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['Aalim Network QR] Status of Certain Sahaaba
- Subject: ['Aalim Network QR] Status of Certain Sahaaba
- Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 11:52:49 -0400 (EDT)
- From: Mustafa Rawji <mrawji@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>
- Aalim: Bashir Rahim
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| In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful |\
| Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salaamun alaykum,
The following is a supplementary post to the reply issued on
August 6, 1996 titled "Companions Under the Tree". I would like to extend
my sincere thanks to Mulla Bashir and to Br. Shaun Astarabadi for their help
in locating and analysing the hadith that purports to promise Jannah
(Heaven) to certain Companions.
The two original questions that were received are reproduced
below, followed by the supplementary post.
Wasalaam,
Mustafa Rawji
Moderator, 'Aalim Network
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 1:
I am a Moslem shi'a and I have following question which I most appreciate
if you could help me to find a suitable answer for it:
I heard that in a naration from Prophet Mohammad (SA) has promised heaven
(janna) to some of companions under a tree. Among these people were Omar,
Zobeyr, and some others who, we believe, acted against Imam Ali (SA). Is
this narration correct?
Could you please elaborate on this narration whether it is Sahih or not?
and what was the occasion? and what is shi'a's point of view in this
regard?
QUESTION 2:
I heard from a Sunni friend that there is an hadith of Rasul (sw)
in which he named 10 people who will go to heaven (those 10 people were
alive at that time). These 10 people includes Imam Ali (as) and the first
3 khalifas. What can you say about this?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPPLEMENTARY POST:
Dear members,
Re: THE STATUS OF CERTAIN SAHAABA
Some few weeks ago a question was posed to me about the status of all
those sahaaba who had pledged their allegiance to the Holy Prophet (SWA)
at Hudaibiyya in the light of a hadith that the questioner had heard from
some one to the effect that all those who had given their bai'ah had been
promised jannah by the Holy Prophet. As I could not trace the hadith then
I responded to the question in the light of the Holy Qur'an.
Those of you who do not have a copy of my earlier response should refer to
the 'Aalim Network archives for a copy.
After posting my response the moderator wrote to me that we should try to
find the alleged hadith if it existed. I agreed to embark on further
research as I, like the moderator, felt that every question posed through
the 'Aalim Network merited an exhaustive response. I was able to trace the
following ahadeeth.
(1) In hadith 490, Volume V of Bukhari it is reported on the authority of
Anas bin Malik that the first ayah of Suratul Fath refers to the
al-Hudaybiyya pledge. The Companions said to the Holy Prophet,
"Congratulations and happiness to you, but what reward shall we get ?". The
narrator continues 'So Allah revealed "THAT HE MAY ADMIT YHE BELIEVING MEN
AND WOMEN TO GARDENS BENEATH WHICH RIVERS FLOW" (48:5).
(2) In Mishkat-ul-Masabih Book IV, Chapter XLVI, Hadith 140 it is reported
that "Hafsa narrated that the Apostle of Allah said 'I hope surely (Inni
la arjoo) that none who was present at Badr and Hudaibiyyah shall enter
the fire if Allah wills.' I asked 'O Apostle of Allah did not the Almighty
Allah say "There is none amongst you who will not but come to it (the
bridge of siraat)?" He (the Holy Prophet) said 'Do not you hear it ! He
(Allah) was saying 'Thereafter We shall deliver those who are pious'.
Al Mishkat continues under the same Hadith "And in a narration (it is
reported that) 'None of the companions of the tree who took the oath of
allegiance under it will enter fire if Allah wills.'
The first hadith is in conformity with the conclusions in my posting.
Al Mishkat gives only one source, Sahih-e-Muslim. I have traced it in the
Sahih, Chapter MXXIX Hadith 6090. Hafsa's statement in the first part is
recorded almost as in Al Mishkat although the narrator mentioned is not
Hafsa as alleged by al-Mishkat but one Umm Mubashshir who heard the
conversation between the Holy Prophet and Hafsa. Hafsa was Umar's daughter.
There are too many imponderable in the narration. It is inconceivable that,
contrary to the statement in the Holy Qur'an the holy Prophet would have
accorded a blanket immunity to any one. In any case the second part,
reported in the al-Mishkat as 'a narration', is not in Muslim. It would
appear that the second part is totally apocryphal and can not be relied
upon.
