Chapter Nine – The misuse of Shia traditions by Nawasib regarding Imam Mahdi (as)

 

It is observed that Nawasib that co-ordinate chat forums, do not waste any opportunity to malign the pure Imams of Ahlulbayt (as) that evidences there filthy illegitimate conceptions. One obsession is their misinterpreting Shia texts pertaining to the reappearance of Imam al Mahdi (as) in order to give them an absurd look and gain the sympathy of Ahle-Sunnah against the Shia. Therefore, in this chapter we shall address all those Shia traditions that love to misinterpret.

Tradition one: The Nasibi accusation that the naked body that will announce the declaration, shall be the Imam (as) himself (naudobillah)

Due to the tampering done by the Nawasib, they have coined the concept of ‘naked Imam’ attributing it to the Shi’a of Ahlulbayt (as). We shall expose their tampering and shall also reveal the nudity that these pathetic people actually attribute to other revered personalities of Islam.

The notorious slain leader of Yazeedies, Maulana Azam Tariq al-Nasibi in his book Khutbaat-e-Jail quoted a tradition from a Farsi book by Shaykh Baqar Majlisi namely ‘Haq ul Yaqeen’ page 347 (published in Iran) and cunningly misinterpreted it which later on become an asset for his Nasibi followers, that blindly quote this tampered with narration and present it as fact to their followers.

Azam Tariq stated:

“One of the signs of the reoccurance of Hazrat Qayim (as) is he would appear before the sun naked and announce that that is Ameerul Mo’mineen (as) who has returned to kill the oppressors” thus the Imam Mahdi of Shias will reappear naked.

Reply One – The actual text of the tradition

We shall point out that the author Shaykh Baqar Majlisi has recorded this tradition with reference to the works of Shaykh Abu Jafar Muhammad bin al-Hasan Tusi popularly known as ‘Shaykh al-Taifa’ and Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Numani. Let us therefore present the original Arabic text from Shaykh Tusi’s book ‘Al-Ghaybah’ page 440 and from Shaykh Numani’s book ‘Al-Ghaybah’ page 186:

سعد بن عبد الله، عن الحسن بن علي الزيتوني و عبد الله بن جعفر الحميري [ معا ] (1) عن أحمد بن هلال العبرتائي، عن الحسن بن محبوب، عن أبي الحسن الرضا عليه السلام – في حديث له طويل اختصرنا (2) منه موضع الحاجة ۔۔۔ . والصوت الثالث – يرون بدنا بارزا نحو عين الشمس -: هذا أمير المؤمنين

Saad bin Abdullah – al-Hassan bin Ali al-Zaitoni & Abdullah bin Jaffar al-Hemiari – Ahmad bin Helal al-Abertaei – al-Hassan bin Mahboob – Abi al-Hassan al-Raza (as)- which is long tradition thus I am just quoting the needed part…The third call they see a body rise toward the sun, this is the commander of the believers and he will attack sprint to perish the unjust.
Al-Ghaybah by Shaykh Tusi, page 440

وحدثنا محمد بن همام قال : حدثنا أحمد بن مابنداد وعبدالله بن جعفر الحميري قالا : حدثنا أحمد بن هلال قال حدثنا الحسن بن محبوب الزراد قال : قال لي الرضا (عليه السلام)۔۔۔ قال : ثلاثة أصوات في رجب : أولها { ألا لعنة الله على الظالمين } ، والثاني : أزفت الأزفة يا معشر المؤمنين ، والثالث : يرون يدا بارزا مع قرن الشمس ينادي : ألا أن الله قد بعث فلانا على هلاك الظالمين

Muhammad bin Humam – Ahmad bin Manabad & Abdullah bin Jaffar al-Hemiari – Ahmad bin Helal – al-Hassan bin Mahboob al-Zarad – al-Raza (as):…. The third: they see a hand rise towards the sun and a caller will say: Verily Allah sent you that certain person with to sprint to perish the unjust.
Al-Ghaybah by Muhammad bin Ibrahim Numani, page 186

Thus, we don’t see the workd ‘naked’ used anywhere in the original texts of the two different versions of this tradition. 
Kitab al Ghaybah page 186

 Reply Two – The tradition is weak

Having proved the non existence of the word ‘naked’ in the original (Arabic) text, we shall also point out that the the chain of narrations of both of the versions of the tradition cited above contain a narrator namely Ahmad bin Helal al-Abertaei whose unreliability is a matter of unanimous opinion. Shaykh Tusi called him ‘an extremist’ (Rijal al-Tusi, p384) while at another place he declared him ‘weak’.

In his very book al-Ghaybah, page 353, Shaykh Tusi has recorded the following text pertaining to Ahmd bin Helal:

Muhammad bin Yaqoub reported that a long message sent to al-Ameri, we summarize it: ‘We renounce from Ahmad bin Helal may Allah’s mercy not be upon him, and we reject those who do not reject him. Inform al-Eshaqi and the people of his town what we told you about his dissolute status, and also inform this to whoever asks you and would ask you about him.’

If Nawasib are keen to rely on Shaykh Baqar Majlesi’s book ‘Haq-ul-Yaqeen’ then we should point out that Shaykh Majlisi likewise graded him ‘weak’ in Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 3 page 254 & Rijal Majlesi, page 154. Sayyed Tabatebai in ‘Riyaz al-Mesael’ Volume 3 page 184, Sayyed Muhammad al-Amili in ‘Madarek al-Ahkam’ Volume 2 page 167 and Sayyed Rohani in ‘Feqh al-Sadeq’ Volume 4 page 204 also declared him ‘weak’. Sayyed Burujardi in ‘Taraef al-Maqal’ Volume 1 page 227 and Sayyed Sabzawari in ‘Zakhirat al-Meaad’ Volume 1 page 59 have also pointed out the unreliability of this narrator. According to Shaykh Seduq, no one became Shia and then turned Nasibi except Ahmad bin Helal (Tanqeh al-Maqal, v1 p100 & Naqad al-Rijal, p36). In Rijal al-Kashi, Volume 2 page 816 we read that he was cursed by Imam Askari (as). Allamah al-Heli records in ‘Khulasat al-Aqwal’ page 320:

‘According to me, his narration is not acceptable’

Reply Three – An interpretation of the tradition

Having proved that the original text of the two different versions of the tradition do not contain the word ‘naked’ and the unreliability of the tradition, let us reply to the Nawasib who are stubborn and would utilize a non-Arabic version of the tradition against the Shi’a, using the word ‘naked’. Let us for arguments sake accept the existence of the word ‘naked’ in the text, the Nawasib no right to exploit it, since similar contexts exist in their authentic books too, yet the Sunni scholars offer a different interpretation. Esteemed Sunni Imam Mulla Ali Qari records the following tradition:

عن أبي سعيد الخدري قال جلست في عصابة بالكسر أي جماعة من ضعفاء المهاجرين يغني أصحاب الصفة وأن بعضهم ليستتر ببعض من العرى

‘Narrated Abu Sa’id al-Khudri: I was sitting in the company of the poor members of the emigrants. Some of them were sitting together because of nakedness’
Mishkaat al-Masabeh, Volume 7 page 59

The same narration also appears in Sunan Abu Daud Hadith number 3586 and Sheikh Al Manawi has termed the hadith to be Jayyid (i.e good). See Kashf Al Manahij. Volume 2 page numbers 241-242. Furthermore, according to Sunni scholar Ahmed bin Abi Bakar bin Ismail BuSeri, the narrators of the tradition are all authentic:
Itehaf al-Khayra al-Mahrah, Vol 7 page 117 Chap 147 Hadith 6962

 

The translation of the word ‘Ari’ from:
Arabic to Enlish online dictionary

Mulla Ali Qari in his commentary of the word ‘nakedness’ states:

“Nakedness refers to areas other the private parts.”
Mirqat al Mafateeh Volume 5, Page 78

If the nakedness is mentioned in the context of the ‘beloved sweet’ Sahaba, the Sunni ulema interpret the authentic tradition in the aforesaid manner, so what gives the present day Nawasib to mock the non-Arabic and unreliable Shia tradition having a similar word! The reality is the Shia text informs us about Imam Mahdi (as):

“…Messenger of Allah (s) said: Till Allah (swt) allows him to appear, so he will march from Yemen, from a village called Kar’a, he will be wearing turban and my armor, holding my sword Dulfiqar.”
Kefayat al-Athar, page 150

Reply Four – The true objective behind the Nawasib contaminating the Shia tradition regarding Imam Mahdi (as)

Other than inheriting the vile tendencies from their ancestors, what else motivated these Nawasib to distort the Shia tradition and give it an absurd look? The only reason that comes into mind is the frustration these children of Muawiyah have been bearing, since if one analyzes the texts they die for, he would come to know that these shameless people have attributed nudity to various revered personalities of their school, including those revered by Muslims. Let us shed some light on a few of such text.

One: According to Nawasib, Prophet Moses (as) ran naked (naudobillah)

It is indeed unfortunate that these Nawasib have not even spared the blessed prophets of Allah (swt) from such absurdities. We read the following tradition in Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 616:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Apostle said, “(The Prophet) Moses was a shy person and used to cover his body completely because of his extensive shyness. One of the children of Israel hurt him by saying, ‘He covers his body in this way only because of some defect in his skin, either leprosy or scrotal hernia, or he has some other defect.’ Allah wished to clear Moses of what they said about him, so one day while Moses was in seclusion, he took off his clothes and put them on a stone and started taking a bath. When he had finished the bath, he moved towards his clothes so as to take them, but the stone took his clothes and fled; Moses picked up his stick and ran after the stone saying, ‘O stone! Give me my garment!’ Till he reached a group of Bani Israel who saw him naked then, and found him the best of what Allah had created, and Allah cleared him of what they had accused him of. The stone stopped there and Moses took and put his garment on and started hitting the stone with his stick….”

