@ sooood
The twelvers believe that the prophet himself determined the Imam after himself according to Ghadir hadith which is narrated in many Sunni books like: Tafsir Tabari-Vol.3-Page 428, Sahih Muslim-Vol.4-Page 1873, Masabih Al-Sunnah-Vol.2-Page 202 & 275. They say we should obey the prophet’s orders. So what’s your reason for believing in the leadership of the two Caliphs?
There is something about the last Imam of Shias narrated from the prophet. Some of them are also in Sunni books: Sahih Tirmidhi-Vol.9-Page 74, Musnad Ahmad-Vol.3-Page 28.
They believe that a part of the 33rd Aya of the Sura Al-Ahzab is about Imams and this is the reason of believing that Imams are infallible. This is also narrated in: Sahih Muslim-Page 1049-hadith 2424.
Intercession is to want someone to ask God for something because he/she has a specific spiritual position. But Shirk means assuming someone in the the same degree of God. In Quran it can be seen in Ayas 98 & 99 Sura Yusuf that the brothers of Yusuf want their father to ask God for forgiveness.
What’s your reference of saying that the Shia believes Quran is distorted? Ayatollah Khomeini said: Any intellectual man doesn’t have the imagination of distorted Quran.
The twelvers appreciate or blame every one of Sahaabah according to their actions and behavior like all people. The ‘good task’ is what is necessary to judge someone as a good person. For example, Abu Bakr admitted that he attacked Fatimah’s (the daughter of the prophet) house (Tarikh Tabari-Vol.2-Page 353). In the Aya you mentioned, there’s no evidence of who is addressed. Who ‘you’ refers to?
Even lying isn’t absolutely bad. In fact, it’s not inherently bad, because lying in order to reach expedient is allowed for example with the intention of removing the evil of an oppressor or improving the relation of some people. On the other hand, lying is used for some speech but taqiyah is an action.
Yes this is what the twelvers would say, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed the twelve imams of the Shia, however this is not the case, in fact the Shia have picked their own imams based on their desires without a religious text.
You will notice with many of the "evidence" the Shia try and give you to prove a point, is lacking in specification, many a times you will find lengthy references to prove a point without the relevant Hadith number, just volume numbers and pages making it impossible to verify the exact Hadith they are referring too, most of the time because it is fabricated, weak or does not back up what they say at all. Can you please post the exact Hadith that says the Prophet (peace be upon him) determined the imam.
Before I show you the evidence for the validity of the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq after the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) I would like to show you the evidence for the love and respect we show towards the companions and how we are pleased with those that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) were pleased with.
Firstly: It is not appropriate or befitting to say anything about the companions, because Allaah says in the Quran:
“And those who came after them say: ‘Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful"
And they obey the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said:
“Do not revile my companions, for by the One in Whose hand is my soul, if one of you were to spend in charity gold equal to the size of Mount Uhud, he would not achieve the status of one of them, or even come halfway.�
(narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3637; Muslim, 2541).
One of the basic principles of Ahl al-Sunnah is that we accept that which has been narrated in the Qur'an and Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars, concerning the virtues and status (of the Sahaabah).
We give precedence to those who spent and fought before the victory – the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah – over those who spent and fought afterwards, because Allaah says:
“Not equal among you are those who spent and fought before the Victory. Such are higher in degree than those who spent and fought afterwards. But to all Allaah has promised the best (reward). And Allaah is All-Aware of what you do�
We give precedence to the Muhaajireen over the Ansaar, because Allaah says:
“And the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muhaajiroon and the Ansaar and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allaah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success�
So the aayah gives precedence to the Muhaajireen over the Ansaar. We believe that Allaah said concerning the people of Badr.
“Do whatever you like, for I have forgiven you,� because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Maybe Allah looked at the people of Badr and said, ‘Do whatever you like, for I have forgiven you.’�
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3007; Muslim, 2494 - from the hadeeth of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib)
We believe that no-one who gave the oath of allegiance (bay’ah) under the tree will enter Hell, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said. Rather Allaah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and they numbered more than one thousand and four hundred.
Allaah says:
“Indeed, Allaah was pleased with the believers when they gave the Bay‘ah (pledge) to you (O Muhammad) under the tree, He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down As-Sakeenah (calmness and tranquillity) upon them, and He rewarded them with a near victory�
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“In sha Allaah, no one among the companions of the tree, those who gave their oath of allegiance beneath the tree, will enter Hell.�
(Narrated by Muslim, 2496).
