In Search of Orthodox Islam 7/11

A'udhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ar-rajim, Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim. Al-hamdu li-Llahi Rabbi 'l-Alameen, bari' al-khala'iqi ajma'een. Wa as-salat wa as-salamu 'ala asharafi al-Anbiya'i wa 'l-mursalin, Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina wa Habibi qulubina, wa Tabibi nufusina, wa shafi'i dhunubina Abi 'l-Qasimi Muhammad. [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. Thumma as-salatu wa as-salam 'ala Aali Baytihi at-Tayyibin at-Taharin al-Madhlumeen. Wa la'anat Ullahi 'ala a'da'ihim ajma'een min yawmi 'adaawatihim ila Yawm id-Deen. Amma ba'd, faqad qal Allahu Tabaraka wa Ta'la fi kitabih, wa Huwa asdaq ul-Qa'ileen. Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim. "Wa a'tasimu bi habl Illahi jami'an wa la taffaraqu wa adhkuroo ni'amata Allahi alaykum idh kuntum aa'daan fa allafa bayna quloobikum fa asbahtum bi ni'amatihi ikhwaana, wa kuntum ala shafa'a hufratin min an-naar fa anqadhakum minha, kadhalika yubaynu Allahi lakum aayatihi la'allakum tahtadoon" (3:103). Salawat ala Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad].

Last night, we began discussing how theological schools were formed in Islam and we talked about the concept of Al-'Adala in Tashayy'u, and we said that most Muslims in the seventh and eighth centuries onwards, particularly ninth century onwards, when the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil came to power, he was the most prominent of the Abbasid Caliphs, so, in the sense of all the major names amongst the khulafa in Banu Ummayya and in Banu Abbas, he would have been the most prominent amongst the last.

The Ash'ari School of thought was enforced as the only aqida that had to be practiced by Muslims. And those who refused this, were put to death. It became the theology of mainstream Muslims. Now with the Ash'ari School, the idea of predestination as opposed to free will and the insistence that Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala is the cause of all actions, good and bad, was also then infused amongst the Muslim populace. And what we have said is that in our understanding, this was a dangerous idea.

The Ummayads, as well had latched onto this idea. It wasn't a new idea, but there was a temporary reversal, for example, when Al-Ma'mun became the Caliph and he brought back the Al-Mu'taziite understanding as the dominant aqida, the Abbasids used this as the Ummayad's deed to argue that because God causes all actions to be and everything works on the basis of predestination, therefore we rule over you by God's will. And they took on this title of Khalifat Ullah, to justify that they were the representatives of God on the Earth.

Furthermore, to solidify their positions, they forged traditions and attributed them to the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, to say that, if you should be ruled by others after me, even if they do not follow my practice, and even if there are devils in the form of humans and they usurp your right and they whip you and they torment you and they are absolutely unjust, you must still not rise against them. And doing so is a sin. And it was kufr to rise against the person who ruled over you as your Waliyu Al-'Amr.

Now, last night I asked this question, if you remember that as Muslims, if we hold onto the idea that certain texts besides the Qur'an are also absolutely Sahih, and their authenticity cannot be doubted, then we are often challenged, such as the question that is asked, that if these sorts of traditions are in the authentic sources, how do we reconcile the issue that Imam Al-Husayn, alayhi as-salam, rose against Yazid, but based on the Sahihayn, it was a sin to rise against Yazid on the Hadith of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam.

What I was trying to imply was this: that even if we suppose and say that Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim were extremely sincere when they compiled their works, and they were pioneers in not only compiling Hadith, but in establishing a framework on whose basis you determine what traditions are Sahih and what was not, the fact of the matter is that a lot of their criteria and determination of what Sahih and what is not was on the chain of transmitters. A Hadith is made up of two blocks, sanad and Matn. Sanad is the chain of narrators that links you from your time to the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, to say, "How did this Hadith get here?" And that is why when you read the full Hadith, it will say, "So-and-so heard from so-and-so, who heard from so-and-so, who heard from so-and-so."

The muhaddithun have to study this chain and investigate every individual on the chain and verify if these individuals were authentic, were people of integrity, and if their words can be relied upon. They try and look at the age and times in which these people lived, were there any gaps in the years between these chains of transmitters, and look for any reason to say did they really exist,what sorts of individuals, while there, is it plausible that they were in those times to meet the people from whom they heard and so on?

And then there is the second part, which is the Matn, which is the content and the text itself. Our argument is that we cannot simply insist on the sanad, that we have to look at the Matn as well. And if the content clearly opposes the Qur'an and what would be considered common sense and logic, such as supporting an unjust ruler or a tyrant, then that should also be a reason to suggest that the Hadith is not authentic.

And what we have been saying is this: that as Muslims, it is now long overdue that we consider certain things that we have considered to be cast in stone. One of these things is that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, never said there is no hadith, that he said, that anyone who sees me even once in my lifetime, is my Sahaba. This definition of a Sahaba was created by the scholars later on. And that is why if you study this, there is a whole study on this as well, as to how did the definition of a Sahaba come to be.

And you will see that in Sunni Islam as well, initially, the definition of Sahaba was not so broad. But with time is different, questions came about to say, well, if you said this is the definition of a Sahaba, well, then does this person qualify? And if this is the definition of a Sahaba, then what do you say about that person? And as it became difficult to draw a circle around who is Sahaba and who not, a broad general definition came to be, to say, anyone who saw the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, even once as a Muslim, was a Sahaba.

Now you can see that at the time that this definition was created, it may have seemed the most easiest and common sense way to define 'Sahaba'. But what we are saying is that in light of the fact that the actions of some of the individuals were very different after the Prophet from what it was before the time of the Prophet or, during the time of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, there is an opportunity here to ask ourselves that, if this is not legislated by Qur'an and there is no Hadith from the Prophet to say anyone who saw me even once is a Sahaba, is it time that we perhaps redefine who a Sahaba is? And say this is a very simplistic definition?

And rather than defining on the basis of anyone who was passing by Madinah and saw the Prophet once, perhaps we should define a companion on the basis of character, actions, and what they did in history. This would seem the most logical, and this is what the Shi'a do.

When the Shi'a say As-hab of Imam Husayn, As-hab of Imam 'Ali, As-hab of Imam As-Sadiq, they have this idea that these were individuals who didn't just see the Imam, but these were individuals who were loyal to the Household of the Prophet, who agreed to the understandings and the teachings of that Imam who followed them and the Imam did not disown them at any point in their lives. And they remained loyal to that Imam even after the Imam passed away.

The other thing that we have been saying that deserves relooking at, and obviously as Shi'as, it is not our place to say to our Sunni brothers, you should question Bukhari, but we are simply saying that, when we define the issues that lead to other issues downstream in the Ummah, these are perhaps points worthy of discussion for the Sunni brothers and sisters amongst themselves. And likewise, they may have points of discussions that they would raise for us, that we would consider in our faith.

So, one was the issue of Sahaba. The other was the issue that, likewise, there is no Hadith from the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, to say that there shall come a man after me whose name shall be Bukhari or Imam Al-Bukhari, and he will compile Hadith, and whatever he compiles is absolutely authentic and you must not doubt it. There is no such tradition, obviously. And therefore, we should, therefore, be willing to consider that if Imam Al-Bukhari, and Imam Muslim, were not Ma'soom and were not infallible, much as they were sincere in trying to identify what is authentic and what is not, there is a likelihood that what they compiled may have content or has content that is not authentic.

When the Shi'as argue for that 'isma [infalibility] of their Imams and say that the Imams from the Ahl Al-Bayt are Ma'soom, they have a point by which they can argue that. They can put forth, for example, the Ayat of Tat-hir (33:33) from the Qur'an and said that the Qur'an vouches for their infallibility and says to the Ahl Al-Bayt , alayhum as-salam, that: "Innama yuridu Allah" (33:33). Allah has willed this.

And you know, when Allah wills something, 'Innama amruhu idha arada shay'an an yaqula lahoo kun fa yakoon' (36:82). So, "innama yuridu Allahu liyudhiba 'ankum [rijsa] Ahl al-Bayti' (33:33). Allah has decreed and willed this that he shall keep away all Ahl Al-Bayt from you every kind of 'rijs', any kind of impurity that can be imagined, physical or spiritual. "Wa yutahhirakum tathira" (33:33). Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad.

But we cannot argue this for the case of anyone else, and therefore it should not seem so earth-shattering and shocking that we might consider that there is something that Imam Al-Bukhari thought was authentic but is not.

Now, the concern, as we mentioned earlier, is that if we open up this door to say, could things be wrong in the Sahihayn, then it puts the Shari'ah in jeopardy. It shakes and crumbles the Shari'ah. I don't speak for the Sunni Muslims, obviously, but to my limited understanding, I would say if this were to happen, yes, it would shake that institution that is in place, but I don't think it would collapse. If anything, I think it will come out stronger. But this is in summary, you know, of what we have said so far.