Two: According to Nawasib, the Holy Prophet (s) exposed himself in public (naudobillah)

Not only Moses (as), but the most exalted of Creations, the Prophet of Allah (swt) has also been not spared from the attribution of such blasphemy. We read in Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 8, Number 360:

Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah:
While Allah’s Apostle was carrying stones (along) with the people of Mecca for (the building of) the Ka’ba wearing an Izar (waist-sheet cover), his uncle Al-’Abbas said to him, “O my nephew! (It would be better) if you take off your Izar and put it over your shoulders underneath the stones.” So he took off his Izar and put it over his shoulders, but he fell unconscious and since then he had never been seen naked.

If this does not suffice, then allow us to cite another episode from one of the most authentic hadith books of the Ahle Sunnah. We read in  Sunan Tirmidhi, Volume 4 page 174:

عن عائشة قالت: قدم زيد بن حارثة المدينة ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في بيتي فأتاه فقرع الباب فقام إليه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عريانا يجر ثوبه والله ما رأيته عريانا قبله ولا بعده فاعتنقه وقبله

Narrated by Aisha: ‘Zayd ibn Harithah came to Madina when Allah’s Messenger (s) was in my house. When he came to him (s) and knocked at the door Allah’s Messenger (s) got up and went to him naked, trailing his garment. I swear by Allah that neither before nor after that had I ever seen him naked. He then embraced him and kissed him.’

If early Nasibi ulema didn’t spare the Prophet (s) from slander of nudity to, then attributing similar absurdities to the last successor of the very Prophet (s) by the present day Nawasib is not a surprise!

Three: The blasphemous belief of Nawasib regarding Prophet Aiyub (as)

In Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 93, Number 585, we read that Prophet Aiyub (as) was naked as he bathed when gold locusts started fell on him, he prioritised collecting them over clothing himself.

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, “Once while Job (Aiyub) was taking a bath in a naked state. Suddenly a great number of gold locusts started falling upon him and he started collecting them in his clothes. His Lord called him, ‘O Job! Didn’t I make you rich enough to dispense with what you see now?’ Job said, ‘Yes, O Lord! But I cannot dispense with Your Blessings.

Four: The beloved Sahabi of Nawasib, Amr bin al–Aas was an expert in making his private parts public

If one of the beloved Sahabi and Fuquha of the Nawasib namely Amr bin al-Aas had no shame in exposing his private parts public, then what can we Shi’a of Ahlulbayt (as) do in this regard? For those readers who are unaware of the honorable tactics adopted by Amr bin al-Aas during war, let us quote Ibn Katheer:

“One day ‘Ali attacked Amr ibn Aas, he threw a spear and Amr fell to the ground, Amr fell to the ground and he then exposed his buttocks. ‘Ali then turned away his face [people said] this was Amr bin Aas. ‘Ali replied he showed me his anus and this made me merciful to him. When Amr ibn Aas returned, Mu’awiya said ‘You should praise Allah and your anus”.
 Al Bidayah wa al Nihayah, Volume 7 page 293

Allamah Abu Hanifa Ahmed bin Dawud Dinori in ‘Akhbar al Tawaal’ has reported the flashing incident in the same manner, with the words of Mu’awiya to his beloved Commander as follows:

“You should shower praises on Allah (swt) and that black anus that saved your life today”
Al Akhbar at Tawaal page 177 Dhikr Sifeen

The incident has also been recorded in:
1. Al Manaqib al Khwarizmi page 162 Dhikr Sifeen
2. Tadhkira al Khawwas al Ummah page 51 Dhikr Sifeen
3. Muttalib al Saul page 122 Dhikr Sifeen
4. Aqd al Fareed page 235 Dhikr Sifeen

It is amazing how one’s activities can reflect ones name. This man was certainly an ‘Aas’ by name and an ‘Aas’ by nature. Again the followers of the Sahaba should feel pride at such unashamed nudity. Rather than feel embarrassed by such an act, we would urge those of Deobandi and Salafi persuasion to implement this Sunnah to defend oneself. In this day and age Governments are doing their utmost to stress that citizens have a role in crime prevention, and should take pre-emptive measures to counter crimes such as assault or robbery. That is why you will often see (in the West) people carrying panic alarms to ward off criminals, others will take up self defence, whilst others even carry pepper spray with which to fight off an attack. We would urge Salafis and Deobandis to leave such accessories at home, if they are indeed adherents of the Sunnah of the Sahaba then need to look no further than placing their faith in the greatest defence accessory their buttocks. Nudity in general Muslim circles is abhorrent, by the Fuquha Amr bin Aas (ra) showed the Nawasib world not to feel shy at nudity, rather it should be utilised to protects one from physical harm. The next time these lovers of the Sahaba venture out and are confronted by an assailant we would ask that they put their faith in the Sunnah of the Sahaba, and quickly expose their buttock to the ‘would be’ attacker. Whilst no research studies have been conducted, we are sure that those that wish to convince the world about the truthfulness of the Sahaba need to lead by example and should be prepared top convince us by implementing this methodology to counter criminal attacks.

We should also mention such cowardness on the part of Amr bin al-Aas was an old habit. Abul Faraj Asfahani in his book ‘Al-Ghani’ Volume 3 page 965 has recorded that before Islam, there lived a notorious thug, once Amr bin al-Aas was traveling alongwith his wife on a ship. Amarah became drunk and began to flirt with Amr’s wife, whilst he was present. Eventually Amarah asked Amr’s wife to kiss him (Amarah), Amr bin al-Aas being a shameless coward, abruptly asked his wife to kiss him Amarah.

Five: Ayesha performed a topless Ghusl in front of men (naudobillah)

We read in Sahih Bukhari, Bab Ghusl Volume 1, Book 5, Number 251:

Narrated Abu Salama: ‘Ayesha’s brother and I went to ‘A’isha and he asked her about the bath of the Prophet. She brought a pot containing about a Sa’ of water and took a bath and poured it over her head and at what time there was a screen between her and us.

The author of Fath al-Bari Volume 1 page 356, Bab Ghusl then comments upon this hadeeth, writing:

Qadi Ayad says: It is apparent that they could see her actions from her head and the top half of her body, because they were allowed to do as she was a milk-aunt to Abu Salamah and his brother from her sister Umm Kulthum. As for the lower part of her body, this was covered.

Todays Nawasib offer all manner of excuse for this tradition and suggest that Ayesha was clothed and that the observers were related to Ayesha. If she was then what be the need for Ayesha to stand behind a screen? She could have demonstrated it fully clothed before the Sahaba. Then look at the commentary of Imam Qadi Iyad, the Prophet (s)’s wife stood up before Abu Salamah and exposed the entire upper half of her body, hair, breasts, and all. Do Nawasib have any right to attribute nudity to our Imam (as) when their Sahih books and the comemntaries of their Ulema suggest that Ayesha had no reservations about appearing topless before her male relatives?

Six: A revered Deobandi majzoob (saint) would remain naked before the masses

We read the following account in “The life & miracles of hazrat Shaikh Musaji Mehter Tadkeshwari rahmatullahi alai” being a translation of Imam-e-ahle Sunnah Maulana Abdush-Shakoor Lakhnowi’s “karamate Musaweeyah”.

Some Fuqara (pious mendicants) gave glad tidings of Hazrat becoming a great pious saint even before his birth. For instance one Majzoob (one lost in divine meditation) by the name of Nangai Mia (who used stay naked because his clothes would burn away), used to come to Tadkeshwar from Baruch. On one occasion Hazrat’s grandmother who was inclined to this Majzoob sahib requested him that he make dua that Allah tala grant them a son. The Majzoob sahib commented, “What will you do with a son?” Then he pointing towards Hazrat’s mother, who was still in her childhood, and said, “This girl will bear such a son who will be a great and pious saint.”
http://www.inter-islam.org/Biographies/shkmusa.htm – (Cached)

Seven: Public nudity is the pre-condition to hearing the speech of a great Deobandi scholar

Talking about his maternal uncle from Hyderabad, the Imam of Deobandies Maulana Asharaf Ali Thanvi says:

“Abdur Rahmaan Khan Sahib, proprietor of Nizami press, also came to meet him (Thanvi Sahib’s maternal uncle) and was much impressed by his talk on realities and wisdom. He, therefore, requested him (Thanvi Sahib’s maternal uncle) to give a public lecture on the subject so that all Muslims could benefit. The maternal uncle (of Thanvi Sahib) gave a strangely independent and rakish answer. He said, Khan Sahib, what have I got do with lecturing? But when the Khan Sahib continued to insist upon it, then he said he could oblige him only on one condition, which he should arrange. Poor Abdur Rahmaan Khan Sahib was a serious elderly man. He wondered what such an arrangement would be, which could not be made. Eagerly he asked him about the arrangement, which he wanted to be made. The maternal uncle (of Thanvi Sahib) said that it was that he should go to the market-place in a nude state with one man infront stretching his sexual organ and the other from behind putting a finger in his rectum and a multitude of boys shouting, here is a pimp, here is a pimp and then he would lecture on realities and wisdom.”
Al-Ifaazaatul Yaumiyah, Volume 9 page 212 (published by Idara Talifaat Ashraiyah, Multan, Pakistan)

As is clear from this reference, nudity in the eyes of Deobandi Mullah’s is not restricted to intimate private moments, rather it is a pre-condition to delivering a momentous religious speech. The next time a Deobandi Mullah belonging to Sipah Sahabah delivers a public speech on the merits of his father Yazeed, we would urge his male adherents to annouce the event in the streets by appearing naked in public, with fellow ‘brothers’ yanking their penises and squeezing their buttocks. Nawasib falsely attribute nudity to our Imam (as), one wonders what right they have to even think this, when voyeuristic public acts of nudity and live sexual humiliation, are not only acceptable, but are infact encouraged by the Deobandi Ulema?

