Classical scholars: Qum vs Baghdad

تاريخ الفقه الإسلامي وأدواره للعلاّمة المحقّق الشيخ جعفر السبحاني , ص ٢٢٣

“History of the Islamic law and its stages” by Ayatullah Ja'fer Subhani, Page 223

ولا شكّ انّ الاِمامية تتبّرأ من الغلاة، إنّما الكلام في تحديد الغلو، فقد كان الرأي الرائج بين القمّيين نسبة السهو إلى النبي - صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم - في الصلاة، وقد انتحل به الشيخ الصدوق وأُستاذه محمد بن الحسن بن الوليد القمّي اعتماداً على الروايات الواردة في ذلك المجال.

كما زعموا انّ نسبة علم الغيب إلى النبي - صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم - والاَئمّة (عليهم السلام) لا تخلو عن غلو، ولم يفرّقوا بين العلم الذاتي والعلم المكتسب.

وعلى كلّ تقدير كان هناك اختلاف بين المدرستين مدرسة قم ومدرسة بغداد.

وكان البغداديون يشنّون حملات شعواء على هوَلاء ويصفونهم

بالتقصير، كما انّهم يتّهمونهم بالغلو، قال الصدوق في «اعتقاداته»: وعلامة المفوضة والغلاة وأصنافهم نسبتهم مشايخ قم وعلمائهم إلى القول بالتقصير. ⁽¹⁾

ولما انتهت رئاسة الاِمامية إلى الشيخ المفيد ردّ عليهم ردّاً عنيفاً، وبذلك حقّق مذهب الاِمامية وأثبت دعائمه، ولا بأس بنقل هذه الوثيقة التاريخية عن الشيخ المفيد (قدس سره) .

يقول الشيخ المفيد في حقّ هوَلاء: لكن أصحابنا المتعلّقين بالاَخبار، أصحاب سلامة وبعد ذهن وقلّة فطنة، يمرون على وجوههم فيما سمعوه من الاَحاديث، ولا ينظرون في سندها، ولا يفرّقون بين حقّها وباطلها، ولا يفهمون ما يدخل عليهم في إثباتها، ولا يحصلون معاني ما يطلقونه منها. ⁽²⁾

نقل الشيخ المفيد آراء عن بعض المحدّثين بمالا يوافق مذهب الاِمامية، ولاَجل ذلك خطَّأهم ونسبهم إلى التقصير، قال: وقد سمعنا حكاية ظاهرة عن أبي جعفر محمد بن الحسن بن الوليد (رحمه الله) لم نجد لها دافعاً في التقصير، وهي ما حكي عنه أنّه قال: أوّل درجة في الغلو نفي السهو عن النبي والاِمام، فإن صحّت هذه الحكاية فهو مقصِّر مع أنّه من العلماء القمّيين ومشيختهم.

وقد وجدنا جماعة وردوا إلينا من قم يقصرون تقصيراً ظاهراً في الدين، وينزلون الاَئمّة عن مراتبهم، يزعمون انّهم كانوا، لا يعرفون كثيراً من الاَحكام الدينية حتى ينكت في قلوبهم

ويظهر من غير واحدة من كلمات الشيخ المفيد انّ مسلك الصدوق لم يكن مورد رضا شيخنا المفيد، فقد رفع إلى الشيخ وجود الاختلاف بين ما أثبته الشيخ أبو جعفر ابن بابويه في كتبه من الاَخبار المسندة عن الاَئمّة، وبين ما أثبته الشيخ أبو علي بن الجنيد (رحمه الله) في كتبه من المسائل الفقهية المجرّدة عن الاَسانيد.

ثمّ إنّ الشيخ يجيب عن السوَال ويقول: والذي رواه أبو جعفر(رحمه الله) فليس يجب العمل بجميعه إذا لم يكن ثابتاً من الطرق التي تعلّق بها قول الاَئمّة - عليهم السلام - ، إذ هي أخبار آحاد لا توجب علماً ولا عملاً، وروايتها عمّن يجوز عليه السهو والخلط، وإنّما روى أبو جعفر(رحمه الله) ما سمع، ونقل ما حفظ، ولم يضمن العهدة في ذلك.

وأصحاب الحديث ينقلون الغث والسمين، ولا يقتصرون في النقل على المعلوم، وليسوا بأصحاب نظر وتفتيش ولا فكر فيما يروونه وتمييز، فأخبارهم مختلطة، لا يتميز منها الصحيح من السقيم إلاّ بنظر في الاَُصول و اعتماد على النظر الذي يوصل إلى العلم بصحة المنقول. ⁽¹⁾

والسابر في تاريخ الحديث في القرن الرابع إلى أوائل القرن الخامس يقف على أنّه كان بين محدّثي مدرسة قم ومحدّثي مدرسة بغداد اختلاف بارز فيما يتعلّق بمقامات النبي والاَئمّة وعلومهم.

