Salaam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu,
After having given up on Shia-Sunni debates, I had to return to this website due to this one person I ran into on Facebook.
Wa `alaykum al-salaam wa rahmatullahe wa barakatuh.
Recently, a brother (he is my neighbor as well) who has turned towards his deen posted an image of Donald Trump holding an African-American child. Beneath it, he he had written something to the effect that if Trump could show mercy towards a black child, why don't we show love toward Shias? That is a noble thought. Personally, I believe no Sunni is better than a Shia (or vice-versa) except by their faith and good deeds.
Alhamdulillah, I think we both agree it's all about Taqwa, Emaan, etc.
What my neighbor wrote would be welcomed by Shias but not Rawaafidh. So a friend of his - going by the kunya "Al Rafidhi" - started commenting on his status instead of showing appreciation. I warned the brother (my neighbor) that this Rafidhi is going to run him through a series of steps, all well known to people like myself who have spent time listening to their verbal diarrhea, which will eventually lead him to curse the Sahabas (ra).
I did welcome the brother's post; it was nice of him to consider Shias. Some people have an inability to comprehend context, and thus fall into the trap of pessimism. May Allah (swt) keep us clear from such negativity. What's wrong with cursing the misguided of the Sahabah? Many Sunni scholars note that the accursed Mu`awiyyah ordered the cursing of Imam Ali (as).
To retaliate, this Rafidhi informed me that the wives of the Prophet [saw] were not Ahlul Bayt [ra] as stated in Sahih Muslim. I showed him from Sahih Muslim how the Prophet [saw] referred to his wives [ra] as "Ahlul Bayt". I even showed him Qur'an 33:33 but he had to retaliate with the narration in which Zayd ibn Arqam [ra] makes a special exception for other members of the household of the Prophet [saw]. In fact, Zayd [ra] states that wives are members of the household. But of course our Rafidhi friend was taken for a ride by his scholars.
In all my years of debating Bakris [so-called Sunnis], I have realized that they're often very cunningly clever; they don't like to give the whole story. I suppose they're afraid of their weak arguments coming to light. I already explained it to you, but since you seem forgetful, I'll explain it again, in shaa'llah. In regards to the term Ahlul Bayt, it can be used in a general, or specific, manner. Just as many Americans will say that their own pets are a "part of the home/house." Quraan 33:33 is said to be about a specific People of the House [Ahlul Bayt (as)]. It becomes clear once you consider some of your own Sunni ahadeeth:
Yazid b. Hayyan reported:
We went to him (Zaid b. Arqam) and said to him. You have found goodness (for you had the honour) to live in the company of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and offered prayer behind him, and the rest of the hadith is the same but with this variation of wording that lie said: Behold, for I am leaving amongst you two weighty things, one of which is the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, and that is the rope of Allah. He who holds it fast would be on right guidance and he who abandons it would be in error, and in this (hadith) these words are also found: We said: Who are amongst the members of the household?
Aren't the wives (of the Holy Prophet) included amongst the members of his house hold? Thereupon he said: No, by Allah, a woman lives with a man (as his wife) for a certain period; he then divorces her and she goes back to her parents and to her people; the members of his household include his ownself and his kith and kin (who are related to him by blood) and for him the acceptance of Zakat is prohibited.حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَكَّارِ بْنِ الرَّيَّانِ، حَدَّثَنَا حَسَّانُ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ - عَنْ سَعِيدٍ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ مَسْرُوقٍ - عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ حَيَّانَ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَرْقَمَ، قَالَ دَخَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُ لَقَدْ رَأَيْتَ خَيْرًا . لَقَدْ صَاحَبْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَصَلَّيْتَ خَلْفَهُ . وَسَاقَ الْحَدِيثَ بِنَحْوِ حَدِيثِ أَبِي حَيَّانَ غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ " أَلاَ وَإِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ ثَقَلَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا كِتَابُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هُوَ حَبْلُ اللَّهِ مَنِ اتَّبَعَهُ كَانَ عَلَى الْهُدَى وَمَنْ تَرَكَهُ كَانَ عَلَى ضَلاَلَةٍ " . وَفِيهِ فَقُلْنَا مَنْ أَهْلُ بَيْتِهِ نِسَاؤُهُ قَالَ لاَ وَايْمُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ تَكُونُ مَعَ الرَّجُلِ الْعَصْرَ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ ثُمَّ يُطَلِّقُهَا فَتَرْجِعُ إِلَى أَبِيهَا وَقَوْمِهَا أَهْلُ بَيْتِهِ أَصْلُهُ وَعَصَبَتُهُ الَّذِينَ حُرِمُوا الصَّدَقَةَ بَعْدَهُ .