Eight: Imam of Deobandies Maulana Qasim Nanatovi loved to undress children

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi known in the Deobandi world as ‘The Physician of the Muslims’ [Hakim al-ummat] and ‘Reformer of the Nation’ [Mujaddid al-Millat] narrates the following ‘decent’ habit of his master Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi:

“Maulana (Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi) used to laugh and speak with the children and he used to make fun with Jalaluddin Sahibzada Maulana Muhammad Yaqub [rh] who was a child at that time and he used to sometimes putt off his (child’s) cap and take off his Izar (waist-sheet cover).”
Hikayat e Awliyah, page 191 (published in Karachi)

As Thanvi failed to record what Maulana Nanotovi performed ‘next’ we shall likewise refrain from adopting conjecture! What is relevant is this example demonstrates that nudity (even child nudity) is perfectly acceptable for Deobandis. Deobandis should not feel disillusioned if they ever see their local Madrassas full of Mullahs surrounded by naked boys, if anything this demonstrates how at ease the Deobandi clergy are with child nudity. Youth attending such madrassas should not feel uncomfortable with such nudity either, after all how else will they acquire the confidence and skills to appear naked publicly and allow their genitalia to be tugged whilst calling people to Dawah conferences, of the likes that we cited in reply eight.

Nine: The naked female Saint of Deoband

Muhammad Ruhullah Naqshbandi writes:
In Deoband there was an elder named Maulana Fariduddin and in his time there was a Majzoobah. She used to go around naked. Someone asked her, 'why don't you conceal your satr (private parts)?' She said: 'It is not necessary to veil oneself before bulls and donkeys...one is only commanded to veil oneself in the presence of men.' One day she was going about ordinarily when all of a sudden she began to exclaim: 'Bring clothing! Bring clothing! A man is approaching'. After a little while Maulana Fariduddin appeared.
Majazeeb Ki Pur Asrar Dunya page 84

Ten: Nudity is the criterion for assessing a Hanafi Imams right to lead Salat

In the Hanafi / Deobandi madhab’s authority work Dur al Mukhthar Volume 1 page 601 we read the criteria that can be used to decide which Imam should lead the prayers if two Imams are present in a Mosque at one given time:

۔ (والاحق بالامامة)۔۔۔ ثم الاحسن زوجة، ثم الاكثر مالا، ثم الاكثر جاها، ثم الانظف ثوبا، ثم الاكبر رأسا والاصغر عضوا

“The one who deserves more to lead the prayer is….one whose wife more beautiful, one who has more money, one who has more possession, one whose clothes are clean, one whose head is larger and penis is smaller”
Dur al Mukhtar, Volume 1 page 601

Allamah Al-Shurunbulati Al-Hanafi:

“Then the one whose wife is more beautiful, for his better chastity, then the one whose head is larger and his member (penis) is smaller, then the one who has more wealth, then the one who has more possession”.
Maraqai al Fallah page 112

In this day and age business is all about risk assessment, to counter any potential problem, and we salute the Hanafi Madhab for thinking about how to address this most pressing of eventualities. How can such a difficult problem be resolved? This could only be resolved through public nudity, after all how else could the matter be addressed? Merely relying on each Imams testimony would not suffice, after all the party going first would be at an automatic disadvantage, since once he disclosed his vital statistics, the second candidate would automatically quote a smaller size and win! It would be unfair on both candidates if an assessment was based on one Hanafi worshipper guessing an Imams’ penis size by merely holding the kaftan crotch area! That could never be scientific. The only viable solution is to have the matter quite literally left ‘in the hands’ of the Hanafi worshippers attending the mosque. Each Imam would have to in effect display his penis before an independent adjudicator who would conduct a precise measure of each sexual organ. Before falsely attributing nudity to Imam Mahdi (as) we would suggest that these Nawasib inspect their own Madhab wherein a Hanafi Imams right to lead Salat demands that each Imam exposes his penis to his ‘brothers’ to ensure the Imam most suitable to lead the Salat is appointed.

Tradition Two: The objection that Imam Mahdi (as) shall excavate the bodies of tyrants

Another objection that comes from the Nawasib belonging to Sipah-e-Sahabah is against a tradition from Shia books such as Bihar al-Anwar and Basair al-Darjaat that shows that Imam Mahdi (as) shall excavate the bodies of certain tyrants that are revered by the Ahle Sunnah.

Azam Tariq stated:

The Imam Mahdi of Shia will bring Abu Bakar and Umar (ra) out of their graves and will hang them on a dry tree and then he will make them alive and will count their oppressions and then he will burn them alive.
Khutbaat-e-Jail, page249-251

Reply One: The tradition is weak

Like their ancestors, the post modern Nawasib seek reliance on fabricated traditions to mobilize the naïve masses against the Shi’a of Ahlulbayt (as). These cunning people try their utmost to gain Sunni sympathy by presenting such fabricated traditions to evidence Shi’a opposition to their caliphs. The above tradition is the perfect example. Let us analyse the chain of narration:

Abi Shoib and Muhammad bin Nusair from Umar bin al-Farat from Muhammad bin al-Mufadhal bin Umar from Imam Jafar Sadiq (as).

Two narrators in the chain namely Muhammad bin Nusair Numeri and Umar bin Farat are unreliable. Muhammad bin Nusair Numeri has been declared as ‘an extremist’ by Sheikh Tusi (Rijal al-Tusi, page 402) and Ibn Daud (Rijal ibn Daud, page 276), while Ibn al-Ghadaeri declared him ‘weak’ (Rijal ibn Ghadaeri, page 99) and so did Shaykh Al-Hur al-Amili (Al-Rijal, page 237). Shahroodi declared him ‘Khabith’ (Mustadrekat elm Rijal, volume 7 page 350). Allamah al-Heli said: ‘Imam Ali bin Muhammad al-Askari cursed him.’ (Khulasat al-Aqwal, page 401). Allamah Maqani while writing about the narrator Muhammad bin Nusair Numeri states:

“There is no doubt with regards to Muhammad bin Nusair Numeri being weak and Zindeeq… he claimed that he was a prophet and messenger, he claimed that he had been sent by Imam Ali bin Muhammad Askari and he believed in their divinity and believed Haram women to be Halal. He was the founder of the Nusairi sect which has been unanimously declared Kafirs by all Shia scholars. Imam Ali bin Muhammad Askari cursed him and had shown his disassociation.”
Tanqeh al-Maqal, Volume 3 page 195

Another narrator in the chain namely Umar bin Farat has been declared ‘weak’ by Shaykh Majlesi (Rijal al-Majlesi, page 270) while he has been declared as ‘an extremist’ by Sheikh Tusi (Rijal Tusi, page 362), Allamah al-Heli (Khulasat al-Aqwal, page 376), Al-Hur al-Amili (Al-Rijal, page 188) and Shahroodi (Mustadrekat Ilm Rijal, volume 6 page 106). Ibn Daud said: ‘An extremist, narrates munkar’ (Rijal ibn Daud, page 264).

Here we deem it appropriate to discuss a similar tradition often quoted by Nawasib from Shia books such as al-Mahasin by al-Burqi and Elal al-Sharaei by Sheikh Seduq according to which Imam Mahdi (as) will excavate the body of Ayesha. We should point out that such tradition is not acceptable since it contain Muhammad bin Sulaiman al-Delami in the chain of narration who has been graded as ‘Very weak’ by Allamah Najashi (Rijal al-Najashi, page 365) and Allamah Heli (Khulasat al-Aqwal, page 402) while he has been declared ’weak’ by Ibn al-Ghadaeri (Rijal ibn al-Ghadaeri), Shaykh Tusi (Rijal al-Tusi, page 363), Ibn Dawood (Rijal ibn Dawood, page 272), Shaykh Majlisi (Rijal al-Majlesi, page 303), Shaykh Burujedri (Taraef al-Makal, Volume 1 page 349), Al-Khoei (Mabani Takmilat al-Minhaj, Volume 2 page 270), Shaykh Sabzawari (Zakhirat al-Mead, Volume 1 page 225) and Shaykh Rohani (Fiqh al-Sadiq, Volume 23 page 141) while he has been declared ‘an extremist’ by Allamah Heli (Khulasat al-Aqwal, page 393) and Shaykh Tusi (Rijal al-Tusi, page 343).

Reply Two: The actual motive behind Nawasib using this tradition

In order to cover up the brutality committed by their ancestors and most importantly their future Imam, the Nawasib have cunningly fabricated and then included such fabrications into their Islamic text. If the truth be told, then according to authentic Islamic literature, the actual man who shall commit such heinous acts shall not be our Imam Mahdi (as), but the Imam of Nawasib namely Sufiyani and yet his adherents attribute such acts to Imam al-Mahdi (as) by using the tradition under discussion. We shall not allow the naïve Muslims to become entangled by this Nasibi trick and will counter this by unveiling the vile character of Nasibi ancestors as well as their future Imam.

