29 Oct 2014

A portrait of Ali Akbar (AS)



A portrait of Ali Akbar (AS) while killing the enemies in Karbala, taken from a copy of the book Majālis al-Mottaqīn (printed more than 100 years before in Iran) by the prominent scholar of the Qajar era, namely Mulla Moḥammad Taqi Baraghāni of Qazvīn (d. 1847). I liked this portrait while reading the book, and I had to share it with my friends.

(Note: The complexion of Ali Akbar (AS) was apparent in the portrait so I photoshopped it and added this Noor instead)
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27 Oct 2014

The Sunni Imam, Shah Abd al-Aziz Dehlavi: Imam Mahdi existed



Shāh Abd al-Azīz Dehlavi (d. 1823), who was a leading Bakri scholar in India wrote a rebuttal to Shiʿism entitled al-Toḥfa al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya, and it is apparent that he believed in the existence of the twelfth Imam (AS). It is worth to mention that the same view was held by his father Shāh Waliyullāh Dehlavi (d. 1762) which will be posted in another entry later.

In the introduction of his book, Dehlavi says the following:

و این رساله را تیمّناً و تبرّکاً بهٔ عدد ائمه اثنا عشر علیهم السلام بر دوازده باب مرتب کرده شد

And [the contents of] this treatise was sorted into twelve chapters seeking the blessings of the number of the twelve Imams, may Allah's peace be upon them“.

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al-Toḥfa al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya, page 4.

Also, in the second chapter, he says:
تا آنکه نوبت حضرت امام محمد بن الحسن المهدی رسید و ایشان متولد شدند و در حالت طفولیت و صغر سن وفات کردند

”Till the turn [of the Imamate] reached Imam Mohammad bin al-Hassan who was born and then passed away in his childhood“.

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al-Toḥfa al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya, page 206.

Refuting the claim of Dehlavi that the Imam (AS) passed away has to be in a detailed article, and in this short entry I am just examining his view.

24 Oct 2014

A worth-knowing tradition about Taqiyyah from Imam Askari (AS)



”And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful“. – Surat al-Baqarah, 164.

Imam Askari (AS) said regarding this verse:
الرحيم بعباده المؤمنين من شيعة آل محمّد (صلى الله عليه وآله)، وسّع لهم في التقية؛ يجاهرون بإظهار موالاة أولياء الله ومعاداة أعدائه إذا قدروا، ويسترونها إذا عجزوا

”He is Merciful for his slaves from the Shīʼa (followers) of the pure progeny of Mohammad (SAWA) by giving them the permission in Taqiyyah wherein they could expose their befriending for the vicegerents of god and their enmity for the enemies of Allah whenever they are able to do so, and conceal this when they are not“.
The Tafsir of Imam al-Askari (AS), page 505.
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21 Oct 2014

Imam Redha's (AS) warning against Sufis



The compiler of Wasāʼil al-Shīʿa Sheikh al-Ḥurr al-ʿĀmili narrates in his book al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya from Imam al-Redha (AS) who said:

من ذُكر عنده الصوفية ولم ينكرهم بلسانه أو قلبه فليس منّا، ومن أنكرهم فكأنَّما جاهد الكفار بين يدي رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله)

”He whom the Sufis are mentioned in his presence, and does not scarify them by his tongue and/or heart is not from us, and he who does this shall be rewarded as if joined he Jihad against the Kuffar (i.e. disbelievers) in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (SAWA)“.

al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya, page 32.
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Sayed Mohammad Quli's view regarding the third testimony in Azan


In these few lines I would like to introduce the great Shiʼi scholar, Sayed Mohmmad Quli Kintoori, and to point out his view regarding the third testimony in the Adhān. The purpose of writing this is not proving whether that testimony is an essential part of Adhān or not, it is rather to state the view of this great scholar.


Firstly, I have to introduce him and quote some scholars who praised him to let the readers aware of the great position of this scholar.


Sayed Mohammad Quli Kintoori, was an Indian Shiʼi scholar originated from the town of Kintoor in Northeastern India, though his ancestors were originally from Nishapur, Iran, but had moved and settled in Kintoor since too long.


The Sayed was born on 1775 in Kintoor and grew up there. He moved later to the city of Lucknow where he became one of the major pupils of Sayed Dildār ʿAli (d. 1820), who was the head of Shiʼas at that time. During that time, the Shiʼi faith prevailed all over India due to the efforts of Sayed Dildār ʿAli, and for instance I quote here a saying by a so-called ”Sunni“ historian, namely Abd al-Hay Lucknowi who was from the same place as well. This man authored a biographical book entitled Nozʼhat al-Khawātir including biographies of many Indian clerics from different Islamic sects. In the biography of the latter Sayed, he says the following:


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ثم إنه بذل جهده في إحقاق مذهبه وإبطال غيره من المذاهب، لا سيما الأحناف والصوفية والإخبارية، حتى كاد يعم مذهبه في بلاد أودة ويتشيع كل الفرق

He [Sayed Dildār ʿAli] placed his efforts for justification his Madhʼab and vitiating the else especially the Hanafi, Sufi and Akhbari groups, until his Madhʼab was about to dominate the whole state of Oudh, and all other sects to adhere to Shiʼism“.


Nozʼhat al-Khawātir, page 967.


