[Are] 100 Shi'ite Narrators of Hadeeth Relied Upon By The Sunnite ?
Perhaps through innocent ignorance of the sciences of hadith, or perhaps
through deliberate blurring of the facts, this contributor confuses
between the moderate Shi`is of the pious Salaf who - like the Kharijites,
Qadaris, Nasibis [haters of Ahl al-Bayt], or Murji'a - may or may not be
accepted along with Sunnis by the imams of hadith as trustworthy
narrators. The moderate Shi`is of the Salaf were those who LOVED `Ali more
than any other Companion but APPROVED of Abu Bakr and `Umar as Imams
before any other Companion. For love Allah plants in the heart and it
cannot be controlled, as al-Shafi`i said with the subtleness of the wise
in his Diwan:
I call upon my Lord to witness that `Uthman is of high merit
And that `Ali's high merit is shared by none.
So to love `Ali more than any other Companion is a position Sunnism does
not reject even today although an ignoramus may label it as heretical. It
rejects only the aberrant extremes of the Shi`a who go against `Ali
himself and the Ahl al-Bayt (not to mention Allah Almighty and His
Prophet ﷺ in spewing hatred for the Two
Shaykhs and the remainder of the Companions. This is not accepted.
In the thread "Tabari" for example, it is clear that the excerpt with
which the same person takes issue mentions extremist Rafidis - those who
not only disrespect the two Shaykhs - Abu Bakr and `Umar, Allah be
well-pleased with them - but also reject their imamate. These have nothing
to do with the moderate Shi`is retained by al-Bukhari and the hadith
masters. That is why al-Tabari considers them kafir, and al-Shafi`i
forbade praying behind them. More extreme Shi`is yet consider `Ali the
true messenger of Allah, and farther folly than that is the heresy that
`Ali is Allah - we seek refuge in Allah from such beliefs. All these
groups and their leaders are identified in al-Ash`ari's Maqalat
al-Islamiyyin and the heresiographies of al-Shahrastani, Ibn Hazm, `Abd
al-Qahir al-Baghdadi etc. but our Shi`a brethren take refuge in pious
ignorance. Worse, it seems rafd and extremism are the order of the day
among Shi`is in our time.
The contributor cited four Shi`i narrators retained by the Sunni Imams of
hadith, I looked into the first one and found enough to illustrate the
points I am making above:
Ibrahim ibn Yazid
His name is Ibrahim ibn Yazid ibn ` Umer ibn
al-Aswad al-Nakh`i al-Kufi, the faqih.
What he does not also say (as I indicated, either through ignorance or
because accuracy and truth are secondary to him) is that Ibrahim ibn Yazid
in Bukhari and Muslim narrated about 100 hadiths from `A'isha through his
uncle al-Aswad ibn Yazid, the same `A'isha al-Siddiqa daughter of Abi Bakr
al-Siddiq whose authority Rafidis reject. As the Prophet is related to
say ﷺ "The dogs of Haw'ab shall bark at her."
Not to mention the fact that Ibrahim ibn Yazid also narrates from Ibn
Mas`ud, Abu Hurayra, and Ibn `Abbas - the same Ibn `Abbas who explains the
verse {You are the best community ever brought forth among humankind} to
refer to the Muhajirun, among whom are Abu Bakr and `Umar.
It would seem that the standards of internet Shi`i contributors are
stricter than Ibrahim ibn Yazid's. But the truth is: internet Shi`i
contributors do not understand most of what they quote. They call Ahl
al-Sunna the `Awamm [commonality] but it is they who act like the
uneducated commonality in undiscerning imitation of their stray
authorities. As I said: Rafidis have nothing to do with the moderate
Shi`is of the pious Salaf.
Here is an important excerpt about the positions of the Sunni imams with
regard to the multifarious Shi`i sects.
"To prefer `Ali [to `Uthman] is neither Rafd (rejectionism) nor a bid`a
(heretical innovation), for several of the Companions and Successors did.1
Both `Uthman and `Ali possess great merits and precedence and are among
the foremost martyrs. However, the vast majority of the Community agree to
give precedence to `Uthman,2 and this is our position also; and better
than both of them without doubt are Abu Bakr and `Umar. Whoever differs
with this is a hardened Shi`i.3 Whoever disrespects the Two Shaykhs [Abu
Bakr and `Umar] while accepting the validity of their imamate is a
disgusting Rafidi.4 As for those who both insult them and reject the
validity of their imamate, they are extremist Rafidis - may Allah lead
them to perdition!"5
Source: al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (Chapter on `Ali - may Allah be
well-pleased with him).
Notes
1See al-Haytami, Fatawa Hadithiyya (p. 155) and Ibn Hazm's al-Fisal and
al-Muhalla as quoted in al-Ghumari's al-Burhan (p. 85-88). This fact shows
the weakness of the report from Imam Ahmad in al-Khallal's al-Sunna
(2:392) whereby "There was no disagreement among the Companions of Allah's
Messenger ﷺ that `Uthman is better than
`Ali."
2As in Abu Hanifa's al-Fiqh al-Akbar and al-Tahawi's `Aqida.
3Al-Qanuji (d. 1307) said in Abjad al-`Ulum (3:163): "Among the sayings of
Zayn al-`Abidin the son of Muhammad al-Bakri (d. 991) the son of Shaykh
Abu al-Hasan al-Bakri al-Misri al-Shafi`i: `Abu Bakr is better than `Ali,
however, love and attraction are a different matter.' And this is my
belief also." Al-Qari said in Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar (p. 140): "It is
patent that to prefer `Ali to the Two Shaykhs contravenes the doctrine of
Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a according to what the totality of the Salaf
follow."
4Imam Ahmad is related to define the Rafidi as "He who insults Abu Bakr
and `Umar" in al-Khallal, al-Sunna (3:493).
5Al-Qari said in Sharh al-Shifa' (2:92): "Al-Nawawi said that cursing the
Companions is one of the most depraved acts (min akbar al-fawahish), while
the author (`Iyad) counts it among the major sins (kaba'ir). Such offense
is punished with corporeal punishment according to the vast majority,
while according to some of the Malikis and Hanafis the offender is
executed. In some of the books of the latter, it is stated that to insult
the two Shaykhs (Abu Bakr and `Umar) constitutes disbelief (kufr)."
Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Sahih Muslim: "Know that to insult the Companions
is prohibited and constitutes one of the major grave indecencies
(al-fawahish al-muharramat) whether with regard to those of them involved
in a dissension or other than them, because they entered those conflicts
on the conviction of their ijtihad and interpretation."
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