The necessity of research in religion, in the Holy Qur’an
There are several verses in the Holy Qur'an that remind Muslims of the need for research and examination of belief, which we refer to briefly for a verse.
Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:
فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِي الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمْ اللهُ وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ أُوْلُوا الاَلْبَابِ
So, give good tidings to My servants Who listen to speech and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding.
[Surah az-Zumar: 17-18]
The necessity of research in religion, in the narrations
Shiite and Sunni narrations also emphasize that every Muslim should research his beliefs and find the best path and religion and live according to them, which we will suffice with one narration:
The hadith of the Division of the ummah into 73 sects
The hadith of the division of the ummah is one of the mutawatir hadiths (hadiths that have been narrated so much by many different narrators that one can easily become sure that the hadith is authentic) narrated by Shiites and Sunnis in their books with authentic documents; Among them, Tirmidhi has mentioned in his Sunan that the Prophet (S) said:
وَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَي ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً...
My Ummah will be divided into 73 sects.
[Sunan at-Tirmidhi, vol. 4, pg. 134, Hadith 2778]
Or in another tradition he writes:
وَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَي ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً كُلُّهُمْ فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا مِلَّةً وَاحِدَةً
My Ummah will be divided into 73 sects, all of them will be in the Fire except for one.
[Sunan at-Tirmidhi, vol. 4, pg. 135, Hadith 2779]
Therefore, it is necessary for us to discuss and research about the correct religion and the savior sect in the words of the Messenger of Allah (S) so that we can choose the best sect and follow it.
Imam Ali’s Successorship
Here, we will prove this matter using Quranic verses and traditions.
Quranic reasoning
There are many verses that speak of Imam Ali
being imam, of course with the help of other mutawatir hadiths from the Prophet (S) that explain these verses further. We will point to some of these hadiths that are accepted by both Shias and Sunnis.
1) The Verse of Wilayah
إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَوةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَوةَ وَهُمْ رَ كِعُونَ
Your waliyy (guardian and religious authority) is only Allah, His Apostle, and the faithful who establish prayer and give charity while bowing down.”
[Surah al-Maidah: 55]
Many commentators of the Quran have said that this verse has been revealed regarding Imam Ali
. For Example:
• In his tafsir, al-Durrul-Manthur, the Sunni scholar Suyuti, under this verse, says that Ibn Abbas said: “Ali
was in ruku’ (bowing in prayer), when a beggar entered and asked for help. His Excellency gave him his ring as charity. The Prophet (S) asked the beggar: “Who granted you this ring?” The beggar pointed to Ali
saying: “The man that is bowing in prayer.” It was then that this verse was revealed. [Al-Durrul-Manthur, vol. 2, pg. 293]
He goes on to narrate the same hadith from two Sunni scholars, Wahedi and Zamakhshari . They both have clearly stated that this verse has been revealed about Imam Ali (A).
• Fakhr Razi in his tafsir narrates from Abdullah ibn Salam that: “When this verse was revealed, I told the Prophet (S) that I personally saw Ali
give his ring in charity to a beggar while bowing in prayer and that is why I accept his wilayah (guardianship and religious authority). He also narrates another hadith similar to this one from Abudhar regarding this verse. [Tafsir of Fakhr Razi, vol. 12, pg. 26.]
• Tabari also narrates various hadiths on this verse in which most of them say that it has been revealed concerning Ali
. [Tafsir of Tabari, vol. 6, pg. 390.]
• Allamah Amini proves in the book Al-Ghadir that this verse was revealed about Imam Ali
(A) using around twenty reliable and authentic Sunni books, citing their exact sources. [Al-Ghadir, vol. 2, pg. 52 and 53.]
In this verse, the religious authority of Ali
has been placed next to the religious authority of Allah (SWT) and the holy Prophet (S).
2) The Verse of Tabligh
يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا اُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ
O Messenger! Proclaim the message that has been sent down to you from your creator and nurturer! And if you do not do so, then you would not have fulfilled your duty (as Allah's messenger). (Know that) Allah will protect you from (the possible dangers of) people. Verily, Allah does not guide the disbelievers.
[Surah al-Maidah: 67]
Allah (S) boldly orders His messenger to fulfill his duty and according to traditions, following the revelation of this verse, in a place named Ghadir Khum, the Holy Prophet (S) appointed Imam Ali (A) as his successor using the famous phrase of “whosoever I am his master, Ali is his master after me”.
