Ahl al-Sunnah and Obliterating the Sunnah

In this chapter we inteAnd to expound an important point, into which every researcher should go deep, to find out without any oAbscurity that those who call themselves "Ahl al- Sunnah 'have nothing to do with the prophet's Sunnah whatsoever. That is due the fact that they, or rather their ancestors from among the Companions, and their al-khulafah al- Rashidun, whose example they follow, and with whose love and loyalty they approach to Allah, have adopted negative attitude towards the prophetic Sunnah, to the extent that they have burned the prophet's traditions, preventing people from writing them down or conveying them36

In addition to the previously expounded subject,we ought to disclose the vile conspiracy that was hatched against the purified Prophetic Sunnah, aiming at preventing its spread and nipping it in the bud, and substituting it with the rulers, heresies and exertions of opinions ijtihad as well as the Companions views and interpretations

The former rulers have adopted the following measure:

First: Composing false traditions supporting their belief calling for preventing the writing down of the whole Prophetic Sunnah and the honourable traditions.

Muslim reports, in his Sahih, from Haddab ibn khalid al- Azdi, from Hammam, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ata ibn Yasir, from Abu Sa'id al-khudri that he heard God's Messenger (S) say:

Do not write (anything) from me, and whoever has written from me without any objection.37

The purpose of compasing this tradition is to justify what Abu Bakr and Umar have done towards the prophetic traditions written and recorded by some Companions but it came very later after the era of the al- khulafa al-Rashidun, and its fabricators were unawere of the folowing points:

a) Had this hadith (tradition) been said by the prophet (S),the Companions who have written from him,would have adhered his order and scratched it out before being burned by Abu Bakr and Umar, many year after the Prophet's demise.

b) Had this hadith been Sahih, then it could have been used by Abu Bakr and Umar for justifying their order to prevent writing down of ahadith, and have struck them out, while those Sahabah who wrote them would apologized, either out of ignorance or foregetfulness.

c) Had it been Sahih it would have been incumbent upon Abu Bakr and Uamar to strike out the tradtions and not born them.

d) Had been sahih, so all Muslims from Umar ibn Abd al- Aziz's reign till now, would have been regarded as sinners due to disobeying the prophet's order, headed by Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz who had ordered the Ulama of his time to record and write the traditions, and also al-Bukhari and Muslim who attested this hadith, and then disobeyed it writting thousands of hadith from the prophet (S).e) Finally had this hadith been sahih it could have not been missed by the gate of knowledge -- Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) -- who collected and complied the Prophet's traditoins in a Sahifah (sheet) of seventy cubits (dhira), calling it al-Jama'ah ( about which eleboration will be given later on)

Second: The Umayyad rules did their utmost to emphasize that the Mesenger of Allah (S) has not been infallible (ma'asum) from error, and he has been like other human beings who may be mistaken and right, narrating for this several traditoin.The purpose of composing these traditions is to assert that the prophet (S) has been exerting his opinion, committion many errors to the extent that has led some Companion to correct him. The example they cite for proving their claim being: the matter of tipping the date-plams, revelation of the verse of hijab (Islamic covering) seeking forgiveness for hypocrites, accepting fidyah (redemption) from prisoners of (the Battle) Badr, and alike issues that Ahl al- Sunnah wa al- Jama'ah claim in their sihah believing them to be ascribed to the owner of the Message upon whom and whose progeny be the best benediction and peace).

Here we like to ask Ahl al-Sunnah the following question:

If this be your practice, and this be the way you believe in the Messenger of Allah (S), how then you allege to be committed to his Sunnah while it is considered by you and your ancestors as a non-infallible Sunnah, and rather not known or written even?38

We oppose these allegations and lies and refute them by proofs from your own books and sahih39

Al-Bukhari reports in his sahih from kitab al- Ilm bab kitabat al- Ilm'', from Abu Hurayrah that he said:"None of the prophet's Companions narrated more traditions from him than I did, except Abd Allah ibn Amr, who used to write them down and I have not written."40

This narration bears out that a number of the Companions of the prophet (S) used to write down his traditions, and had Abu Hurayrah been narrating from the prophet (S) more than six thousand traditions orally, then 'Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn Al-as exceeded this number in writing. So Abu Hurayrah confesses this fact since Abd Allah ibn Amr used to write the traditions, and there have been undoubtedly but were not mentioned by Abu Hurayrah due to their not being so famous of aboundantly narrating from him (S).

Should we add to those people al- Imam Ali ibn Talib, who has been promulagating, from over the minbar (tribunal), as sahifah (sheet) calling it al-Jami'ah (all-inclusive), in which he complied the prophete's tradition that people badly need and which have been inherited b y the Imams of Ahl- al -Bayt (peace be upon them), and talking about them most often.

