Essence Of Shia Faith - Islamic Books, Islamic Movies .

AcknowledgementI am indebted to Maulana Syed Amir Hussain Naqvi andMaulana Abdul Ghafoor for their expert guidance on the Arabic text,and also persuading me to embark upon the translation of this work.This book is prepared primarily for the Europian readership, which areeither working or studying at the Universities, and the others who arenewcomers to Islam or interested to learn more about Shia school ofthought. It also provides guidance to the young Shia community that isgrowing in the secular educational system of the West. It is importantto mention here that salutations are generally reserved with the namesof the Prophets and Imams, and those are symbolically placed aftertheir holy names. Readers must not be confused with those symbols.Shias of Ahlul-bait have long suffered under the dictatorialregimes of Banu Omiyya and Banu Abbas. If we unfold the pages ofhistory, we can find a long list of atrocities against the followers of AliIbne Abi Talib. Allama Abubakr Khawrzami has written a letter to theShias of Neshapur reminding them the atrocious period they hadundergone in the past, when Mohammed bin Ibrahim, the ruler ofNishapur intended to visit them. We present some extractsfrom thatletter. He says,“May God bless you as we are the same nation? God did notdesire to provide us with the opulence of this world. Instead Hegathered the blessings of the hereafter by disapproving the mundaneglamours for us and divided us into two groups. One of those groupswas martyred in the path of God, and the rest were exiled from thecities, therefore those who survived were envious of those who haddied, due to the excessive atrocities they were going through. Ameer ulMomeneen Ali Ibne Abitalib (AS) has said that calamities andmisfortunes follow our Shias more rapidly than the water travels fromthe high ground towards the lower decks. The basis of this statement ison the proclamation that they are born under the shadow of tyrannyxi

and their life is ended before its natural sequence is completed. They donot blossom from the inside as their interior is full of excruciatingpains. The humanity oppresses them and the world slips away fromtheir grips. If we proclaim to be the ardent followers of our Imams inall avenues of religion then we must share their sufferings, which theyendured in the love of God. On the day of Saqifa, the legacy of herfather was seized from Fatima, and Ali was deprived from his rightfulposition of the Caliphate. Imam Hassan (AS) was poisioned and ImamHussain (AS) was overtly murdered. Zaid bin Ali was beheaded in themilitary encounter, while his two sons Mohammad and Ibrahim werepainfully put to death by Eisa bin Musa Abbasi. Hazrat Musa bin Jaffer(AS) died in the torture cell of Haroon Rashid, and Ali bin Musa (AS)was poisioned by Mamoon. Idrees retreated to Fakh and then travelledto Ondulus. Eisa bin Zaid died in exile, while Yahya bin Abdullah wasmurderd despite offering him official protection. All of this is otherthan what Yaqoob bin Laees has done in Tabristan with the Aluwite‟s.Muhammad bin Zaid and Hassan bin Qasim were assassinated by thefamily of Sasan. Abu Sayyah attacked the Aluwites of Medina, whilethey were unarmed, and exiled them to Samarra, this episode happenedafter the murder of Qotaiba bin Muslim Bahli, who offered protectionto Omar bin Ali. Hussain bin Ismael Al Moseehi extended his angertowards Yahya bin Omar Al Zaidi, and Mazahim bin Khaqan hascommited acute atrocities on Aluwite‟s (Another name for the progenyof Ali) in Kufa. As a result there was no city in the entire MuslimEmpire, where an Aluwite was not murdered backed either byOmaiyyed‟s or Abbaside‟s.The religious pride invited Aluwite‟s towards death as they werenot willing to breathe a life of disgrace, so they chose to die withhonour, in conformity with their belief on the console of the hereafter.In this struggle no Aluwite left the perishable world alone, but many oftheir Shias and friends participated on equal terms.Othman bin Affan kicked Ammar bin Yasir in the groin andAbuzar was banished in the desert of Rabza. Aamir bin Abdul Qais AlTamimi was thrown out from the city, followed by Malik‟e Ashtar andOday bin Haatim. Omar bin Zarara and Komail bin Ziad were exiled toSyria and Iraq respectively. Obai bin Kaab and Mohammad bin Hozaifaxii