فالقمّيون كانوا يرمون خريجي مدرسة بغداد بالغلو لاَجل نفي السهو عن النبي والاَئمّة، كما انّ خريجي مدرسة بغداد يرمون القميين بالتقصير في حق الاَئمّة، وقد كان النزاع قائماً على قدم وساق، إلى أن طواه شيخنا المفيد عندما انتهت إليه رئاسة الاِمامية في الكلام والفقه، فقد حقّق المقال في العقائد في غير واحد من كتبه لا سيما أوائل المقالات وتصحيح الاعتقاد

There is no doubt that the Imami Shias completely dissociate from the Ghulat, but the issue is with regards to the definition (boundaries) of ghulu. So the prevalent view among the great qummi scholars was that the Prophet (pbuh) did occasionally forget during prayers. Shaikh Sadooq (ra) and his teacher Muhammad b. al Hasan b. al Walid (ra) professed by this view, due to the ahadith that have been transmitted in this regard. Similarly, they viewed the attribution of the knowledge of ghaib (unseen) to the Prophet or the Imams to be ghulu, regardless of whether the attribution is made in the sense that the knowledge of ghaib has been granted to them by Allah or that they have acquired it independently.

At any rate, there was disagreement between the schools of thought, of Qum and Baghdad. The baghdadi scholars used to make extremely scathing attacks on the scholars of Qum, accusing them of being muqassirs. Similarly the Qummi scholars used to accuse them of ghulu. Shaikh Sadooq stated in his book Al Iteqdat: 'The giveaway sign of the mufawwidah, ghulat and their likes is that they accuse the shuyukh and the scholars of Qum of being muqassirs.”.

And when the reigns of the Imami Shias ended in Shaikh Mufid's hands, he delivered a fatal blow to the scholars of Qum, thereby protecting the Imami religion and its pillars. It would be appropriate to share the following historical anecdote of Shaikh Mufid.

Shaikh Mufid states about the muhadithin of Qum (Tashih al Itqadat, page 38): “Our hadith scholars (such as Shaikh Kulaini, Shaikh Sadooq, Ali b. Ibrahim al Qummi etc) are gullible and foolish people, with very limited intellect. The ahadith just pass over their heads. They accept any hadith without looking at its sanad, or verifying if it is valid or invalid. They neither understand what is required to authenticate ahadith, nor the correct meaning of the hadith.”

Shaikh Mufid quoted the views of some of the muhadithin which were contrary to Imami beliefs, therefore he faulted them and labelled them muqassirs. (Tashih al Itqadat, page 66) “And we have heard a news, apparently about Shaikh Ibn al Walid, based on which it is impossible to not call him a muqassir. What we have heard is, that he said 'The first stage of ghulu is to deny that the Prophet and Imams can forget', now if this is true then without a shadow of doubt Shaikh Ibn al Walid is a muqassir, regardless of the fact that he is a great scholar and Shaikh of Qum.”

“And we also came across a group of scholars from Qum, who did strong and blatant taqsir in religion. They would lower the Imams (as) from their ranks by saying that the Imams were not aware of most of the Islamic laws until the ruling was inspired in their hearts (by Allah).”

And it is evident from more than one utterance of Shaikh Mufid that the ideology of Shaikh Sadooq was not acceptable to him. It is seen that when he was asked about the differences seen in the rulings of Shaikh Sadooq for which he had presented ahadith along with their isnad, and the rulings of Ibn al Junayd who had stated his rulings without listing the isnad (or properly quoting the ahadith), Shaikh Mufid replied (Masail al Sarawiya, page 222): “As for what Shaikh Sadooq has reported, so it is not obligatory to follow all of it because its authenticity is unestablished as those ahadith are ahaad (not mutawatir). Their reporter (Shaikh Sadooq) is someone who is liable to forget. He reports what he heard, and quotes what he remembers, but obviously does not provide a guarantee for it (that he did not forget or misquote anything). And the scholars of hadith (like Shaikh Sadooq, Shaikh Kulaini, Shaikh al Saffar etc) narrate the good and the bad (i.e. what is correct as well as what is incorrect), and do not suffice upon only reporting what is fully known to them. They lack any insight and the capability to investigate. They do not give a thought to what they narrate and do not distinguish/discern. Therefore their ahadith just contain all sorts of stuff (are a mixed bag). The correct ahadith can not be distinguished in them from the incorrect ones but by referring to the principles/fundamentals and by relying on a knowledgeable person who may provide knowledge about the reliability of the hadith.”

One who studies the history of hadith from the fourth century Hijri till the early period of the fifth century Hijri, would find that there was a huge disagreement between the schools of Qum and Baghdad, with regards to the rank of the Prophet and the Imams.

Thus the scholars of Qum used to accuse the baghdadis of ghulu due to their denial of the possibility of the Prophet or Imam forgetting something, while the Baghdadis used to accuse the Qummi scholars of taqsir. This dispute was ongoing, until ended by Shaikh Mufid when the leadership of the Imamis in the fields of jurisprudence and theology transferred to him. He authored on aqaid (beliefs/ideology) in more than one of his books, especially in 'Awail al Maqalat' and 'Tashih al Itqadat'.