Among those who pledged allegiance beneath the tree were Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and ‘Ali, may Allaah be pleased with them all.
Therefore we bear witness that those will enter Paradise who the Messenger of Allaah bore witness that they would enter, such as the ten (who were given the glad tidings of Paradise), and Thaabit ibn Qays ibn Shammaas, and others among the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Abu Bakr will be in Paradise, ‘Umar will be in Paradise, ‘Uthmaan will be in Paradise, ‘Ali will be in Paradise, Talhah will be in Paradise, al-Zubayr will be in Paradise, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf will be in Paradise, Sa’d will be in Paradise, Sa’eed will be in Paradise and Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarraah will be in Paradise.�
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4649; al-Tirmidhi, 3747; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani).
They affirm that which has been narrated in mutawaatir reports from ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) and others, that the best among this ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar. It was narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah said: “I said to my father (‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib), ‘Which of the people is the best after the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ He said, ‘Abu Bakr.’ I asked, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘ ‘Umar.’ I was worried that he would say ‘Uthmaan, so I said, ‘Then is it you?’ He said, ‘I am just a man among the Muslims.’�
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3671).
Moreover the reason we believe that Uthmaan is the third and ‘Ali is the fourth, may Allaah be pleased with them.
Secondly: it is part of the belief of the Muslim that the most deserving of the people to succeed the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him). The evidence for the leadership of Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) is as follows:
1. It was narrated from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut’im that his father said: “A woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he told her to come back later. She said, ‘What if I come back and do not find you?’ as if she was referring to death. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘If you do not find me, then go to Abu Bakr.’�
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3659).
2. It was narrated that Ibn Mas’ood said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Take as your leaders those who come after me, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.’�
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3805; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani).
3. It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me when he was sick, ‘Call Abu Bakr for me, your father and your brother, so that I may dictate a letter. For I am worried lest someone who is ambitious says that he is more entitled to the position of leadership, but Allaah and the believers will not accept anyone other than Abu Bakr.’�
(Narrated by Muslim, 2387).
4. During his final illness, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) appointed Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq to lead the Muslims in prayer and he did not accept anyone else to take his place. The fact that he was appointed to take his place in the case of minor leadership (leading the prayers) indicates that he would succeed him in the case of major leadership (as imaam or khaleefah).
Again I say that if the Shia are true in what they say to follow the orders of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) then they would be happy with the leadership of Abu Bakr.
As for the last imam, please forward your evidence from Sunni books, If the Prophet (peace be upon him) really announced the names of the Twelve imams, why would there be such perplexity and confusion among the Shia sects almost after the death of each Imam? Beside this, we see in many twelver Shi’ite books that the evidence of Imamate is always (as far as I know) based on different signs (miracles, eldest, knowledge of unseen etc.) of the Imam instead of the Hadith which is supposedly said by the Prophet (peace be upon him). What is the need of signs if there is authentic narration from the Prophet (peace be upon him) announcing the 12 names?
As for infallibility Aya 33 of Surah Al-Ahzab says:
"And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification."
I don't see how this is about Imams and the reason for believing that Imams are infallible??
Intercession means mediating for someone else to gain some benefit or ward off some harm.
It is of two types:
1) The first type:
Intercession that will take place in the Hereafter, on the Day of Resurrection.
2) The second type:
Intercession concerning matters of this world.
We are dealing with the second, Intercession which is within a person’s ability to do something, which is permissible, subject to certain conditions, however that which is not within a person’s ability to do something, such as seeking intercession from the dead and occupants of graves, or from a living person who is absent, believing that he is able to hear and meet one’s need. This is the kind of intercession that constitutes shirk, which is clearly forbidden in many verses of the Quran and Hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because it ascribes to them attributes which belong only to the Creator, for He is the Ever-living Who never dies.
Evidence for the Distortion of Quran from Shia sources:
The grand Shia scholar al-Mirza Habibullah al-Khoei in his famous sharh called “Minhaj al-Bara’ah fi Sharh Nahjul Balagha� discusses the corruption of the Quran. Please refer to Minhaj al-Bara’ah fi Sharh Nahjul Balagha by al-Mirza Habibullah al-Khoei, al-Wafaa Beirut Lebanon, volume 2, pages 216 to 220.
I can post this for you if you like, I just didn't do so cause it's too long, let me know if you want me to post it,
Moving on let's say for arguments sake Abu Bakr regretted what he did, this is the nature of man. This by no means gives any individual the right to start cursing the companions as do the Shia. I'm sure there are many fatwas coming from Grand Ayatollah allowing cursing. This is well known.
