Sunan (Practices) of the Prophet and Ahl al-Bayt: Sitting in Salāh

By
Haziq Sheikh
-
An Imam named Abdul Karim Al Zorba leads a small group of Palestinian men in evening prayers in Jerusalem on October 2, 2007. Zorba leads the call to prayer at the Dome of the Rock.

There are three moments during prayer where one is required to put him or herself in a sitting (julūs) position during ṣalāh. The first is the sitting between the two prostrations (al-jalsah bayn al-sajdatayn). The second is the sitting for tashahhud. These two instances of julūs are considered required. The third sitting is after the second prostration in every cycle (rakʿah) without tashahhud. The fuqahāʾ are divided on this issue. Many of them believe that one must – either as a definitive fatwā or as an obligatory precaution – rise up from the prostration and come to a sitting position for a moment before standing up for the next rakʿah, such as Sayyid Sīstānī. Other jurists, such as Sayyid Khūʾī and Shaykh Isḥāq Fayyāḍ, believe that although this sitting, called jalsah al-istirāḥah, is a sunnah (pl. sunan) of the Prophet Muhammad (ṣ), it is not obligatory.

In terms of posture while sitting, there is, in fact, no particular position that is required. You may sit however you like, so long as ʿurf (custom) would say that you are sitting, and it will be considered valid. However, there is a particular way that the Sharīʿah has recommended to sit in accordance with the prophetic sunnah. According to the sunnah, you should sit placing your weight on your left thigh with both legs underneath your thighs and to your right; the top of your right foot will rest on the sole of your left foot. In the ʿurf of Shīʿī fuqahāʾ, this is referred to as jilsah al-tawarruk.

There is a famous ḥadīth reported by a prominent companion of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (ʿa) by the name of Ḥammād b. ʿĪsā. During one of their meetings, the Imam asks Ḥammād if he knows how to perform ṣalāh properly. Ḥammād responds that he has memorized the Book of Ṣalāh by another scholar, Ḥarīz b. ʿAbdallāh.[1]Ḥarīz b. ʿAbdallāh al-Sijistānī was a major scholar and transmitter of ḥadīth contemporary to Imam al-Bāqir and al-Ṣādiq (ʿa) and one of Ḥammād’s main teachers. The Imam tells him to demonstrate and so Ḥammād faces the qiblah and begins his worship. After he is finished the Imam laments, “O Ḥammād! you do not perform ṣalāh properly. How disgraceful it is for a man that he may reach the age of sixty or seventy and he cannot perform a single ṣalāh completely with all its guidelines!”[2]The Imam may have chosen this phrasing to make his statement more general and avoid limiting it to Ḥammād. Ḥammād lived to be a little bit over ninety years old and died in about the year 209 AH. Imam al-Ṣādiq (ʿa) was martyred in about the year 148 AH, so Ḥammād would have been somewhere around his early thirties or younger during this incident.  Ḥammād was embarrassed and so the Imam stood and demonstrated how to perform ṣalāh properly and Ḥammād describes for us the ṣalāh of the Imam with great detail. Now, when the Imam gets to the first julūs, Ḥammād describes:

“Then he raised he raised his head from prostration and when he was sitting upright he said, “Allāh akbar.” He sat on his left side and placed the top of his right foot on the sole of his left foot.”

In another report, Imam al-Bāqir (ʿa) instructs Zurārah, one of his most intimate students:

“When you sit for tashahhud, place your knees on the ground and leave a little bit of space between them. Let the top of your right foot be on your left foot and your posterior on the ground and the ends of your right toes be on the ground.”

It is reported that a man asked Amīr al-Muʾminīn (ʿa) about the position of raising the right foot and lowering the left foot underneath it. The Imam explained that its esoteric explanation is a supplication, “O Allah, make falsehood perish and establish the truth!”

You may have seen this sitting position before from Sunni Muslims. Most of the Sunni legal schools recommend a variant of tawarruk[3]The difference is that Sunni Muslims do not rest their right foot on the sole of their left foot. Rather, they stand their right foot up with their toes pointing towards the qiblah. in at least some julūses.[4]The Mālikī school recommends tawarruk – sometimes referred to as al-ifḍāʾ – in all julūses. The Shāfiʿī school recommends tawarruk in the final tashahhud of all prayers, while the Hanbalī school recommends tawarruk in the final tashahhud of prayers that are three and four rakaʿāt. According to these last two schools, all other julūses should be in the position of iftirāsh.  However, you are also likely to see a different sitting position among them, jilsah al-iftirāsh,[5]The Ḥanafī school recommends all julūses for men be iftirāsh, while for women tawarruk is recommended.  where they sit on their left foot rather than on their left thigh.[6]You can see an image of the Sunni variant of tawarruk and of iftirāsh here.