Translator's note: In an earlier post (click here), the differences between the beliefs of the classical scholars and the modern scholars had been highlighted. However, the classical scholars were not a monolithic group. It must be noted, that the transfer of the base of Shia scholarship from Qum to Baghdad in the fifth century hijri is a critical point in Shi'ite history. This is the period which marks the 'modernisation' (deviation) of tashayyu from its core.

Baghdad was then the Islamic capital of the Abbasid government and the melting pot of scholars from all Islamic schools of thought. Thus the Baghdadi Shia scholars (such as Shaikh Mufid, Sharif al Murtada, Shaikh Tusi etc) would often study under the Baghdadi Mu'tailite scholars, as well as other 'Aami scholars. Hence the baghdadi shia scholars were very heavily influenced by the Mu'tazillah and other 'Aama, and this reflected in their beliefs as well as their fiqh.

In this post, a brief glimpse can be seen of how the baghdadi scholars used to attack the pious and righteous Qummi scholars, for the sake of defending their ghulu beliefs, by relying on mu'tazilite tactics of dismissing (or twisting) ahadith and attacking the ahlul hadith.

Read More... Classical scholars: Qum vs Baghdad Read More!

Modern Shia scholars=kuffar?

  قال المامقاني في تنقيح المقال ج1 ص334 : قد نبهنا غير مرة على أن رمي القدماء سيما القميين منهم ، الرجل بالغلو لا يعتنى به ، لإن الاعتقاد بجملة مما هو الآن من ضروريات المذهب ، كان معدوداً عندهم من الغلو ، ألا ترى عدهم نفي السهو عن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله والأئمة عليهم السلام غلواً ، مع أن من لم ينفي السهو عنهم اليوم لا يعد مؤمناً ، ولقد أجاد الفاضل الحائري حيث قال : رمي القميين بالغلو وإخراجهم من قم لا يدل على ضعف أصلاً ، فإن أجل علمائنا وأوثقهم غالٍ على زعمهم ، ولو وجدوه في قم لأخرجوه منها لا محالة

Allama Mamqani wrote in Tanqihul Maqal (Volume 1, Page 334): We have warned more than once that an accusation from the classical scholars, especially of the ones from Qum, of a man (hadith narrator) being ghali should not be taken into consideration. This is because overall what is considered among the fundamentals of the religion these days was considered ghulu by them. Do not you see that they counted denial of the belief that the Prophet (pbuh) and the Imams (as) can forget as ghulu, even though one who does not deny that they (as) may forget would not be considered a momin (believer) these days. And Ayatullah Fadhil al Haeri excellently put it, where he said: "Accusation by the classical scholars of Qum, of hadith narrators being ghali and their exiling them from Qum (on charges of ghulu) does not prove in principle their da'f (weakness/unreliability). For indeed, most of our scholars and their most trustworthy ones would have been considered ghali by them, and if they had found them in Qum then they would have definitely exiled them from it inevitably."

إحقاق الحق - تأليف العلامة الحاج ميرزا موسى الأحقافي الأسكوئي- الصفحة 173

  

Ihqaqul Haq by Allama Musa al Ihqafi al Iskoi, Page 173

السيد علي بحر العلوم في كتاب "البرهان القاطع" في المجلد الثاني منه في صفحة (435) في آخر الصفحة قال: بكفر من يعتقد أن الأئمة يخلقون ويرزقون ويحيون ويميتون بإذن الله ومداده ومشيته، (والحال) أن في زمامننا هذا من ضروريات مذهب الأمامية، وقدرتهم على كل شيء بإذن الله ومداده ومشيته، ولم يكفه رحمه الله- هذا حتى قال: بكفر قائله وكونه من الضروري

Syed Ali Bahrul Uloom wrote in his book "Al Burhan al Qati' (The definitive proof)", in its second volume's page 435 at the end of the page that "one who believes that the Imams (as) do takhleeq (creation of the creatures), provide rizq, give and take life by the permission of Allah (swt) and His help and will is a kafir"; while presently in our age it is among the fundamental beliefs of the Imami (Shia Ithna Ash'ari) religion to have belief on their power over everything by the permission of Allah (swt) and His help and will.

And he (Syed Bahrul Uloom) did not just stop at this, he even said that "one who advocates it or deems it among the fundamentals of the religion is a kafir." 
 

وقال العلامة المامقاني في «تنقيح المقال» (ج3/ص 230) ضمن ترجمه «المعلَّى بن خُنَيْس»: «إن ما يُعدّ اليوم من ضروريات المذهب في أوصاف الأئمَّة عليهم السلام كان القول به معدوداً في العهد السابق من الغُلوِّ والارتفاع، ويُطعن بالقول به أوثق الرجال ويُرمون بالغلوّ

And Allama Mamqani wrote in his book Tanqihul Maqal (Volume 3, Page 230) in the biography of Mu'alla b. Khunais: "Indeed what is counted presently among the fundamentals of religion with regards to the characteristics of the Imams (as), professing by it was regarded as ghulu and elevation (of the status of the Imams) , and even highly trustworthy men would be slandered and cast aside for ghulu due to professing by it."