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2408 d
In-book reference : Book 44, Hadith 58
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 31, Hadith 5923
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and this:
Yazid b. Hayyan reported, I went along with Husain b. Sabra and 'Umar b. Muslim to Zaid b. Arqam and, as we sat by his side, Husain said to him:
Zaid. you have been able to acquire a great virtue that you saw Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) listened to his talk, fought by his side in (different) battles, offered prayer behind me. Zaid, you have in fact earned a great virtue. Zaid, narrate to us what you heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). He said: I have grown old and have almost spent my age and I have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), so accept whatever I narrate to you, and which I do not narrate do not compel me to do that. He then said: One day Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khumm situated between Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, extolled Him and delivered the sermon and. exhorted (us) and said: Now to our purpose. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah's call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family. He (Husain) said to Zaid: Who are the members of his household? Aren't his wives the members of his family? Thereupon he said: His wives are the members of his family (but here) the members of his family are those for whom acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. And he said: Who are they? Thereupon he said: 'Ali and the offspring of 'Ali, 'Aqil and the offspring of 'Aqil and the offspring of Ja'far and the offspring of 'Abbas. Husain said: These are those for whom the acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. Zaid said: Yes.
حَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَشُجَاعُ بْنُ مَخْلَدٍ، جَمِيعًا عَنِ ابْنِ عُلَيَّةَ، قَالَ زُهَيْرٌ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو حَيَّانَ، حَدَّثَنِي يَزِيدُ بْنُ حَيَّانَ، قَالَ انْطَلَقْتُ أَنَا وَحُصَيْنُ، بْنُ سَبْرَةَ وَعُمَرُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ إِلَى زَيْدِ بْنِ أَرْقَمَ فَلَمَّا جَلَسْنَا إِلَيْهِ قَالَ لَهُ حُصَيْنٌ لَقَدْ لَقِيتَ يَا زَيْدُ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا رَأَيْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَسَمِعْتَ حَدِيثَهُ وَغَزَوْتَ مَعَهُ وَصَلَّيْتَ خَلْفَهُ لَقَدْ لَقِيتَ يَا زَيْدُ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا حَدِّثْنَا يَا زَيْدُ مَا سَمِعْتَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم - قَالَ - يَا ابْنَ أَخِي وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ كَبِرَتْ سِنِّي وَقَدُمَ عَهْدِي وَنَسِيتُ بَعْضَ الَّذِي كُنْتُ أَعِي مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَمَا حَدَّثْتُكُمْ فَاقْبَلُوا وَمَا لاَ فَلاَ تُكَلِّفُونِيهِ . ثُمَّ قَالَ قَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَوْمًا فِينَا خَطِيبًا بِمَاءٍ يُدْعَى خُمًّا بَيْنَ مَكَّةَ وَالْمَدِينَةِ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ وَوَعَظَ وَذَكَّرَ ثُمَّ قَالَ " أَمَّا بَعْدُ أَلاَ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ رَسُولُ رَبِّي فَأُجِيبَ وَأَنَا تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ ثَقَلَيْنِ أَوَّلُهُمَا كِتَابُ اللَّهِ فِيهِ الْهُدَى وَالنُّورُ فَخُذُوا بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَاسْتَمْسِكُوا بِهِ " . فَحَثَّ عَلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَرَغَّبَ فِيهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ " وَأَهْلُ بَيْتِي أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللَّهَ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللَّهَ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللَّهَ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي " . فَقَالَ لَهُ حُصَيْنٌ وَمَنْ أَهْلُ بَيْتِهِ يَا زَيْدُ أَلَيْسَ نِسَاؤُهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ قَالَ نِسَاؤُهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ وَلَكِنْ أَهْلُ بَيْتِهِ مَنْ حُرِمَ الصَّدَقَةَ بَعْدَهُ . قَالَ وَمَنْ هُمْ قَالَ هُمْ آلُ عَلِيٍّ وَآلُ عَقِيلٍ وَآلُ جَعْفَرٍ وَآلُ عَبَّاسٍ . قَالَ كُلُّ هَؤُلاَءِ حُرِمَ الصَّدَقَةَ قَالَ نَعَمْ .