It is clear from the verses of the Holy Qur'an, that the reward for being
a party to the bai'atur ridhwan depends upon the state of the belief of
that party, as evidenced by his subsequent conduct viz-a-viz acceptance of
and obedience to the wishes of the Holy Prophet. The Holy Qur'an
emphasizes this in Surtul Hujuraat, Ayaah 14 and 15 which I reproduce
below:
14. The Arabs say: "We believe." Say to them (O Muhammad ) you do not as
yet believe. You should rather say 'We submit' for the faith (imaan) has
not yet entered into your hearts. Yet if you obey Allah and His messenger
He will not withhold from the reward of your deeds. Allah is Forgiving and
Merciful.
15. The (true) believers are only those who believe in Allah and His
messenger and afterwards doubt not, but strive with their wealth and lives
for the cause of Allah. Such are the sincere.
The 'Aalim Network solicited the help of brother Shaun Astarabadi to try
and locate any more ahadeeth in the Sunni books. Brother Shaun applied
himself rigorously to the assignment and has produced various ahadeeth.
May Allah reward brother Shaun for his labour. I reproduce below the
relevant portions of brother Shaun.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Brother Shaun writes:
A Pledge Under the Tree
By Shaun Astarabadi
August 18, 1996
Pleasure of Allah (awj)
If one were to assume, for the purpose of argument, that Allah (swt)
was pleased with all the people under the Tree, this would not
benefit the position of the Sahabah (companions). For it is an
indication that Allah (swt) was pleased with their past actions and
not necessarily their future, because prior action is not a guarantee
of future behavior to anyone who is fallible.
The Prophet's (s) Prophecies about his Companions
Allah (swt) informed the prophet (s) of the deviation of some of his
companions. So the prophet addressed them directly, as is clear from
these traditions. Here are some of these traditions in Bukhari's
collection, volume 9, pp503-506 (the full chain was eliminated for
brevity).
#1435 - Narrated by Abdullah and Huthaifa, the prophet (s) said: "I
am ahead of you at the pool. From amongst you are men who will be
raised with me then taken away from me, then I will say: O' my God:
my companions! It will be said: you do not know what innovation they
made after you."
#1441 - Narrated by Anas that "The prophet (s) said: People from my
companions will come to me at the Pool, until they are near enough to
know them, they drop away from me. I say: My companions?! He will
say: You do not know what they invented after you."
#1442 - Narrated Sahl bin Saad "The prophet (s) said: I am ahead of
you at the Pool, whomever passes by me drinks, and one who drinks
will never (feel) thirst ever. There will be peoples, I know them
and they know me, then they will be separated from me."
Abu Hazim said that al-Nu'man bin Abi-'Ayyash said that he heard it
from Sahl like this. He then said: I bear witness that I (also) heard
Abi Saeed al- Khudri say it and he added to it "So I say they are
mine! It will be said: you do not know what they innovated after
you. So I say: crushed, crushed (or far away from me) to any (one)
who changed (things) after me."
Abu Hurairah used to say: "The prophet (s) said: On the Day of
Judgment, a number of my companions will be brought to me. They will
be taken from the Pool. So I say: O' God! My companions? He will say:
You have no knowledge of what they innovated after you - they became
apostates and retreated backwards."
#1443 - Shihab bin al-Musayyab told: "The prophet (s) said: Certain
men from my companions will come to me at the Pool. Then they will be
prevented ("removed" per Abu Hurairah) from it, so I say: O' my God!
My companions? He says: You have no knowledge what they innovated
after you. They have retreated backwards, apostates."
#1444 - Abu Hurairah narrated "The prophet (s) said: While I am
standing, a group (comes), when I recognize them, a man appears from
between us and them; he says: Come along! I say: Where to? He says:
To Hell Fire, by Allah! I say: What is their problem? He says: They
became apostates after you (left them, they) retreated backwards.
Then a group (comes), when I recognize them, a man appears from
between us and them; he says: Come along! I say: Where to? He says:
To Hell Fire, by Allah! I say: What is their problem? He says: They
became apostates after you (left them) retreated backwards. So I do
not see but a few survive from amongst them."
