Islam Guidance

2. The Example of the Imams

2. The Example of the Imams

 After the Prophet’s death, the Muslims were very much divided on the issue of leadership. This gave birth to the two groups known as the Shi‘a and the Sunnis. The Shi‘a lived by the sharÄ«‘a by following the Qur’ān, and the sunna of the Prophet and of the Imams.

 The sunna, in Shi‘a definition, means “the sayings, deeds and silent approval of the Prophet and the twelve infallible Imams of Ahlu 'l-bayt.” Although the issue of the leadership has already been discussed in another lesson in Part One, I would like to mention one reason why the Imams of Ahlu ’l-bayt are preferable as the source of the sharÄ«‘a than anyone else.

 The Muslims of the early days realized the importance of the Prophet’s sunna and started to memorize his sayings known as hadith. Later generations preserved the saying they had heard from the companions of the Prophet in the books of hadith. Even the actions of the Prophet, observed by his companions, were preserved in writing. But this process of preserving the sunna of the Prophet was not immune from mistakes and forgery. Many sayings were invented and wrongfully attributed to the Prophet during the early period of the Islamic history, especially during the Umayyid era. At times, the rulers bribed the companions to fabricate ‘hadÄ«th’ in their favour and/or against their opponents. At other times, some people invented ‘hadÄ«th’ for apparently good causes not realizing that they were using the wrong means of trying to make people more religious!

 Abu ‘Ismah, Faraj bin Abi Maryam al-Marwazi was asked: “From where have you got all these traditions narrated through ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbās, from the Prophet, describing the reward of reciting each and every sÅ«rah (chapter) of the Qur’ān?” He said, “I found people interested only in the fiqh of Abu HanÄ«fah and maghāzi of Ibn Ishāq; therefore, I forged these ahādÄ«th for the pleasure of God to bring them back to the Qur’ān.”

 In this background of the early development of hadÄ«th, we must find an authentic and informed source for the sunna of the Prophet. When you look at the Muslims of the Prophet’s days, you can find no one who was more knowledgeable, informed, reliable and closer to the Prophet than the Ahlu ’l-bayt, the family of the Prophet: Fātimah, ‘Ali and their sons. After all, it is the Qur’ān which testifies to their spiritual purity of the highest form by saying: “Verily Allah intends to purify you, O the Ahlu ’l-bayt, a thorough purification.” (33:33) Combine this verse about the Ahlu ’l-bayt’s purity with the following: “It is the holy Qur’ān in a preserved tablet, none shall touch it but the purified ones.” (56:79) The real sense of this verse is that the Qur’ān which is “in a preserved tablet” is not accessible to anyone except those who are purified by Allāh. This shows that the Ahlu ’l-bayt could understand the Qur’ān better than any other Muslim.

 It is for this very reason that Allāh commanded His Messenger to ask the people to love his Ahlu ’l-bayt: Say (O Muhammad), ‘I do not ask from you any reward (for teaching Islam to you) except to love my near ones.’ (42:23) This love was made obligatory because it would automatically entail obedience of those whom one loves. If the Ahlu ’l-bayt were not truthful, reliable, and worthy of following, would Allāh command us to love them?

These few verses of the holy Qur’ān are enough to show that the best commentators of the Qur’ān and the most authentic source for the Prophet’s sunna are the Imams of Ahlu ’l-bayt. The Prophet himself said,

 “I am leaving among you two worthy things. As long as you hold fast on to them both, you will never go astray after me. One is greater than the other: the Book of Allāh (which is a rope suspended from the heaven to the earth) and my descendants, my Ahlu ’l-bayt. They will not separate from each other until they come to me at the (fountain of) Kawthar (in the hereafter). Therefore, see how you recompense me by the way you deal with them.”

 This is not the place to discuss the authenticity of this hadÄ«th, but it will suffice to quote Ibn Hajar al-Makki, a famous Sunni polemicist. After recording this hadÄ«th from various companions who had heard it from the Prophet at various places and times, Ibn Hajar says, “And there is no contradiction in these [numerous reports] since there was nothing to prevent the Prophet from repeating [this statement] at those various places because of the importance of the holy Book and the pure Family.”[20]

 We can conclude from these verses and the hadith mentioned above that the Ahlu ’l-bayt are the divinely appointed commentators of the Qur’ān, and the most authentic and the best source for the sunna. It is for this reason that we prefer them to all other sources.

 Even when we quote a hadÄ«th from the Imams of Ahlu ’l-bayt, it is actually the hadÄ«th of the Prophet which they have preserved as the true successors of the last Messenger of God. Imam Ja‘far as-Sādiq (a.s.), the sixth Shi‘ite Imam, says:

 My hadÄ«th is the hadÄ«th of my father, the hadÄ«th of my father is that of my grandfather, the hadÄ«th of my grandfather is that of Husayn [bin ‘Ali], the hadÄ«th of Husayn is that of Hasan [bin ‘Ali], the hadÄ«th of Hasan is that of Amiru ’l-mu’minÄ«n [‘Ali bin Abi Tālib], the hadÄ«th of AmÄ«ru ’l-mu’minÄ«n is that of the Messenger of God (s.a.w.), and the hadÄ«th of the Messenger is a statement of Allāh, the Almighty, the Great.”[21]

 The historical circumstances did not allow the opportunity to the first three Imams of Ahlu ’l-bayt to formally teach and train their followers in the matters of the sharÄ«‘a. It was after the tragedy of Karbala that the Imams, especially the fifth and the sixth Imams, got the opportunity to formally train their followers in the sharÄ«‘a laws. The training by these Imams actually laid the foundation for the development of ijtihād among the Shi‘as after the occultation of the twelfth Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (a.s.).

 * * *

 During the Minor Occultation (ghaybat) of the Present Imam, it was still possible for the Shi‘as to present their problems to the Imam through his specially appointed representatives. These representatives were ‘Uthmān bin Sa‘Ä«d al-Amri (260-265 AH), Muhammad bin ‘Uthmān al-‘Amri (265-305 AH), Husayn bin RÅ«h (305-326 AH), and ‘Ali bin Muhammad al-Samiri (326-329 AH).

 However, after the Imam went into the Major Occultation, the problems of the sharÄ«‘a were resolved through the process known as ijtihād and taqlÄ«d—the two most important ways of living by the sharÄ«‘a. Ijtihād, in ShÄ«‘a jurisprudence, means “the process of deriving the laws of sharÄ«‘a from its sources.” A person who can do ijtihād is known as a “mujtahid”. TaqlÄ«d means “to follow the mujtahid in the laws of sharÄ«‘a.”

 * * *

 This lesson is based on An Introduction to the SharÄ«‘a by Sayyid M. Rizvi

• Prev
• Next