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2408 a
In-book reference : Book 44, Hadith 55
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 31, Hadith 5920
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and this:
The verse
"Verily Allah intends to ... (33:33)"
was revealed to the Prophet (S) in the house of Umm Salama. Upon that, the Prophet gathered Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn, and covered them with a cloak, and he also covered ‘Ali who was behind him. Then the Prophet said: "O’ Allah! These are the Members of my House (Ahlul-Bayt). Keep them away from every impurity and purify them with a perfect purification.”Umm Salama (the wife of Prophet) asked: "Am I also included among them O Apostle of Allah?”the Prophet replied: "You remain in your position and you are toward a good ending."
Sunni reference: Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, pp 351,663
I was at work so I could type so much on Facebook but yesterday he messaged me again asking me if I believe that Abu Talib was a Muslim or not. He also referred to him as Sahaba. I explained to him that in order for one to be the Sahaba, he has to have seen the Prophet [saw], accepted Islam and died upon that faith. Abu Talib rendered service to Islam and aided the Prophet [saw] - and for that I pray for him - but there is not one single authentic narration which establishes the fact that he accepted Islam. Having said that, we do not curse him. Never! Thereafter, I tried to inform him why Abu Talib's faith became important. It became important because Shias were consistently mocking other Sahabas [ra] because their parents died mushrik. So if one has to be judged by their parents' iman, then would they (the Shias) judge Imam Ali [ra] by the same standards which they have established themselves?
What was his rebuttal? Wallaahi, word for word the following: "I wanted to ask about Abu Talib [as]. If that's the criteria for being a Sahabah, he [as] was a Sahabah, whereas Abu Bakr and Umar, etc. were not."
There are many proofs that we can give to prove the correct `Aqeedah of Abu Talib (as), but if one's heart is blinded, it will not be palatable. Your ignorance of Tareekh al-Islaam [Islamic history] isn't a pass for you to reject; only an ignoramus would do as such.
If he shows up, please welcome him. This is an opportunity for me to make Muharram come early for him because as soon as he is done, he will be slapping himself wailing, "why did I bother debating him?"!!!
I'll let `A'ishah take care of that tab [nice try, though]:
Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his Musnad, vol. 6, p. 274, Number 26391 (edited by al-Arnaut) records that Aisha said:
ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قبض وهو في حجري ثم وضعت رأسه على وسادة وقمت ألتدم مع النساء واضرب وجهي
Allah’s Apostle died in my lap. I then placed his head on a pillow AND STARTED DOING ILTIDAM with the other women AND I BEAT MY FACE.
Shaykh al-Arnaut says:
إسناده حسن من أجل ابن إسحاق
Its chain is hasan on account of Ibn Ishaq
Abu Ya’la has also recorded this same report in his Musnad, vol. 8, p. 63, Number 4586 (edited by Husayn Salim Asad). Husayn Salim Asad says about it:
إسناده حسن
Its chain is hasan.