The books of Sihah, especially the sahih of al-Bukhari and Muslim,
bothhave conveyed hadiths from the Holy Prophet (s.w.) in which
many human characteristics such as face, eyes, hands, fingers,
legs, feet, andetc… have been attributed to Allah. In those hadiths
it is also said that He laughs, has a certain place, He comes down
from heaven to the terrestrial world, and soon 1].
Now, our question is:
a\ How could the ancestors accept such fabricated hadiths? Why
didn’tthey check the chain of narrators of these hadiths? Does not
these hadiths clearly refer to incarnation?
b\ How could the ancestors urge the Muslims to believe in the
outward meaning of such hadiths without searching the
inward meaning 2], since their outward meaning forces us to
believe in the incarnation of Allah,and the Sunnis do not believe in
incarnation, especially when it is to beattributed to Allah, the
Exalted?
c\ The same Sihah have conveyed other part of prophetic hadiths
whichdeclare that a human being can see Allah, the Exalted, by his
naturaleyes, and that in the Dooms Day He shall appear to those
who see as a fullmoon 3]. According to this, all Sunni scholars,
narrators, and the imams of the four main sects of Islam, believe
that it is possible to see Allah, the Exalted, and have considered
that as one of the principles that consist their belief 4]. Moreover,
imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal regards anyone who does not believe in
the possibility of seeing Allah as anirreligious infidel and a
polytheist (tafseer al-Manar, vol.9, p.135).
Here, we ask:
Does not the meaning of those hadiths contradict the concepts of
the Holy Quran in which Allah, the Exalted says:“Vision
comprehends Himnot, and He comprehends (all) vision…”(Anam: 103); and "he said: MyLord! show me (Thyself), so that I may look upon Thee. He said: You cannot (bear to) see Me..."(Araaf: 143);
and “nothing like a likeness of Him”(Shura: 11); and “And when you
said: O Musa! we will not believe in you untill we see Allah
manifestly, so the punishment overtook you whileyou looked
on”(Baqarah: 55).
And does not such a notion contradict rational intelligence, since
lookingupon something requires that the seen thing exists in a
certain place,and that it is a certain distance away from looker.
Consequently, both thelooker and the seen thing shall be in front
of each others, and suchcondition cannot apply to the Creator, the
Exalted, because that meansthat His Holy Essence must be
regarded as a certain material; and thus,He shall be in need of an
abode and direction. But, as we know, suchconditions are only
related to materials, and it is also known that theSunni ulama do not believe in incarnation? Now, if these hadiths are contrary to the Holy Quran and rationalintelligence, then how could Sunni ulama accept them and
agree uponthem without even discussing their chains of narrators
ordocumentation? However, is it correct to agree on these hadiths
onlybecause they have been mentioned in the two Sahih
Question 2
Can anyone who accompanied the Holy Prophet (s.w.) and saw
him beconsidered a just sahaabi?
There is no doubt that anyone who acompanied the Holy Prophet
(s.w.)is considered a companion. The companions were very
fortunatebecause they have seen the Holy Prophet (s.w.) and
benefitted from hisholy existence and spirituality. But, at the same
time, we have to say thatthis accompaniment does not protect the
companion from falling in thewrong, and it cannot be anyone’s
ticket to enter paradise. Rather, truebelief in Allah, good deeds,
and adhering to the Islamic shariah is thereal security. This is clear from the holy verses, especially the surah ofal-Asr.
We don’t have in our hand any hadith or narration confiring that
anyonewho accompanied the Holy Prophet (s.w.) is infallible or
just, or evenpious. On the contrary, we have many verses
declaring that some of theHoly Prophet’s companions were
hypocrite and they remained on theirhypocrisy until they died.
Thus, the opinion which says that all the HolyProphet’s
companions are just, and that they must be obeyed isabsolutely
incorrect, rather it contradicts the Holy Quran. How can weregard
all the companions to be just and that they must be followed,while
some of them have accused the Holy Prophet’s wife of having
anillegal relationship?! This event has been mentioned in the Holy
Quran inthe surah of al-Noor, verse 11. Some other companions
were drunkards,like Qudamah ibn Madhoon who had been punished for this act. Walidibn Uqbah was also a companion
about whom the following Quranicverse had been revealed: “O
you who believe! if an evil-doer comes toyou with a report, look
carefully into it, lest you harm a people inignorance” [al-Hujurat:6].
Other companions had committed adultry!(See: Usd al-Ghaabah,
vol. 4&5, where you can get more informationabout their names
and shameful biography in details). How can weadhere to any
companion, while at the same time when we find
outrightcontradictions between what they say and what they do.
This is besidethe mental, dogmatic, and political disputes that had
happened betweenthe companions themselves? When Abdul
Rahman ibn Awf said to ImamAli (a.s.) in the gathering when Umar was dying: I swear allegiance toyou according to the Quran,
the sunnah of the Prophet, and the way oflife of the two caliphs.
Imam Ali (a.s.) said,"No! I accept your allegianceaccording to the
Quran, the sunnah of the Prophet, and my opinion!"This means
that Imam Ali (a.s.) didn’t agree to follow the way of life ofthe two
caliphs.
