Imamology, Lesson 68-71: Investigating regards the narrative of “the chain of gold”

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Investigating regards the narrative of “سلسلة الذهب”

There are a collection of narratives that we have come across with, and as you see, they have different meanings.

In some of them, it is said that in the sentence: “لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَهُ” is the fort of Allah, and whoever mentions if enters the fort; but in some them said that it is the “لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَهُ” itself that is considered as a fort, which there is a condition and Imam is its condition. And in some others he says that whoever remembers Allah by sincerely mentioning “لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَهُ” he enter the fort of Allah. And in some of them he says: The Guardianship of Ali bin Abī Tālib is the fort of Allah, and whoever enters it, is secured from the Fire of Allah.

However, one can learn a subject by investigating them thoroughly, it is the very fact that we already mentioned. It is attaining the position of Gnostic and the Monotheism of Allah which is obtained through the course of the Guardianship.

That is, that which brings man chastity and immunity is reaching the position of the Unity which is the phrase of: “لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَهُ”. And reaching to this position is impossible unless passing the channel of the Guardianship which is the Divinity Mirror. Therefore, all these narratives explain one unique subject, and lead us to that single point.

It is because mentioning the phrase of “لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَهُ” is the beginning of the ‘Arrival’, and without sincerity, it is not possible to reach the fact of Monotheism. Here, the phrases of "انا مِن شُرُوطِها" is stating the sincerity that Allah can be met by this way; when we consider the Monotheism as the mirror and the closer veil it becomes the same meaning of the Guardianship. This is the very meaning of the narrative that says: ‘The Guardianship of Ali is a fort’ and it is the security from the Fire.

So, the necessity of the arrival to the Monotheism is passing through the Guardianship. In this way, the Monotheism and the Guardianship are the same for the Gnostic – the Guardianship is the very Monotheism.

This is the main fact that these narratives refer to it in different ways.

These narratives as well similar to these ones, though differing in texts and meanings, show that the Islam is set up on five elements. The narratives of the Shiite consider one of those five elements being the Guardianship; however, the narratives by the Sunnite know that as Monotheism. Now, we are to explain some of these narratives and then mention the outcome.

By the side of the Shiite, in the book of “Kafi” from Abu Hamza, and in the “Mahasi” from ibn Mahbub of Abu Hamza relates from the Holiness Imam Bāqir, Upon Him be Peace, that:

بُنِىَ الْإسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: عَلَى الصَّلاة وَ الزَّكاة وَ الصَّوْمِ وَ الْحَجِّ وَ الْوَلَايَة؛ وَ مَا نُودِىَ بِشَىْ‏ءٍ- وَ لَمْ يُنَادَ بِشَىْ‏ءٍ- كَمَا نُودِىَ بِالْوَلَايَة. ^[7]

‘Islam is based upon five pillars: prayer, zakat, fasting, Hajj and Guardianship; nothing has been enjoined as much as the Guardianship.’

However, by the side of Sunnite, in the book of “Sahih” Muslim, with his own documents from Abdullah bin Omar, relates from his father that:

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَهِ صَلَّى اللَه عَلَيْه وَ آله وَ سَلَّم: بُنِىَ الْإسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَة أنْ لا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَهُ، وَ أنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ، وَ اقَامِ الصَّلاة، وَ ايتاءِ الزَّكاة، وَ حِجِّ الْبَيْتِ، وَ صَوْمِ رَمَضَان.‏ ^[8]

The Messenger of Allah stated: Islam is based upon five elements: witnessing “لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَهُ”, and that Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah is the slave of Allah, establishing the prayers, paying zakat, Hajj pilgrimage to the House and the fasting in Ramadan.

These narratives teach us that the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, has set up Islam upon these five elements, as well he has stated the Monotheism; however, as the Sunnite contend themselves with simply appearance of the witnesses, and confessing the abstract of the prophet-hood, though it differs from the command of the Messenger of Allah concerning the Guardianship, have considered of the elements of Islam and have been content with it. Though the immaculate Imams, Upon Them be Peace, have interpreted the statement of the Messenger of Allah as: without confessing the Guardianship, confessing the Monotheism and the prophet-hood is no more than making a show; the first step confessing the Monotheism and Prophet-hood is confessing the Guardianship. Entering the territory of the Monotheism demands passing the course of Guardianship – these two cannot be separated.  

