Re: Absolving the Ahlul-bait

By Mahdi Garba | Publish Date: Dec 16 2016 2:00AM

On 18th and 25th November, 2016 edition of Daily Trust, Qaddam Sidq Isa raised some allegations against the Shia Muslims, capable of misleading the populace. This is not the first in his series of attacks on the Shia Muslims and their doctrines, but the later appeared under title ‘Absolving the Ahlul-bait’ makes it obvious that he’s intellectually challenged.

Qaddam started his piece with underestimating the Arba’een gathering adroitly. He dodged the background of the arba’een, what prompted the Shia Muslims to trek the long distance he said. Presumably the writer’s impetuosity to pen his fairy tales about the relationship between the Ahlul-bait and the Sahaba, which he copied from archaic Wahabi texts, is what makes him to skip the background, let alone the significance.

When I read where Qaddam is heading to, that is to show that there was no skirmishes between the Ahlul-bait and the Sahaba I expected him to introduce a fresh debate not to copy and paste a long-term controversial topic that had been answered centuries ago. He mentioned six Shia Imams that named their children the names of Abubakar, Usman and Umar. May be he forgot that even before the Sunni caliphs we have many that bear those names.

With a quick glance at historical books we see that Abubakar, Umar, Usman ibn Ali ibn Talib were all children of Laila the daughter of Mas’ud Thaqafi, Ummu Habib and Ummul Banin, respectively. When reflecting on the similarity of the names with that of the Sunni caliphs it can be said: the public mindset at the time was in way that these names were not significant and subject to attention and accordingly didn’t possess approving, connotative or denotative meaning. Then if Ali chooses to name his name Abubakar or so it isn’t reminiscent to the Sunni Caliphs.

Besides, these names were not condemned and hated by Shiites as Mu’jam Al-Thuqat Vol. 21, pg 66 has listed nearly 60 pages of narrators that had the name Umar or Usman bn Saeed which was one of the representatives of Imam Mahdi during the time of his minor occultation. Also, these names had been used before and after Islam among Arabs. Early Wahabi theorists and of today are yet to fabricate even a weak hadith to justify that Imam Ali named his children those names out of love.

On the issue of intermarriage between the ahlul-bait and Sahaba, Qaddam flipped the archives of his predecessors, alleging that Ummu Kulthum the daughter of Ali was married to Umar. The Ummu Kulthum that was married to Umar died in the year 50 Hijri and Ummu Kulthum bnt Ali was at the battle of Karbala in year 62 Hijri and was married to her cousin Abdullah bn Jafar bn Abi Talib. For avoidanace of doubt Qaddam and his cohorts should see Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya and Rozatul Ihbab Volume 3 pg 585.

Historical evidences show that Fatima (as) passed away 6 months after the demise of her father and thus her date of death was 11 Hijri, and Ummu Kulthum was born in the year 9 Hijri, according to Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, tradition 5,546. Then how possible was it for her to be born after the death of her mother if Sunnis claim that she was married to Umar in the year 17 Hijri at an age of 4 or 5 years, that would put the date of birth after as 12 or 13 Hijri, which was long after her mother’s death?! I have many discrepancies for the claim that Umar married Ummul Kulthum but couldn’t disclose it for the sake of brevity.

And on the marriage between Umm Farwa and Imam Jafar, Qaddam quoted that as a circumstantial evidence that obliterate the animosity between Ahlul-bait and Sahaba. Mr Qaddam should take a glance as Imam Jafar’s linege from both sides. Paternal: His father was Muhammad Baqir ibn Aliyu Zainul Abideen bn Husain bn Ali bn Abu Talib. Maternal: His father was Ummu Farwa bnt Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abubakar ibn Abu Quhafa.

None of the personages on the paternal side need introduction to all Muslims, for brevity I will focus on the maternal side.

Umm Farwa’s stature and knowledge can be judged from the fact that she once touched Hajrul Aswad with the left hand, a person objected that it was against the Sunnah. She responded “Ana al-aghnia’a min ilmak” [I (belong to that household that has no need for your ilm. She was brought up by her father Qasim who was her teacher as well, and has been introduced by Imam Jafar Sadiq himself as one of those honest, pious and God-fearing persons whom Allah has promised to love.

Qasim was counted as one of Madina’s seven greatest jurists and was brought up and taught by his father Muhammad ibn Abubakar. Muhammad is one about whom Imam Ali proudly said that although he is a biological son to Abubakar but I see him as my own [Muhammad’s mother Asmaa bnt Umair was initially married to Ali’s brother Jaffar al-Tayyar. After Jafar’s martyrdom she married Abubakar and after his death she married Ali.]

He was not brought up by his biological father Abubakar who died when he was small, and he paid the price of being with Ali’s son by being sewn into a Donkey’s skin and burnt alive on the orders of Muawiya, the father of Yazid, the son of Hind and Abu Sufyan. Everyone is worthy of our utmost love if he loves Ahlul-bait devoid of his clan (Ummayyads, Hashimites, Abbasid et al). Shiites have no antipathy for any personage, family or clan.

Finally, Qaddam quoted a fabricated hadith which was credited to Imam Jafar on Zurara bn Ayun. The predecessors of Qaddam forged the whimsical narration to discredit all the traditions narrated by the pious Zurara bn Ayun. Imam Khu’i in his book Mu’ajam Rijalul hadith, vol. 8 pg 247, as well as by Muhammad al-Abtahi in Tarikh Zurara pg 65.

The chain of narration is broken between the narrators Majelwyeh and Zyad bn Abi Halal. On the contrary we have authentic traditions from Imams of Ahlulbayt praising Zurara and others of their companions. We read in Rijalul Kashi, pg 151 which has been declared ‘Sahih’ by Imam Khu’i in Mu’ajam Rijal al-Hadith, vol4 pg 197 and in vol pg 268: Jami bn Daraj said “I heard Abu Abdullah (as) saying ‘Give glad tidings to the humble ones in paradise, Buraid bn Muawiya al-ejli, Abu Basir laith bn al-Bakthari al-Muradi, Muhammad bn Muslim and Zurara, four pious and faithful to Allah in (the matters) of halal and haram, without them the prophetic traditions have been lost”. There are ample of traditions of Ahlulbayt that passed encomiums on Zurara that cannot be discussed on newspaper pages.


Mahdi wrote this piece from Jos. He can be reached at mahdigarba@gmail.com


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