Jilsah al-Tawarruk is recommended in the sunnah for men.  There is a unique sitting position for women that is unlike that for men. In a ḥadīth from Imam al-Bāqir (ʿa), he describes how she should sit:

“When she sits, she puts her thighs together and raises her knees from the ground.”

So, this would resemble more of what we might call squatting. Shaykh Ḥasan Najafī in his celebrated forty volume commentary of Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, Jawāhir al-Kalām, details this sitting posture. He says:

“As for women, tawarruk is not recommended for them, as per what more than one faqīh has noted. In fact, what is well-known from the fatāwā – so much so that consensus is claimed in al-Ghunyah[7]Ghunyah al-Nuzūʿʿilā ʿIlmay al-Uṣūl wa al-Furūʿ is a multidiscipline work covering theology (kalām), legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh), and statute law (furūʿ al-fiqh) by the jurist Sayyid Ḥamzah b. ʿAlī b. Zuhrah al-Ḥalabī (511 – 585 AH). —is that their julūs is on the posterior while putting their thighs together,raising her knees and legs, and putting both of her feet on the ground.”

Now that we know the mustaḥabb sitting postures for both men and women, you may say that very few people sit like this. Most practicing Shiʿa, male and female, usually sit on top of both their legs and feet, placing one foot over the other. Although sitting like this is valid, it is not mustaḥabb. In the same report where Imam al-Bāqir (ʿa) is teaching Zurārah how to sit for tashahhud, he cautions him:

“Beware of sitting on your feet, as you will be in pain because of that. You will not be sitting on the ground. You will be sitting on yourself, thus not be patient for tashahhud and duʿāʾ.”

Many people are unable to stand for ṣalāh, whether for part of it or all of it, so they perform it seated. Others capable of standing may elect to perform their nāfilah seated. If you do pray seated, then it is recommended, according to Sayyid Sīstānī’s commentary on al-ʿUrwah al-Wuthqā[8]The author of al-ʿUrwah al-Wuthqā, Sayyid Kāẓim Yazdī, says it is recommended to sit with your knees up in front of you, a sitting position called qurfuṣāʾ. However, Sayyid Sīstānī states that what has come in ḥadīth is tarabbuʿ and that it is farfetched that the report intended qurfuṣāʾ. to sit cross-legged, called jilsah al-tarabbuʿ, during the qirāʾah and to fold your legs underneath yourself for rukūʿ. Shaykh Ṣadūq reports a ḥadīth of Imam al-Ṣādiq saying:

“When my father would pray sitting, he would sit cross-legged, and when he did rukūʿ, he would fold his legs underneath [himself].”

The Imams (ʿa) gave importance to these recommended practices, or sunan, so we should strive to incorporate them into our worship as much as is possible. Ḥammād was a major scholar and transmitter of ḥadīth. It is unlikely that when he demonstrated ṣalāh for the Imam, he was conducting it in a way that was invalid. Yet the Imam admonishes him quite strongly. It is also reported that someone came to Imam al-Ṣādiq (ʿa), telling him that he prays in Masjid al-Ḥarām and, due to moisture on the ground, sits on his left foot. The Imam says to him:

“Sit on your posterior, even if you are in mud.”

These recommendations are not meant to put anyone in any sort of ḥaraj (undue difficulty). If one is physically incapable to sit in these postures, it causes them pain, or even if they are in a rush, then it is perfectly fine to sit in some other way. These sunan have not been made obligatory, easing the burden of believers.

To Summarize:

  1. There are normally three instances of sitting in prayer: Between prostrations, before rising for the next rakʿah, and during tashahhud.
  2. There is no obligatory way to sit, as long as you are sitting, it is considered valid.
  3. It is recommended for men to sit in tawarruk and for women to squat with their knees together and raised.
  4. It is not recommended to sit on your feet.
  5. It is recommended to sit cross-legged during qirāʾah and to fold your legs under during rukūʿ if you are performing ṣalāh seated.