وقال ذيل ترجمته لـ«محمد بن الفرات» (ص170) ما حاصله أن «الكشي» روى في ترجمته لـ«محمد بن الفرات» حديثين أظن أن قصده من روايتهما الاستدلال على غلوه، هذا مع أنه ليس في الحديثين ما يدل على الغلو لأن مضمونهما يُعدُّ اليومَ من ضروريات المذهب

And  he (Allama Mamqani) wrote (in Tanqihul Maqal, a major shia rijal book, Page 170) under the biography of Muhammad b. al Furat: "The point is that Shaikh al Kashi reported (in his book Rijal al Kashi) under the biography of Muhammad b. al Furat two ahadith, I (i.e. Allama Mamqani) think that his (Shaikh al Kashi) intention was to prove Muhammad b. al Furat's ghulu through those two narrations, despite that there was nothing in those ahadith which evidences upon ghulu because their content is counted among the fundamentals of religion these days."

وقال ذيل ترجمته لـ «محمد بن سنان» (ج3/ص125): «وقد بينّا مراراً عديدة أنه لا وثوق لنا برميهم رجلاً بالغلوّ، لأن ما هو الآن من الضروري عند الشيعة في مراتب الأئمَّة -عَليهِمُ السَّلام- كان يومئذ غلواً، حتى أن مثل الصدوق (ره) عد نفي السهو عنهم (ع) غلواً مع أن نفي السهو عنهم اليوم من ضروريات مذهبنا

And he wrote under the biography of Muhammad b. Sinan (Tanqihul Maqal, Volume 3, Page 125): "And we have explained many times that we can not trust their (classical scholars) decision of casting aside a man (hadith narrator) due to ghulu, because what is now considered among a necessity of religion according to the Shias with regards to the ranks of the Imams (as), it was in those days ghulu, such that Shaikh Sadooq (ra) listed the belief that the Ma'soomeen (as) do not forget as ghulu although at present this belief is among the fundamentals of our religion."  

قال المامقاني في كتابه ( تنقيح المقال ) 6 / 340 : لكن قول ابن الغضائري يوهم قبول روايته تارة ، ولا يبعد أنّهم كانوا يقبلون رواياته الخالية من الغلوّ ويتركون ما كان فيه غلوّ. وحيث إنّ الغلوّ عند القدماء ينسب إلى الرجل بأدنى شيء ، بل أكثر ما نعتقده الآن في أهل البيت عليهم السلام كانوا يومئذ يسمّونه غلوّاً

Allama Mamqani wrote in his book Tanqihul Maqal (Volume 6, Page 340): "But the saying of ibn al Gadairi eludes to the occasional acceptance of his narrations, and it is not unlikely that they would accept his narrations which were void of ghulu while abandoning the one which had ghulu.

Since indeed, in the times of the classical scholars ghulu would be attributed to the man (hadith narrator) for a minute issue, in fact most of what we believe now about the ahlulbayt (as) would be labeled ghulu in those days." 

طرائف المقال - السيد علي البروجردي - ج ٢ - الصفحة ٣٥٦

Taraiful Maqal by Ayatullah Burujerdi, Volume 2, Page 356

وبالجملة الظاهر أن القدماء كانوا مختلفين في المسائل الأصولية، فربما كان
شئ عند بعضهم فاسدا أو كفرا أو غلوا، وعند آخرين عدمه بل مما يجب الاعتقاد
به، فينبغي التأمل في جرحهم بأمثال الأمور المذكورة

And the bottom line is that it is apparent that the beliefs of the classical scholars were different, so sometimes something according to them would be invalid/corrupt, kufr (disbelief) or ghulu, while according to the latter scholars it would not be so, in fact it would be regarded obligatory to believe in it. Therefore it is required to think over their jarh (attacking/weakening of hadith narrator by rijal scholars) due to the issues such as those mentioned.

  

Read More... Modern Shia scholars=kuffar? Read More!

"Imam" Khomeini, "Imam" Khamenei?