Now, last night we spoke about 'Adala, and tonight we want to now speak about the second principle, that the Shi'as insist on, which is the principle of Al-Imamah, if you can recite a Salawat ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

Now, there is this misconception that Imamah is a Shi'i concept, and a lot of times you will hear brothers and sisters from the Sunni madhab saying, that where is Imamah in the Qur'an, and how do you prove Imamah, and this is something that you Shi'a created. This is actually a misnomer. It is a false idea. Imamah is very much present in all the Muslim madhabs and in all the Ummah.

The Sunni Muslims have many traditions from the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, that says that, 'After me, there shall come 12 Imams, and these Imams shall all be from the Quraish'. And they have other traditions to say that, 'They shall be from the descendants of Fatimah, alayha as-salam'. So such traditions are found and there are Sunni scholars who have attempted to compile a list of who these 12 Imams are. But the Shi'as have raised issues with all of those, issues such as there is no continuity between these 12 Imams they have.

Some have simply taken prominent names in the history of the Muslims. So, for example, they may have taken the khulafah ar-Rashidoon and then taken names like Mu'awiya and Haroon ar-Rashid, and Ma'moon and so on. And there are various lists that do exist with this idea.

I generally do not like to promote my own lectures or ask you to go back and listen to lectures I have delivered in the past. But because of now in the interest of time, I will make an exception and say that, some six years ago, right here at the Masumeen Centre, I delivered a series of two lectures on Imamah in Islam. The first one is Imamate in Islamic theology, and the second one was Imamate in Islamic history. This was around 2011 and you will find this online on YouTube and others.

And in these lectures, I have gone into a lot of details to say that in the Ash'ari School there have been some majour names and theologians like Abu Bakr Al-Baqilani and At-Taftazani. These were the giants of Ash'ari theology, and they have discussed Imamah at great length. As an example, Abu Bakr Al-Baqilani, who was a Maliki jurist and a Qadhi, Ibn Taymiyya, says there is no greater Ash'ari theologian than Al-Baqilani, and there has never been anyone before him, nor should they be anyone after him. He is unparalleled and unrivalled in his knowledge of Ash'ari theology, and he wrote 52 volumes defending the Ash'ari theology.

Al-Baqilani talks about Imamat, conditions, and I have discussed in these two lectures how it starts with the premise of what qualities should an Imam have, what disqualifies an Imam from being an Imam, and how it came down to this final conclusion to say that anyone can be an Imam, even an unjust and a tyrannical ruler; if he takes power by force, his Imamat is valid and rising against him is a sin.

And in those lectures as well, I discussed this, very difficult to understand concept, that says if an unjust ruler rules over you, it is wajib to obey him and it is haram to rise against him. If you rise against him, you commit a sin and a crime. However, if you manage to overthrow him, justly or unjustly, and you take power, then now it becomes wajib to obey you. And anyone who rises against you commits sin and and kufr. And I have demonstrated this with proofs and details of who said it, and how the whole thing came about.

In these lectures I also explained that when the Shi'as asked their counterparts, the Sunni theologians, that on what basis does an Imam get selected or elected as an Imam, and they came up with the definition to say the one who is elected by the Muslim Ummah by consensus becomes the Imam. And the Shi'as then said, well, when the first Caliph was elected, it was a closed door session between the Muhajirun and the Ansar. Besides that, there were prominent individuals that were missing at that meeting, such as 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, plus there were others who were opposed to it. Talha was opposed to it, Zubair was opposed to it. These were big names in Islam. The Banu Hashim were opposed to it. The leader of the Khazraj tribe was opposed to it and so on.

Now, they then said, well, anyone who is elected by the elite in the community, the prominent members in the community, becomes an Imam. So, the Shi'as then said, well, when the second Caliph elected his successor, he did it on his deathbed. And I mean, the first Caliph appointed only one individual without consulting the elite in the community. So, then they said, well, if the Caliph appoints a successor, then that is valid as well. So, then the issue of Shura came up and then the issue of how did Mu'awiya come to take Khilafat came up. And so all these definitions kept making it very difficult. And what I show in those two lectures is that eventually, what the theologians did was they read history and saw how the Caliphs had come about. And then in reverse, they came up with the definition to say these are all the possible ways in which one can become a legitimate Caliph.

And so, for our purpose tonight, is only to say that the issue of Imamat exists in Shi'a and Sunni Islam. The Shi'as have a Hadith that says, "Man mata wa lam ya'rif Imama zamanihi, mata mitata al-Jahiliyya". 'Whoever dies without having recognized the Imam of his time, he dies the death of ignorance'. And when we say 'jahiliyyah', we refer to the period of Jahala before Islam, which is the period of shirk. Now, the Sunni Muslims also have this Hadith, but in their hadith, it is even more strictly defined. Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal reports in his Musnad, "Man mata bi ghayri Imamin, mata mitata Al-Jahiliya". Whoever dies without an Imam, he dies the death of jahala. And it is for this reason that you will see that the only Muslims were insistent that they had to have pledged allegiance to someone.

And when the Ottoman Empire collapsed, there was a concerted effort in places like India and other places to start with a Khilafat movement. And Muslims have continuously been expressing this concern. To this day, there are Muslims who express this concern, that we Muslims have not pledged bay'ah to anyone and therefore we commit a sin, which is the reason why when ISIS also promoted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, they set up an idea of a Khilafat and bay'ah. And those who followed were, took an interest in that idea, because this idea of Khilafat and Imamat is very much part and parcel of Islam.

Now, to give you a quick example of how important having an Imam and having pledged allegiance to an Imam is to Muslims, not Shi'a Muslims, general Muslims. There is an incident that I discuss in detail in those two lectures but I will tell you very quickly. The second Caliph Umar had a son, Abdullah Ibn Umar, who is well known in Islam, and many Ahadith are reported from Abdullah Ibn Umar.

He had refused to pay allegiance to 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, but he was very concerned that he did not have a pledge that had been committed to anyone in a position of power. We are told that after Yazid died and the Umayyads were still in power, but the Sufiyanis, they were the Banu Sufiyan, children of Abu Sufiyan, the dynasty moved within the Ummayad from the family of Sufiyan to the family of Marwan. Marwan Ibn al-Hakam. And these were now the Marwanids. And one of the first sons of Marwan who ruled was Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan. When Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan one became the Caliph, Abdullah Ibn Umar was in Iraq and his governor was Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf ath-Thaqafi.

Hajjaj was a brutal, brutal man, and he has a long history of bloodshed and his favorite pastime was killing the Shi'as. He used to send a man out to say, I feel like murdering a Shi'a today, go look for one for me. And so they brought Kumayl Ibn Ziyad - when we recite Dua Kumayl - he murdered Kumayl, They brought Qanbar, the faithful servant of Ali. He murdered Qanbar. And Sa'id Ibn Jubair. And many, many Saadat.

When Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf died, there were tens of thousands of Shi'as in his prison. Many were in a wretched state. They were naked. They were tortured, they were killed. They were left to die. And as I said, the Abbasids as well tortured the Saadat and the family of the Prophet greatly, burying them alive in walls and using their blood mixed with cement to build their palaces. They even relished in saying our palaces should be built with the blood of the followers of Ali.

Now, when Abdullah Ibn Ja'far, I mean, when Abdullah Ibn Umar found out that Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan has become the Caliph that same night, he said, I cannot sleep unless I have done Bay'ah to the Imam of the time. So, he goes to the palace of Hajjaj and he thought Hajjaj is sleeping. He says this cannot wait, it has to happen right now.

And because he was a prominent individual, as the son of the second Caliph, he's allowed audience inside and he goes right into the chamber where Hajjaj is sleeping. Hajjaj wakes up. From sleep and says to him, "What is so urgent that cannot wait until the sun rises?" He said, "What is urgent is I have not given bay'ah to the ruler of the time, to the Calipha and the Imam of the time. You are the governor of Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan. And I must pledge allegiance right now."

Now, Hajjaj was a wretched man, so he can't be bothered to sit up or extend his hand to Abdullah Ibn Umar. And what he does is he extends his foot to him and he says, pay allegiance to my foot then. And Mughniya in his book, that is in English, Despotic Rulers, describes this incident and says Abdullah Ibn Umar, who had refused to pay allegiance to 'Ali, took the foot of Hajjaj and kissed it and pledged allegiance to it and said, "Oh Allah, bear witness that if I die tonight, I have not died without having done bay'ah to the Imam of the time."

This is not to disparage anyone. Ibn Abi l'Hadid Al-Mu'tazili, the Mu'tazilite scholar who wrote Shahr of Nahj Al-Balagha, he narrates this incident as well. This is not to disparage anyone, but this is to show that the idea of Imamate and pledging allegiance and Bay'ah is very much part of Muslims, even if Muslims may have forgotten it.