The fact of Islam relies upon the Guardianship, which is the key to the Monotheism, the apparent Names, Attributes and actions; and it is also the essence of the prophet-hood.

This was the noble kernel discussion about the fact of the Guardianship that is adhered to the Monotheism of the Holiness Creator, the most High.

In this subject two tribes have lost the track and gone astray: the first one is the Sect of the Wah‘habi, and the second is the Sect of the Sheikhs.

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The deviations of Wah‘habi’s Sect in Divine Monotheism

The Wah‘habi’s Sect considers the power, greatness, knowledge, dominion, the life and other names and attributes of the Holiness Creator to be separated from the creatures, that means, they ignore being a mediator between the Right Creator and man, as well they do not believe in the meaning of manifestation in the present word.

Therefore, they remain in doubt and perplexed, even if they think until the Day of Resurrection, they find no solution to their question. Their mistake leading them to this question is that: really we witness a great number of creatures in this world, and we gather that all of them possess life, perception and power. So, there is no doubt that we can see the creature and beings in this world – we can never ignore them.

Now, we say: if we assume that this life, perception and power are with the main Essence, but without the beings, then this theory is wrong, because these attributes being in the creatures are necessary. 

And if we assume that these creatures have their own dependant life, perception and power, even they are given by the Creator, it is also wrong; this statement is the very disbelief and, apart from setting a partner to Him, it brings about too many difficulties.

The meaning of ‘granting’ does not go with ‘dependence’, because this expression means that the creatures come to existence through the Right Essence, and this expression is the very ‘giving over’; while we know that Allah’s case is:

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَ لَمْ يُولَدْ وَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أحَد.

Therefore, we have not any scientific or philosophical remedy unless we take the entire being as the manifestation of the Essence of the Holiness Right, in such a way that all life, perception and power are specified for the Essence of the Right Creator, and according to the capacity of every individual being, its identity has been manifested. That is, independence is singled out only for the Creator and independent in life, perception and power and other names and attributes belong only to the Essence of the Right Creator – they are as noble birth in the Holiness Right and concerning the creature as the mirror reflection.

Nevertheless, in the abstract souls, the souls of the holy angels, the intellectual souls of the messengers and the Imams, upon hem all be peace, and also the Holiness Mahdi whose intellects are vast, it manifests more – and all these mirrors carry the meanings of the Essence of the Holiness Right Creator.

And according to this basis, the main life, perception and power, though are specified to the Essence of the Holiness Right, their manifestation in the ‘Mirror’ is inevitable, and it is logically necessary and correct.

Appearance and to appear and presence and to present are the same things – the meaning of infinitive and other one the noun.

Without exception, all the existence have the senses and signs of closeness to the Essence of the Exalted Being, and logically they are not independent; assuming so is breach of reason. The meaning of infinitive and noun are two different things; comparing it to the noun infinitive has the sense of verb.

To pray the Messenger as well the Imams for one thing is exactly praying Allah for something; this subject is the very Monotheism.

In the supreme philosophy and the sagacity of Islam, the Unity being in the multiplicity, and the multiplicity in the Unity, the Essence of the Right has been proved. In the same way that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, owns the Name of the Monotheism, which is free from all other names, and is exempted from any pompous attributes, and that Monotheism relates the same extensive Essence which is free from any bounds. In the same way it possesses the Name of Singleness, that with the appearance of it in the universe all beings become patent.

The Wah‘habi say: Allah has created the entire being without anyone to assist; those existing in the earth, the angels in the heavens and the holy abstract souls have no part in the creation. They are not meddlers in any way; therefore, seeking help from the Messenger of Allah, the Imams and the angels, even the near-stationed angels is disbelief and idolatry.

Their answer is: is it not disbelief and idolatry asking help from the ‘Alive’ messenger and an ‘Alive’ Imam? Is it not disbelief and a kind of idolatry seeking help from a learned man, a physician, an expert, a farmer and a craftsman!?

If it is disbelief, then, why are you seeking help from them? So, let any kinds of ‘seeking helps’ go and meet your death and you go to your permanent place!

But if it is not disbelief, then what is the difference between seeking helps from an ‘Alive’ messenger or his soul after his demise? How much it differs seeking help from a surgeon to operate on your appendix or asking, for example, Gabriel?!