 الفوائد الطوسية للحر العاملي، م‍ح‍م‍د ب‍ن‌ ح‍س‍ن، صفحه ٣٧٦

 Fawaid al Tusiya by Shaikh Hurr al Amili (ra), Page 376

 

فائدة (85) حديث‌ علماء أمتي‌ كأنبياء بني‌ إسرائيل

‌لا‌ يحضرني‌ ‌إن‌ أحدا ‌من‌ محدثينا رواه‌ ‌في‌ ‌شيء‌ ‌من‌ الكتب‌ المعتمدة ‌نعم‌ نقله‌ ‌بعض‌ المتأخرين‌ ‌من‌ علمائنا ‌في‌ ‌غير‌ كتب‌ الحديث‌ و كأنه‌ ‌من‌ روايات‌ العامة ‌أو‌ موضوعاتهم‌ ليجعلوه‌ وسيلة ‌إلي‌ الاستغناء بالعلماء ‌عن‌ الأئمة عليهم‌ السّلام‌ و لأنه‌ يناسب‌ طريقتهم‌ فقد افرطوا ‌في‌ تعظيم‌ علمائهم‌ ‌مع‌ علمهم‌ بفسق‌ أكثرهم‌، و اعتقادهم‌ فيهم‌ ‌لا‌ تقصر ‌عن‌ اعتقاد الإمامية ‌في‌ أئمتهم‌ ‌بل‌ ربما زاد ‌عليه‌ ‌کما‌ يظهر لمن‌ خالطهم‌ ‌أو‌ تأمل‌ كتبهم‌ و ‌کما‌ دل‌ ‌عليه‌ الحديث‌ ‌ألذي‌ رواه‌ الطبرسي‌ ‌في‌ الاحتجاج‌ ‌عن‌ العسكري‌ ‌عليه‌ السّلام‌ ‌في‌ التقليد و ‌هو‌ طويل‌ و لأنهم‌ يعتقدون‌ ‌إن‌ العلماء يغنون‌ ‌عن‌ الامام‌ ‌کما‌ أشار ‌إليه‌ القاضي‌ ‌عبد‌ الجبار ‌في‌ المغني‌ و هم‌ يطلقون‌ ‌علي‌ علمائهم‌ لفظ الأئمة و ‌علي‌ كثير منهم‌ لفظ الامام‌ ‌کما‌ ‌في‌ كتب‌ رجالهم‌ و ‌غيره‌ ‌من‌ كتبهم‌ و يحتمل‌ كونه‌ ‌من‌ روايات‌ الصوفية ‌أو‌ موضوعاتهم‌ لإرادة إثبات‌ ‌ما يدعونه‌ ‌من‌ الكشف‌ و ‌ما يترتب‌ ‌عليه‌ ‌من‌ المفاسد ‌الّتي‌ ‌ليس‌ ‌هذا‌ محل‌ ذكرها

Section 85- The hadith "Scholars of my nation are like the prophets of bani israel."

I (i.e. Shaikh Hurr al Amili) do not recall if any of of our hadith scholars narrated it in any of the reliable books. Yes, some of our latter scholars quoted it in other than hadith books. And it is either from the traditions of the 'aama (non shias) or their fabrications, because they (the 'aama) declare the way to be through the scholars, dismissing the Imams (as). And because it fits their style, thus they have crossed the limits in honoring their scholars despite their knowledge of the fisq (sins/immoral actions) of most of them. And their faith in them does not fall short of the faith of the Imamis (i.e. the shias) in their Imams (as), rather sometimes exceeds upon it, as appears to one who interacts with them or deliberates upon their books. And what evidences upon it is the hadith which Shaikh Tabrisi (ra) narrated in (his book) al Ihtijaj from Imam al  Askari (as) about taqleed, and it (the hadith) is long. And because they believe that the scholars relieve them of the Imam, as indicated towards it Qadi 'Abd al Jabbar in (the book) al Mughni, and they apply upon their scholars the terms "Imams" and on many of them the term "Imam" (1) like in their books of rijal as well as other books. And it is likely to be from the narrations of the sufis or their fabrications, by the intention to prove what they claim of kashf (2) and what results through it from the evils, this is not the occasion for mentioning them (the evils). 

Translator's note: The above passage by Shaikh Hurr al Amil (ra) provides plenty of food for thought to those who go overboard in honoring the clergymen (marjas, mujtahids etc). May Allah (swt) save us shias from deviance.

(1) Translator's note: This indicates from where this practice of calling clergymen "Imam" originated from.

(2) Translator's note: "Kashf" refers to a belief of the sufis that sufi masters receive divine enlightenment/intuition after undertaking thorough meditation and other rituals.

Read More... "Imam" Khomeini, "Imam" Khamenei? Read More!

Kissing hands of scholars, allowed?

Tuhaf al uqool

وقال عليه السلام: لا يقبل الرجل يد الرجل، فإن قبلة يده كالصلاة له

 

And said (Imam al Redha)(as): "The man should not kiss the man's hand, for indeed (when he) kissed his hand (it is) as if he prayed to him." 

 

Tuhaf ul uqool 

 

ثم قال عليه السلام: الاشراك في الناس أخفى من دبيب النمل على المسح الاسود في الليلة المظلمة

 

Then (Imam Hasan al Askari)(as) said: "The polytheism in the people is more subtle than crawling of the ant upon the black cloth in the dark night.