And so you can find more about this if you want, in those two lectures that I have delivered on the importance of Imamat. So, there shouldn't be this argument amongst Muslims, this concept of Imamat, where is it in Qur'an, and this has been created. The question we ask is this. We all have it in our books that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, said, 'After me there will be 12 Imams', 'Al-A'imatu ba'di ithna-'ashar'. And, then with the additions, 'Kulluhum min Quraysh', and so on. Now, what is the purpose of these 12 Imams if they come after the Prophet, one after the other, and then the 12th one dies and thereafter, the Ummah is once again left without an Imam?

Either the Imamat should continue so that, until the world exists, one of these 12 is still alive or, when the 12th one dies, the world should come to an end. Then it makes sense to say that the Prophet was trying to say: that my knowledge and this guidance in Islam will continue to have an Imam until the End of Times, because there is no other Prophet or book after this. But if there were Imams who came after the Prophet, either continuously or sporadically, and somewhere in the seventh, eighth century, ninth century, the last one dies, and the Ummah is now left again, orphaned, without any Imam, then what was the whole idea of saying after me there will be twelve Imams?

So, this is another issue that needs to be discussed. And Insha'Allah, it is something that we can think about as Muslims, Shi'a and Sunni and open it to discussion as well in future. If you can say Salawat ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

I now want to jump on to a different segment of this discussion, which I hinted at yesterday, which is to say the Imams in the madhab of Shi'a are all related to each other, father, son, father, son. There is only one difference that after 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, is his elder son, Al-Hasan, and then it's his brother Al-Husayn. And after Imam Al-Husayn, it goes from father to son until the final Imam, Al-Hujjat Al-Qa'im Ajjal Allah ta'ala wa farajahu ush-Shareef. [Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad]. Ruhi wa arwa al-alameen wa laka al-fida', Sayyidi.

Now, what is the difference between this idea of Imams being in one family, father and son, and the idea of a monarchy and nepotism, whether it's Ummayads or Abbasids back then or whether it's also today? What is the difference? The difference is that this lineage and father and son is attested for and vouched for in the Qur'an. And this is what I want to show you, that this is not a hereditary thing.

I did mention previously that when Allah reveals to his Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, and said to him, when he reveals to the Muslims that all Muslims, Allah and His Messenger send blessings on the Prophet: "Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu sallu 'alaihi wa sallimu taslima" (33:56) [Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. The Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, taught the Muslims how to send Salam on him. He said, "Say, qulu, "Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad, wa Aali Muhammad, kama sallaita 'ala Ibrahim wa Aali Ibrahim"". O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and Aali Muhammad as you sent blessings on Ibrahim and the Aal of Ibrahim. Now, this is very, very important that Ibrahim and Aal Ibrahim are mentioned as we develop this.

I also mentioned last night that there are two verses in the Qur'an where Allah talks about the Ummah. In one verse, which is in Sura of Aali Imran, chapter 3, verse 110, He says: "Kuntum khaira ummatin ukhrijat li 'n-nas" (3:110). 'You are the best Ummah that has ever been brought forth from the human species, from mankind'. And in Sura Al Baqarah, chapter 2, verse 143, He says: "Wa kadhalika ja'alnakum ummatan wasata" (2:143). 'Thus we have made you the middle nation'.

And all the mufassirun, Shi'a and Sunni say that 'ummatan wasata' means the best Ummah. This is the meaning of 'ummatan wasata', the tafsir of it. Why?"Litakoonoo shuhadaa'a 'alan naas" (2:143), 'so, that you may be witnesses over all mankind'. "Wa yakoona ar-Rasulu 'alaykum shahida" (2:143), 'And Rasul will then be a witness over you'.

Now when you read Sunni tafsir, what they say is that the Muslims are the best Ummah because they are the middle nation amongst the monotheist, between Jews and Christians. The Jews have taken rituals and forgotten the spirituality of religion, and the Christians have taken a spiritual idea and left Shari'ah, and the laws. The Muslims have taken both, and therefore they are a middle nation. And therefore the Muslim Ummah shall bear witness over the Jews and Christians on the Day of Judgment. And then the Prophet will bear witness on the Muslim Ummah.

Now, I want you to park these thoughts and ideas in your mind for a moment. And now I want to talk about something else. Now, I will, if time permits tonight, say that I have this whole discussion where we ask our Muslim brothers and sisters who are not Shi'a, what would be the reason why the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, would not appoint a successor? because there is no Hadith from the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, that says I am not appointing a successor or, Allah has told me not to appoint a successor. How is it conceivable to you? That months before Al-Ghadir, he said to the Muslims, "I'm leaving soon, this is my farewell pilgrimage". This is Hajjat Ul-Wida.

In Madinah, he told them, "Every year Jibra'il comes to me and recites the Qur'an with me. This year, he recited with me twice, and therefore, I know I'm leaving." He didn't pass away suddenly: he fell ill on a Thursday, he passed away on a Monday. Everyone knew he was passing away, which is why they did not join the army of Usama. Yet no one thought it wise to ask the Prophet, "What should we do after you?" And the Prophet also is not telling them what to do after.

Yes, there is the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, telling them, "Give me a paper and pen, I may write something, you will not go astray after me," but he is denied the paper and pen. So, what would be the possible reason why the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, and Allah would not want a successor appointed? Now, when I talk about it separately, I will give you all the various reasons.

But the predominant reason that is given is this: that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, lived at a time when the Arabs were very tribalistic, and he did not want to promote this idea of tribalism and dynasties where, if he appointed someone from his family, then it will set this precedence of tribalism in the Muslim Ummah. Now, he wanted a more Democratic leadership where the Ummah would consult amongst themselves and decide amongst themselves who is the best person to lead them.

OK. Now the first thing we observe when we read the Qur'an is that Allah, when He talks about all His Guides, they all seem to be related by blood. In Sura Aali Imran, chapter 3, verse 33, He says: "Inna Allaaha 'stafa Adama wa Nuhan, wa Aala Ibrahim, wa Aala Imran, 'ala al-'alamin' (3:33). 'Allah has selected'- istafaa, from Mustafa, it means to select - 'Allah selected Adam and Nuh and then he selected the Progeny of Ibrahim and the Progeny of Imran over all of humanity and mankind'. The verse doesn't, the Sura doesn't end, "Dhurriyyatan ba'duha mim ba'd; wa Allahu Sami'un, 'Aleem" (3:34). 'All of them, descendants from descendants, some related to the other as descendants; and Allah is All-Hearing and All-Knowing'.

Now listen to this. It's a longer passage. This is in Surat Al-An'am, chapter 6 verses 83 to 87. "Tilka hujjatuna atainaha Ibrahim 'ala qawmihi" (6:83). It continues from the previous verse and says, 'That was Our proof that We gave Ibrahim over his people'. "Narfa'u darajat man nasha'" (6:83). 'We elevate in status whomever We please'. 'Inna Rabbaka Hakimun, 'Aleem" (6:83). 'Your Lord is All-Wise and All-Knowing'.

"Wa wahabna lahu Is-haqa wa Ya'qub" (6:84).'And We gave Ibrahim Is-haq and Ya'qub'. "Kullan hadaina" (6:84). 'All of them We guided'. "Wa Nuhan hadainaa min qabl" (6:84). 'And Nuh, as well, We guided as before'. "Hadaina min qabl. Wa min dhurriyyatihi" (6:84). 'And from the descendents and progeny of Ibrahim'. "Dawuda wa Sulaymana wa Ayyuba wa Yusufa wa Musa wa Harun; wa kadhalika najzi al-muhsineen" (6:84). 'And this is how We reward those who do good'. "Wa Zakariyya wa Yahya wa 'Isa wa Iliyasa. Kullum min as-salihin" (6:85). 'All of them from the righteous ones'. "Wa Isma'ila wal Yasa'a wa Yunusa wa Lutan. Wa kullan fadhdhalna 'ala al-'alamin" (6:86). 'All of them We gave excellence over the whole of humanity and the world'.

Now: "Wa min aba'ihim" (6:87). 'And from their fathers', "wa dhurriyyatihim" (6:87), 'and from their descendants', "wa ikhwanihim" (6:87), 'and from their brothers', "wa jtabainahum" (6:87), 'We selected them', "wa hadainahum ila Siratin Mustaqim" (6:87), 'and then We guided them to the Right Path'. Subhana Allah! Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad[Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

Can you see what Allah is saying? He is saying that, guidance is not just, I pick someone randomly and say, I'm going to make you a Prophet. There is something to be said about the DNA of a Prophet, the geneology, the bloodline, the shajr [family tree]. So, when he created the human species, what He is saying is, in this species, I have taken one line of descent. And from this their fathers, their brothers, their sons, I pick out, and I guide them and give them excellence over all humanity. [Subhana Allah!]. So in terms of guidance, those who are selected by Allah cannot be equated to the idea of tribalism and nepotism and monarchy and dynasties. [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!].