• Ibn Abi Hatim has narrated from Abu Saeed Khidri:
نزلت هذه الآية... في علي بن أبي طالب
This verse was revealed for Ali ibn Abi Talib.
[Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim, vol. 4, pg. 1172]
• A well-known commentator of the Quran, Aalusi writes in his tafsir, Ruhul Maani:
روي ابن مردويه عن ابن مسعود قال كنا نقرأ علي عهد رسول الله (ص): بَلِّغْ مَا اُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ إنّ عليّاً وليُّ المؤمنين وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ
Ibn Murdawayh narrates from Ibn Masud that we used to recite this verse at the time of Holy Prophet (S) like this: Proclaim the message that has been sent down to you from your creator and nurturer! that Ali is the waliyy (guardian) of the believers And if you do not do so, then you would not have fulfilled your duty. [Ruhul Maani, vol. 6, pg. 193]
3) The Verse of Ulul-Amr
يٰـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا اَطِيْـعُوا اللّٰهَ وَاَطِيْـعُوا الرَّسُوْلَ وَاُولِى الْاَمْرِ مِنْكُمْۚ
O you who have faith! Obey Allah and obey the apostle and those vested with authority among you.”
[Surah an-Nisaa: 59]
• The famous Hanafi commentator of Neishabour (near Mashhad of Iran), Hakem Haskani has narrated five hadiths under this verse in which all of them, Ulul-Amr has been applied to Ali (A). [Shawahidul-Tanzil, vol. 1, pg. 148-151.]
• In the tafsir of Al-Bahrul-Muhit of Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi al-Maghribi, when quoting the different viewpoints on who is meant by this term, he quotes Maqatel, Meymoun and Kalbi (three Sunni commentators) all saying that the Ahlul-Bayt are meant by it. [Bahrul-Muhit, vol. 3, pg. 278.]
• Abu Bakr ibn Mu’min al-Shirazi of the Sunni scholars narrates in Al-I’tiqad from Ibn Abbas that the abovementioned verse is about Imam Ali
. [Ihqaqul-Haqq, vol. 3, pg. 425.]
On the other hand, the obedience of Allah (SWT), His apostle and Ulul-Amr have all been made mandatory in the same style and without repeating the word “اطیعوا ” (obey) (meaning that the verse has said: “Obey Allah, His apostle and the Ulul-amr” instead of saying: “Obey Allah, obey His apostle and obey the Ulul-Amr” and this signifies that there is a reason behind not repeating this word because in other instances, the Quran has repeated it). It can be concluded that the Ulul-Amr are required to be infallible (or else there was no reason to order everyone to obey them unconditionally) just like Allah (SWT) and His apostle (S) (and that is the reason for not repeating the word “اطیعوا”; to show that the obedience of the three is all of the same type and unconditional) and according to Shia tradition, the infallibles are limited to the imams that the Shias believe in.
What was mentioned was only a small number of the many hadiths that can be found on these three verses of the verses that prove the successorship of the Imam Ali (A) in Sunni sources that they themselves accept and also in Shia sources. There are other important points concerning these and other verses that can be found in Sunni books, for further information, you can refer to dependable books on this subject.
4) The Verse of Ikmaal uddin
أَلیَومَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمْ الاِْسْلاَمَ دِيناً
Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion.
[Surah Al-Ma'ida: 3]
• A Sunni scholar Khatib Baghdadi narrates from an authentic source that this verse was revealed after introducing Amirul Momineen as his successor at Ghadir Khum.
وَهُوَ يَوْمُ غَدِيرِ خُمٍّ لَمَّا أَخَذَ النَّبِيُّ (ص) بِيَدِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ، فَقَالَ: " أَلَسْتُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ "، قَالُوا: بَلَي يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، قَالَ: " مَنْ كُنْتُ مَولاهُ فَعَلِيٌّ مَوْلاهُ "، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ: بَخٍ بَخٍ لَكَ يَابْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ أَصْبَحْتَ مَوْلايَ وَمَوْلَي كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ: {الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ}
On the day of Ghadir Khumm, when the Prophet (S) took the hand of Ali ibn Abi Talib, he then said: Am I not the guardian of the believers? They said: Yes, O Messenger of God! He said: Whoever I am his master, then Ali is his master. After that, Umar ibn al-Khattab said: Congratulations to you, son of Abi Talib; Becau se from now on you are my master and the master of all Muslims, then Allah revealed this verse: {Today, I have completed your religion for you.}
[Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 8, pg. 284]
Ibn Athir has narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattab said:
أصْبَحْتَ اليَومَ وَليُّ كُلِّ مُؤمِنٍ
You have become the master of all the believers.