 

Authenticity of above ahadith:

Shaikh Ibn Shu'ba al Harani (the compiler of Tuhuf ul uqool) says,

Preface of Tuhuf ul Uqool

 

وأسقطت الاسانيد تخفيفا وإيجازا وإن كان أكثره لي سماعا ولان أكثره آداب وحكم تشهد لانفسها ولم أجمع ذلك للمنكر المخالف بل ألفته للمسلم للائمة، العارف بحقهم، الراضي بقولهم، الراد إليهم

 

And I omitted the isnad (chains of narrations) for ease/simplicity and brevity, however, most of it I heard (directly) and because most of it is of manners and wisdom that testify to themselves, and I did not collect that for the evil mukhalif (offender/opponent) rather I compiled it for the submitter to the Imams , the one knowledgeable of their right, the one content with their saying, the one who refers to them .

Read More... Kissing hands of scholars, allowed? Read More!

Uniform of the clerics

As most of us would have noticed, our clerics tend to wear special type of clothes which makes them appear distinguished from everyone else. Is there a valid reason for this?

Kafi

محمد بن يحيى، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن محمد بن سنان، عن أبي الجارود، عن أبي سعيد عن الحسين (عليه السلام) قال: من لبس ثوبا يشهره كساه الله يوم القيامة ثوبا من النار

Muhammad b. Yahya from Ahmad b. Muhammad, from Muhammad b. Sinan, from Abil Jaarood, from Abi Sa'eed from Imam Hussain(as) who said "Whoever wore a dress attracting attention to him Allah(swt) will cover him on Qiyama with dress of fire."

علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن أبي أيوب الخزاز، عن أبي عبدالله (عليه السلام) قال: إن الله تبارك تعالى يبغض شهرة اللباس

Ali b. Ibrahim, from his father, from ibn abi Umair, from abi Ayyoob al Khazzaz, from abi Abdullah (as) who said: "Indeed Allah (swt) hates shuhrah (fame) of the dressing."

Grading

Majlisi (Miratul Uqool): حسن Hasan (Good)
Bahboodi: صحيح Sahih (Correct/Authentic) 

عدة من أصحابنا، عن أحمد بن محمد بن خالد، عن عثمان بن عيسى، عمن ذكره عن أبي عبدالله (عليه السلام) قال: الشهرة خيرها وشرها في النار

A group from our companions, from ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid, from Uthman b Isa, from one who mentioned to him, from abi Abdullah (as) who said: "The shuhrah (fame), good of them and bad of them are in the fire." 

Read More... Uniform of the clerics Read More!

We MUST respect our scholars!

We are told all the time that we must respect the scholars. Therefore, we see on the websites of the marjas the marjas being titled "His eminence", "His holiness" etc. It is also seen that clerics are referred to as "Shaikh", "Maulana sahab" etc. So let us see who sahih (authentic) ahadith from various sources identify as scholars, so therefore we can start respecting them with the utmost zeal and fervour!

Al Mu'atabar min ahadith al Kafi

باب أصناف الناس
 Chapter/section on the categories of people. 

  علي بن إبراهيم، عن محمد بن عيسى، عن يونس، عن جميل، عن أبي عبدالله عليه السلام قال: سمعته يقول يغدوا الناس على ثلاثة أصناف: عالم ومتعلم وغثاء، فنحن العلماء وشيعتنا المتعلمون وسائر الناس غثاء
 Ali b. Ibrahim, from Muhammad b. Isa, from Yunus, from Jamil, from Abi Abdullah(as) who said: I heard him(as) say "The people became upon three types/categories: scholar and student and scum, so we(as) are the scholars and our(as) shias are the students and the rest of the people are scum."

 Al sahih min kitab Basaer ad darajat

حدثنا إبراهيم بن هاشم (ثقة) عن يحيى بن أبي عمران(حسن الرواية) عن يونس (ثقة) عن جميل (ثقة) قال سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول:
( يغدوا الناس على ثلاثة صنوف عالم ومتعلم وغثاء فنحن العلماء وشيعتنا المتعلمون وسائر الناس غثاء ).
*الحكم : حسنة
Told us Ibrahim b. Hashim(trustworthy), from Yahya b. Abi Imran(good in narrating) from Yunus(trustworthy) from Jamil (trustworthy)  who said: I heard Aba Abdullah(as) saying: "The people became upon three categories of scholar and student and scum, so we(as) are the scholars and our(as) shias are the students and the rest of the people are scum."
The ruling(grading): Hasan(Good)


 حدثنا محمد بن الحسين(ثقة) عن عبد الرحمن بن أبي هاشم (ثقة) عن سالم [بن مكرم] (ثقة) عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال:
(الناس يغدون على ثلاثة عالم ومتعلم وغثاء فنحن العلماء وشيعتنا المتعلمون وسائر الناس غثاء ) .
*الحكم : صحيحة
Told us Muhammad b. al Hasan(trustworthy) from Abdur Rahman b. Abi Hashim(trustworthy) from Saalim[b. Mukarram](trustworthy) from Abi Abdullah(as) who said: "The people became upon three(categories) of scholar and student and scum, so we(as) are the scholars and our(as) shias are the students and the rest of the people are scum."