Now, the other thing we notice is that the early Prophets, Adam, Nuh, and all, when they came, the world kept flip-flopping between obedience to God and disobedience. By the time Ibrahim, alayhi as-salam, comes, the world was steeped in idol-worship. Ibrahim is called the 'Father of Monotheism'. He is the champion of Tawhid. He stands up alone and fights the whole world, to revive the idea that there is only one God. The idea of Tawhid, which is why, in one verse of the Qur'an, Allah refers to Ibrahim as a nation unto himself [Ref to 16:120]. [Subhana Allah!]. That Ibrahim was an Ummah in himself [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!].

Ibrahim was constantly being tested, and constantly surrendering to Allah, and his Islam was constantly being elevated. He was thrown into the fire. He was asked to slaughter his son. He was asked to leave his wife and a son in a desert without water. He is constantly being tried because he is being purified and brought closer to Allah. And then Allah says: all the descendants are from the dhurriyya of Ibrahim.

Now, as Ibrahim was being elevated, he had one thing that constantly preoccupied him, and that was that in my descendants, there should be others who are like me. Now, we see, for example, in one place in the Qur'an, Allah says that: "We gave Ibrahim and others from his descendants, 'lisan as-sidqin' that when they spoke, they had the ability to convey the truth. But we see elsewhere that Ibrahim asks Allah: "wa j'al li lisana sidqin fi 'l-akhirin" (26:84), that, 'O Allah, keep this tongue that speaks the truth in my posterity as well'. When Allah tried him, and He asked him to slaughter his son and he came out successfully, now Allah says: "Wa idh ibtala Ibrahima Rabbuhu bi kalimatin" (2:124). 'Your Lord tried Ibrahim with some words', "fa atammahunna" (2:124) 'and he fulfilled those trials and those promises'.

Now, Allah said to him: "Qala Inni ja'iluka li 'n-nasi Imama" (2:124). 'O Ibrahim, I now make you an Imam over people'. He should have showed gratitude to Allah, and said elevate my status higher. Immediately without a pause, what does Ibrahim reply? He says: "Qala wa min dhurriyyati " (2:124). 'O Allah, will there be Imams in my progeny as well?' You see Ibrahim's preoccupation. Now, Allah promises him that I will keep the Imams in your progeny. But on one condition: "Qala la yanalu 'ahdi adh-dhalimin" (2:124). 'The unjust from your progeny will not be Imams' [Subhana Allah!].

So the Banu Ummaya and Banu Abbas are descendants from Ibrahim. But, this right away tells you that the hadith that says that the Prophet said that the rulers after me who are unjust are valid rulers, cannot be true, because the 'Ahd of Allah cannot reach the dhalimin [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!].

And Imam Ja'far As-Sadiq, salawat Ullahi wa as-salamu alayh [Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad]. He says: "Inna Allah attakhadha Ibrahima nabiyin qabla an yattakhadhahu Rasula", 'Allah made Ibrahim a Nabi before He made him a Rasul'. "Wa attakhadha Ibrahima Rasulan qabla an attakhadha khalila", 'And He took Ibrahim as, He made him an Apostle, a Messenger before He made him a Friend'. And after He had made him a friend, He tried him. And after He had tried him, then He said: "Qala Inni ja'iluka li 'n-nasi Imama" (2:124). So, this was a very high rank. It was higher then after Ibrahim had become Nabi, Rasul, and all that. At that point is being made an Imam [Al Kafi, 1/175].

Now, in Suratu Al-Baqara, chapter 2, verse 127 to 129, Allah paints a very graphic picture where He shows us that now Allah, Ibrahim was tested with slaughtering Isma'il, and Isma'il survived and Isma'il has grown up to be a young man. Now, Allah tells Ibrahim, go to Makkah and restore the Ka'ba. Now, the picture here is Ibrahim and Isma'il are building the Ka'ba. Ibrahim is standing on a stone - Maqam Ibrahim - Isma'il is passing him the stones and Ibrahim is placing them and building the Ka'ba. And as he is doing it, he is praying to Allah. Now listen to this.

"Wa idh yarfa'u Ibrahim al-qawa'ida min al-Bayt" (2:127). 'And when Ibrahim was raising the foundation of the House', "wa Isma'il" (2:127), 'and Isma'il was with him'. "Rabbana taqabbal minna. Innaka Anta as-Sami'u, al-Aleem" (2:127). And this is very beautiful. It doesn't say 'qala', because it is to show, to bring that graphic image into your mind that, while he is doing, there is such intense submissiveness and humility, that while they are building, Ibrahim is saying, 'My Lord, accept this from us. Indeed, You are One who hears and knows'.

"Rabbana wa j'alna muslimaiyni Lak" (2:128). 'O Allah, make me and my son Isma'il, not Muslims, submissive to You! Give us a higher station of submission'. You see, it doesn't say 'wa ja'alna muslimaiyn'. It says 'muslimaiyni Laka' and all the mufassiroon say he is asking for a higher, it is not possible that at this point Ibrahim is asking Allah that make me and Isma'il Muslims, because Isma'il is grown up now. He has already sacrificed Isma'il. He has left Isma'il and his mother in the desert. He has been thrown into the fire. He is not saying make me a Muslim from a mushrik: 'Waj'alnaa muslimaiyni laka'. Make me and Isma'il even more submissive to You.

"Wa min dhurriyyatina ummatan Muslimatan Lak" (2:128). 'And from our progeny as well, let there be an Ummah that is also 'Muslimatan Lak'. And mufassiroon will tell you from an Arabic grammar perspective, because it is one statement, therefore, in the same sense that Ibrahim was asking for him and Isma'il to be 'Muslimatan Lak' (2:128), in that same sense, he is asking that there should be an Ummah from his progeny that is equally submissive to You. Because it is one statement 'Muslimatan Lak' (2:128). But he wants it to be an Ummah that is from his 'dhurriyya'. You can see how preoccupied is with the idea that it should remain in his progeny.

"Wa arina manasikana wa tub 'alayna. Innaka Anta at-Tawwabu ar-Rahim rabbana" (2:128). "Rabbana, wab'ath fihim Rasulan minhum" (2:129). 'And Allah send a messenger to these people who purifies them, teaches them the book'. And that prayer is answered in Sura Al-Jumu'ah. Now, Imam Ja'far As-Sadiq, salawat Allahi wa as-salamu alayh. Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad[Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. He says, look, it is not possible to say that when Allah says: "Wa ja'alnakum ummatan wasata" (2:143), 'We have made you a middle nation, that you may be witnesses over all mankind and the Prophet may be a witness over you', that this refers to the whole Ummah.

He says to his companion: do you not know that amongst Muslims there are some who are so deceitful that you cannot trust them with a handful of dates? If they bear witness about a handful of dates, a sa'a of dates, their witness, their shahada, is not trustworthy. And the ayah that says 'and we made you a middle nation', "ummatan wasata, litakunu shuhada' 'ala an-nas" (2:143), it does not qualify it and say: 'We have made the righteous amongst you to be the best nation that you may be witnesses or people'. It is, says all of this 'ummatan wasata' shall be witnesses over people.

So, Imam As-Sadiq argues and says it is not possible that it covers the whole Muslim Ummah. And then he goes to explain. He says, we, the Ahl Al-Bayt, we are the 'ummatan wasata'. We shall bear witness over all the deeds of mankind. And the Prophets, our grandfathers, shall bear witness to us. And it is we that Allah refers to when He says: "Kuntum khayra Ummatin ukhrijat li 'n-nas." (3:110). 'You are the best Ummah that has ever been brought forth from mankind' [Subhana Allah!].

Because when you look at all the verses, where God talks of bringing forth Prophets and selling them over humanity, he is talking of an exclusive group. The proof that Imam As-Sadiq gives that this 'khayra ummatin' is we, the Ahl Al-Bayt, and this 'ummatan wasata' is we, the Ahl Al-Bayt, is that Ibrahim had prayed for this. That just as you make me and Isma'il 'Muslimatan Lak' (2:128), I am asking you, O Allah, 'wa min dhurriyyatina ummatan Muslimatan Lak' (2:128). So, that prayer of Ibrahim that in my 'dhurriyya' there should be an Ummah. The same one Ummah that Ibrahim is praying for is "in kuntum khayra Ummah" (3:110), and "Wa kadhalika ja'alnakum ummatan wasata" (2:143).