Al-Imam Ja'afar al-Sadiq (A) said:
"We (Ahl al-Bayt have sahifah whose length is 70 cubits, dictated by the Messenger of Allah (S) and written by Ali's hand, containing all rule of the lawfull (halal) and unlawfull( haram) aspects, and all matters and issues needed by people even a bit of scrach".41

Al-Bukhari himself referred, in several chapters of his Sahih , to this sahifah held by Ali (A) but he has usually known about him, mutilated many sharcteristics and contnets.

Al-Bukhari also has said in his Sahih in bab kitabat al-ilm writing knowledge):

It is reported on the authority of al-shibi, from Abu Juhfah that he said:

I pasked Ali: Do you ( Ahl al- Bayt) have a book?

He replied: No, except the Book of Allah, if can be apprehended I shall give it to a Muslim man, or I shall give whatever is in this Sahifah.

He said: I asked him: what does this Sahifah contain?

He repleid : It contains: intelect (aql ),redemption (setting free) of a prisoner of war, and that a Muslim is not to be killed (as a retaliation ) for killing a kafir infidel)42

In another place in sahih al-Bukhari it is also reported from him as saying:

On the authority of al-A' mash from Ibrahim al-Taymi, from his father, from Ali that he said: " we have nothing except the book of Allah and this Sahifah, that is taken from the prophet (S)43

Once again it is reported from al-Bukhari in his Sahih, saying:

"On the authority of Ibrahim al-aymi from his father that he said: Ali has once addressed us saying:

"We have no book to read except God's Book and whatever is in this Sahifah."44

Al-Bukhari reports in another chapter of his Sahih saying:

On the authority of Ali (may God plesead with him) addressed us, giving a sermon on a minbar made of fabricks holding a sword upon which a sahifah was hung, and said: "By God we possess no book to read except the Book of Allah and what this Sahifah contains.''45

It is reported also by al-Bukhari in his Sahih that he said:

On the authority of Ibrahim al-Taymi, from his father that he said: "Once 'Ali (may God be pleased with him) addressed us, giving a sermon on a minbar made of bricks, holding a sword upon which a Sahifah was hung, and said: "By God we possess no book to read except the Book of Allah and what this Sahifah contains."46

Al-Bukhari has not reported what al-Imam Ja'afar al-Sadiq has said that the Sahifah has been called al-Jami'ah since it gathered all halal and haram (rules), containing whatever people need even abit of scratch, with the dedication of the Messenger of Allah (S) and handwriting of Ali ibn Abi Talib He (al-Bukhari) summarized it once by saying: It contains: intellect (aql), redemption (setting free) of a prisoner of war, and that a Muslim is not be killed (as a retaliation) for killing a kafir (infidel)", and another time by saying: Ali has promulgated it and it had: the teeth of camels, and it had: al-madinah is the sanctuary of..., and it had: dhimmah (obligation) of Muslims is one .., and it had whoever follows the guide of people without the permission of his masters( mawali)

This is no more than falsification and darkening over facts, otherwise can reason received that Ali writes only these four phrase and hangs them on his sword, so as to be stuck to him while orating from the minbar, making them the second reference after God's Book, and telling people that: We have not written from the prophet (S) except the Qur'an and what is (written) in this Sahifah?!

If Abu Hurayrah's aql (intellect) be bigger than that of ALi ibn Abi Talib since he has commited to memorize one hundred thousand traditions from the Messenger of Allah (S) without being written ?

How surprising is the case of these people, who accept one hundred thousand traditions from Abu Hurayrah, who has not acompanied the prophet (S) but only for three years, and being illiterate, and at the same time allege that Ali being the gate of the city of knowledge, from whom all the Sahabah learned and acquired different sciences and branches of knowledge, has been holding a sahifah containing four traditions that remained stuck to him from the prophet's lifetime until his caliphate time, so as to ascend the minbar while they being hung on his sword? It is greatly hateful a word uttered by them, surely what they say is but a lie.

It can be said that what is reported by al-Bukhari is sufficeint for the researchers and those who have intellect ('uqala') when he mentioned that in it Sahifah there is 'aql (intelect). This is a good evidence that the human intellect and Islamic thought.

We do not intend to establish proof upon what is there in the Sahifah, as Makkah dwellers know better its mountain passes (routes), and the householders are better aware of what the hause contains. Ahl al-Bayt have have said that the Sahifah contains all that is needed by people concerning halal and haram rules even the most munite point.