Firstly, we deem it appropriate to recall the treatment given to the corpse of the beloved uncle of Prophet (s) namely Hamzah (ra) by the obnoxious mother of Muawiyah, Hinda bint Utbah. The veracity of the incident is evident by the fact that all prominent Sunni scholars have givena place to the incident in their respective works. Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani records in his commentary of Sahih Bukhari namely Fathul Bari, Kitab al-Maghazi:

“Hind and other women went out to decapitate the dead, cutting their ears and noses, until she made a necklace of them (ears & noses) then Hind gave her necklaces to Wahshi as a reward for killing Hamza. Hind (then) ripped (Hamza’s body) to get Hamza’s liver, she chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”
Fathul Bari, Volume 11 page 375 (from Islamport.com)

The same has been recorded by Allamah Badruddin al-Aini in his commentary of Sahih Bukhari, Umma datul Qari, Volume 17 page 143. Imam of Ahle Aunnah Ibn Habban has also recorded in his book of authentic narrators ‘Al-Thuqat’ Volume 1 page 231:

وكانت هند واللاتي معها جعلن يمثلن بالقتلى من أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يجدعن الآذان والآناف حتى اتخذت هند قلائد من آذان المسلمين وآنفهم وبقرت عن كبد حمزة فلاكته فلم تستطعمه فلفظته

“Hind and other women who were with her, decapitated the dead amongst the companions of Prophet (s), cutting their ears and noses, until she made a necklace of ears and noses of Muslims, then she pierced (Hamza’z body) ) to get his liver, she chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”

Imam Qurtubi in his commentary of the Holy Quran also stated:

“Ibn Ishaq said: Hind pierced (Hamza’s body) for his liver, she chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”
Tafseer Qurtubi, Surah 3 verse 122

Allamah Ibn Atheer Jazari records:

وجعل نساء المشركين‏:‏ هند وصواحباتها يجد عن أنف المسلمين وآذانهم ويبقرون بطونهم، وبقرت هند بطن حمزة رضي الله عنه فأخرجت كبده، فجعلت تلوكها فلم تسغها فلفظتها،

“And the polytheist women, Hinda and her mates began to cut the nose and ears of the Muslims, and pierced their stomachs. Hinda pierced the stomach of Hamzah (ra), took out his liver and chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”
Asadul Ghaba fi Marifat al-Sahabah, Volume 3 page 48, under the topic: Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib

Ibn Atheer in his another book ‘Tarikh Kamil’ Volume 2 page 160 has similarly recorded:

“Hind and the women went out to decapitate the dead, Hind made bracelets and necklaces of the ears and noses of the men, and gave the bracelets and necklaces to Wahshi, then she ripped (Hamza’s body) to get to his liver, she chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”
Tareekh Kamil, Volume 1, Dhikr Ghazwa Uhud (from al-eman.com)

The animalistic traits of Muawiya’s mother have also been recorded by Imam Ibn Abdul Barr:

لما كان يوم أحد جعلت هند بنت عتبة النساء معها يجدعن أنوف المسلمين ويبقرن بطونهم ويقطعن الآذان إلا حنظلة فان أباه كان من المشركين و بقرت هند عن بطن حمزة فأخرجت كبدة وجعلت تلوك كبده ثم لفظته

“On the day of Uhud, Hinda bint Utbah and her friends began to cut the nose and ears of the martyrs, they pierced their stomachs except Hinzalah because her father was amongst the polytheists and Hinda pierced the stomach of Hamzah then she took out his liver and started to chew on it and then threw it”
Al-Istiab fi Isma al-Ashaab, Volume 1 page 274

The incident has also been recorded by one of the staunch lovers of Muawiya namely Dhahabi in his famed work Tarikh al-Islam, Volume 2 page 205:

“Hind and other women went out to decapitate the dead, Hind made bracelets and neckleces of the ears and the noses of the men, she then gave the bracelets and necklaces to Wahshi. She then pierced (Hamza’s body) to get to his liver, she chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”

We read in Al-Mukhtasar fi Tarikh al-Bashar, Volume 1 page 87 by Allamah Abu al-Fida:

“Hind and the women who were with her decapitated the dead of the messenger of Allah’s companions, cutting their ears and noses, until she made a necklace comprised of the ears and noses, then she peirced (Hamza’z body) ) to get to his liver, she chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”
Tareekh Abul Fida, Volume 1 page 87

Shaykh Shu’aib al-Arnaoot in his column of Imam Dhahabi’s book, Siar alam al-Nubala, Volume 3 page 141 states:

“The son of liver eaters: Mu’awiya, because his mother Hind pierced (Hamza’s body) to get to Hamza’s (ra) liver after his martyrdom in the battle of Uhud , she then chewed on it but couldn’t eat it, so she spat it out”

On margin of Siar alam al-Nubala, Volume 1, page 180, Sheikh Shu’aib al-Arnaoot affirmed the incident to be authentic. Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal records in Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, Volume 1 page 463 Hadith 4182:

Ibn Masoud narrated: “… They (Muslims) saw that Hamza’s stomach had been ripped open and Hind took his liver and chewed on it but she couldn’t eat it, then the Messenger of Allah asked: ‘Did she eat some thing from it?’. They (Muslims) answered: ‘No’. He (s) said: ‘God would not allow a part of Hamza to enter Hell’. Then the prophet placed Hamza before Him (s) and prayed over him…..”

In their respective margins of Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, Shaykh Shu’aib al-Arnaoot declared this tradition ‘Hasan’ while Shakyh Ahmed Muhammad Shakir (d. 1958) declared it ‘Sahih’.

Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol 4 pages 250-251 Tradition 4414 (margin by Shaykh Ahmed Shakir)

The incident has also been recorded in:

  1. Seerat Ibn Hasham, Volume 3 page 391 (Cairo)
  2. Seerat al-Halabiyah, Volume 6 part 10 page 181 (Delhi)
  3. Sheikh al-Mudira, by Mahmoud Abo Raya, page 160
  4. Tazkara Sahabiyat by Talib Hashmi, page 361 (Lahore)
  5. Khutbaat-e-Qasmi (the leader of Sipah-e-Sahabah), Vol 1 page 49 (Faisalabad).
  6. Zakhair al Uqba, Volume 1 page 182
  7. Tafsir Samarqandi, Volume 1 page 319 Surah 3 verse 140
  8. Tafseer Khazin, Volume 1 page 470 Surah 3 verse 144
  9. Tafseer Al-Baab by Ibn Aadil, Volume 4 page 351 Surah 3 verse 144
  10. Tabaqat Ibn saad, Volume 3 page 12
  11. Subal Huda wal Rashad, Volume 4 page 241
  12. Sirah Nabawiyah by Ibn Kathir, vol 3 page 74
  13. Tafsir Ibn Kathir, volume 8 page 98 Surah 60 verse 12
  14. Tafsir Tabari, volume 23 page 341 Surah 60 verse 12
  15. Tafseer Dur al Manthur, Volume 8 page 134
  16. Rauz al Anaf, Volume 3 page 276 by Imam Saheli (d. 581 H)
  17. Tahreer wal Tanweer, Volume 1 page 4396 by Muhaamd Tahir bin Ashur al-Tunsi (d. 1393 h) Surah 60 verse 12

These inhuman characteristics of Hinda were transferred into her future filthy loins which is why in 46 Hijra, her son Muawiyah sought to disturb the graves of the martyrs of Uhud by issuing instructions for the excavation of the land just between the graves of the martyrs so that a water canal could run through it. Besides other martyrs, the grave of Hazrat Hamzra (ra) was also excavated and to quote the beloved scholar of Nawasib namely Ibn Kathir:

فأصابت المسحاة قدم حمزة فانبعث (2) دما.

“The spade hit the leg of Hamzah which turned into a wound and fresh blood started to flow from it.”
Al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah, Volume 4 page 49

Muawiyah may have committed several cruel acts and sins but he did not commit any disloyalty in transferring these animal traits into his son Yazeed, where upon it is evident that such filthy blood kept showing its true colors. On the instructions of Yazeed in 61 Hijri, the corpses of the martyrs of Karbala were ruined by horses running over them. The heads of all martyrs were detached, raised on spears and were paraded from Karbala to Damascus as a form of degradation.

A Nasibi ruler Mutawakal Ali Allah Abbasi in 236 Hijri destroyed Imam Hussain (as)’s shrine and issued instructions that water be spilled over it and the land be used for agricultural purposes.