This is the Shi'a argument to say that you cannot make it universal and say the whole of humanity is pious, all the Muslim Ummah will be witnesses over all mankind. This is an exclusive Ummah that is chosen from one lineage by Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, to be the guides for humanity, and to be the witnesses over their actions, over whom the Prophet will bear witness. And they are the best of all of God's creation from His humanity. If you can recite a loud Salawat 'ala Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

Now, two more points on this. Allama Tabataba'i, in his 'Tafsir Al-Mizan' makes this point. He says, if you see the word as well, how Allah puts it, He says: "Kuntum khayra Ummatin ukhrijat li 'n-nas." (3:110). 'Ukhrijat' suggests pulling out, bringing forth. He says, it gives the imagery of it evokes the image of a nation that is being introduced by Allah just like vegetation on the earth that is brought forth from Allah, with a similar term is used in another verse of the Qur'an.

So, it gives this idea that Allah Himself creates all of humanity, and from them, He pulls out one nation, and says to this nation that Ibrahim had asked Me from 'dhurriyya' an Ummah, that is as submissive to Me, as he was, I shall make you that submissive nation. You are the best nation that has ever been brought forth for humanity. And you shall be its guides, and you shall be its witnesses, and the Prophet shall bear witness on you and you shall then be My representatives to humanity.

Now, to seal this argument, there is a verse of the Qur'an in Sura Al Hajj, chapter 22, verse 78, where Allah says: "Wa jahidu fi 'Llahi haqqa jihadihi", wa "Huwa 'jtabakum" (22:78). He is talking to a select group of people and the Muslims say he is talking to all the Muslims. But is He talking to all the Muslims? Listen to this. Allah says, 'And strive in the way of Allah'. "Wa jahidu fi 'Llah, haqqa jihadihi" (22:78). As He deserves to be strove for'. "Huwa 'jtabakum" (22:78) 'It is He who has chosen you' "Wa ma ja'ala 'alaykum fi 'd-deeni min haraj; Millata abikum Ibrahim" (22:78). 'The Creed, the Deen, the 'Milla' of your father Ibrahim'. We are not all children of Ibrahim. We are all Muslims. We are all part of the Muslim Ummah. But we are not, we cannot all claim our father is Ibrahim. Allah is clearly saying, He chose you, 'ijtiba'kum, 'Millata abikum Ibrahim', your father Ibrahim.

"Huwa sammakum al-Muslimin, min qablu wa fi hadha" (22:78). 'It is He who named you Muslims, now and before. "Li yakuna ar-Rasulu shahidan 'alaykum" (22:78). 'So that the Prophet may be a witnesses over you'. "Wa takunu shuhada'a 'ala an-nas" (22:78). 'And you may be witnesses over people' [Subhana Allah!]. So, that verse had said, you are the 'Ummatan wasata', that you may be a witness over mankind, and the Prophet may be a witness over you. It just said 'Ummatan wasata'. This verse is saying, so that the Prophet may be a witness over you and you may be a witness over people, but it is directly referring to them and saying your father, Ibrahim. [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!] So, it is not the whole Ummah.

So, what we see now is this. That if you agree with us, that the Imam's after the Prophet are 12. And if you agree with the Qur'an that Ibrahim had prayed for an Ummah that is as submissive to him as he was submissive to God, we present to you 12 Imams from the Ahl Al-Bayt, alaihimu as-salam. Bring your list of 12 Imams who are as submissive to Allah as Ibrahim was, and let us decide, as brothers and sisters, which of these 12 were as submissive to Allah as Ibrahim and Isma'il were [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!]. And whoever we conclude on by Allah, we will follow him and become one Ummah. [Narae Haidari! Ya Ali! - Bar Muhammad wa Aali Muhamaad b'lund-ter Salawat (On Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad, with a raised voice, send blessing upon Them!) Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. One more Salawat ala Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

You don't even have to give 12 names. Just show us, because it is not possible that Allah did not answer the prayer of Ibrahim. In that same set of verses, he asked that send a Prophet to these people, and Allah replied it. In Sura Jumu'ah He confirms that the Prophet is the answer to Ibrahim's prayer. So we don't even ask for 12 names. We are saying only this much. Guidance to that Ummah from the 'dhurriyya' of Ibrahim that is 'muslimatan lak' and we shall follow that.

I now have to shift to a different subject. So, that is the discussion that Imamat descendants is not hereditary and nepotism. This discussion will now continue tomorrow, but I just want to initiate it for five or 10 minutes, insha' Allah, and then come towards Masa'ib.

We are now going to begin discussing, as respectfully as we can, and, as sincerely as we can, in the interest of uniting the Ummah, the issue of that, since we have introduced Adala and Imamah from the Tasha'yyu perspective and, we have argued the rights of the Ahl Al-Bayt, alayhum as-salam, that they are not merely people to honor and love and praise and recite na'at and follow in spirituality, but they are the guides of the Ummah and their Aqidah is to be followed and they are the repositories of the knowledge of the Prophet.

We now want to look at what happened in history, at a very high level, some early history, some later history to the present times and say: Would history have been different and would the Ummah have been in a different state if they would have followed the Ahl Al-Bayt, alayhum as-salam? In order to do that, we will, unfortunately, have to present the Shi'a objections, to how those who ruled instead of the Ahl Al-Bayt ruled, and we will not do this to disparage them, but to just show the difference and where the Imams from the Ahl Al-Bayt, had a concern and where they raised objection.

We were going to do a very detailed analysis of what was the climate in Madinah just before Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, passed away, and immediately after, but at a high level, we can say this: that, when the Prophet of Islam began preaching in Makkah, his followers were very few. They were the downtrodden, they were the poor, they were the slaves but they were extremely sincere. The Quraish were torturing them, but they were not giving up their faith. Many of them left their homes and went to Abyssinia with Ja'far, the brother of Amir Al-Mu'minin, and they stayed there as refugees for a while and came back much later in Madinah at the Battle of Khaybar.

There was tremendous amount of sacrifices. When the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, realized, now Makkah is no longer safe, he encouraged the Muslims to migrate to Madinah, they had to leave their homes. They had to leave their possessions. They had to leave everything and flee overnight. And everything they left behind was looted by the Quraish. This is not a small feat. Our salams on those As-hab and Ansar of the Prophet. There are very few of us today who would do that and leave.

Imagine today, if you, for the sake of your faith, leave everything you have in the bank, leave everything you have at home, just the shirt on you overnight, immediately leave to another land and forget everything you ever owned and in many cases even leave your family behind! This was a tremendous sacrifice. These came to be known as the Muhajiroon. When they came to Madinah, the people who received them were equally sincere. They were the Ansar.

The Ansar, to use a proverbial term, gave the shirt off their back for these Muhajiroon. They welcomed them into their homes. The Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, united them and linked them as brothers. He took one Muhajir and one Ansar, one Muhajir and one Ansar and made them together. He only left Amir Al-Mu'minin, alayhi as-salam, and said, "Ali Ibn Abi Talib will be my brother." Everyone else was linked. These Ansar immediately said, "whatever I possess, I give half of it to my Muhajir brother."

How many of us would do this? Whether you have a million dollars in the bank, or whether you have half a million in the bank, or whether you have fifty thousand in the bank. How many of you, if a Muslim refugee came from another land here, would say, I'm going to divide what I have in the bank in half and give it to him? This is what the Ansar did. Our salams be to the Ansar and As-hab of the Prophet in Madinah. These were the most extreme sincere individuals you could find.

The Prophet, with their help, built a government. He built a mosque. The Quraish kept coming after them. The Battle of Badr came. The Ansar of Madinah and Muhajiroon went out and fought. They were outnumbered. They were three hundred, the Quraish were a thousand. They were poorly equipped, but they fought on the basis of Iman and Taqwa and that Allah is with us. And they kept fighting and fighting.

There was so much poverty, that we are told sometimes two Muslim brothers would share one date, one khajoor. They would break it in half: one Sahaba would eat half, the other would eat half. In Makkah, in the she'eb [valley] of Abu Talib, there are reports to say that some of the As-hab of the Prophet were so poor, they used to look for a dead animal, like a camel, and take the skin of that camel and, they used to pound that skin and make it powder, and from the powder they would mix it with water to make some kind of a dough and eat that. And they lived with thistles and thorns. For what? That the Word of Allah may be supreme. These were the As-hab of the Prophet.

Now, the first sign of things beginning to decline, was when Muslims fought the Battle of Khaybar. What happened in Khaybar is that the Jews were extremely wealthy and they had seven forts. When Muslims won the Battle of Khaybar, a tremendous amount of wealth came into the Ummah. And we now have reports from individuals like Imam 'Ali, alayhi as-salam, who expressed this concern, that things will now be different, because it is seen in humans that when their social circumstances change and they become wealthy, they are distracted by the world. But still Muslims were sincere. There were sporadic incidents we have talked about, like at the Battle of Hudaibiya, the attempts to assassinate the Prophet at Tabuk, and so on, but these were a small group that you might say. For the most part, the Muslims were very sincere.