#1449 - Asmaa bint Abi Bakr said: "The prophet (s) said: I am at the
Pool to see who comes to me from among you. A people will be taken
away from me, so I say: O' my God, from me and my nation! So it will
be said: Did you sense what they did after you (departed)? By
Allah, they did not stop retreating backwards." Ibn Abi Malika used
to say: "Allahumma we beseech you that we don't retreat backwards or
be mislead away from our religion, the way they retreated on their
backs."
A Companion Admits to Innovations
The companion al-'Alaa bin al-Musayyab said his father met al-Buraa
bin `Azib (ra) and said to him: "Good for you! You accompanied the
prophet (s) and pledged allegiance to him under the Tree. So he
said: O' son of my brother, you do not know what we innovated after
him."
Sunni Reference: al-Bukhari, v5, p234, #645.
------
General References:
1. The Quran, Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
2. The Quran, Trasnlation by S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali
3. Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad bin Ismaeel al-Bukhari
4. Munadharat `Aqaediyya, S. Muhammad Kadhimi al-Qazwini
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In another posting brother Shaun writes as follows:
The Promised Ten
By Shaun Astarabadi
August 19, 1996
Ten of the companions are claimed to have been promised Paradise
during their lives. They are:
1) Abu Bakr
2) Omar
3) `Uthman
4) Ali
5) Talha
6) al-Zubair
7) Saad bin Abi Waqqass
8) Saeed bin Zaid
9) Abdulrahman bin `Awf and
10) Abu `Ubaida binal-Jarrah
Note the placement of the Imam Ali is, conveniently, the fourth in a group
which does not contain a single supporter of the Imam from among the
companions of the prophet (s). Accordingly, the people of the Sunna
have agreed on holding these ten in high regard. Clearly, the nine
mentioned with the Imam are his adversaries and none were on his
side.
This suspicious hadeeth was not even mentioned by Bukhari or Muslim,
but it was narrated within al-Tirmithi's, abu- Daoud's, and Ibn
Maja's collections in two flavors. Let's take a look at the hadeeth
to see the extent of amplifying selected personalities.
1. Abu Daoud in his book , narrates from "Saeed bin Zaid said: I bear
witness, I heard the messenger of Allah (s) say: Ten are in Paradise:
The prophet is in Paradise, Abu Bakr in Paradise, Talha in Paradise,
Omar in Paradise, 'Uthman in Paradise, Saad bin Malik in Paradise,
and AbdulRahman bin `Awf in Paradise. If you wish I could tell you the
tenth? He said. They said: Who is he? He said: Saeed bin Zaid." (The
same hadeeth but a variation in wording #3748 in al-Tirmith, but
different people!)
2. al-Tirmithi in his book under #3747**, narrates from "AbdulRahman
bin `Awf said: The prophet (s) said: Abu Bakr in Paradise, Omar in
Paradise, 'Uthman in Paradise, Ali in Paradise, Talha in Paradise, al-
Zubair (bin al-'Awwam) in Paradise, AbdulRahman bin `Awf in Paradise,
Saad (bin Abi Waqqass) in Paradise, Saeed (bin Zaid), and abu 'Ubaida
bin al- Jarrah in Paradise." (Saad is not in Abu Daoud's book.)
3. al-Tirmithi , under #3748**, narration by "Saeed bin Zaid, that the
prophet (s) said in a number of people, ten are in Paradise: Abu Bakr
in Paradise, Omar in Paradise, 'Uthman, Ali, al-Zubair, Talha,
AbdulRahman, Abu 'Ubaida, and Saad bin Abi Waqqass. He counted these
nine and was quite about the tenth. They said: By Allah, abu-alAawar
(i.e. Saeed), who is the tenth? He said: You swore by Allah -
abu-alAawar is in Paradise." al-Tirmithi commented that abu-alAawar
is Saeed bin Zaid bin Amr bin Nawfal.
Ref.:
al-Tirmithi, v5, p605, #3747 and #3748
abu Daoud, #4649 and #4650
Several things raise the doubts about these traditions and supports
the belief that they were fabricated forgeries for political reasons
to elevate the adversaries of the Imam Ali and the remainder Family
of the Household of the prophet (s), as follows.
* They struggle in narrowing down who the ten are. One time they
insert Saad bin Abi Waqqass and another they put Saad bin Malik in
his place.