 

Notes   [ + ]

1. ⇧ Ḥarīz b. ʿAbdallāh al-Sijistānī was a major scholar and transmitter of ḥadīth contemporary to Imam al-Bāqir and al-Ṣādiq (ʿa) and one of Ḥammād’s main teachers.
2. ⇧ The Imam may have chosen this phrasing to make his statement more general and avoid limiting it to Ḥammād. Ḥammād lived to be a little bit over ninety years old and died in about the year 209 AH. Imam al-Ṣādiq (ʿa) was martyred in about the year 148 AH, so Ḥammād would have been somewhere around his early thirties or younger during this incident.
3. ⇧ The difference is that Sunni Muslims do not rest their right foot on the sole of their left foot. Rather, they stand their right foot up with their toes pointing towards the qiblah.
4. ⇧ The Mālikī school recommends tawarruk – sometimes referred to as al-ifḍāʾ – in all julūses. The Shāfiʿī school recommends tawarruk in the final tashahhud of all prayers, while the Hanbalī school recommends tawarruk in the final tashahhud of prayers that are three and four rakaʿāt. According to these last two schools, all other julūses should be in the position of iftirāsh.
5. ⇧ The Ḥanafī school recommends all julūses for men be iftirāsh, while for women tawarruk is recommended.
6. ⇧ You can see an image of the Sunni variant of tawarruk and of iftirāsh here.
7. ⇧ Ghunyah al-Nuzūʿʿilā ʿIlmay al-Uṣūl wa al-Furūʿ is a multidiscipline work covering theology (kalām), legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh), and statute law (furūʿ al-fiqh) by the jurist Sayyid Ḥamzah b. ʿAlī b. Zuhrah al-Ḥalabī (511 – 585 AH).
8. ⇧ The author of al-ʿUrwah al-Wuthqā, Sayyid Kāẓim Yazdī, says it is recommended to sit with your knees up in front of you, a sitting position called qurfuṣāʾ. However, Sayyid Sīstānī states that what has come in ḥadīth is tarabbuʿ and that it is farfetched that the report intended qurfuṣāʾ.

Interpreting Qurʾanic Stories: An Interview with Sayyid Sulayman Hassan Abidi

By
al-Sidrah
-

“And when your Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a vicegerent in the earth, they said: Will you place therein one who will do harm and will shed blood, while we praise and sanctify You? He said: Surely I know that which you know not. (al-Baqarah: 30)” (46 from :03 – 1:00)

This is how the Qurʾan begins human history on the Earth, a conversation between God and the angels. The Qurʾan is filled with parables and stories of Prophets and past communities, narrated in a very particular style and that can at times be difficult to decipher and understand.

How do we read these stories? Do they describe real events that happened in history? Or, are they allegorical and metaphoric?  And how can we, as modern readers understand and gain insights from these Qurʾanic stories? We sat down recently with Sayyid Sulayman Hassan Abidi, the director of the Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Seminary, to address these questions and more. Listen below, or click here to access the interview from our Hipcast page.

 

Lumʿah and Its Sharḥ: A Fiqh Resource

By
al-Sidrah
-

This is the beginning of an ongoing project targeted in particular towards seminary students studying a standard text of Islamic law known as al-Rawḍah al-Bahiyyah, written by Zayn al-Dīn b. ʿAlī b. Ahmad al-ʿĀmilī (better known as al-Shahīd al-Thānī). Al-Rawḍah is a commentary on the book al-Lumʿah al-Dimishqiyyah by Shams al-Dīn Muhammad b. Makkī al-ʿĀmilī, famously known as al-Shahīd al-Awwal. Often referred to simply as Sharh al-Lumʿah, the book is studied in seminaries at the level of suṭūh (intermediary studies). This  fiqh work has been studied for many generations and has been a standard part of the hawzah’s curriculum. The goal of studying Sharḥ al-Lumʿah is for the student to become familiar with the various books (kutub) and chapters (abwāb) of fiqh and to familiarize themselves with legal language and precedents of past jurists (fuqahā). In addition, the student will further develop his abilities in the Arabic language. This text is famously known for its extreme conciseness and precise wording.

The Present Commentary

The goal of this project is to better situate the study of Sharh Lumʿah in the context of legal reasoning and contemporary rulings. The analyses of  Shahīd Thānī often mentions the disagreements between  jurists, especially those from the era of al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli onward. We hope to bring that discussion forward to the present, at a level appropriate for an intermediate-level hawzah student. Where there is a difference of opinion among jurists, we aim to mention the difference and give a brief understanding of the sources (madārik) of some of the views. Furthermore, we hope to familiarize the student with the Imami intellectual heritage, including:

  • the nuṣūṣ sharʿiyyah (legally relevant texts), especially the ahādīth
  • the names of famous fuqahāʾ and their seminal works
  • brief introductions to relevant discussions not specific to fiqh, such as ʿilm al-hadīth.