were tortured and then expelled from the city. They did whatever theywanted to do with the blood of Mohammad bin Saalim and Kaa‟bZilhatba. Following the footsteps of Othman, Omaiyyeds killed thosewho opposed them and deceived those who wanted to live in peacewith them. No Mohajir or Ansar was safe with them, since they had noregard for the heavenly law.They used to treat general public as their slaves and consideredthe treasury as their personal property. They tried to demolish Kaa‟baand asked the companions of the Prophet to revere them. They hadabandoned the obligatory prayers and desecrated the respectableIslamic sites, similar to the behaviour of the infidels. The family ofOmaiyya had crossed all limits of corruption and lewdness. Moaviamurdered Hajjar bin Oday Al Kindy and Omru bin Al Hamaq AlKhazaee, after agreeing protection for them. Ziad bin Samiyyamurdered thousands of Shias in Basra and Kufa, and imprisoned theothers until, God recalled him to His presence to answer his crimes aswell as his excessive ills and abuse of power. After his reprehensibledeath his son followed his footsteps. Yazid also copied Moavia to thelast letter and killed the remaining family members of those whoseelders were killed by Moavia; to the extent that he approved the killingof Haani bin Orwa.When all the land was free of the family of Abutalib, they thenhanded over the provinces of Hijaz and Iraq to Hajjaj bin Yusuf, whoplayed with the lives of the Hashmite‟s. He frightened Fatamids andbutchered the followers of Ali and demolished the symbols of theprogeny of the Prophet. What ever he had done with Kumail Ibne Ziadits legacy continued unabated till the end of Abbasid‟s rule. God thendecided that their occupancy of the state must end with their cardinalsins.Zaid bin Ali then stood up to save the residual Islam, but thehypocrites of Iraq abandoned him and as a result he was not onlyslaughtered by the Syrians, but all of his friends including every onewho entered marital relationship with him were also put to the sword.When Omaiyyeds exceeded all limits of tyranny; God then decided toend their regime. He then put on their necks Abu Muslim Khorasani,xiii

who decided to be harsh with the Aluwites and favoured theAbbasides. He abandoned piety and followed the coil of desire and soldhis hereafter for the worldly glamour. He opened his chapter ofcriminality by the murder of Abdullah bin Moavia bin Abdullah binJaffer bin Abitalib. He appointed the devils of Khorasan, the Kharjite‟sof Sajistan and the Kurds of Isfahan on the heads of Aal‟e Abutalib.They searched every corner of the state to find and kill the familymembers of Abutalib. It is a miracle that Abu Muslim was supercededby his closest confidant. He killed Abu Muslim in a manner heslaughtered his victims.The prison cells of Abbasid‟s were filled with the members ofAhlulbait. The missing individuals of their kins were searched andsubsequently killed. Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Abdullah binAbdullah Hasani was murdered in the province of Sindh, in India. Allthis was meagre as compared to the crimes of Haroon Rashid.The state of affair with the Abbasid‟s was such that if a memberof the Saiyyed family had died there was nobody available toaccompany his dead body, and nor there was anyone to put soil on hiscorpse. On the other hand, if someone belonging to the state ideologyhad died then all the dignatories of the state were present to honour hisfuneral cortege, and the mosque was full of grieving dignatories. Thestate was even pleased with those whom they knew that they wereeither atheists or agnostics, while they were spreading their influenceamong local students and the intellectuals. If they had found thatsomeone is a Shia, then to shed his blood was legally permissible, andthey also murdered those people who named their childrens after ImamAli.It is sufficient to say that the Quraishe poets, who used to writeabusive poetry against Imam Ali, were popularised and their work wassold at excessive prices in the cities, and their biographys werepublished officialy after their death. Historians like Wahab and Waqadiused to draw refrences from their couplets. However, people like Kalbi,Ashraqi bin Qatami, Haisam bin Oday and Daab bin Alkanani, whowrote eulogies for the legate of the Prophet, and described the miraclesof the Prophet in their poetry were capitulated and their tongues werexiv

slashed, and their books were shredded. Abdullah bin Ammar al Barqimet the same fate. Similarly, the grave of Mansoor bin Alzaberqan wasdesecrated and Daabal bin Ali Alkhaza‟ee was tortured to death,although he was the companion of Marwan bin Abi Hafsa.Haroon, Jaffer and Mutawakkal never granted favour toanyone, unless they were sure that the person in question was vocallyabusive of the family of Abutalib, and beloned to the religion ofKhawaraj and Nawasib.”The readers must appreciate the difficulties through which theservants of Ameer ul Momeneen had gone through, and it is no lessthan a miracle that the religious scholars were able to collect all therelevant information that was necessary for the survival of the Shiafaith. The book under consideration is the work of our grand MasterSheikh Abu Jaffer, who prepared the text to counter the propagandaagainst Shia beliefs. I pray to the Almighty God that this translation willopen the doors of wisdom for the inquisitive minds of the modernsociety.I must thank my wife Tahira Safi, who provided me with everyopportunity to complete this task without disruption. Thanks are alsodue to Mir Zamir, Mir Rajab Ali, Malik Sajjad and their families, whoextended financial support to print this work.If there are any suggestions to improve the translation of thiswork then your feedback will be highly appreciated.Dr S H Safi8th August 2011Birmingham, Englandxv