These traits are not just those of the ancestors of the present day Nawasib, prophetic traditions inform us of the appearance of a person prior to Qayamah, who shall be from the same filthy lineage of Muawiyah and shall reinstate the barbaric practices of Muawiyah and Hinda. As recorded by Ibn Wardi al-Shafiyee (d. 749) in ‘Khareeda tul Ajaib’ and Shaikh Mutahar bin Tahir al-Maqdisi in ‘Al-Bada wal Tarikh’ we read:

“He will appear from Damishq and shall dispatch his armies via sea and land. They shall pierce the wombs of pregnant women, pierce the men with axes and burn them alive. They shall place them in blazing containers. The very Sufiyani shall dispatch an army in order to attack Madina. They will kill people on a massive scale, make them prisoners and shall move forward after burning them alive. Then they will dig the graves of the Prophet (s) and Fatima Zahra (ra) and then in Madina, they will murder every individual having his/her name Muhammad or Fatima and will hang their corpses at the door of the mosques.”
1. Khareeda tul Ajaib, page 132 (Cairo)
2. Al-Bada wal Tarikh, Vol 1 page 178 (Published in Barez, 1899 )

According to Imam Qurtubi, the Sufiyani will introduce himself with the following words:

يقوم في أهل دمشق فيقول يا أهل دمشق : أنا رجل منكم و أنت خاصتنا جدي معاوية بن أبي سفيان

“He shall address the people of Damishq: ‘O people of Damishq, I am from you and you people are special to us. My grandfather was Muawiyah bin Abi Sufiyan.”
Tazkirah Qurtubi, page 693

While recording the signs of Qayamah, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi in his authority work Bahishti Zewer, part 7 page 356 states:

“In the very time era, a person from the progeny of Abu Sufiyan will born in one of the Sirya who will kill a number of Syeds”

Bahishti Zewer, part 7 page 356

Allamah Yusuf Muqdasi al-Shafiyee records:

“Sufiyani shall bear a grudge against the Ahlulbayt to the extent that he shall kill every Muslim individual bearing the name Muhammad, Ahmad, Ali, Jafar, Hasan, Hussain, Fatima and Zainab. He shall hang those children named Hasan and Hussain at the door of the mosque of Kufa. The Sufiyani people will come up against Iran and they will murder the Shia of Muhammad’s progeny and then the people of Iran will come up in search of Imam Mahdi.”
Iqd al-Durr, page 22

Allamah Yusuf Muqdasi Shafiyee made it clear that Sufiyani will be the son of the liver eater i.e. Muawiyah’s mother:

ومن ذلك خروج السفياني ابن آكلة الأكباد من الوادي اليابس، وعتوه وتجنيده الأجناد ذوي القلوب القاسية والوجوه العوابس، ظهور أمره وتغلبه على البلاد، وتخريبه المدارس والمساجد وإظهاره للظلم والجور والفساد، وتعذيبه كل راكع وساجد، وقتله العلماء والفضلاء والزهاد، مستبيحا سفك الدماء المحرمة، ومعاندته لآل محمد أشد العناد متجريا على إهانة النفوس المكرمة، والخسف بجيشه بالبيداء ومن معهم من حاضر وباد جزاء بما عملوا، ويغادرهم غدرهم مثلة للعباد

Iqd al-Durr, page 27

We can see how cunningly the present day Nawasib attribute such brutal acts to our Imam Mahdi (as) when they shall infact be committed by their ‘would be’ Imam Sufiyani. We can also identify his lineage as being that same one that created problems for Islam from the outset and continues to do so today. After all:

  1. Abu Sufiyan continually fought the Prophet of Islam (s),
  2. his filthy son Muawiyah acted as a hurdle to peace stability for Ali bin Abi Talib (as),
  3. Muawiyah then passed on his vile traits to his son Yazeed (la) who broke all records of oppression and inhumanity.

Finally from the the very base progeny shall com, the Imam of Nawasib namely Sufiyani, but again, Allah (swt) shall appoint the same pure lineage of Prophet (s) to counter the filth of Nasibism once and for all!

Tradition Three: The objection that the Prophet (s) and Ali (as) shall give bayah to Imam Mahdi (as)

Azam Tariq established a chapter with the title ‘the Prophet (s) and Ali (ra) shall give bayah to Imam Mahdi (as)’ and then states:

Baqar Majlisi in his book Haq-ul-Yaqeen has narrated a tradition from Imam Baqar that when Qaaim-e-Aal-e-Muhammad (means Mahdi) appears, Allah will help him through angels and the first one to give him bayah will be Muhammad and after him Ali will give his bayah to him’ (Haq-ul-Yaqeen, page 139, published in Iran).[Khutbaat-e-Jail, page266]

Reply One : The tradition is weak

As we pointed out earlier, Nawasib have made it their habit to select some fabricated texts from Shia books so as to criticize and mock at them. The tradition this time used by the Nasibi author is no different. The cited tradition contains some narrators among them one is a notorious liar and extremely weak while there is no record of another one in the books of Rijal. The chain of the narrators of this tradition are:

“Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Saeed from Yahyah bin Zakariya bin Shaybaan from Yusuf bin Kuleb from Hasan bin Ali bin Abi Hamzah from Aasim bin Hameed Al-Hinaat from Abi Hamzah Thamaali who said that he heard from Abu Jafar (as)…”

The first weak narrator is Hasan bin Ali bin Abi Hamzah al-Bataini who according to Shaykh Majlesi too, is weak (Rijal al-Majlesi, page 188) and so he is according to Ibn al-Ghadaeri (Rijal Ibn al-Ghadaeri, page 51) while Allamah Al-Heli declared him extremely ‘weak’ (Khulasat al-Aqual, page 181). He has been declared a liar by Ibn Daud (Rijal ibn Daud, page 238), Sayyed Burujedi (Taraef al-Maqal, Volume 1 page 295) and Sayyed Al-Khoei (Kitab al-Hajj, Volume 4 page 102), while declared as ‘lair’ and ‘extremist’ in by al-Kashi in Rijal al-Kashi, Volume 2 page 724.

The second narrator is Yusuf bin Kuleb. Sheikh Ali Shahroudi whose biographical details are non existent (Mustadrkat Elm Rijal Hadith, Volume 8 page 291). Similarly, Sheikh Ali Akbar Ghafari said about him: ‘We couldn’t find his name in the books of Rijal’ (Margin of Sheikh Mufid’s book Amali, page 138). Also Sheikh Ali Akbar Najad said: ‘We couldn’t find his biography’ (Margin of Sheikh Mufid’s book al-Kafia, page 41).

Reply Two: The actual meaning of the tradition

Having proven the unreliability of the tradition, we shall also expose the deceitful nature of the author. The Nasibi author has misinterpreted the tradition and has tried to pass the notion that according to this tradition, Imam Mahdi (as) is superior to Prophet (s) and Ali (as) (naudobillah) but have these Nawasib ever accepted the same regarding Prophet Isa (as) since the Sunni traditions record that Isa (as) shall offer Salat behind Imam Mahdi (as)? The Arabic term in question is ‘Bil Mubayiat’ which according to Sunni Imam Nawawi means:

“Bil Mubayiat means an agreement’
 Sharah Sahih Muslim, Volume 12 page 229

Ibn Manzur records in his authority work Lisan al-Arab, Volume 8 page 26:

“Agreement”

Zubaidi states in his famed work Taj al-Aroos, Volume 11 page 35:

“Mubaya, tabaye: means contracting or agreement.”

Thus, Holy Prophet (s) and Ali (as) would advance their support and aid to Imam Mahdi (as) in his task of successfully cascading Allah (swt)’s religion across the globe. This is similar to the allegiance (Bayah) that was taken under the tree between Prophet (s) and Sahabah. That allegiance was actually an agreement and promise of assistance on the part of Sahabah during war and not to flee from the battlefield, while the allegiance (Bayah) for accepting the religion of Islam had already been done previously. This leaves the Nawasib with no grounds to yap at the cited Shia tradition by advancing their flawed interpretation!

Tradition Five: The objection that there aren’t any sincere Shi’a other than the 313 supporters of Imam (as)

The Nasibi author has quoted a statement of Imam Muhammad Taqi (as) from Ihtijaj Tabarsi, page 240:

“Among his companions, the number of people equal to the people of Badar i.e. 313 will come to you from different parts of the world… when amongst the sincere ones to you will be gathered in this number, then Allah will make you appear”[Khutbaat-e-Jail, page 243]

By citing this tradition, the Nasibi author sought to prove that the non appearance Imam Mahdi (as) to date is because the number of sincere Shi’a has not reached the number 313, whilst all other Shi’a remain insincere.

Reply One: The deliberate misinterpretation by the ignorant author

Only an ignorant and Nasibi would have arrived at such an absurd conclusion. Since his sole intention was to criticize the Imams of Ahlulbayt (as) and their Shi’a, he failed to inspect the actual wordings of the tradition. The Arabic words ‘Min Ashaab’ (among his companions) and ‘Min Ahul Ikhlaas’ (among the sincere ones) shall suffice to prove that the number of sincere Shias is not restricted to 313 rather they will be in multitudes, whilst the 313 shall be the specially chosen ones, who shall be the commanders of their respective armies and will initially gather to meet the Imam (as). Later on those 313 commanders shall lead the number of Shi’a in their respective armies. Sayyed Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadar records in his book Maus’at al-Imam al-Mahdi, Volume 3 page 174:

“The 313 men shall be present in the holy shrine of Makka during the speech of al-Mahdi (as) and administer the first Baya, while other people shall come to Makka over subsequent days.”

Shaykh Saduq records in ‘Kamal al-Deen’ page 654:

Abu Basir reported that a man from Kufa asked Abu Abdullah (as): ‘How many men will appear with the Qaim (as)? They say that He will appear with a group equal to the people of Badar i.e. 313.’ He (as) replied: ‘He will not appear except in power, and power cannot be less than ten thousand.’

Ten thousand is the minimum number of true Shi’a of Imam Mahdi (as) while there isn’t any maximum limit mentioned, yet one can use his brain to estimate the number of supporters required to take control of the whole world! Thus, there are traditions that tell us about the extreme level of piety, sincerity and of other noble characteristics possessed by the 313 supporters of Imam (as). These 313 will be specially by chosen by Allah (swt), but at no texts is it suggested that ‘the remainder Shi’a will have traits diametrically opposed to the 313’. It was just the filthy mind of the Nasibi author that made him use the ‘opposite’ meaning of the tradition that confict with the actual meaning. The tradition refers to the different levels of people in terms of their piety and sincerity. Sayyed Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadar records in his book Maus’at al-Imam al-Mahdi, Volume 3 page 174:

“The difference in duties and roles of the companions of Imam Mahdi (as) is on account of the difference in their levels of sincerity, surely those perfect sincere ones will be in the ‘Mahdi army’ as leaders and generals, whilst the second level of sincere ones shall be in his army.”