They say: these are not disbelief, but those are!

They say: these are not considered disbelief, nor are those disbeliefs! It is because their souls are not seen and they do not come to sight, therefore, asking help from natural and material means cannot be considered ‘disbelief’, but asking help from the spiritual is disbelief!

Asking help from the unclean materials is not considered disbelief but from the holy and lofty souls is disbelief!  

To their claim, we say: ‘There is no exception in the intellectual rules; if asking help from one, other than Allah, is disbelief, then, it is disbelief everywhere – and it is wrong far and wide. So how do you try to prove the ‘Right Monotheism’ by the intellectual reasons? In the mean time, you make an exception of the natural and material affairs?! Is it not funny? Is it not the sign of your ignorance of the Endless Power and Knowledge of the Holiness Right?

They say: the circumambulation of the graves of the innocent is the polytheism; giving kisses to the Holy Shrines is idolatry, kissing the sacred thresholds is disbelief, prostrating upon the grave of the Master of the martyrs, Upon Him be Peace, is the sign of idolatry. They also say: taking the Imams and the Highnesses Fatima, as the meddlers for asking one’s needs, is disbelief.

Their answer is: ‘Why is it idolatry?’ What is the difference in kissing the ‘Black Stone’ and giving kisses to the Holy Shrine? What is the difference between the ‘Raised up Building’ of Ka‘ba, by Abraham, Upon Him be Peace, and the pure shrine the Divine Great Sign and the owner of the position of a ‘Meddler’? Why the circumambulation there is not permissible – the place that owns great priorities?! ^[9]

Why is it permissible to prostrate on the soil, land and everything else but it is not allowed to prostrate on the soil of the sole Martyr of the religion and the truth – ABA ABDELLAH-AL-HUSSEIN? If prostration on something is the sign of idolatry, then why is it permitted on the carpets, rugs, the earth and the mats? Why do you take it as Monotheism in somewhere, but idolatry in another occasion?

When you are asking help from someone, in fact, you are asking it from his soul but not his physical body! Therefore, why ‘asking help’ from the malicious souls is not disbelief but in the case of ‘the immaculate Imams’ it is idolatry and disbelief? 

These are the questions that they cannot answer them, nor could they answer them in the past.

The answer is that if they are considered to be independent, they are idolatry: whether circumambulation the House of Allah, or kissing the Black Stone and falling to prostrate on the carpet and earth. And, in the same way, asking a physician as the meddler – none of them is disbelief but also they are the very Monotheism.

Is it a kind of disbelief and idolatry watching the birds in the world as independent?

With such theory of them concerning the Right Essence, the Wah‘habi have caused them fall into disbelief, and as it is stated:

و مِمَّنْ يَعْبُدُ اللَهَ عَلَى حَرْف ^[10]

‘… And among the people there is one who worships Allah on the fringe, (Qur’an: 22/11).’

Casting glance at the mirror-like Divine verses is same as casting glance to the Monotheism. Giving kisses to the Imam, because of his Imam being, is exactly respecting Allah; asking help from the pure soul, because of its spiritual position and nearness to Allah, is exactly asking help from Allah, and it is the same as Monotheism – loving the beloved of Allah means loving Allah.

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Wah‘habi’s Sect deny the manifest verses of the Qur’an

What we said is in the point of logical view, but in the point of view of discussing and explaining it in details, our say is that: all verses and narratives are full of this theory that the entire beings are in one way or another the means for creating, and the creation take place by different causes, the cancellation of the causes in the field of genesis, apart from being denial of the conscience affair, it is denying the religious narratives of the Book and Laws and Traditions.

Do you not recite it in the Holy Qur’an:

 وَ الْمُدَبِّراتِ أمْرًا

‘… and by those angels who control an affair, (Qur’an: 79/5)?’

and:

وَ أَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِح‏

‘… and We send the winds to fertilize [the trees], (Qur’an: 15/22).’

And:

 وَ اللَهُ الَّذِى أَرْسَلَ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَسُقْنَاهُ إِلَى بَلَدٍ مَيِّتٍ فَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِ الْأرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا كَذَلِكَ النُّشُور

‘… Allah is the One Who [constantly] sends the winds to blow the clouds along; then We drive them to a dead land, and revive the earth by means of them after it has died – the uprising [from the graves] is the same, (Qur’an: 35/9).’

and:

 وَ هُوَ الَّذِى أنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأخْرَجْنَا بِهِ نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَى‏ء

  ‘… and it is He Who sends down water from the sky; thus, We bring forth plants of every type with it, (Qur’an: 6/99).’