What concern us in this research is that the Sahabah were writing the prophet's (S) traditions and Abu Hurayrah's saying that Abd Allah ibn Amr was writing the prophet's traditions, with Ali's saying: " We have written nothing from the prophet other then the Qur'an and what is (written) in this Sahifah", constitute together a decisive proof that God's Messenger has never forbidden in the writing down of his tradition, but on the contrary (he has ordered to do so). The hadith reported by Muslim in his Sahih (that the prophet said): Do not write anything from me, and whoever has written from me other than the Qur'an has to strike it out, is false hadith fabricated by the Caliph's supporters for the sake of attesting and justifying the act produced by Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman when they burned the Prophetic traditions and prevented promulgation of the prophetic Sunnah. Our certainly that the prophet (S) has never forbidden the writing down of traditions form him, but rather he orderd to do so, will be intensified and confirmed by the hadith narrated from Ali, who was the closest of all the people to the prophet when he said: "We have not written from the prophet other than the Qur'an and what this Sahifah contains." which has been attested by al-Bukhari.

Should we add do this tradition reported from al-Imam Ja'afar al-Sadiq that "al-Sahifah al-Jami'ah has been dictated by the Messenger of Allah and has been written by Ali (A) " we would come to the conclusion that the prophet (S) has commanded Ali (A) to write.

Dear reader, in order to eliminate the least doubt you may have, I cite the following:

Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, Abu Duwud in his sahih al-Imam Ahmad in his Musnad and al-Darimi in his Sunan, have all reported a very significant hadith about Abd Allah ibn Amar to whom Abu Hurayrah referred, as was writing from the prophet, in this form:

It is reported that 'Abd Allah ibn Amr has said: I used to write down whatever I heard from the Messenger of Allah (S), but Quraysh forbade me by saying: Why do you write whatever you hear from the prophet (S), while he (S) being a human being speaking in rage and content?

Abd Allah said: So I stopped writting, and then I mentioned this to the prophet (S) who refrred to his mouth saying:" Write down by him in Whose hands is my soul, nothing has come out from it (his mouth) except the truth."47

From this hadith we come to know that Abd Allah ibn Amr used to write whatever he was hearing from the prophet (S), and he was not forbidden by the prophet but by Quraysh, but 'Abd Allah would not like to disclose that names of those who forbade him writing (the tradition), as their act constitued a valification against the prophet (S). So he abscured his reply by saying it was Quraysh from among the Emigrants headed by Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Abu Ubaydah, Talhah and Zubayr and whoever followed them.

We can observe also that their forbiddance to Abd Allah occurred during the prophet's lifetime, the fact that asserts the depth and perilousness of the plot. otherwise what made those people forbid "Abd Allah from writing without consulting the prophet himself?

Further, it can be inferred from their saying to Abd Allah: "God's Messenger is a human being, that may talk in anger and content', that they were evil-minded towards the prophets (S), blieving him to utter falsehood (batil) and judge unjustly, especially during state of rage. And from the Prophet's (S) statement, at hearing prohibition order ofQuraysh to Abd Allah opinion about him (S), when saying: "Write down (my hadith), by Him in Whose hand is my soul, nothing has been uttered by it (pointing at his mouth) other than truth", we can conclude another evidence that the prophet was aware of their suspicion in his justice, and their ascribing to him comminting an error and uttered falsehood So he swore by Allah that nothing has been uterred by his mouth except the truth.

This saying being the proper intrepretation of the Almighty Allah 'saying: "Nor doth he speak of (his own ) desire. It is naught save an inspiration that is inspired"(53:3,4). We comprehend also that he is infallible (ma'sum) from commiting any error and immnue against utering falsehood. Thus we can irrefutably state that all traditions composed during Umayyads reign indicating the prophet's non-infallibility, were fabricated and baseless. Also, we can sense from the said hadith that the influence of the heads of Quraysh upon 'Abd Allah ibn Amr was so great the he stopped writting as he himself declearred: "So I stopped writing" and he remained so till the time when the prophets (S) himself has interferred to remove the doubts being raised about his infalliability and justice, which must of the time were raised in his (S) presence, as their saying to him expressly: "Are you truly the prophet of Allah ?48 Or "Are you the one claiming to be a prophet? 49 or: By Allah he never meant by this oath to please Allah".50

Or like A'ishah's saying to the prophet: Your Lord hestens in your love.51 Or other vile statement exprssing their doubt in his infallibility, and thier belief that he errs, does injustice, commits mistakes and lies, I seek God's refuge from this.