On the very page, we also read:

“The traditions indicate that the sincere ones amongst the first level are limited in that this group that shall appear with the Imam Mahdi (as) in the guise of 313 men. The second level of sincere ones shall not be less than ten thousand people’.

There should be no objection with believing that that some Muslims can be at par or at a superior level of piety with others at lower tiers. The Ahle-Sunnah have themselves created levels of Muslims in fact of Sahaba such as Saabiqeen, Muhajreen, Badreen, Ansar, those who came into the fold of Islam until the Hudaibiyah treaty, then those who came at the time of Makka’s victory etc. but it doesn’t mean that the Sahaba who entered later into the fold of Islam were ‘therefore’ insincere hypocrites. Such different levels were too common among the Sahaba and let us present one such example from the tongue that Ahle Sunnah deem authentic:

“When Hadrat Umar (rad) was appointed Caliph after the death of Hadrat Abu Bakr (Rad) victories took place in quick succession. Hadrat Umar (Rad) said ‘I differ from Hadrat Abu Bakr (Rad) in regard to the distribution of wealth among people. I cannot bring about equality for those who fought for and against the Holy Prophet (s). Thus he gave preference to the Immigrants and the Ansars (Madenites) and fixed five thousand each for those who took part in the Battle of Badr; four thousand each for those that embraced Islam before the Badrites…”
Hayatus Sahaba, volume 2 pages 240-241

Reply Two: The number of 313 supporters of Imam Mahdi (as) according to Sunni sources

By trying to prove that there have never been sincere Shi’a except the 313 supporters of Imam Mahdi (as), the Nasibi author has given yet another example of his ignorance. We shall remind his followers that according to their own sources, the number of supporters (who according to the Sunni point of view will be the followers of Ahle-Sunnah) of Imam Mahdi (as) will be equal to the people of Badar i.e. 313. Imam Tabarani and others have recorded:

“Umm Salamah (ra) said: “The Messenger of Allah (s) said:
bay’ah shall be given to a man between ar-Rukn and al-Maqam by a number equal to the people of Badr. Then al-’Asa’ib from the people of al-’Iraq and al-Abdal from the people of ash-Sham will come to him. An army of the people of ash-Sham will go to attack them, until they reach al-Bayda’, when they are swallowed by the earth. Then a man from Quraysh whose maternal relatives are from Kalb will launch an assault on them. They will meet in battle, and Allah will defeat them, and the loser on that day is the one who loses from the spoils of Kalb.”

1. Al-Mu’ajam al-Awsat, by Tabarani, v9, p176
2. Al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v4, p503
3. Majm’a al-Zawaed, by al-Haythami, v7, p314
4. Al-Mu’ajam al-Kabir by Tabarani, v23, p296
5. Al-Musanaf, by ibn Abi Shayba, v8, p609
6. Kanz al-Umal, v14, p270

The Sunni tradition clearly states that the number of the (“Sunni”) supporters of Imam Mahdi (as) shall be on par to the number of the people of Badar (i.e. 313) and unlike the wordings of the Shia tradition cited earlier, there isn’t any possibility left in the Sunni tradition for the inclusion of more people besides those 313 or some Asaib or Abdaal. If we apply the interpretation methodology made by Azam Tariq and his likes, then it is only applicable to the Sunni tradition not to the Shia text which (as we proved) clearly mentioned that the number of the Imam (as)’s followers will be more than 313. The application of such an interpretation on Sunni tradition becomes more significant when we see that the Shi’a make up only 20% of the Muslim population whist the remainder 80% is comprised of “Ahle Sunnah wal Jamah”. We therefore pose the same question to Ahle Sunnah that was earlier put by their author to us (although the Sunni tradition has no value to us): “Among the 80% of Muslim (Sunni) population, will there be 313 Sunnies to support Imam Mahdi (as)?” Would it be sound if we conclude on the basis of this Sunni tradition, that there will be only 313 or a few more supporters of Imam Mahdi (as) while all other masses that have lived until now are traitors and hypocrites?

The bottom line is, that according to the text of both sects, the initial 313 supporters of Imam Mahdi (as) will be at the pinnacle of piety and sincerity and the use of Asaib and Abdaal in the Sunni traditions makes this fact further clear since Asaib and Abdaal according to Ahle-Sunnah are like saints. We cannot rationally, conclude that the remainder Muslims are ‘opposite’ of them in terms of characteristics and are hence hardcore murderers, adulterers, liars and hypocrites. Only the likes of Azam Tariq and his Nasibi brethren can reach such an absurd interpretation. We shall just pray to Allah (swt) to make us lead a pious life so that we become eligible serve in the army of the last caliph/Imam.

Tradition Six: Will Imam Mahdi (as) kill the Sunni scholars?

Azam Tariq stated:

When Imam Mahdi (as) reappears, before kufaar he will first start his campaign against the Sunnies particularly their scholars and he will slay all of them and will destroy them. (Haq-ul-Yaqeen, page 556).[Khutbaat-e-Jail, page 228]

Reply

The open influence and dominance of Nasibism was not limited to the first Hijri. After the downfall of Ummayad reign and during the reign of Abbasies, Nasibism was in full swing. The popular Abbasid ruler Mutawakal was much more subsumed in Nasibism than the notorious Ummayads, this was the era when Nasibism had widely merged into Sunni circles and since then, Nawasib have hid Ahle-Sunnah garb. The minimum motive they held was to make the common Muslims deviate from Ahlulbayt (as) and not only that, but they wanted the Muslims to have affection towards Muawiyah and other Ummayad rulers and defend their characters. Verily, those Nawasib were successful in their motive to a great extent, which is why the famed Sunni scholar of 8th Hijri Shaykh Taqiuddin bin Ahmed bin Ali Al-Muqrezi al-Hanafi (766-845 H) who has been declared as ‘a learned Imam, accurate, preserver, religious and pious’ by Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani in ‘Anba al-Ghumar’ volume 2, page 189 and ‘a learned Sheikh and Imam, the dean of historians and the head of muhadatheen’ by Ibn Taghri Burdi in ‘Al-Manhal al-Safi’ Volume 1 page 80 (also see Ezah al-Maknun by Ismail Pasha, v2 p512) records:

“When I saw the majority of people committing negligence towards the right of Ahle Bayt, deviating from them, destryong their merits and status and being ignorant of the status afforded to them by Allah (swt), therefore in this respect I deemed it appropriate to collect some arguments that show their high status.”
Maarifat la Yujub le Aal Bayt Nabi min al Haq Ala min Sewahum, page 17

The sorrow expressed by Shaykh Taqiuddin Muqrezi towards the majority of the Muslims of 8th and 9th Hijri were not restricted to that era but the majority of the Muslims continued that ideology, in fact they still run on that very track today. When stubborn people, were not moved by the directives issued by Allah (swt) and his Prophet (s), how could they have been influenced by Shaykh Taqiuddin Muqrezi!

In order to keep his Nasibism from the masses and most importantly, in order to influence the sentiments of actual Sunnies, Azam Tariq al-Nasibi and his likes use the cited tradition from Haq-ul-Yaqeen by placing emphasis on the word ‘Sunni’ but actually, whilst the tradition actually refers to those individuals who are internally ‘Nasibi’ but are hiding behind the veil of ‘Ahle Sunnah wal Jamah’. This is not something unusual as there had been people in previous eras who were actually Nasibi but called themselves ‘Sunni’. The biggest example of one such individual is the famed Abbasid ruler Mutawakal, who to quote Imam Dhahabi:

قلت والمتوكل سني لكن فيه نصب

“I say that Mutawakal was a Sunni but he had Nasb (Nasibism)”
Siyar Alam an-Nubla, Volume 12 page 135

The famed scholar of modern day Dr. Hasan Ibrahim Hasan writes about Mutawakal:

“Mutawakal had affinity for Ahle Sunnah and used to endeavor for their (AhleSunnah’s) aid and used to flog those who would slander Abu Bakar, Umar, Ayesha and Hafsah and he instructed the Shaykhs Muhadatheen to publish hadiths and to make Ahle Sunnah wal Jamah prevail.”
Tarikh Islam Siyasi, Volume 3 page 509 (Egypt)

The Nasibism of Mutawakal is as clear as daylight, therefore Shah Abdul Aziz Muhadith Dehalwi in ‘Fatawa Azizi’ Volume 1 page 109 (Published in Deoband) and Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti in ‘Tarikh Khulafa’ page 241 (Published in Kaanpur) and many other Sunni scholars have clearly identified Mutawakal as a Nasibi, in fact, Ibn Atheer wrote to the following extent:

وإمنا كان ينادمه ويجالسه جماعة ن اشتهروا بالنصب، والبغض لعلي

“(Mutawakal’s) counterparts and the members of his gatherings comprised of the group of people which was known for Nasb (Nasibism) and their grudge against Ali (ra)”
Tarikh Kamil, Volume 7 page 19

In this way, the Nawasib penentrated the Ahle-Sunnah and widely influenced their ideology. Regarding one of the most reliable ministers of Mutawakal namely Ali bin Jahem, famed Sunni scholar Ibn Khalkan records:

وكان مع انحرافه عن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه وإظهاره التسنن مطبوعا مقتدرا على الشعر

“Despite his deviation from Ali bin Abi Talib (ra), he used to present himself as a Sunni; he was an expert and naturally bent towards poetry”
Wafiyat al-Ayan, Volume 1 page 441 (Egypt)

Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi has echoed the same in his famed anti-Shia book in the following words:

“Some of their scholars have mentioned this word from Ali bin al-Jahem bin Badar al-Jahem al-Qarshi while he was maliciously Nasibi and used to pretend he was a Sunni veiling his Nasibism in this manner. His motive was to deviate people from Ameer-al-Momineen.”
Tauhfa Athna Ashari, page 96 (Lucnow)

Moreover, we have dedicated a complete article showing the number of Nasibi and Khariji personalities that worked as Sunnies and formed an integral part of Sunni hadith works and that the Sunni ulema had no problems in maintaining cordial religious ties with them, please read:
Sunni myth of loving Ahlulbayt

We wish to reiterate that there have always been and shall always be such individuals who would like to be called Sunnies but will infact adhere the Nasibi beliefs and this very kind of people have been referred to in the tradition of Haq-ul-Yaqeen. May be the reason which led the objection on this tradition by slain leader of Sipah-e-Sahabah was that he and his party too fall into the very category!