How does He, in these verses, consider that the authority belongs to the angels, sending the rain to the deprived regions by the clouds, and the fruitfulness of the trees by the fecundation of the winds, and growing every kind of vegetation by sending the rain and in many other verses He clearly mentions the genesis’ arising.

Therefore, how can we deny the main causes while these verses so clearly explaining them?

Yes, it must be said: all these means are delegates of Allah having no independence for their own; we also believe so, and say about these means aw well too many other means that they are not free and have no authorities to do anything by their own – they are not independence; but they act as the meddlers, receiving commands from Allah and distributing them all around the world they are commanded.

They say: asking helps from the Messengers and the Imams means asking helps from the dead souls, this is a kind of worshipping the dead! It is a kind of idolatry asking the dead, who has no sense, to see to one’s demand. It is the same taking the dead as the meddler between man and his God: what is the difference between asking help from a statue or asking it from an ineffective dead?

To their question, we say: due to the clear verses of the Qur’an and the wise proofs, the souls do not perish when the people die, they are alive, and by leaving the bodies and are not totally destroyed. In other words, the death is leaving this world for the next one. And above all, the Holy Qur’an mentions: “They are alive and have provision by Allah.”

وَ لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِى سَبِيلِ اللَهِ أَمْوتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُون.‏

‘… so, [O Messenger], do not count the ‘dead’ those who have been slain in the way of Allah, no, but they are all alive, they are provided by their Lord, (Qur’an: 3/169).’

It is said that this verse is about the martyrs, the martyrs of Ghazwa, Uhod, like Hamza and the others.

Now the question is that were those martyrs such as Hamza and the others not under the supervision of the Messenger of Allah? Do you believe the position of Hamza to be higher than the Messenger of Allah that he is alive but the Messenger of Allah, after his demise, to be dead?

Never! It is not right; for the Messenger of Allah is the head of the martyrs, and he is upon the souls of all martyrs.

In all our prayers, we offer peace upon the Messenger:

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ وَ رَحْمَة اللهِ وَ بَرَكَاتُه.‏

Peace [of Allah] be upon you O the Messenger of Allah, and may Allah’s mercy and blessing be upon You!

In this statement, can’t ‘the second person’ be other than a living listening to us?

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The writer’s discussions with some of the learned men of the Sunnite in the Sacred Mosque

I well remember that, in the Lunar year 1390 Hijri, when my two sons and I, for the second time, were honoured to be at the Hajj Pilgrimage, once early in the morning after performing our voluntary rites, were sitting in a peaceful corner of the Holy Mosque, and watching the House of Ka‘ba and the pilgrims circumambulating it.

In the mean time, one of the Sunnite’s scholars came to us and embraced each of us, one by one then, he sat next to us and said: ‘I am from Syria, from Halab, and my name is Omar Aadil Malahifji. Thus we started our conversation.

In the mean time, one of his acquaintances, who was also a learned man of Sunnite and, as he presented himself, was the Imam of one of the mosques in Medina, after greeting us, sat next to us; then, after a short while, many of the Sunnite came and all sat closer to us – a pretty big session we made.

Soon after, I asked them of the temporary marriage while still at the Hajj pilgrimage. They said: we do not enjoy it until we finish the Hajj Rites.

I said: I know that, in the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah, on the Mount of Safa, announced the people that: from now to the Resurrection Day, the Hajj Pilgrimage, for those whose houses and families are not in the territory of the Sacred Mosque, has given way to the Enjoyment Hajj. That is, when at the Miqat, the pilgrims intend ‘the pilgrim sanctity’, they must do it with the intention of the ‘Minor Pilgrimage’; then when they enter Mecca and perform the rites they get free from restriction and then enjoy to enjoy the women; and they remain in Mecca for the Hajj rites and staying at Arafat and Mash‘ar – they put on the pilgrimage garbs at Mecca to fulfill the Hajj Rites.

The people objected the Messenger by saying: how can it be while we have come to perform the Hajj Rites, and our youths sitting under the shades of Arak Tree waiting, and on their faces running down the drips of ablution after sexual intercourse?