[Al Bidaya wan Nihaya, vol. 7, pg. 350]
Hadithic reasoning
It has been narrated in numerous Sunni sources from the Prophet (S) saying that Ali ibn Abi-Taleb, and after him, his two children, Hasan and Husein and after them nine imams from the back (progeny) of Husein are to take his place. There are also many other hadiths such as the hadith of “Yawmul-Dar”, “Manzilah”, “Ghadir Khum” and the one famous as “Thaqalain”, and others that disclose that after the Prophet (S) twelve individuals will come in which will make Islam glorious and of respect.
In order for the discussion to clarify further, we will briefly discuss three hadiths:
1- The hadith of Manzilah
The background of this hadith is that in the battle of Tabuk, the Prophet (S) left Medinah along with many of his companions to fight the Romans. In order for Medinah not to be left without a leader, he appointed Ali (A) as the one to take his place until his return. Some began to insult Ali (A) saying that the Prophet (S) has left him behind to take care of the women and children there.
Ali (A) complained to the Prophet (S) about what was being said about him. There the Prophet (S) has been quoted making this historical statement:
ألا تَرْضَي أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ من مُوسَي إلا أَنَّهُ ليس نَبِيٌّ بَعْدِي
“Are you not satisfied that in comparison with me, you (Ali) are like Prophet Harun (Aron) when compared with Prophet Musa, the only difference (between us and them) being that there is no messenger after me (meaning that for me, you are exactly like how Harun was for Musa, the only difference is that Harun was a prophet but you aren’t).”
[Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 4, pg. 1602] [Sahih al-Muslim, vol. 4, pg. 1870]
2- The hadith of Thaqalain
This hadith has been mentioned in many reliable Sunni sources.
For Example Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrates this Hadith:
The story goes like this: During the final days of his life, the holy prophet of Islam (S) said to his companions:
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، قثنا ابْنُ نُمَيْرٍ قثنا عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ أَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ، عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ الْعَوْفِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " إِنِّي قَدْ تَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ مَا إِنْ أَخَذْتُمْ بِهِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي: الثَّقَلَيْنِ، وَاحِدٌ مِنْهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْآخَرِ، كِتَابَ اللَّهِ حَبْلٌ مَمْدُودٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلَ بَيْتِي، أَلَا وَإِنَّهُمَا لَنْ يَتَفَرَّقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ
“I am leaving behind two valuable and precious things amongst you; one being the book of God Almighty, and the second being my progeny. The book of God is a strong rope which hangs into our world from the heavens, and my progeny is my household. These two will never be separated from each other till they come to me next to the pool of Kawthar (in paradise).” [Fadhail us Sahaba, vol. 2, pg. 585]
This hadith is mentioned in Sahih Muslim with different wordings
[Sahih Muslim, pg. 980, Hadith 2408]
قال رسول الله أَمَّا بَعْدُ أَلاَ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ رَسُولُ رَبِّي فَأُجِيبَ وَأَنَا تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ ثَقَلَيْنِ أَوَّلُهُمَا كِتَابُ اللَّهِ فِيهِ الْهُدَى وَالنُّورُ فَخُذُوا بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَاسْتَمْسِكُوا بِهِ» . فَحَثَّ عَلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَرَغَّبَ فِيهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَأَهْلُ بَيْتِي أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللَّهَ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللَّهَ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللَّهَ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي».
3- The hadith of Ghadir
The event of Ghadir took place in the last year of the Prophet’s (S) life after the final Hajj that his Excellency performed. There he said: “…Whosoever I am his master and leader (mawla), Ali is his master and leader after me…” thus explicitly announcing the successorship and authority of Ali
after him and as a result, fulfilling his duty.
This incident has been reported by a great number of the sahabah (companions of the Prophet [pbuh]) (110 individuals) , 84 individuals from the tabe’in (those who weren’t immediate companions of the Prophet (S) and never saw him, yet they experienced the era of his companions), and 36 scholars and researchers. Using concrete evidence and reasoning from famous Shia and Sunni sources, Allamah Amini has mentioned all of these narrations and quotes in his book Al-Ghadir.
What was mentioned here was a small portion of the many reasons for Imam Ali (A) being the true and immediate successor to the Prophet (S).
- By Fatema.Khimji