The same reason led a major Indian scholar from Delhi, India; namely Shāh Abd al-Azīz Dehlavi (d. 1823) to write a book entitled al-Toḥfa al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya as refutation to Shiʼis, which was highly appreciated by Sunni scholars. He says in the introduction of this book the following:


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غرض از تسوید این رساله و تحریر این مقاله آن است که در این بلاد که ما ساکن آنیم و در این زمان که ما در آنیم رواج مذهب اثنا عشریه و شیوع آن به حدی اتفاق افتاده که کم خانه باشد که یک دو کس از آن خانه به آن مذهب متمذهب نباشند

”The purpose of writing this treatise and authoring this essay is the prevailing of the Madhʼab of the ʼIthnā ʿAsharīs in this country where we live in and at the time which we are already in, to a degree that it is hardly to find a house where no two or three of its members adhere to this Madhʼab“.


al-Toḥfa al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya, page 2.


The Shiʼi scholars in India had not turn any blind eye to this book, rather they have written numerous rebuttals to it. Sayed Mohammad Quli Kintoori took part in this too, and enjoyed fame for his five rebuttals to al-Toḥfa al-ʼIthnā ʿAshariyya, and the most know of his books is Tashyīd al-Matāin where he spoke about the misdeeds of the enemies of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS) and refuted what Dehlavi had written in defense of them.

Unfortunately, the book has not been translated to any language, although some quotes can be found translated, and here is an example from the book The Tragedy of Al-Zahra (AS) which was written by Sayed Jaʿfar Murtadha al-ʿĀmili (Beirut, Lebanon) and translated by Yasin T. al-Jibouri, where the Sayed quotes the opinion of Sayed Mohammad Quli regarding the tragedy of Lady al-Zahra (AS):


”T he father of the author of `Abaqat al-Anwar, says the following in his book titled Tashyeed al-Mata`in wherein he recorded scores of pages containing many texts the translation of which is as follows:
`Omer threatened to burn Fatima (A.S.), gathering firewood around her house as is narrated by trustworthy Sunni narrators and the most prominent of their reliable authorities and the greatest of their traditionists from the early generations and from the latter Ones (A.S.) such as al-Tabari, al-Waqidi, `Othman ibn Aba Shaybah, Ibn `Abd Rabbih, Ibn Jirayah, the compiler of Al-Mahasin and Anfas al-Jawahir, Ibn `Abd al-Birr ibn Aba Shaybah, al-Balathiri, Ibn `Abd al-Birr (author of Al-Ista`ab), Abu Bakr al-Jawahiri, author of the book titled Al-Saqifa, the judge Jamal ad-Din Wasil, Abul-Fida’ Isma`al ibn Ali (A.S.) ibn Mahmad (author of the book titled Al-Mukhtasar), Ibn Qutaybah, Ibrahim ibn `Abdullah al-Yamani al-Shafi`i (author of the book titled Al-Iktifa’), al-Sayyati (author of the book titled Jam` al-Jawami`, Mulla Ali al-Muttaqi (author of Kanz al-`Ummal) and Shah Wali-Allah al-Dahlawi..., etc“.


The tragedy of al-Zahra (AS), (online edition).

Now, let me examine what three of well-known leading Shiʼi scholars said about him.

1- Sheikh Āgha Bozorg Tehrāni (d. 1970), says the following:

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وهو من أكابر المتكلمين والمفسرين، ومن أعاظم تلاميذ العلامة السيد دلدار علي 
”He was of the greatest theologians and Mufassirin (i.e. interpreters of Qur'an), and one of the greatest pupils of the ʿAllāmeh, Sayed Dildār ʿAli“.


Al-Kirām al-Barara, volume 2, page 255.


2- Sheikh Abd al-Husain al-Amīni (d. 1971), better known as ʿAllāmeh al-Amini, says the following in his Al-Ghadīr encyclopedia while speaking about his son, Sayed Mir Hamid Husain, the author of the book ʿAbaqat al-Anwār:


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وهذا السيد الطاهر العظيم كوالده المقدس، سيف من سيوف الله المشهورة على أعدائه  

”This pure great Sayed was like his sacred father a sword of Allah's swords which has been used against his enemies“.


Al-Ghadīr, volume 1, page 196.


3- Sayed Moḥsin al-Amīn (d. 1952) says the following:


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كان متكلماً بارعاً في علم المعقول حسن المناظرة (...) واشتغل في الرد على المخالفين فقام به أحسن قيام

”He was a theologian accomplished in the logical sciences, good in debating, (...) and he involved in refuting the opponents (i.e. so-called Sunnis), and what he did in this was excellent“.


Aʿyān al-Shīʿa, volume 10, page 27.


Well, going back for the purpose of writing these line which is pointing out his view regarding the third testimony being a part of the Adhān. Sheikh Ali Namāzi Shāhroodi (d. 1982) says the following in his book:


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سنة 1260 في 9 محرّم توفيّ السيّد محمّد قليخان المفتي والد صاحب العبقات. وله كتب وتصانيف، منها رسالة في أن الشهادة بالولاية جزء الأذان 
 
”Year 1260 (according to the Hijri calendar), on the 9th of Muharram, passed away Sayed Mohammad Quli Khan, the mufti, the father of the author of the book Abaqat. He authored some books, including a treatise proving that the testimony of Wilayat is an essential part of the Adhān“.


Mustadrak Safīnat al-Biḥār, volume 5, page 266.


Therefore, the opinion that the third testimony is an essential part of the Adhān was held by some great Shiʼi scholars, among them is Sayed Mohammad Quli Kintoori.


Absolutely, there are many besides scholars hold this opinion too, but these lines are intended to introduce this scholar in brief. I hope this open the eyes of some folks who are dare to accuse others of Ghuluw, and would like to see if Sayed Kintoori is the next one to be accused of Ghuluw or not.