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ContentsChapter OneShias belief on the unity of GodIs the belief in God self evident or just a concept?Acceptance of God in its simplest view is self evidentPhilosophical approachFirst argument in favour of the universe being a created entityTheologians approach to GodQuranic approach in support of thelogians methadologyFurther reinforcement of this methedology through ImamsA strange tailAn interesting dialogue with an atheistRevocation of some doubts created by the atheistsMiracles of human bodyA minor cosmosFirst argument of the theory of evolutionSecond argument of evolution and its replySummary of the previous discussionsArgument of self assuranceA question about God and its replyCharacter building uses of belief in GodIt is not possible to know the essence of GodEminent attributes of God are infiniteWhy only eight attributes?Attributes of confirmation (Sifat‟e Sabootia)Arguments on the unity of essence of the GodStatement on the unity of the attributes of GodDiscussion on the unity of actions or deeds (Tauhid‟e Fa‟ali)Statement on the unity of WorshipBrief discussion on various stages of TauhidTauhid of ObedienceMeanings of the allegorical 7296101106108109110Chapter TwoGod‟s attributes of his essence and actions116116Chapter ThreeReligious constraintsConditions of the religious impositions118118120Chapter FourOur view of people‟s actionsDistinction between Takweeni and Tash-re-ee actsRebuttal of the idea of compulsionShariah arguments on this issueRebuttal of TafweezClearification of some doubtsCriticism on the Aa‟sha-eras Ideology of Kasb122122123125126129130140xvii

Chapter FiveCompulsion and Empowerment141141Chapter SixGod‟s Will and DesireRebuttal of Sheikh Mofeed‟s criticismExplanatory notes on some Quranic Verses147147149150Chapter SevenQadhao QadrProhibition of thinking too deeply about Qadha o QadrDivision of Takweeni Qa‟zao Qadr153153154160Chapter EightNature and GuidanceStatement on the Standard of Truth & Islam as a natural way of lifeProof that Islam is a natural way of life161161164165Chapter NineHuman Capacity for Actions168168Chapter TenThe Ideology of B‟da (amend)B‟da does not happen with God due to IgnoranceThe Derived Meanings of B‟daB‟da happens in God‟s Guarded KnowledgeFurther explanation of this effect and mention of theTablet of Existence and ExtinctionNarrations from Sunni texts in support of B‟da172172175176177Chapter ElevenHeated and Aggressive Debates about GodClarification of a doubt and a warning184184186Chapter TwelvePen and the TabletThe Final Decision187187188Chapter ThirteenThe ChairFurther Evidence from Dictionary189189189Chapter FourteenArsh (The Throne)The Reasons for the Muslims not to understand the true meanings of ArshWhat is within the Throne of God?The Pronouncement of Reality191191192194195Chapter FifteenSpirit and NafsIt is difficult to find the Essence of Nafs and RoohApplicability of the Meanings of RoohFour important statements on the Spirit196196199200201xviii179181