The real problem, in my understanding of history, was when Fath Makkah happened. What happened at Fath Makkah is the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, took a tremendous army of Muslims and went to Makkah. This was 8 AH [After Hijri], 8 AH, after, 8 years after Hijri means 2 years before the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, passes away because, his wafat [passing], is Safar of 11 AH. So, it's just two months in the year 11 AH. so, really, two years after. Allah would not have left Makkah, that Ibrahim built, filled with idols in the Ka'ba. So Makkah had to be cleaned and restored. The Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, comes to Makkah with a huge army.

Here, his archenemy is Abu Sufyan, and the people there are polytheist, still opposed to the Prophet and to Islam. But now much weakened. Abu Sufyan surrenders Makkah to the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam. If the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, would have killed Abu Sufyan and the prominent members of Makkah, then history would write that, when Muhammad got power, he became bloodthirsty. And it would set a precedent in the Ummah that when you take power over others and polytheists, you slaughter them. So, he gave them amnesty. And in the custom of the Arabs, if you surrender, you become the slave of the one you surrender to.

He freed them all, which is why the daughter of a Amir Al-Mu'minin, Umm al-Masa'ib Zaynab, alayha as-salam, when she is taken as a prisoner to Shaam and she delivers a powerful sermon, in that court where the Ummayids are basking in glory as the leaders of the Muslim world, she addresses them and says, "Sons of freed slaves. It was my grandfather who freed you. You were our slaves. We freed you."

Now, this broke the back of the Quraish. For centuries or, for a long time, the Quraish were the masters of Arabia. Suddenly, now, the no-names in Madinah - the Muhajir and Ansar - became the leaders of Arabia. They now had Makkah and Madinah in their control. Now they were a power to reckon with and they became the dominant force in the Middle East.

The Quraish were reduced. But, their dissatisfaction against the Prophet continued. The proof of that is that after Fath Makkah there was one more battle that was fought outside Makkah, that is called the Battle of Hunayn. And Allah refers to this in the Qur'an. He says: 'remember when you went out fighting at the Battle of Hunayn',wa "a'jabatkum kathratukum" (9:25), 'and because now you are such a large army, you were so impressed by your own force and you thought nothing will cause you loss'.

And then the enemies. There were some tribes outside Makkah that came out to fight the Prophet after Fath Makkah. There was a narrow pass between the mountains where they tracked the Muslims. And the Muslims began fleeing, once again. And the Qur'an says: 'and remember when the Prophet kept calling out to you, asking you to come back, but you turned your back on him and kept running and it was Allah who gave you victory' (9:25).

Now, after the Muslims won this battle, there was, again, tremendous amount of war booty that came in. When this wealth came in, the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, knew that Abu Sufyan and the people in Makkah, the leaders of Makkah, are still inimical to Islam. So, what he did was, when he was dividing the booty, this is Islamic history, he gave extra to them. And they came to be known as 'Mu'allafat il-Qulub'. These were people, in order to make their hearts have some love towards Islam, you could say in a sense they were being bought out. But the idea was that, perhaps, if they receive this extra share over other Muslims, their hearts might soften towards Islam.

The very, very sincere Ansar who came from Madinah were hurt by this. They said to Rasul Allah, "We have supported - they started talking amongst themselves - The Prophet had no one to support him. He was with a small group of oppressed people in Makkah. He came to Madinah. We gave shelter. We sacrificed our lives. We did everything for Islam. And now, when Makkah is ours and Islam has grown to such an empire, when the wealth is being divided, we are getting less. And these who are the enemies of Islam, they are getting so much!"

Now go read the history. You will see that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, when he heard this, he called his Ansar, and he gave a very moving speech to them. If you read that speech, you will weep. He said to them, "O my Ansar! If you wish, you can say that Muhammad had no one to help him and we helped him. If you wish, you can say that Muhammad was oppressed and we rescued him. If you wish, you can say that we fought for Muhammad. If you wish, you can say". And he said all that. He said, "But are you not satisfied that these people will take the camels and the gold and the goats, but you will take me back with you to Madinah?"

And when the Ansar heard this, they begin to weep and they said, "We do not want anything, ya [O] Rasul Allah. We have got you." And he promised them that, "Even though I was a Makkan, and Makkah is my watan [homeland] and I long for Makkah, I will go back with you to Madinah and I will be buried with, in Madinah, in your midst". And they were overjoyed. So now he took them back to Madinah.

Now, the reason I'm saying all this is because, tomorrow night when I begin discussing the Khilafah of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, both Shi'a and Sunni are in agreement that he was not Ma'soom. So, even if you judge him with the best of intentions to say, once he took power, he was trying to do the best he could, you must concede that he may have made decisions that were detrimental. The point I will argue tomorrow is that there are two decisions that the Caliph made that proved to be a disaster in the Ummah going down.

The first thing was that, in order to consolidate the power, what happened is when Abu Bakr became the Caliph, there were many tribes outside Madinah who said we're not going to pay zakat anymore. We had an agreement with the Prophet. We were paying zakat. We are not going to pay you. And what Abu Bakr did was he decided he will fight them. And he went to war against the Muslim tribes who refused to pay zakat. And these are known in history as the Ridda Wars - Huroob Ar-Ridda - you can search this, there's a whole Wikipedia on this. And we are told even the Caliph Umar was surprised at this, and said to Abu Bakr that, "The Prophet never did this, are you going to go to war to collect zakat?" And he said, "Yes, I will do it."

Now, to consolidate power, what the Caliph Abu Bakr did was, for some reason, he made this judgment that, I will not be able to use the Ansar because they are of no name and status. He brought all the prominent names from Makkah and gave them positions of authority. People like Khalid Ibn Walid. Khalid Ibn Walid is the one at Uhud who turned around and attacked the Muslims from the other side. Muslims today praise him as 'Saifu Allah', the Sward of Allah, but I shall mention things regarding Khalid Ibn Walid tomorrow and you decide if he 'Saifu Allah'. So, he brought people like this. He brought the descendants of Abu Sufyan back to power, people like Mu'awiya.

And when you trace this down history, you'll find this is how we came to rule over Syria. He was appointed as a governor of Syria by the second Caliph, Umar. Now, here is what I'm trying to show you: That the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, fought the Quraish all his life. He diminished and weakened their power and broke their back. He did this on the basis of his most sincere Sahaba, the Muhajiroon and the Ansar. Because he argued on this basis and he relied on this basis that, as long as we have Taqwa and Iman, and we put our trust on Allah, we don't need the social status and the standing. We can rely on our trust in Allah to fight our enemies.

For some reason, the Caliph, Abu Bakr, instead of following that policy and saying, "We as Muslims, following our sincerity and on the Iman and Taqwa of the Ansar and Muhajiroon, we shall spread Islam". He went back to the old Quraish leaders and said, "We need your help to build Islam." And they obviously came in, but some of them, you may not judge them thus, but the Shi'a judge them that, came in with now, ideas of expansionism, taking land, building power and restoring wealth.

The Quraish had fought the Prophet, not because he said there was one God. They fought the Prophet for economic reasons as well. Because Makkah was an economic powerhouse, people used to come from far and wide for pilgrimage to Makkah and offer gifts to the idols and put gold on the idols and so on. They opposed the, they told the Prophet, "We can add your Allah to our three hundred and sixty five idols." Their problem was not that Allah was being emphasized. Their problem was that the idols were being opposed. Now, when their back broke, their eyes must have lit up. They must have thought, "Well, now we can't make money through the idols, but now we can make money this way!" I am probably being a little unfair for those who think of Mu'awiya and Yazid as Sahaba, but, nonetheless, this is our understanding as the Shi'a.

Now, when they came into power, there was a lot that went wrong. Karbala would not have happened if Mu'awiya had not become the governor of Syria. If the early Caliphs would not have allowed the Quraish to come back to power, and would have kept their role at a minimum, and relied on the Household of the Prophet, and realized that in all the battles, Allah gave us victory through 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, and we can rely on the Ahl Al-Bayt and the sincere Muhajiroon and Ansar, then, many things would have happened.

One is that Islam would not have been accused of spreading by the sword. Secondly, there would have been guidance from the sincerity. And you will see when I talk about the Khilafat of Amir Al-Mu'minin that, he was accused of not being wise politically because he was asking all, there were people who advised him that until you consolidate your power, don't start writing letters and saying to Mu'awiya stop being the governor and you come off the governorship and you come of the governorship. But he said, "No, they all have to step down. Ammar Ibn Yasir will be my governor. Salman Al-Farsi will be my governor."

He was sending people who were not politically experienced to be the governors of different lands. Why? Because in 'Ali's understanding of Islam and the Prophet, leadership must remain with those who have Taqwa first. They will learn the political ropes in time, and not by politicians on whom you will rely to become Muttaqi, which they will never will. Because what is at stake here is not temporal rule, but, Islam that is to remain forever on the earth [Subhana Allah!]. So, this is something we will try and develop as much as tomorrow will allow and we shall see where this goes.