Our Prophet (S) having the great magnanimity, was so clment and merciful, that he very often strove to eliminate this doubts and suspicions by saying onc: "I am no more than a commanded slave", and another time by saying: "By Allah I am more rightful and pious near God", and another one saying: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, nothing has come out of my mouth other than truth "Also so often he used to say: "May God shower His mercy upon my brother Musa, he was harmed much more than this but he endured petiently"

These vile words that raise doubt about his (S) infallibility and propphethood, have not been uttered by unknown people or hypocrites, but unfortunetly they were uttered by the heads of the Companions and umm al Mu'minin (A'ishah), Who were considered by Ahl al-Sunnah wal al-jama'ah as an example and a good pattern.

There is neither might nor Power but in God, the Sublime, the Tremendous.

The point that multiplies our certainly that the hadith "Do not write from me " is baseless fabricated tradition, and was not uttered by God's Messenger at all, is that Abu Bakr himself used to write from the prophet (S) some of the traditions, he collected during the prophet's lifetime, but when he seized the caliphate, it occurred to his mind to burn them for a reason that may not be kept from the researchers.

Moreover his daughter A'ishah has said: "My father has compiled traditions from God's Messenger, that reached five hundered in number, then he spent his night restlessly. I said: Is he restless due to a complaint or some thing that reached him. Early morning the next day he said: "O my daughter, bring me all the traditions in your possession". So I handed them to him whereat he burnt them.52

Once 'Umar ibn al-Khattab has addressed people saying: "No one can keep any book with him, only after showing it to me, so that I give my opinion about it. So they thought he would check them for the sake of correcting them to be all congruous, leaving no difference thereat, but when they brought their books he burnt them.53

Moreover he have gave his orders to all governorates that: whoever has anything (of the traditions) should wipe it out.54 This being an express proof that all the companions in general, whether those residing in al- Madinah or in order Islamic towns, were keeping books, compiling in them the prophetic traditions which they wrote during the prophet's (S) lifetime, but were burnt first by the orders of Abu Bakr and then of Uamar, while other books in towns were wiped out by Umar's commendment during his caliphate.55

Thus it can not be believed, whether by us or by any mindful man, that the prophet (S) forbade people from writing the traditions, after we came to know that most of the Companions had kept books of traditions, especially the 70-cubits sahifah that was held all the time by al-'Imam 'Ali and was called by him al-Jami'ah as it included everything.

Since the intrests of the ruling authority and dominant policy requird obliterating and burning the prophetic Sunnah, beside preventing people from propagating it, so the Companions Supporting this Caliphate adhered and excuted these orders, whereat no alternative was left for them and their followers, except exerting the opinion (ijtihad bi al- ra'y ) or imitating the the methods (Sunan) of Abu Bakr, umar, Uthman, Mu'awiyah, Yazid, marwan ibn al-Hakam, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, al-walid ibn 'Abd Al Malik, or Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, till the assuming of power by umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who asked Abu Bakr al-Hazmi to write down for him what he commited to memory of the prophet's (S) hadith and Sunnah, or Umar's hadith.56

Thus we come to know that even during the circumstances permitting the writing of the sunnah, after it had been obliterate and prevented one centuary ago, the moderate Umayyad ruler, whom Ahl al-Sunnah attached to al-Khulafa al-Rashidun, had ordered to collect and compile the prophet's Sunnah beside that of Umar ibn al-khattab, as if Umar was the partner of the prophet (S) in his message and prophethood.

A question arises here is: Why hadn't 'Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz asked the contemporary Imams of Ahl al-Bayt to hand him a copy of al-sahifah al-Jami'ah, and why hadn't he encharged them were more knowledgeable than others in regard of their grandfather's hadith??

Only the investigators and researchers know the secret behind behind this.

After being aware of Quraysh's reality and belief in the Messenger of Allah and his pure Sunnah, can we be assured of the tradtions compiled by Ahl al-Sunnah from the Umayyads and their aides, who represent the caliphate of Quraysh?

That what remains clear after all this, is the fact that the ruling authority, throughout all ages of caliphate, has applied ijtihad and qiyas (analogy) and consulting eacth other.

As the authorities removed al'-Imam 'Ali (A) away from the arena of society and disregarded him, so it had no warrant against him to burn what he had written during the mission era, with the Prophet's dictation.

History tells us that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib persisted on keeping the Sahifah, in which the included all the rules and information needed by people. When he assumed the caliphate he used to hang it on his sword, while addressing people from the minbar, acquainting them with its importance.

Narrations have been reported in authentic succession (tawatur) from Ahl al-Bayt (A), confirming that they inherited this Sahifah from their fathers who inherited it from their fathers, giving legal verdicts (fatawas) from it in the issues badly needed by their followers in their time.