* The first of the hadeeths did not mention Imam Ali, nor Ibn
al-Jarrah; yielding only seven promised Paradise, of course, not
counting the prophet (s).
* The first and third are essentially the same hadeeth, by the same
person, but the order of those in Paradise is different, one person
added and another dropped, and only seven people are listed in Abu
Daouds'.
* Listing of the prophet (s) among those promised Paradise is
something that confirms forgery! Does anyone really believe that his
companions enter Paradise and he will be left behind? He need not
advertise that - it is a given!
* Both narrators are telling the hadeeth about themselves! See
praising one's self, below.
* The history of the so called ten does not mandate this great
reward, at the expense of exclusion of other pious companions, who in
fact remained unblemished till their demise.
* The narrator of the tradition is one of those promised Paradise,
this way he is bringing good tidings to himself!
* Bukhari and Muslim did not even set aside a virtues section on
neither Saad bin Zaid nor AbdulRahman bin `Awf, while Bukhari has a
sections for Mu'awiya, one hadeeth for Khalid bin al-Waleed and just
a section heading for Mus'ab bin `Umair (see volume 5, Book of
Virtues).
* Saad bin Malik, in fact, is not among the 10 highly regarded by
the people of the Sunna.
* The second narration only named nine persons in addition to
dropping out Saad bin Abi Waqqass.
* Bukhari adds to the suspicion, by considering only three to have
been promised paradise by the prophet (s): Abu Bakr, Omar and `Uthman
(see Bukhari, v5, p68, #194). Nevertheless, the narrator "Mohammed
bin Miskeen is weak, not well known," ..etc. (Lisan al-Mizan, al-
'Asqalani, v5, p380, #1233).
Praising One's Self
According to Islamic law, when someone praises others by praising
himself, it is disregarded altogether. The same is true if someone
bears witness for someone else, while at the same time, even
partially selfserving, his testimony is rejected.
"Therefore justify not yourselves; He knows best who it is that
guards against evil." [53:53]
Logic and Reason
A reasonable person can not judge, unconditionally, that an ordinary
fallible human being is guaranteed paradise, therefore, is immune
from Hell Fire. One who is open to the possibility of committing
sinful acts, by his nature, can not be predictable. Especially, if
promised paradise while not infallible, he would have the tendency to
act freely due to his feeling of assurance that his acts will have no
bearing on his outcome.
It is, therefore, not logical nor reasonable that the prophet (s)
would promise such an outcome early on to people of an unknown
future.
If this hadeeth were indeed true, then how come one did not see the
khalifa `Uthman use it in protest against those who found it lawful
to murder him. Nor did any of his companions come to his aid,
protesting the unlawfulness of killing someone who is guaranteed
paradise. Actually, it would have been unlawful for them to stay
silent in this matter. The fact of the matter is: the hadeeths were
fabricated at a later date.
If one accepts the hadeeth to be true, one must also accept that other
than these ten from among the companions of the prophet (s) are all in
Hell Fire, because there is no in-between on the day of judgment. And
this is, by necessity, is wrong by reasoning and religion.
------------
** Narrators of al-Tirmithi are as follows:
#3747: Qutaiba, Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad, Abdul Rahman bin Hameed, his
father (Hameed), Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf. Al-Tirmithi said: We were
told one by: Abdul Aziz bin Mohammad, Abdul Rahman bin Hameed, his
father, from the prophet (s) where "Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf" was not
listed. And another like it has been narrated by (adding) Saeed bin
Zaid t othe chain.
#3748: Salih bin Mismar al-Marrouzi, Ibn Abi Fudaik, Musa bin
Yaaqoub, Omar bin Saeed, Abdul Rahman bin Hameed, from his father,
from Saeed bin Zaid.
-----------
General References:
1. Saheeh al-Bukhari
2. Saheeh Muslim
3. Sunan al-Tirmithi
4. Sunan Abi Daoud
5. Munadharat `Aqaediyya, Ameer al-Kadhimi al-Qazwini
6. al-Khud'a, Salih al-Wardani
7. Lisan al-Mizan, Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
---------------------------------------------------------------
If any one requires any further information please contact the
'Aalim Network in the usual manner.
With salaams and du'aas and a request that you remember me in
your prayers,
Bashir Rahim
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