The Messenger of Allah stated: I did not say it by my own, there! Gabriel has descended and has brought this command! At that moment the Holiness raised his hand saying: from now until the Day of Judgement, the Hajj Pilgrimage and the minor Hajj have been joined and both have become one single unite. Therefore, whoever comes to Mecca from far away, must fulfill the both Hajj rites together, and have the Hajj ‘garb on’ between them – this is the command of Allah!

They said: It is exactly the same, but as good intention, Omar had some changes in it; that is, he took ‘the temporary marriage’ away from that, and he command: whoever wears the garment of Hajj in Miqat, his intention must be for the Hajj, therefore, up to the end of Hajj rites, he has no right to have physical contact with the women.

I said: It is Omar concern that for some good intentions has made a plan, now we are not discussing on this subject, but what I am trying to say is that: Is Omar’s action right? And shall we fulfill it until the Day of Resurrection? By the way, Omar was not a messenger, and no command has been sent down to him. Thus, how can we put aside the command of the Messenger who were receiving the revelations of Allah, and Gabriel used to come to him regularly, and then stick to that sayings of Omar!

Omar, at his time, said something to his people, and now it is not our concern!         

Is Omar’s saying prior to the statement of the Messenger of Allah and Gabriel, as well the verses of the Qur’an? Is Omar the partner of the Messenger of Allah in his authentic saying, so that in our disputes and discussions to take his words prior to the Messenger’s? Or what! Is his saying abolishing the statements of the messenger? Anyhow unless one of these affairs should prove to be right, or we cannot simply rely on one’s rootless utterance and ignore the authentic statements of the Messenger of Allah!

At this point, the two Sunnite’s scholars kept quiet, without objecting me – everyone in the circle kept silence.

Then, I turned to Sheikh Omar Aadil from Halab, his face was bright, it seemed to me that he had taken my words, so I asked him: ‘Why do you not tell them to leave the pilgrims on their own?’

You see, they have placed policemen by the grave of the Messenger of Allah to stop the people to kiss the grave, so what is the meaning of their unfair affair? The pilgrims anxiously come here from far away and mostly once during their life time’s and they like to show their loves to the Messenger of Allah; they like to give kisses on his tomb. They are hopeless, so they go on kissing the front door and the burial chamber – they keep crying with a world of agony.

As soon as they want to kiss the burial chamber, the police whips them to stand back; and in the mean time shouting: ‘O you idolater! Do not kiss it! This chamber is made of iron, and you should not kiss the iron! Kissing the iron is a kind of disbelief. In the mean time, those who command to the goodness approve the police by saying: ‘These actions are idolatries!’

The poor pilgrims become depressed and stand in a corner wondering what a tragic story it is! What kind of idolatry it is?

I took you for an oath; tell me, do the pilgrims really kiss the iron and steel, or the essence in it, the Messenger of Allah? Do you not feel that when you are giving kisses to the hands of your parents, your teachers and masters, you are not really kissing some pieces of meat, but you are respecting them and giving kisses to their essence and natural beings.

Have you not read the poems of Ghais bin Molaw‘wah Aameri who is saying about his beloved, Laila Aameri?

 أمُرُّ عَلى جدَارِ ديَارِ لَيْلى             اقَبِّلُ ذَا الدِّيَارَ وَ ذَا الْجِدَارَا

وَ مَا حُبُّ الدِّيارِ شَغَفْنَ قَلْبِى        وَ لكِنْ حُبُّ مَنْ سَكَنَ الدِّيارَا

I pass by the wall of the town of Laila

I give kisses to that town and kiss that wall

It is not my affection to be toward that town

But my heart is in love with one behind that wall.^[11]

Then, Sheikh Omar, while feeling furious, turned to me saying:    

يا سَيِّدُ! و اللَهِ هُم مُشْرِكُونَ؛ هُمْ مُشْرِكُون‏

‘O master! They themselves are Wah‘habis!’ And then he added: ‘This morning, after saying my prayer and fulfilling the Hajj rites, I saw a group of Iranian was standing and one of them was supplicating and saying:

إلَهى بِحَقِّ فَاطِمَة وَ ابِيهَا وَ بَعْلِهَا وَ بَنيهَا وَ السّرّ الْمُسْتَودَعِ فِيهَا كَذَا وَ كَذَا.