Furthermore that Hadith you are referring to isn’t authentic, so these regrets of Abu Bakr aren’t proved, and most likely it’s pure fabrication. This is a Hadith that could not be relied upon nor is it known to anyone.
The Quran that refers to "you" is very straight forward, it is referring to, the true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his Sunnah.
Moving along, Taqiyyah, as the Shia believe It is something that takes them beyond the boundaries of the straight path of Allah. I ask you to prove that it is allowed from the Quran and Sunnah. Something you will not be able to do.
Taqiyyah is an attribute of lying and deceit to the religion of Allah, wrongfully and out of enmity. This corrupt belief has nothing to do with the beliefs of Islam. In fact lying is one of the attributes of the hypocrites. A person may keep on lying and persist in lying until he is recorded with Allah as a liar. These people tell lies and persist in lying in all things, then they regard that as part of their beliefs and religion.
Islam is based on truthfulness and justice. In order for taqiyyah to be permissible, there should be fear of harm and the individual should not have any other means of avoiding harm except by resorting to taqiyyah. It is also stipulated that the harm that is feared should be of a type that is extremely hard to bear. The one who resorts to taqiyyah should also note that if he has any other option that does not involve committing a haraam action, then he must choose it. He should also note that he should not indulge in the concession to such an extent that it goes beyond the limits of taqiyyah to the level of negligence by committing haraam actions after achieving what is necessary. The basic principle concerning that is what Allah, may He be exalted, said concerning the one who is forced by necessity:
Quran 6:145
“But whosoever is forced by necessity without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, (for him) certainly, your Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful�
Allah, may He be exalted, referred to taqiyyah when He said:
Quran 3:28
“Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Awliya (supporters, helpers, etc.) instead of the believers, and whoever does that will never be helped by Allah in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself (His Punishment)�
Here, Allah warns of His punishment, lest the one who resorts to taqiyyah is tempted to persist in it.
He should also pay attention to his intention, and have the intention that he is only doing something haraam out of necessity, he knows that it is haraam, but he is availing himself of the concession granted by Allah. If he does it, taking the matter lightly and thinking that there is nothing wrong with it, then he will fall into sin.
Furthermore In Islam, taqiyyah is usually used with the disbelievers.
Allah, may He be exalted says:
Quran 3:28
“except if you indeed fear a danger from them�
Ibn Jareer at-Tabari said: The taqiyyah mentioned by Allah in this verse is that which is resorted to in order to protect oneself from the disbelievers, not from anyone else. Hence some of the early generations thought that there is no taqiyyah after Allah caused Islam to prevail.
Mu‘aadh ibn Jabal and Mujaahid said: Taqiyyah was practised during the early days of Islam, before the Muslims grew strong. But now Allah has caused the Muslims to prevail so there is no need for taqiyyah.
But the taqiyyah of the Shia is practised with the Muslims, especially to the extent that they think that the best of eras was the era of taqiyyah, as was stated by their shaykh al-Mufeed.
This may also be noted in the texts that they attribute to the imams, because they regard Ahl as-Sunnah as being worse in disbelief than the Jews and Christians, because the one who rejects the twelve Imams is worse than one who rejects Prophethood.
Hence to sum it up Taqiyyah according to Ahl as-Sunnah is a concession to be used in times of necessity, hence Allah (may He be glorified), exempted it from the principle that prohibits taking the disbelievers as supporters and helpers. But among the Shia taqiyyah is something else altogether. For them it is not a concession, rather it is one of the pillars of their religion, like the prayer or greater.
There is a great difference between taqiyyah in the religion of Allah and taqiyyah in the religion of the Shia. In Islam it is a concession in cases of necessity, but for the Raafidis it is nine-tenths of religion, and the one who has no taqiyyah has no religion, according to them.
Ibn Baabawayh (an Shi‘i scholar) said: Our belief concerning taqiyyah is that it is obligatory, and the one who gives it up is like one who gives up prayer.
End quote from al-I‘tiqaadaat, p. 114
As-Saadiq (one of their Imams) said: If you said that the one who gives up taqiyyah is like the one who gives up prayer, you would be right.
Jaami‘ al-Akhbaar, p. 110; Bahaar al-Anwaar, 75/414, 412
What a great difference there is between the two!
May Allah ta'ala guide you to the truth, Amin