Reasoning on Soul‟s UniquenessRemoval of a PerplexityDiscussion on the Eternal or Probable basis of SpiritsStatement on the Creation of Spirits before the Creation of BodiesTrue meanings of TransmigrationLast word on the Classification of SpiritsSome States of a Spirit204204209209213217217Chapter SixteenThe Reality of DeathDiscussion on the Philosophy of Life and DeathBenefits of Frequent Remembrance of DeathThe Standard of Truthfulness is to Desire DeathReasons for Ordinary People to Fear DeathHow Capacity and Agreement can be Developed for DeathThe Way to Supplicate for a Longer LifeSimilarity between sleep and deathPresence of the Prophet and Aa‟imma at the time of DeathNatural and Unnatural Death219219225227228228229229231234235Chapter seventeenOur Belief on the Issues related to the GraveWhat happens in BarzakhDespite God‟s Knowledge why Questioning by NakirainWhat Questions are to be asked in the Grave?Proof of the Compression of GraveCriticism of the attitude of westernised MuslimsReply to certain objectionsQuranic Evidence of BarzakhWhat Sins are responsible for Fishar‟e QabrThe State of Souls in the Realm of Barzakh236236239240242243243244246247248Chapter EighteenThe Return (Raj‟at)Determination of Raj‟at‟s meaning and it‟s Role in the ReligionThe Proof of Raj‟at in the Light of QuranRaj‟at according to the Ahadith of MasoomeenAdmission of simple Belief on Raj‟at is sufficientClarifications of some doubtsRebuttal of the Reasoning given to justify Jesus DeathRebuttal of the Theory of Transmigration of Souls253253256257260261261263266Chapter NinteenResurrectionThe Legal Interpretation of Qiamat and the Proof of its PhysicalityProof of the Necessity of QiamatMoral Benefits of the concept of ResurrectionProof of Spiritual and Physical ResurrectionA Usually Weak Doubt on ResurrectionRectification of another DoubtEnigma of Consumer and the ConsumedLogical Possibility of the Annihilation of Greater Cosmos270270270271277279280283283286xix

The Scene of Qiamat, Resurrection and the JudgementGeneral Belief on the details of the day of Resurrection is sufficient288290Chapter TwentyOur Belief regarding the Spring of KautherSignificance of believing in concept of KautherThe description of KautherProof of Ali being the Cup-bearer of KautherStatement regarding the removal of some companions of the Prophet291291292293293294Chapter Twenty OneOur View about IntercessionReligious concept of Intercession and its AttestationFurther Elaboration of Maqam‟e MahmoodWho else will Intercede?Who will benefit from Intercession?An importent clarificationRepentance is a Tool for SalvationA Cursary Description on the Conditions for accepting RepentanceClarification of some doubts on Intercession297297297300301303305306307307Chapter Twenty TwoOur Belief regarding Promise and Warning312312Chapter Twenty ThreeMonitoring of Peoples ActionsThe Presence of Angels and Description of the Type of their SupplicationsAppointment Schedule of K‟raman Ka‟te-been and their DutiesDescription of some Secrets and Signs of the Character SheetThe Scrutiny becomes Harsher after Forty years314314315315317318Chapter Twenty FourJustice of GodExplanation of the General and Literary Meanings of Justice (Adl)Concept of Adl (Justice) is one of the key requirements of Shia FaithGod‟s Actions are based on CompassionSalvation is not possible without God‟s Compassion320320320321321322Chapter Twenty FiveOur view on AarafWhat is the nature of Aaraf?Who are the Distinguished people of Aaraf (Ashabul-Arafa)Recognition (Ma‟arafa) of Ashabul- Aarafa is the key to enter the Paradise325325325327328Chapter Twenty SixSiratExplanation of the Phrase Pul‟e SiratA Weak Elucidation of Pul‟e SiratReasons for going over the Pul‟e SiratNo one could cross the Sirat without Ameerul Momeneen‟s Permit330330330331332334Chapter Twenty sevenAqbat‟e Mehsher (Mountain passes of the plane of Mehsher)335335xx

Proof of the Valleys of HereafterThe Nature of these Valleys336336Chapter Twenty EightAccountability and the Balance (Meezan)What are the meanings of the term Accounting?Who is the Auditor?Who will be Scruitinised?What actions will be Judged?Sensitivity about People‟s Rights (Ho‟qoo-qul ibad)Instigation to fulfil People‟s RightsA Report on God‟s Arguments on the Day of JudgementThe Handing over the Charge SheetThe Reality of Meezan (Scales)Two doubts and their RebuttalSome arguments in support of Materialising Human DeedsAnswer to a Proposition regarding Evidence provided by Human LimbsAhbat (sequester) Takfeer (restore) & Mowazena 1354354Chapter Twenty NineDescription of Paradise and HellBelief in Paradise and Hell being an Integral Part of the ReligionProof that Paradise and Hell are RealProof of the Creation of Paradise and Hell and their ExistenceRebuttal of Some DoubtsDescription of some Delightful Experinces of the ParadiseFeatures of Paradise through AhadithWeakness of a

He wrote following books: Faizan ur-Rahman fi Tafsir ul-Quran It is a 10-volume comprehensive Tafsir of the Qur‟an. Masail ush-Sharia (Translation of Wasael ush-Shia) It is an Urdu translation of a great Shia book of Hadith compiled by Shaikh Hur al-Aa