Tradition Seven: Imam Mahdi (as) will kill the Nawasib and Khawarij

Azam Tariq stated:

Imam Mahdi will also kill some people who would be having Quran hanging onto their necks.
[Khutbaat-e-Jail, page 227]

Reply

This tradition is actually referring to those Nawasib and Khawarij who are always found chanting the importance of Quran and learn it by heart but do not want to apply it to their lives. They are excellent orators and are skilled at convincing the people. The tradition is clear that no excuse will be accepted to spare their blood on the basis of them being Quraa (those who learn Quran by heart) because these people shall create discord amongst the Islamic army. Sunnies can understand the Shia tradition in light of a tradition in Sahih Muslim, the book of zakat exhortation to kill the Khawarij, book 005, Number 2328:

‘Ali said: Whenever I narrate to you anything from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) believe it to be absolutely true as falling from the sky is dearer to me than that of attributing anything to him (the Holy Prophet) which he never said. When I talk to you of anything which is between me and you (there might creep some error in it) for battle is an outwitting. I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: There would arise at the end of the age a people who would be young in age and immature in thought, but they would talk (in such a manner) as if their words are the best among the creatures. They would recite the Qur’an, but it would not go beyond their throats, and they would pass through the religion as an arrow goes through the prey. So when you meet them, kill them, for in their killing you would get a reward with Allah on the Day of Judgment.

Even if it is said that the Quran mentioned in this tradition refers to the actual copies of the Quran, there should still be no objection to this tradition since the different aspects of the war of Sifeen are preserved in the historical records wherein the malicious army of Muawiyah raised the copies of the Quran on spears with deceitful intention while Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (as) asked his men to:

“Continue the war since I am well aware of these people. They were malicious in their childhood and have now become thugs in their youth. Neither do they believe in Quran nor do they have any relationship with Islam. Just continue the war on the right path”
Tarikh Ibn Khaldun, Volume 4 page 343, published by Hind press, Allahabad

Now if someone is killed during a war against evil and he habitually places a copy of the Quran around himself, it cannot be served as an excuse to save him since it is he that has disgraced the Quran, the rightful Imam shall not be responsible for his killing.

Nasibi accusation: Since the Imam (as) is in occultation, he is coward

The latest Nasibi assault on the Imam of time so as to intimidate the Shi’a is the suggestion that our Imams occultation is because he is a coward, as he fears being killed.

Reply One – The occultation is pursuant to the will of Allah (swt)

First of all, it should be made clear that He (as) is a guide or an Imam, appointed by Allah (swt), therefore whatever he does, is according to the will and command of the authority that he utilizes not at his own whim. Allah (swt) could have decided against such a disappearance and granted him (as) the power to ensure the dominance of Islam at that particular time. We know that this did not happen, if He (swt) has decided to keep Him (as) in occultation for a time only known to Him (swt), and will instruct him (as) to appear at a specific time, it will be when He (swt) deems it the correct time that the religion of Islam should prevail through Him (as). No one is entitled to question His (swt) wisdom behind this all. He (swt) is the one who:

  • gave 950 years old life to Prophet Noah (as),
  • kept Prophet Isa (as) alive who is almost 1995 years older than Imam Mahdi (as), Kept Prophet Khidhr (as) alive
  • kept the companions alive, in suspended sleep for hundreds of years

No one knows the wisdom behind such long periods of longevity. Thus, Allah (swt) has always made His appointed ones act in different manners in different situations. For example we read the following incident in Al-Mustadrak al-Hakim, Volume 2 page 394 that has been declared Sahih by both the author Imam Hakim as well as by Imam Dhahabi, the margin writer of the book:

Asma bin Abi Bakar said: ‘When it was revealed ‘{Perish the hands of Abu Lahab}’ Um Jameel bint Harb the one-eyed came holding a stone and she was saying: ‘We reject the dispraised (Muhammad) and hate his religion and disobey his instructions’. The prophet (s) was sitting in the mosque with Abu Bakr, when Abu Bakr saw her coming he said: ‘Oh messenger of Allah, she is coming and I’m afraid she would see you’. The Prophet (s) said: ‘She will not be able to see me’. The the Prophet (s) recited ‘{ And when you recite the Quran, We place between you and those who do not believe in the hereafter a hidden barrier;}[17:45]’. Then she stood in front of Abu Bakr and was unable to see the Prophet (s) and said: ‘Oh Abu Bakr! I have been informed that your companion ridiculed me’. Abu Bakr said: ‘No, by God of the house he didn’t ridiculed you.’ Then she left saying: ‘Quraish knows that I’m the daughter of its master’.
 Al-Mustadrak al-Hakim, Volume 2 page 394 Tradition 3376

Imam of Ahe Sunnah Ibn Haban has also recorded this incident in his collection of Sahih traditions namely ‘Sahih Ibn Haban’ Volume 14 page 440 while Shaykh Shu’aib al-Arnaoot in his margin of the book further declared the tradition to be Sahih:

Ibn Abbas said: When it was revealed ‘{Perish the hands of Abu Lahab}’ the wife of Abu Lahab came to the prophet (s) and Abu Bakar was with Him (s). When Abu Bakar saw her coming he said: ‘Oh messenger of Allah, she is ribald woman and I’m afraid that she may harm you, it would be better if you leave.’ The prophet (s) said: ‘She will not be able see me’. Then she arrived and said: ‘Oh Abu Bakar! Your companion ridiculed me.’ Abu Bakar said: ‘No, he doesn’t say pems either’. Then she said: ‘You are truthful accoring to me.’ Then she left. Then Abu bakr said: ‘Oh messenger of Allah, how come she didn’t see you?’ The prophet said: ‘There was an angel covering me by his wings.’

This incident can also be read in:
1. Majm’a al-Zawaed, Volume 7 page 144
2. Musnad al-Humaidi, Volume 1, page 154
3. Musnad Abi Y’ala, Volume 1, page 34
4. Dalael al-Nubuwa, Volume 2, page 618
5. Tafsir ibn Abi Hatim, Volume 10, page 3472
6. Tarikh Dimashq, Volume 67, page 173

The Prophet (s) is the leader of Mankind, the most superior one in the human race in terms of morality and all positive characteristics and according to a view upheld by most of the Muslims, He (s) is the reason for the creation of this entire universe, yet we see that Allah (swt) made him go into temporary occultation before the enemy who was a female i.e. weak in terms of physical strength and that too all alone and without any lethal weapon. No Muslim would:

  • dare to attribute cowardice to the leader (s) of leaders for his occultation to safeguard himself from a weak enemy
  • make any sort of conjecture as to what might have been Allah’s (swt) wisdom behind taking His (swt) beloved Prophet (s) into occultation

With this in mind when it comes to the last son from the progeny of the same Prophet (s), the Nawasib evidence their illegitimate ancestry by abruptly attributing cowardice to him just because He (as) is going to destroy their future Imam [Sufiyani].

Reply Two – Prophet Musa (as) went into hiding fearing state persecution, and this period in hiding bore fruit

Allah (swt) informs us in Surah Taha verses 20-21 of his Glorious Book:

20. And there came a man, running, from the furthest end of the City. He said: “O Moses! the Chiefs are taking counsel together about thee, to slay thee: so get thee away, for I do give thee sincere advice.”

21. He therefore got away therefrom, looking about, in a state of fear. He prayed “O my Lord! save me from people given to wrong-doing

The key lesson that one can gauge from the aforementioned verses is that a divinely appointed Prophet of Allah (swt) upon the counsel of a man fled the city fearing for his life.    Now in light of this verse can we deduce that Prophet Musa (as) was a coward?  Certainly not, there was divine wisdom behind this approach, and this period of absence away from his enemies was of immense benefit to him.

It was during this hiatus that Musa (as) was equipped with divine teachings and powers that thus enabled him (as) to return to the city at a later date equipped with the necessary arsenal with which to quell the evil designs of the State.

He sought refuge in Madain where he befriended Prophet Shuayb (as) marrying his daughter, and becoming his employee as a shepherd for a ten year tenure (Surah Qasas verse 28).  It was following the completion of this tenure that Allah (swt) revealed Himself (swt) to Musa (as) through a bush instructing him (as) to return to the city from where he had fled, so as to confront Pharaoh and free his enslaved people.  Prophet Musa (as) exhibited a fear:

33. He said: “O my Lord! I have slain a man among them, and I fear lest they slay me.

34. “And my brother Aaron – He is more eloquent in speech than I: so send him with me as a helper, to confirm (and strengthen) me: for I fear that they may accuse me of falsehood.”

35. He said: “We will certainly strengthen thy arm through thy brother, and invest you both with authority, so they shall not be able to touch you: with Our Sign shall ye triumph,- you two as well as those who follow you.”

