. Of course it is clear that his view point does not fulfill their aim; but unfortunately whatever they wish to ascribe to Islam and its Prophet they find in the Caliphate schools Hadiths. These Hadiths, according to the followers of that school, are possessed of superior credibility!? Because of this, the great majority of research done by Western scholars is carried out using the Caliphate schools' texts and records.

All of the works of their orientalists on Islam whether they are from France, or Holland, Belgium or Czarist Russia, England or of late in America, followed these very lines. They went to a lot of trouble, researched extensively, read all of Islam such as Hadiths, the Quran, History, law etc. In order to show that Islam was not genuine, or authentic and was not Heavenly or Divine. They did not find the documentation for their claim in the books of the Imamate school, they only found their aim and intent in the books of the Caliphate school. All of the writing of Western Orientalists on Islam which have been translated into Farsy, the most important being "The Encyclopedia of Islam", were written to destroy Islam in all of its aspects. Their writers found the background for their ideas in the Hadiths, histories and interpretations of the Caliphate School alone. Those who wish to inform Europeans of Islam are similar to Abu Jahl or Abu Sufian trying to describe and introduce the Prophet and his superior character. The books which are translated from European languages on Islamic matters are really poison covered in a blanket of honey...... Why have you left Imam Baqer and Imam Sadeqh and turned to the Islam of Abu Huraireh and Anas Ibn Malek and their like? Didn't the Prophet say that: I am leaving two valuable things among you: The Quran and my family members.

Ali and Fatemahs' tormenting pains was because of this. Imam Hassan and Hossains pain was also because of this. Turning to European knowledge of Islam is to dissipate the blood of the martyrs of Karbala. Here is where the efforts of Imam Baqer and Sadeq are destroyed. What responsibility do we have with regard to this, and what thought and feeling?