Thus, we can ask that:
1- Does investigating the companions’ biographies and way of
lifecontradict the Holy Quran? The Holy Quran itself discloses
many factsand unveils many characters, the following verses are
examples: (1) “Thedwellers of the desert are very hard in unbelief
and hypocrisy, and moredisposed not to know the limits of what
Allah has revealed to HisApostle; and Allah is Knowing, Wise”; (2)
“And of the dwellers of thedesert are those who take what they
spend to be a fine, and what theywait (the befalling of) calamities
to you; on them (will be) the evilcalamity”; (3) “And of the dwellers
of the desert are those who believe inAllah and the latter day and
take what they spend to be (means of) thenearness of Allah”; (4)
“And as for the foremost, the first of the Muhajirsand the Ansars…
and from among those who are round about you of thedwellers of
the desert there are hypocrites, and from among the peopleof
Medina(also); they are stubborn in hypocrisy; you do not know
them;We know them; We will chastise them twice, then shall they
be turnedback to a grievous chastisement” [Tawbah:98-100].
In other Quranic verses we see that the names of some of
thecompanions have been mentioned in the Holy Quran. In these
versesthey have been considered irreligious, like Walid ibn
Uqbah about whomthe Holy Quran has said,"O you who believe! if an evil-doer comes toyou with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people inignorance" [al-Hujurat:6]. The narrations of Sunni sources have disclosedthe name of this person whom the Quran is making reference too. Anarration had been mentioned in the Sahih of al-Bukhari (the book ofduas, a chapter on
al-Hawdhöthe poolö) declares the Holy Prophet(s.w.) had said,"I am
your missing baby near the pool. There, some menwill be lifted
unto me, but when I come down to lift them up, they will
bescattered around me! At that time, I will say, O my Lord! these are mycompanions!' He will answer me saying, You don’t know
what they didafter you!’
Many traditions have been narrated in The Sunni sources
(Sahihal-Bukhari that are having such meaning - a chapter on
al-Hawdhöthepoolö, vol.8, pp.13,504,505.)
It is incorrect to look at all the companions with one eye; this is in
factopposite of the Holy Quran. The truth is that many of the Holy
Prophet’scompanions were pious and true believers, while there
were some whowere known for their false belief and hypocrisy.
History shows us manyexamples of such individuals.
2- Is it correct to close our eyes and ears, saying that all the
companionswere pious, good, and that all of their deeds were
credible even if theyhad some deeds which were opposed to the
Islamic law (shar)? 3- Is it right to justify their evil deeds, saying that they were practisingijtihad, and that their wrong doings did not happen intentionally? If they were free to practise ijtihad, why can't we also practise ijtihad?Why is it that some say: You are kafir (an infidel)! if you practise ijtihad?Why do you consider all those who criticizes the companions accordingto the Holy Quran, kafirs? One of the Hanafi scholars, Ibn Abdeen, hadmade a nice statement, saying,
“Considering others as kafirs withoutevidences is the behaviour of
the pagans not the mujtahids!”
4- Can we call this behaviour of yours but extremity and
exaggeration?How could you accuse others of exaggeration and
forget to criticizeyourselves? We haven’t any evidence that the
companions of the HolyProphet (s.w.) were infallible, but when you
talk about their deeds youtalk exaggeratedly, and even at times,
you consider the companionseven better than an infallible or the
Holy Prophet (s.w.) himself. However,when the Shiites speak about their Imams as infallible imamas, youaccuse them of fabrication and lies! Many Sunni scholars have dared tosay that many Quranic verses were revealed according to Umar’s will.Yes,
these words have been written by a Sunni scholar under the
title"Muwafaqaat Umar". The Sunni people perform the prayers known as "taraweeh" inRamadhan in congregation, while it is an inovation fabricated by Umar.Was such a prayer mention in the sunnah of the Holy
Prophet (s.w.)?When the Shiites practise their deeds according to Imam Sadiq'ssayings and narrations, the Sunni people say that the Shiites refer theirdeeds to their Imams because they are
masoom, while they (the Sunnis)give a better rank to a companion than the rank of the Holy Prophet(s.w.). This clearly dicloses their contradictions. It is better for those who accuse the shiites of untrue
performance tolook to their beliefs and sayings?
What a beautiful saying that Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “The lover of a
thing isblind and deaf.”
What are the basis upon which Mu`wiyah depended to practise
ijtihad -eventually causing him to wage a savage war against Imam
Ali (a.s.); thewar which caused many eminent companions to die?
It is not logical to interpret some Quranic verses like,“You are best
of thenations raised up for (the benefit of) men,” or “And thus We
have madeyou a medium (just) nation,” etc…, that they are
describing thecompanions and their being just and equal. This is
because it is clearthat these verses and others are talking about
the whole ummah notcertain individuals. For example, when it is
says that the inhabitants ofthe so city are bettere than others, the
whole inhabitants of that city areincluded in this expression -
generally speaking, not necessarily meaningeach of them.
Anyhow, a person may be pious in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet
(s.w.)and it is possible that he changes his behaviours after his
(the Prophet’s)demise. This is exactly what happened and what
the narrations havetold.