“O Allah! For the sake of Fatima and her father, and for the sake of her husband and two sons, and for the sake of the secrets that she has been trusted, I took Your oath to satisfy our needs!”

‘At that very moment, when the Imam of this Sacred Mosque was passing by them, turned to them and shouted: “This is the idolatry, do not say so! Asking help from Fatima is disbelief.’ So I felt upset and went closer and said: ‘Shout up, shout up! Be quiet and get lost!’

Then, I told him: ‘I have a question to ask you, then, I put forward a question that I had never in mind to apply it, but it miraculously popped into my mind to ask him: “Do you know that they brought the shirt of Joseph to Canaan and spread it upon the blind eyes of Jacob and he found his sight back!”’

فَلَمَّا أَنْ جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرا.

‘… so when the bearer of good news came [to him], he laid that [shirt] over his face, and his sight was restored, (Qur’an: 12/96).’

The Imam of the mosque said: ‘Yes, I know it.’

I asked: “What was the material of that shirt?”

He said: ‘It was cotton or linen.

I said: “Cotton or linen has such effect to restore the sight of Jacob, but Fatima-e-Zahra, whom the Messenger of Allah has called ‘The Lady of the World’, has not such effect to act as the meddler in front of Allah to satisfy some believers’ needs!”

Then, he said:

يَا سَيِّدُ! وَ اللَهِ خَسَأَ خَسَأ;

‘By Allah, by my timely answer he did shout up, he was defeated and got lost!’

Then he said: ‘All we the Sunnite hate the Wah’habis! They have invented a new special religion; it is too much void and restricted. We too have from a long distance and our desire is to kiss the grave of the Messenger but these Wah‘habis do not let us!’

In the end, he invited us to go to Halab and stay at his home, and he said: ‘We give high respect to the Chaste Family, when our women expect longer to dream Fatima-e-Zahra in their sleep they become hopeless and believe that their good deeds have not accepted by Allah.’ He kept saying: ‘Come and see how our women are! Then, have conversations about them. I myself have such sisters that they fully love the Household.’

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The Wah‘habi believes Allah being material

One of the greatest corruptions of the Wah‘habis is that they believe visiting Allah physically, they believe: ‘One must not overpass the apparent meaning of the Qur’an; the apparent meaning, which is common among the public, is the main and common meaning of the Qur’an; therefore, the verses including hands, face, eyes and etcetera are related to Allah. They are the same as their usual meanings are.’ However, Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, states:

 يَدُ اللَهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ.

‘… Allah's hand rests above their hands, (Qur’an: 48/10).’

And similar to:

 وَ اصْنَعِ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا

‘… and ‘make the Ark under Our eyes, (Qur’an: 11/37).’

And like:

وَ لِتُصْنَعَ عَلى عَيْنِى

‘… [O Moses, I cast a ray of affection of Mine on you] so that you might be trained in My sight, (Qur’an: 20/39).’

And also:

 وَ لَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُوا عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ

‘… (O Messenger,) if you could only see [them] when they are made stand before their Lord, (Qur’an: 6/30).’

And similar to:

 يَا حَسْرَتَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْتُ فِى جَنْبِ اللَه‏

(The cry of the aggressive on the Day of Resurrection is) ‘… Woe to me for that I have been undutiful to Allah, (Qur’an: 39/56).’

And like:

 كُلُّ شَىْ‏ءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ

‘… Everything is perishable except the Holy Existence of His, (Qur’an: 28/88).’

And also:

 فَايْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَه

‘… So towards where you turn, there is the Face of Allah, (Qur’an: 2/115).’

And similar to:

 الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى

‘… The Mercy-giving [Who is] established on the [Ruling and Planning] Throne, (Qur’an: 20/5).’

Or like:

 يَخَافُونَ رَبَّهُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ

‘… They fear of their Lord from Above them, (Qur’an: 16/50).’

And alike:

 وَ جَآءَ رَبُّك

‘… and your Lord came, (Qur’an: 89/22).’

Or similar to:

 اللَهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ

‘… Allah mocks back at them, (Qur’an: 2/15).’

And also:

 غَضِبَ اللَهُ عَلَيْهِ

‘… Allah got furious with them, (Qur’an: 4/93).’

And alike:

 إلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ اللَه‏

‘… Except for someone whom Allah has bestowed mercy upon, (Qur’an: 44/42).’