The ruling(grading): Sahih(authentic)

حدثني محمد بن عبد الحميد (ثقة) عن سيف بن عميره (ثقة) قال حدثني أبو سلمة [سالم بن مكرم] (ثقة) قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول:
(يغدوا الناس على ثلاثة عالم ومتعلم وغثاء فسئلوه عن ذلك فقال نحن العلماء وشيعتنا المتعلمون وسائر الناس غثاء).
*الحكم : صحيحة

Told me Muhammad b. Abdul Hamid(trustworthy) from Saif b. Umair(trustworthy) who said: Told me Abu Salmah[Saalim b. Mukarram](trustowrthy) who said: I heard Aba Abdullah(as) saying: "The people became upon three (categories), scholar and student and scum." So I(narrator) asked him(as) about that, so (Imam(as)) said: "We(as) are the scholars and our(as) shias are the students and the rest of the people are scum."
The ruling(grading): Sahih(authentic)


حدثنا أحمد بن محمد (ثقة) عن الحسن بن علي الوشا (ثقة) عن أحمد بن عايذ (ثقة) عن أبي خديجة [سالم بن مكرم] (ثقة) عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال:
( إن الناس يغدون على ثلاثة عالم ومتعلم وغثاء فنحن العلماء وشيعتنا المتعلمون وسائر الناس غثاء ).
*الحكم : صحيحة
Told us Ahmad b. Muhammad(trustworthy) from al Hasan b. Ali al Washa(trustworthy) from Ahmad . A'iz(trustworthy) from Abi Khadijah[Saalim b. Mukarram](trustworthy) from Abi Abdullah(as) who said: "Indeed the people became upon three(categories), scholar and student and scum, so we(as) are the scholars and our(as) shias are the students and the rest of the people are scum."
The ruling(grading): Sahih(authentic) 

Read More... We MUST respect our scholars! Read More!

Conduct of our scholars

As can be seen in the above video, a famous scholar is shown smoking. The video seems to have been uploaded by the nawasib. Unfortunately this sort of careless behavior from our scholars defames our school of thought and promotes hatred for ahlulbayt(as) and their(as) followers among the non shias. So is such behavior acceptable? What do ahadith say?

Al Iteqadat (Shaikh Sadooq)

وقال ـ عليه السلام ـ :  كونوا لنا زينا ، ولا تكونوا علينا شينا

And said (Imam al Sadiq)(as): "Be for us(as) beautification, and do not be upon us(as) defect/shame."


 وقال ـ عليه السلام ـ :  رحم الله عبدا حببنا إلى الناس ، ولم يبغضنا إليهم

And said (Imam al Sadiq)(as): "Allah(swt) have mercy on His(swt) slave who propagates our(as) love to(in) the people, and not our(as) hatred to(in) them."

Read More... Conduct of our scholars Read More!

Hawza curriculum and the graduating mujtahids/marjas

This is the description of hawza curriculum:

"The traditional subjects taught at a Hawza may be divided into the following:

1. Mantiq (Logic)
2. Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence)
3. Fiqh (Jurisprudence)
4. Tafsir al-Qur'an (Qur'an Exegesis)
5. 'Ulum al-Qur'an (Qur'an Sciences)
6. 'Ilm al-Hadith (The Study of Traditions)
7. 'Ilm ar-Rijal (Science of Narrators)
8. Tarikh (History)
9. Aqaid / Kalam (Theology)
10. Lugha (Language Studies)
11. Falsafa (Islamic Philosophy)
12. 'Irfan (Islamic Mysticism) "

 http://www.al-islam.org/index.php?t=258&cat=258

So is this curriculum correct and should one follow the graduates of such institutions?

Al Tauheed 

وبهذا الاسناد، عن أبي بصير، قال: قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام: يهلك أصحاب الكلام، وينجو المسلمون إن المسلمين هم النجباء

And with this isnad, from Abi Baseer, said: Said Abu Abdullah (as): "People of kalam (theology) would perish, and the obedient/submitters(muslims) would be safe, indeed the obedient (muslims) they are of high character."  