Therefore al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, al-Imam al-Rida and other Imams have been, all the time, expressing this fact by saying: "We do not give people virdicts according to our opinions, since had we practised this we would have perished, but their (verdicts) are quotations from the Messenger of Allah (S), being inherited by us one from the other, hoarding and keeping it as people hoard gold and silver".57

Again al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (A) has said: My hadith is my father's hadith, and his is my grandfather's, his being al-Husayn's hadith, and his al-Hasan's, and al-Hasan's hadith is Amir al-Muminin's, his is the Prophet's hadith, and his hadith is the saying of Allah, (the Glorified and Sublime).58

Throughout this, the successively transmitted (mutawatir) Hadith al-Thaqalayn "I am leaving behind two precious things (thaqalayn) among you: the Book of Allah and my kindered ('Itrah), if you hold on to them you will never go astray after me",59is verily the truth other than which is only misguided (dalal), and the genuine Prophetic Sunnah will have no protector or guardian or supervisor except the Pure Imams from the Household of the chosen prophet (S).

The conclusion reached here is that the Ahl al-Bayt's Shi'ah who held fast to the kindered (Itrah), are the true followers of the Prophetic Sunnah, and "Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah" are no more than claimants whose claim is not based on any argument or proof. Praise is Allah's, Who guided us for this.

____________
36. It is better to refer, in this respect, to the book Fas'alu Ahl al-Dhikr, from p. 200 onwards.

37. Sahih Muslim, vol. viii, p. 229, ''kitab alihd wa al-raqa iq, bab al-tathabbut fi al-hadith wakitabat al-'ilm''.

38. That is because the tadwin of thr Prophetic Sunnah was delayed till the era of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Aziz and those who succeeded him. The caliphs and rules who ruled before him, have burnt it, preventing people from writing and communicating it.

39. The stange point about Ahl al-Sunnah, is that they most often report a hadith and its opposite in the same book, and stranger is their adopting the fabricated one neglecting the sahih one.

40. Sahihal-Bukhari, vol. i, p. 36, ''bab kitabat al-'ilm''.

41. Usul al-Kafi, vol. i, p. 239; and Basa'ir al-darajat, p. 143.

42. Sahih al-Bukhari vol. i, p. 36.

43. Ibid vol. ii, p. 221.

44. Ibid, col iv, p. 67; amd Sahih Muslim, vol. iv, p.115.

45. Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. iv. p. 69.

46. Ibid, col. viii, p.144.

47. Mustadrak al-Hkim, vol. i, p. 105; Sunan Abi Dawud, vol. iii, p. 126; Sunan al-Daimi, vol. i, p. 125; Musnad al-'Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbl, vol. ii, p. 126.

48. It is said by 'Umar ibn al-Khat'tab duting al-Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty, and reported in Sahih al-Bukhari vol.ii, p. 122.

49. It is said; by 'A'ishah bint Abi Bakr ti the Prophet. See the book Ihya' al-'ulum, by al-Ghazzali, vol. ii, p. 29.

50. It is said by a companion from al-'Ansar to the Prophet (S), and reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih, vol. iv, p. 47.

51. Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. vo, p. 24 and 128.

52. kanz al-'ummal, vol. v, p. 237; Ibn Kathir's al-Bidayah wa al-nihayah; al-Dhahabi's Tadhkirat al-huffaz, vol. i, p. 5.

53. Al-Tabaqat al-kubra, by Ibn Sa'ad, vol. v, p. 188; Taqyid al-'lm, by al-Khat ib al-Baghdadi.

54. Jami' bayan al-'ilm, by Ibn Abd al-Barr.

55.Here we observe the heinou act done by Abu Bakr and Umar toward the Prophetic Sunnah, that entailed a vast and unestimated loss for the Islamic Ummah, that was badly wanting for the Pophetic ahadithfor understanding the Qur'an and God's odinances,. Those ahadith were verily sahih, since they were written directly from him (S), without any medium. But those ones collected afterwads were mostly fabricated, since they were written according to the orders of the rulers after the occurrence of the sdition and after Muslims killed each other.

56. Muwat ta' al-'Imam Malik, vol. i, p. 5.

57. Ma'alim al-madrasatayn,by al-'Allamah al-'Askari, vol. ii, p. 302.

58. Usul al-kafi, vol. i, p. 53.

59. Sahih Muslim, vol. v, p.122; sahih al-Tirmidhi, vol. v, p. 637.

Adapted from the book: "The Shi'ah; The Real Followers of the Sunnah" by: "Dr. Muhamad al-Tijahi al-Samawi"