The other issue, and I will conclude with this, that was disastrous in the Ummah is that the Khilafa and the government of Abu Bakr downplayed the role of the Ahl Al-Bayt, alayhum as-salam. Immediately, for example, Fadak was taken away and there was an argument between the daughter of the Prophet and Abu Bakr. Sahih Muslim and Bukhari have reports from Aisha herself to say that, "Fatimah, alayha as-salam, came and asked my father for her right to Fadak and other inheritances. And my father said to Fatimah that, 'I heard the Prophet saying that we Prophets are not inherited, nor do we inherit'." And then she says, "Fatimah remained angry with my father until she passed away."

Now, there are many ways in which our Sunni brothers and sisters explain this. Some of them have said there is only one report that says she was angry, most of them said she was silent, so, all it means is she never spoke to him, but it doesn't mean she was angry with him. Others say that Abu Bakr went to see her and he kept talking to her and explaining [to] her and, you know, trying to make her feel better until she was pleased with him. But the point is, even though, even if you argue she was pleased with him, he still did not give her what she was demanding, which means if you judge that case, then it means that, wa ayyadhu bi 'Llah [and refuge is sought with Allah], she was wrong in her claim, or she was lying in her claim, that the Prophet had given this to me in my lifetime and the Caliph was right.

Now, for the Shi'as, the issue is this: that the Ahl Al-Bayt, alayhum as-salam's Tahara and Isma' is vouched for in the Qur'an in the Ayat of Tat-hir, and therefore it was wrong for the Caliph to ask Fatimah that, bring me witnesses as proof - the Qur'an has given you that proof! This was not an ordinary person asking you and saying, O Abu Bakr, this is my right. This is the daughter of the Prophet. The ayah of Mubahala, from which the Ahl ul-Kisa' are different, the Ayat of Mubahala says: "bring your nafs, bring your women, bring your children" (3:61). And the Prophet only took 'Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn, he didn't take anyone else.

And we are told in the books of the Muslims that when the Christians of Najran saw the faces of these five individuals, they refused to engage in an imprecation in the mubahala. And they said, "By Allah, we see such faces in front of us that if they were to pray to God for mountains to move from their place, mountains will move from their place!" [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!] These are Christians who are seeing the Ahl Al-Bayt only once. And Fatimah, alayha as-salam's face is covered [Subhana Allah!]. But they can see the radiation of Noor.

Now, I mentioned a couple of nights ago a poet, Shaheed Sibt-e-Jaafar, and if you remember, I talked of a poetry of his ['Ashab Thay Kya Buzar o Salman Waghaira'] that starts with, 'As-Sahab thay qiya buzaro Salman waghaira' [What great companions of Imam 'Ali, alayhi as-salam, Salman and all were]. In that he has a line where he refers to this. He says, 'Jhut la ti hain jo Fatimah Hasnayn o 'Ali ko, jhut la ti hain jo Fatimah, Hasnain o 'Ali ko thay un seh toh behtar Banu Najran waghaira'. [Those who negate/falsify the greatness of Fatimah, Hussan, Hussayn, and 'Ali, it would be better for them to be of the Banu Najran!] [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!]

What he is asking is that, Banu Najran, a Christian community, can see that these are special. Why you, O Muslims were not able to see the status of the Ahl Al-Bayt? Allah, if you read the Qur'an, and this is final, I promise. Allah in the Qur'an says that every Prophet said to his people: "Ma as'alukum 'alaihi min ajrin, in ajr illa Allah" (26:109). 'I don't ask you for any ajr; my ajr is with Allah'.

Only this Prophet said, "Qul la as'alukum 'alaihi ajran illa al-mawaddata fi 'l-qurba"(42:23). 'I don't ask you for any reward, O my Ummah. I want only one thing that you love my 'qurba' [my near kin]. And Zamakhshari, in his tafsir, says the 'qurbaa' here is only, and only, 'Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn. [Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad]. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad

What is interesting, because the thought comes to mind, all the other Prophets are saying, we don't want a reward; our reward is with Allah. This Prophet is saying, I want a reward: I want you to love my family. But is he asking for a reward? Or is he so much higher than the other Prophets, that even when he's asking for a reward, he is giving? [Subhana Allah! Subhana Allah!] The proof is what?

There is another verse of the Qur'an where the Prophet says to his Ummah "Qul ma sa'altukum min ajrin fa huwa lakum" (34:47). Say, whatever I am asking you for ajr, it is for you. It is not for meo [Subhana Allah!]. Ummah of Muhammad! I am asking you to love my qurba because I am giving you the rope of salvation. I am giving you something by which you will not go astray [Subhana Allah!].

The Hadith of Thaqalayn is confirmed, Sahih, Shi'a and Sunni. 'I am leaving behind the Book of Allah and my 'Itra', not my Sunnah. The hadith that says I'm leaving the book of Allah and my Sunnah is a weak hadith, da'eef. The one that says my Book and my 'Itra is the one that is Sahih, Shi'a and Sunni. 'Intama saktum bihimma', 'You hold onto these two. You will not go astray' Here, it means don't just love them and recite their na'at: follow them! In fiqh, in aqa'id, in every guidance. Let them be your leaders. And if you were to do this, then you would not go astray. So, we leave it at this In Sha' Allah and we will continue tomorrow, In Sha' Allah, if you can recite Sallu 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

Salla Allahu wa sallama alayka ya Aba Abdillah. Ruhi wa arwahu al-'alameena laka al-fida'. Ya laytana kunna ma'akum Sayyidi wa Mawlay, fa nafuzu fawzan adheema.

Tonight is the seventh night of Muharram, and we are now paying our respects to the children of Zahra', alayha as-salam. Last night, we offered our condolences to the daughter of Zahra', Zaynab, alayha as-salam, for her children. Tonight, we offer condolences to Sibt Al-Akbar, the son of Fatimah Hasan, alayhi as-salam, for his son Qasim and his other sons.

The Ahl Al-Bayt, alayhum as-salam, were present in Karbala. The Ahl ul-Kisa were present in Karbala. Imam Al-Husayn himself, as the final member of Ahl ul-Kisa was there. Abu ul-Fadl Abbas is shabi' of Amir Al-Mu'minin was there. Zaynab, alayhi as-salam, ithaniya Zahra' was there. Aliyun Al-Akbar is the exact image of Rasul Allah was there. And Hasan, alayhi as-salam, was there as his yateem Qasim.

Imam Al Hasan had four, five, some say even seven sons in Karbala. But we remember Qasim because he was older, he was 13, and also because of how he resembled Hasan Al-Mujtaba. And how dear he was to Imam Al-Husayn, alayhi as-salam. There were other sons of Imam Al Hasan, alayhi as-salam, that we should also acknowledge and mention before we come to the Masa'ib of Qasim. Sons of Imam Al-Hasan were martyred in Karbala. There was only one who was injured and he survived. He was called Hasan Al-Muthanna, and he was taken as a prisoner. And all the Hasani descendants are from Hasan Al-Muthanna. And they became a large nation and they were severely persecuted, as I mentioned, by the Ummayids and the Abbasids, and they fled to many faraway lands to save their lives and to hide their identity.

There was one son of Imam Al-Hasan in Karbala. He was a very young boy. His name was Abdullah. The Arbab of Aza' tell us that he was not to go for jihad. But when Imam Al-Husayn, alayhi as-salam, fell from his horse, when he fell from Zuljanah, this little son of Hasan was standing beside his aunt Zaynab. And when he saw his uncle fall, he let go of the hand of Zaynab and begin running into the battlefield. Zaynab, alayha as-salam, tried to stop Abdullah, but he took off and came right into the middle of the battlefield.

The Arbab of Aza' say, that Abdullah threw himself on the lap of Husayn, and Husayn began saying to him, "My child, you should not be out in the battlefield." At this point, we are told that Harmala came to Husayn with the sword, and as he swung the sword to Husayn, the little child lifted his arm and said, "Leave my uncle alone!". And as he lifted his arm and Hurmala swung his sword, he severed the arm of Abdullah so that his arm was now hanging from his elbow. The Arbab of Aza' said that Abdullah began crying. He said, "Amma [uncle]! They have cut my hand!" Husayn hugged his child and said, "Bear patience, my child." At this point, we are told Harmala took a spear and he pierced the back of the child. Husayn placed his Abdullah beside him. Ajrukum 'ala Allah!