Allah (swt) could have instructed Musa (as) at any time, but the best of Planners waited enabling Musa (as) to become:

  • a family man and take on the responsibilities associated with this role when his previous life would have been care free
  • a shepherd, that helped him to appreciate skills such as patience, hard strenuous work, when his life prior to it had been that of pomp and royalty in the Palace of Pharaoh

Allah (swt) gave him his main task after these new life skills were acquired.

We appeal to justice, whilst no one knows the precise reasons behind the ghaybah of the Imam (as) what is the objection if we argue that the rationale might well mirror the story Musa (as) who went into hiding to avoid persecution and whilst in this state was emboldened with the necessary skills to counter his foes, and thus returned to this hostile environment when Allah (swt) deemed it the right time to do so?

Reply  Three – Sunni depictions of Imam Mahdi (as) present him as a coward

If the filthy Nawasib are too keen to attribute cowardice to our Imam (as), then we shall remind them that the belief of Imam Mahdi (as) fighting the evil forces and then making the religion of Islam prevail across the globe exits in both schools of thought, with the difference being over the time of his birth. Especially for the Nawasib we shall prove that the Sunni belief of Imam Mahdi (as) actually renders Him (as) a coward whereas the Shia belief doesn’t. We read in Sunan Abi Daud, Book 36, Number 4273:

Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu’minin:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Disagreement will occur at the death of a caliph and a man of the people of Medina will come flying forth to Mecca. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see that, the eminent saints of Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam.
1.  Sunan Abi Daud, Book 36, Number 4273
2.  Musnaf Abdurazak, Volume 11 page 371 Hadith 20769
3. Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, Volume 6 Topic: Hadith of Um salamah

Sheikh Hamza az-Zain in his margin on Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Volume 18 page 298 stated that the tradition is ‘Sahih’. Imam of Ahle Sunnah Ibn Habban has recorded it in his collection of Sahih traditions namely ‘Sahih Ibn Habban’ Volume 15 page 159. Ibn Hajar authenticated the hadith in his book Al-Qwul al-Musadad fi Musnad Ahmad, page 134. The margin writer of the book Musnad ibn Rahweh, Volume 4 page 170, Dr. Abdulghafor al-Beluchi said: ‘All the narrators are Thiqah’. Tradition can also be read in Musnad Abi Y’ala, Volume 12 page 370 and Sheikh Hussain Salim Asad said in the margin of the book that the hadith is ‘Hasan’.

The famous commtentry of Sunan Abu Dawood has been written by Allamah Shams ul Haq Haqqani which is known as ‘Awn al M’abood Sharah Sunan Abu Dawud’ wherein he gave the following commentary of the cited tradition:

“{and a man of the people of Medina will come} because they will want to give him leadership and it will be against his will or because he fears the sedition (fitna) which is in Madina since it is a sacred city or because it’s the city of the ruler. {flying forth to Mecca} because it is safe for anyone who wants to take it as a shelter and it is like a temple for anyone who wants to live in, al-Taybi (ra) said: ‘He is the Mahdi because Abu Dawood reocrded the hadith in the book of al-Mahdi’. {Some of the people of Mecca will come to him} after the getting aware of his concern and knowing his status {bring him out} from his house {against his will} affliction (and responsibilities) of governing or fear of sedition (fitna).”
 Aun al-M’abood, Volume 11 page 253

Sunni scholar Shaykh Naeem ibn Hammad al-Marozi (d. 229 H) in his book ‘Kitab al-Fetan’ page 341 and Imam Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, Volume 4 page 549 records a tradition and declared it Sahih:

Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (r) stated that he said: “The people will perform the Hajj together, and will stand at ‘Arafat together, without an imam. While they are staying at Mina, he [i.e. the Sufyani, here referring to his army] will pounce on them like a dog. So the tribes will rise up, fighting each other until al-’Aqabah flows with blood. So they will rush to the best of them, and will come to him while he is pressing his face to the Ka’bah and weeping. It is as if I can see him and his tears. So they will say: “Come to us, we will give you bay’ah.” So he will say: “Woe to you! How many covenants have you broken, and how much blood you have shed?” So he will be given the bay’ah against his will. If you live to reach him, then give him bay’ah, for he is the Mahdi on earth, and the Mahdi in heaven.”

On page 212 of his book, Shaykh Naeem ibn Hammad recorded a tradition from Ibn Abbas:

“Allah will send the Mahdi after a period of despair, until the people say: “There is no Mahdi.” His supporters will be a group of the people of ash-Sham, three hundred and fifteen in number, equal to the companions of Badr. They will go to him from ash-Sham, until they bring him out from the bottom of Makkah, from a house near as-Safa, then they will give him the bay’ah against his will. So he will lead them in two rak’ahs of prayer, the prayer of a traveller, at al-Maqam. Then he will ascend the minbar.”

On page 213 we read:

Narrated from Qatadah that he said: “The Messenger of Allah [sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam] said: “He will go out from al-Madinah, to Makkah. Then the people will bring him out from amongst them, and give him the bay’ah between ar-Rukn and al-Maqam, against his will.”

Imam Suyuti in his authority work “Al-’Arf al-Wardi fi Akhbar al-Mahdi” page 139 recorded a tradition from an esteemed Sunni scholar Uthman bin Saeed bin Uthman Abu Amro al-Daani (d. 444 H) popularly known as Ad-Dani:

[228] And ad-Dani narrated from Shahr ibn Hawshab that he said: “The Messenger of Allah [sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam] said:

“In Ramadhan there will be a voice, in Shawwal there will be great bloodshed, in Dhul-Qi’dah the tribes will fight, and its sign is that those performing the Hajj will be plundered, and there will be a massacre at Mina in which many are killed, and much blood is shed, until it flows over the Pillar. Their leader will flee, and they will come to him between ar-Rukn and al-Maqam and give him the bay’ah against his will. It will be said to him: “If you refuse, we will cut off your head. ” The inhabitants of the heavens and the earth will be pleased with him.”
Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti in his comments for this tradition stated ‘lehu shahed’ which means that the tradition is acceptable in his eyes.

One of the famous Sunni scholars of Ahe Sunnah coming from sub-continent namely Dr. Israr Ahmed has recorded the very tradition in a rather explainatory manner in his book ‘Shia Sunni Mufahimat ki Zaroorat o Ahmiyat’ [The need and importance of Shia Sunni agreement], page 128:

Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu’minin:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Disagreement will occur at the death of a caliph (means a king) and a man of the people of Medina will come flying forth to Mecca (in persuit of shelter). Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out bring him out (according to some traditions, he will be hiding behind the curtain of Kaaba) and swear allegiance to him (although he will dislike that an allegiance be given to him) between the Corner (the place where Hajar-e-Aswad is attached) and the Maqam…”
Shia Sunni Mufahimat ki Zaroorat o Ahmiyat, page 129 (Published by Anuman Khudam al-Quran, Lahore).

Now we present text from a prominent Deobandi book namely Bahishti Zewer written by the Imam of Deobandies Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi. The importance of this book among Deobandies can be understood from the fact that the Deobandies have had a custom wherein parents would give it to their daughters at the time of her marriage so that she can lead a religious life by taking benefits from its content mainly pertaining to jurisprudence. In part 7 page 357 of the book, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi records:

“A ruler of Syria will be martyred and Christians will have influence in the country, those Christians will make peace with the part of enemy while the rest of the Muslim will migrate to Madina. The Christians will have their influence till Khaiber, at that time the Muslims will think of searching for Mahdi (as) so that they are released of all difficulties. At that point of time, Mahdi (as) will be in Madina but in fear of people giving him the leadership, he will leave Madina for Makkah. The Walies of that having the status of Abdaal will be looking for Him (as) and during this period some fake people will start claiming of being Mahdi. Thus, Imam will be circumscribing the Kaaba while some pious people will recognize Him (as) in between Hajar al-Aswad and Muqam Ibrahim, and they will besiege Him (as) and will forcefully take his Bayah as a leader and a voice will be heard from sky during the Bayah…”
Bahishti Zewer, part 7 page 357

Thus we have two different beliefs regarding a man who both schools of thought believe to be the ultimate caliph of Allah (swt) and through whom; Islam will be prevailent on earth. The difference is:

Shia belief:

  • Allah (swt) has kept the Imam (as) in occultation for the reasons and time period known to Him (swt) only.
  • When Allah (swt) deems it an appropriate time for His (as) reappearance (the time when he (as) is required the most), He (swt) will make him (as) rise and his (as) loyal supporters waiting for him (as) will swear their allegiance to him (as) and then the campaign will just begin without ifs and buts.

Sunni belief:

  • The time Imam Mahdi (as) is required the most, he would flee away from a city to another disassociating him from the disagreement and in pursuit of shelter and hence shall hide behind the curtain of the Kaaba.
  • It is the people who shall bring him out against his will from the place wherein he shall be hiding.
  • They will threaten to kill him and forcefully swear their allegiance to him.

In short, according to Shia belief, Imam Mahdi (as) is in occultation which means that Allah (swt) has not so far deemed it the time wherein He (as) is required most by the people but when He (swt) makes Him (as) to reappear, then right from his reappearance and till the accomplishment of the task will be the ‘leader’ in true aspects while according to the Sunni belief, the time He (as) is required the most, Imam Mahdi (as) will be avoiding the disagreements and will be in pursuit of safer place for himself, until people bring him out, threaten to kill him and swear their allegiance to him against his will. Thus, he will reluctantly accept to be a leader. Do we still need to prove as to who believe Imam Mahdi (as) being a coward?

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