Mustadrak al Wasail

لعلامة الاردبيلي في حديقة الشيعة: نقلا عن السيد المرتضى ابن الداعي الحسيني الرازي، بإسناده عن الشيخ المفيد، عن أحمد بن محمد بن الحسن بن الوليد، عن أبيه محمد بن الحسن، عن سعد بن عبد الله، عن محمد بن عبد الله، عن محمد بن عبد الجبار، عن الامام الحسن العسكري (عليه السلام)، أنه قال لابي هاشم الجعفري: " يا أبا هاشم، سيأتي زمان على الناس وجوههم ضاحكة مستبشرة، وقلوبهم مظلمة متكدرة ، السنة فيهم بدعة، والبدعة فيهم سنة، المؤمن بينهم محقر، والفاسق بينهم موقر، أمراؤهم جاهلون جائرون، وعلماؤهم في أبواب الظلمة [ سائرون ] ، أغنياؤهم يسرقون زاد الفقراء، وأصاغرهم يتقدمون على الكبراء، وكل جاهل عندهم خبير، وكل محيل عندهم فقير، لا يميزون بين المخلص والمرتاب، لا يعرفون الضأن من الذئاب، علماؤهم شرار خلق الله على وجه الارض، لانهم يميلون إلى الفسلفة والتصوف، وأيم الله إنهم من أهل الحدول والتحرف، يبالغون في حب مخالفينا، ويضلون شيعتنا وموالينا، إن نالوا منصبا لم يشبعوا عن الرشاء، وإن خذوا عبدوا الله على الرياء، ألا إنهم قطاع طريق المؤمنين، والدعاة إلى نحلة الملحدين، فمن أدركهم فليحذرهم، وليصن دينه وإيمانه، ثم قال: يا أبا هاشم هذا ما حدثني أبي، عن آبائه جعفر بن محمد (عليهم السلام)، وهو من أسرارنا، فاكمته إلا عن أهله

Allama Ardbili in Hadiqat al shia: Copied from Al Syed al Murtadha ibn Da'i al Hussaini al Razi, with chains from al Shaikh al Mufid, from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hasan al Waleed, from his father Muhammad b. al Hasan, from Sa'd b. Abdullah, from Muhammad b. Abdullah, from Muhammad b. Abdul Jabbar, from al Imam al Hasan al Askari (as), that he (as) said to Abi Hashim al Ja'fri: "O Aba Hashim, a bad time will come upon the people their faces would be happily laughing, and their hearts dark and gloomy, the sunnah in them(would be) biddah, and the biddah in them (would be) sunnah, the momin (believer) between them would be worthless, and the fasiq (sinner) between them honorable, their rulers would be ignorant oppressors, and their scholars (would be present) in doors of darkness, their rich would be looting the belongings of the poor, and their young ones would be stepping ahead of their old ones, and every ignorant near (for) them would be knowledgeable, and every imposter near them would be faqir, there wouldn't be any distinction between sincere and the skeptical (bad aqidah people), they won't recognize the sheep from the wolves, their scholars would be the evilest creatures upon the face of Earth, for indeed they would be inclined towards philosophy and sufism, and by Allah(swt) indeed they're from people of ilhad(crossing boundaries/limits) and tahreef(distortion), doing exaggeration in love of our opponents, and misguiding our shias and mawalis,  if they're placed in an official position they won't be satiated with bribes, and if taken (power taken back) they would worship Allah (swt) upon showing off, indeed they would not be but tobbers of the path of believers, and callers to be limit crossers/atheists, so whoever finds/comes across them so should protect themselves and safeguard  their religion and faith", then (Imam(as)) said: "O Aba Hashim, this is what I heard from my father(as), from his forefathers Ja'far b. Muhammad (as), and it's from our secrets, so hide it except from its capable."

Read More... Hawza curriculum and the graduating mujtahids/marjas Read More!

Learning the religion from maraji', shaikhs, maulanas etc, allowed?

Mustadrak al wasail 

محمد بن ابراهيم النعماني في كتاب الغيبة: عن أبي عبد الله (عليه السلام)، أنه قال: " من دخل في هذا الدين بالرجال، أخرجه منه الرجال، ومن دخل فيه بالكتاب والسنة، زالت الجبال قبل أن يزول

 

Muhammad b. Ibrahim al Nu'mani in kitab al ghaibah: From Abi Abdullah(as) who said: "Whoever enters in this religion by men, he would leave from it by the men, and whoever enters in it by the book and the sunnah, the mountains would be eliminated before he is eliminated."

Read More... Learning the religion from maraji', shaikhs, maulanas etc, allowed? Read More!

The amama of scholars.

It's a standard among our scholars to wear an amama (turban). But is their  method of wearing amama in accordance with ahadith and the fatawa of our classical scholars?

Man la Yahdhuruhul Faqih

وسمعت مشائخنا رضي الله عنهم يقولون : لا تجوز الصلاة في الطابقية ( 6 ) ولا يجوزللمعتم أن يصلي إلا وهو متحنك

( 6 ) الطابقية : العمامة التي لا حنك لها

And I (Shaikh Sadooq) heard from our blessed mashaikh (senior teachers) saying: "Not valid is the prayer in tabqiyah* and not valid is it for the amama wearer to pray unless he does tahannuk(drop an end of the turban between the shoulders).

*Tabqiyah: Amama without hanak (end of the turban dropping down between shoulders).

Man la yahdhuruhul Faqih

وقال النبي صلى الله عليه وآله : الفرق بين المسلمين والمشركين التلحي بالعمائ              
 
وذلك في أول الاسلام وابتدائه


And Prophet(PBUH) said "The difference between muslims and mushriks (polytheists) is hanaks (dropping an end of turban down) in turbans."

Authors note: "And that was in start of Islam and at beginning."

Read More... The amama of scholars. Read More!