But on the night of Ashura, when Husayn, alayhi as-salam, was speaking to his As-hab and Ansar, and the As-hab and Ansar began expressing their loyalty and desire for Shahada, Qasim Ibn Al-Hasan began thinking, I am only 13 years old. Will I also have this honour? So, he asks Imam Al-Husayn, alayhi as-salam, he says, "Ya amma! Am I also one who shall also be blessed with martyrdom tomorrow?" "Wa ana min ma yuqtal ghadan?" To which Imam Al-Husayn does not say to him, O Qasim, yes, you will be one of the shahid. He says [to] him, "Ya Qasim. Kayf al mawt 'indak?!" "O Qasim! What is death to you?" A 13 year old. He says, "Ya amma! Ahalla min al-asl!". "It is sweeter than honey!"

If only Qasim knew what awaits his shahadat and how a law will accept his shahadat so that he is the Wahid Shaheed whose body will be trampled while he is alive. So, he asks again, "Ya amma! Will I be shaheed tomorrow?" Husayn, again, does not tell him. He says, "O Qasim! Tomorrow, even your baby brother Aliyun Al-Asghar will be Shaheed". To which Qasim is alarmed. He says, "Ya amma! Will the enemies come into the tent?" He says, "No, O Qasim! I will take Aliyun Al-Asghar out." Ajrukum 'ala Allah.

The day of Ashura came. As-hab and Ansar went and became Shaheed. Aliyun Al-Akbar became Shaheed. We are told that Qasim kept coming to his uncle Husayn. "Amma, let me go for jihad. Amma, others have gone, let me go for Jihad." Husayn would not give Qasim permission. The Arbab of Aza', say Qasim was kissing the feet of Husayn. "Ya amma, let me go for jihad!". Husayn said, "No Qasim, you cannot go". He would kiss the hands of Husayn. "My uncle let me go for Shahadat". "No Qasim. When I want to see my brother Hasan, I look at you. You are the reason I get to do Ziyarah of Hasan." When Qasim despaired, he went back to his mother. He complains to his mother.

Farwa remembered that when Hasan was leaving this world, he had given an amulet to her and said, "O Farwa! Keep this taweedh with you. When the world closes on you, when there is no other way out, and a great calamity befalls you, open this and you will find a solution to what, what comes, befalls you." When they opened that amulet there were two letters inside. One was to his son Qasim. One was to Husayn. Qasim opened his father's letter. It said, 'O Qasim! When you read this letter, I will not be with you in Karbala. But, O Qasim, do not hold back from giving your life. You are my representative in Karbala'. Qasim was overjoyed.

He took the letter of his father to Husayn. He said, "Amma, my father has a letter for you." When Husayn saw the letter of his brother, Hasan, he opened the letter and it said, 'O Husayn! Do not stop my Qasim from going for jihad. O Husayn! This is my sacrifice in Karbala'. Hamid [Hamid] Ibn Muslim says, 'This is that one shaheed that I saw Husayn hug and cry until Husayn became unconscious'. He said, 'I did not see Husayn faint the way he became unconscious when he cried, hugging Qasim. O Qassim! How will I let you go?' Ajrukum 'ala Allah! Ajrukum 'ala Allah!

When Husayn regained consciousness, he said, "Go bid farewell to your mother and the women." Qasim went into the tent. He was dressed like a groom on his wedding day. When he came before Husayn, and Husayn saw Qasim, he said to Fidhdha, "Bring me the Sunduq of the Tabarrukat." A chest was brought to Husayn. He opened the chest and he took out a white cloth. Then he ripped the cloth in two, he tied an amamah [turban], on Qasim. Then he tied the other piece on the chest of Qasim. Do you know what Husayn is doing, O Shi'a of Kawthain? Husayn is tying kafan on Qasim because this is one shaheed whose body will be trampled!

Bas Husayn tied kafan on Qasim! He helped Husayn get on his horse. He helped Qasim on the horse. He bade farewell to him, "Al-Wida', my son!" Qasim went out for jihad. There were two mothers who, when their sons went to battle, they stood outside the tents watching their sons. One was the mother of Qasim, and one was the mother of Aliyun Al-Asghar. Farwa stood outside. She is watching her Qasim. The yateem [orphan i.e. Qasim] of Hasan comes into the battlefield. Hamid Ibn Muslim says, 'When Qasim Ibn Al-Hasan came into the maidan [Urdu: battlefield], 'kana wajhahu ka shaqqat ul-qamr'. It was as if we were in the dark night and the full moon came out, in, Aye [Urdu: O!] Qasim Ibn Al-Hasan came out.

He began his rajaz calling out, he said, "In tankirooni fa Ana Ibn Al-Hasan. 'If you do not know me, I am the yateem of Hasan!' "Sibt un-Nabi il-Mustafa al-Mu'tamin!" 'I am the grandson of Rasul Allah'! He begins fighting with the enemies. Umar Ibn Sa'd says, "He is 13, but he is not ordinary!". This is the son of Hasan. He sees one of his great commanders, Azraq Ibn Shami, Azraq Ash-Shami. He says, "Hazaq, you go, you fight this boy." Azraq Ash-Shami says, "It is beneath me to fight such a young boy." He sends one of his sons. Qasim sends him to Jahannam. He sends another one. Qasim sends him to Jahannam. He sends another son. Qasim sends him to Jahannam.

When Azraq Ash-Shami sees all his sons have been killed, he's enraged. He stands up. He says, "I will fight this boy." Azraq Ash-Shami comes and fights. Qasim kills him as well! One after the other! Qasim cannot be defeated. On the day of Ashura, Hamid Ibn Muslim, says, "I was sitting with the wretched man called 'Amr Ibn Sa'd An-Nufayl Al-Azdi. He looked at Qasim for a while. He said, "By Allah, I will kill this boy." Hamid Ibn Muslim, says, "I tried to hold him back. I said, Oh, man, such a handsome boy. His face radiates like a full moon. Why will you kill him?" The man said, "I will kill him to cause pain to Husayn! By Allah, I will hit him with such force that Husayn will feel the pain in his chest!"

This man 'Amr Ibn Sa'd came out. The coward that he was, he kept looking for Qasim from behind. At one point, we are told the strap on Qasim's sandal broke. Qasim was not tall enough for his feet to reach the stirrup of the horses. Qasim bent down to tie the standal on, to tie the broken sandal. As Qasim bent down 'Amr Ibn Sa'd came from behind. He brought an iron mace with him. He hit the boy from behind. Hamid Ibn Muslim says, "He broke the spine, of Qasim!" Ajrukum 'ala Allah!

When Qasim's back broke, and he began falling from his horse, he began calling out, "Wa amma! Adrikni!" Hamid Ibn Muslim says, "Every shaheed who fell. He called out once, "As-salam alaika ya Aba Abdullah. Ya Aba Abdullah, adrikni!" '. This is one - wahid - shaheed who kept crying continuously, "Wa amma! Adrikni! Wa amma! Adrikni!".

Hamid Ibn Muslim says, "When others shuhada called out, Husayn may have lost strength in his feet. When 'Awn and Muhammad fell, and the colour on Husayn's face changed. When 'Abbas fell, Husayn's back broke. When Aliyun Al-Akbar fell, Husayn could not see before him. But this is when Qasim fell. Husayn rose like a raging lion. Hamid Ibn Muslim says, 'I never saw Husayn swoop on the enemies the way he came towards them. When Qasim kept crying, "Wa amma! Adrikni!"

Husayn began charging at the enemies. When they saw Husayn came, maymana ran to maysara, maysara ran through maymana. A cloud of dust rose. Qasim kept crying, "Wa amma! Adrikni!" Husayn kept crying, "My son, Qasim. Where are you, my Qasim?" When the dust settled, the soul in Qasim's body had left. Husayn sat beside the shattered body of the yateem of Hasan. He began crying, "Azza! Wa Allah, ya Qasim! Anta da'ooni fa la ujeebak, a ujeebak fala an fawq!" 'Qasim! If only you knew how it hurts your Husayn that you kept calling him, but he could not help you'. Ajrukum 'ala Allah!

Hamid Ibn Muslim said, 'Now, Qasim, now Husayn had to lift the body, of Qasim but Qasim's body was shattered'. His limbs! This boy, whose legs would not fit the stirrups of the horse. His legs had been stretched, his arms were stretched, his bones were broken. How should Husayn lift Qasim? He said, oh Husayn! Husayn took the head of Qasim. He took the chest of Qasim. He placed it on his chest. He took one of the boys arms. He placed it under one arm. He placed the other,a hand, under his other arm. Then, as Husayn walked back to the tents of the women, Qasim's feet [were] dragging on the hot sands of Karbala'.

Zaynab brought Farwa out. Come out Farwa! Your Qasim has come! Wa walada! Wa Aqillatina sira! Husayn put the body, of Qasim besides the body of Aliyun Al-Akbar. He sat in between them. He looked up to the Heavens. Ya Rabbi! Husayn has lost all his sons. Wa Hurmata! Wa Qasima! Wa Madhlooma!