And there are lots of these examples in the Glorious Qur’an but they say their meanings are superficial: ‘Allah has hands, body and eyes and ears, and He is sitting on the divine couch, He becomes angry, He shows mercy and mocks.’

This is what they believe; however:

سُبْحَنَهُ وَ تَعَالَى عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ عُلُوّاً كَبِيرا.

‘… Glory be to Him! How greatly exalted is He over what they say, (Qur’an: 17/43).’

The pioneer to these kinds of disbelief is ibn Tei‘meiiah Harrani Shami. He was of the followers of Ahmad Hanbal, and was remarkable in his enmity towards the Household, on top, the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace. Concerning his book, “MINHAG-as-SUNNAH”, that he has written to reject the proofs and honour of the Shiite and Islam, Al‘lāma Hilli has pointed out that: ‘His writing is just rejecting the certainties and beliefs; he has rejected all the narratives concerning the virtues of the Commander of the believers and the Household. He takes them as fabrications, or considers them to be weak or incredible – even if they are crystal clear authentic and beneficial or related by the successive witnesses.’

He goes further saying that: ‘They are void even if they are related by the great Sheikhs and narrators of the Sunnites and they have sanctioned them in their books.’

As soon as he has come across with any kinds of sayings of the Master of the pious, he has considered it to be false and calumniated the Shiite; he has considered the narrator of that narrative to be weak and feeble-minded.

On the whole, for him, the measure of correctness and the fallacy is following the Shiite, the relating the virtues of the Commander of the believers; and he severely backs the Caliphates of Bani Omayyad, even Mua‘wiyah, Yazid and the Abbasid Caliphs.

In fact, the innocence of the Household and was not only their vagrancy in the deserts, being jailed and tortured, killed and hanged and being burnt and looted, but it was hiding their virtues and then transferring them to their enemies – and wiping out their names from the surface of the land. Similar to this man of Sham, the follower of the party of Omawi, the banner carrier of the oppressive Caliphs, like Mua‘wiyah have done a lot corrupts against the Household.

However, they did not succeed and in the end the virtue of the Commander of the believers became world-wide. All friends and many enemies, even the Jews and the Christians and many other sects resigned themselves to his personality and the truthfulness of that right and innocent Imam, and all remained affectionate to him. Wamigh, the Christian: Boqrat bin Ashwat, who was from Armenia and was an important colonel, composed some poems and elegies about the virtues of the Commander of the believers. Later on, ibn Shahr Aashub put some of them in “MANAQIB”, the old fashioned print, page 286 1and page 532. And Abdul Masih Antaki too, has put some of them in his Alaweiia elegy, which is 5595 pages. And Bulis Salama, the judge of the Christian in Beirut, has composed an elegy which is 3085 couplets and all are about the virtues of Ali, the Commander of the believers, and he has defended him all through the book. One of the Christian’s poets, who is known as: Riba ibn Ishaq Rasani Mosali, has composed a poem which is worth bringing here:

عَدِىٌّ وَ تيْمٌ لا احَاوِلُ ذِكْرَهَا             بِسُوءٍ وَ لَكِنِّى مُحِبَّ لِهَاشِمِ‏

وَ مِا تَعْتَريِنى فِى عَلىٍّ وَ رَهْطِهِ             إذا ذُكِرُوا فِى اللَهِ لَوْمَة لائِمِ‏

يَقُولُونَ مَا بَالُ النَّصارَى تُحِبُّهُمْ             وَ أهْلُ النُّهَى مِنْ أعْرُبٍ وَ أعاجِمِ‏

فَقُلْتُ لَهُمْ إنِّى لَأحْسِبُ حُبَّهُمْ             سَرَى فِى قُلُوبِ الْخَلْقِ حَتَّى الْبَهَائِم.‏ ^[12]

I do not mention, (defame), Abu Bakr and Omar, who are of the tribes of Bani Adai and Bani Taim, however, I am the loving friend of Ali bin Abī Tālib, the Hashimi’s man. Mentioning the ill names of them, for what they say against Ali and his family, will not disturb me.

They say: ‘Why do the Christians love Ali and his children? And why the scholars of Arabs and non-Arabs like them?

To their questions, I answered: ‘I believe their affections have found ways into the hearts of all being, and even the speechless animals.’

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