['Aalim Network QR] Tawalla and Tabarra

[Mustafa Rawji <mrawji@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>]

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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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Salamun alaykum,

	The reply to the following question was kindly provided by Mulla
Bashir.

Wasalaam,

Mustafa Rawji
Moderator, 'Aalim Network	

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QUESTION:

In what ways can one express love for the Ahlul Bayt (as) and remain
aloof from their enemies (Tawalla and Tabarra)?  Are there certain
guidelines in this regard?
       
ANSWER:

Thank you very much for asking this important question.  

It is incumbent upon us to base our opinion not on emotion but on reason
and to be guided in formulating the opinion by the Holy Qur'an and the
traditions of the Holy Ma'sumeen. 

The Ayat-e-Muwadda in the Holy Qur'an clearly places an obligation upon
all muslims to love the ahlul bayt.  In Sura-tul-Shuraa (XLII), Allah
(SWT) commands the Holy Prophet (SAWA) to deliver a certain message to the
mankind.  In ayah 23 He says: 

"Say (O Muhammad): I ask you of no reward except the muwaddah (love) of my
near relatives. Whosoever earns good, We give him more of good therein. 
Surely Allah is forgiving, grateful." 

In "Suratul-Sabaa" (XXXIV) Ayah 47, Allah commands the Holy Prophet as
follows: 

"Say: Whatever reward I might have asked of you is for your good.  My
reward is the affair of Allah only."

Love for the Ahlul Bayt (A.S.) thus becomes mandatory for all Muslims as
the reward to the Holy Prophet for having given us the message of Allah. 
Without such love, the faith of a Muslim would be like having taken the
benefit of a service without having paid (ajr) remuneration for it. 

The question which arises here is: What is this "love" that we are
commanded to show to Ahlul Bayt ? 

It is reported in Al Kafi (Volume 2, page 74, Hadith No. 3) that Imam
Muhammad Baqir (AS) addressing Jabir said: 

"O Jabir, do you think that it is enough for anyone just to claim by his
tongue that he loves Ahlul Bayt?  Does he, by such a claim, become our
Shiah?  Jabir, I swear by the Almighty that until a person fears Allah and
obeys Him, he cannot claim to be our Shiah.  He must have humility, be
just, fulfill his promises, engage as much as possible in the remembrance
of Allah, fulfill his obligations of salah and fasting, show affection and
sympathy and obedience to his parents, assist and be kind to his
neighbours, the poor, those in debt as well as show sympathy and affection
to the orphans.  He must always be truthful.  He should read and study
Qur'an.  There must never be any malice in his heart.  Without these
qualities, he can not qualify to claim that he loves us or is our Shiah. 
O Jabir, it is not enough for any person only to say by word of mouth that
he loves Hadhrat Ali and the Ahlul Bayt.  He must follow the 'seerah' (way
of life)  of the Holy Prophet and the Ahlul Bayt and act according to the
sunnah established by them.  If he does not, then his claim of love for
Ahlul Bayt can never benefit him. 

O Jabir, without 'ita'ah' (obedience and submission), nobody can attain
proximity to Allah.  We do not like them to claim to be our friends if
they do not fulfil all the conditions.  A sinful person is our enemy.
Without good deeds and abstinence from sins, any claim of friendship to us
is of no avail." 

The same considerations as above would apply to the doctrine of tabarra. 
Tabarra is based on the Qur'anic precept that believers should
disassociate themselves from the evil doers. One who does tawalla will by
virtue of it disassociate himself from the evil doers. Both tawalla and
tabarra have to be reflected in the way of life as obedience of the Holy
Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt. Repeated utterances of expressions of love or
hate do not constitute tawalla or tabarra unless such repeated utterances
are intended as declaration of commitment. 

A mere claim that we hate the enemies of Ahlul Bayt is not enough. There
must be a complete disassociation with their 'seerah'. One cannot fulfil
the conditions of tabarra only by repeated curses if one's life is
according to their seerah. The curses we utter must be regarded as solemn
pledge by us never to enter into their ita'ah and commit the sins which
they did. 

We cannot escape the above obligation by the excuse that we do not hurt
the Ahlul Bayt by our sins not directed against Ahlul Bayt. In the light
of the above hadith of our fifth Imam, if our life is not in accordance
with the tenets of Islam as reiterated by the Holy Imam we do hurt the
Ahlul Bayt by insulting the great sacrifices they made to preserve those
tenets for us.

(For those who have the Gujerati or the Urdu version of the Taudhihul
Masaail of Ayatullah Khui (R.A.) they will be able to refer to the above
Hadith towards the beginning. It is, in the Urdu version, under the
sub-title "Ilme Deen ki Ahmiyyat" at pp 40-41) 

If there is any supplementary question kindly submit it to the Alim
Network. 

With salaams and du'aas from a humble servant of Ahlul Bayt and their
followers, and with a request to be remembered by you in your prayers,

Bashir Rahim