The intended audience of this project are students of the seminary or formal Islamic studies; thus the language and writing style may be specialized.

Click here to access the Lumʾah resource.

Lumʾah resource

 

Exemplary Women in the Qurʾan: Part I

By
Ustadha Fatemah Meghji
-

The following is a loose translation of an excerpt from Zan dar Ayīnih-yi Jalāl wa Jamāl [Women in the Mirror of Divine Beauty and Glory], a compilation of lectures by Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli on the status of women in the Islamic tradition. Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli is a student of the renowned exegete, Allamah Muhammad Husayn Tabataba’i (d. 1981), and one of today’s most prominent and influential scholars in Qum. He has authored dozens of books on a wide variety of topics, ranging from jurisprudence to history and tafsir literature. Ayatullah Jawadi’s Qurʾanic hermeneutics, like that of his teacher Allamah Tabataba’i, focuses on using the Qurʾan as the primary source for Qurʾanic exegesis. As will be clear from the following excerpt, he primarily uses the Qurʾan to explain the status of these women in the Islamic tradition, and offers an important contemporary view on the status of women in the Islamic tradition. 

Please note that the original chapter has been condensed for brevity and clarity, along with some rewording and added clarification.

 

Women in the Qurʾan

Whenever Allah senses a dangerous trend in society, He counteracts it in the Qurʾan and reaffirms the divine position. For example, when the Qurʾan was being revealed, tawḥīd itself was in danger, and polytheism rampant. Therefore, numerous verses were revealed in establishing tawḥīd and condemning shirk. Additionally, during the period of revelation, the status and sanctity of women were entirely unprotected. Pushing against this norm, the Qurʾan emphasizes the sanctity of women and declares that she has a share at all levels of existence.[1]Here, the author is alluding to the fact that the Qurʾan establishes that women have both rights and roles differing from what was allocated to her at the time of the revelation of the Qurʾan. For example, her share of inheritance is established and protected, even if it might not be equal to that of a man. In cases where women were ignored, the Qurʾan ensured that she was not neglected and that her rights and share were recognized.  And it explicitly states that men and women are completely equal in their essential humanity.

The Qurʾan also narrates several insightful stories wherein women play a primary role. And when identifying both beautiful and repulsive behavior, it refers to both praiseworthy men and exemplary women.

Qurʾanic Role-Models

In numerous verses of the Qurʾan, Allah identifies the Prophet as a mercy to all the world. These verses include:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ

We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations.

[Sūrah Al-Anbiyāʾ, 21:107]

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ

We did not send you except as a bearer of good news and warner to all mankind

[Sūrah al-Sabaʾ, 34:28]

God also describes the Prophet (s) as a role model—as the best of examples:

لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّـهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ

There is certainly a good exemplar for you in the Apostle of Allah

[Sūrah al-Aḥzāb, 33:21]

 

The first set of verses declare clearly that the Prophet (s) was sent to the entire world, which of course, encompasses both men and women. When taken with the second verse from Sūrah al-Aḥzāb, which describes the Prophet (s) as an exemplar, we see that the “for you” [لكم] in the verse does not exclusively refer to men, even though it uses the masculine pronoun. In fact, although pronouns are gendered in Classical Arabic, the masculine does not necessarily exclude women. Rather, the masculine is often used to be inclusive of women.

The Qurʾan speaks dialogically and conversationally. As such, when someone says, ‘Oh men!’ in Arabic, it does not mean men in contrast to women. Rather, it is an expression that is inclusive of both genders, meaning people in general.  And if the Prophet (s) is—as the Qurʾan says—“a mercy to all of humanity”, and “a warner to all of humanity,” then the Prophet (s) cannot be an example exclusively for men. Rather, he is an example for all: both men and women.

Pious human beings of both genders can be role-models and examples for all people, not just members of their own gender. In the Qurʾan, Allah identifies four examples of women: two good and two bad. These Qurʾanic examples of women, whether good or bad, are not examples exclusively for women; rather, they are female examples. Furthermore, good or bad men are not examples for men; rather, they are male examples. This is an important distinction. In the Qurʾan, exemplary men and women are examples of good human beings, and corrupt men and women are examples of the corrupt.

With this in mind, we will now explore examples of women in the Qurʾan who are truly exemplary—for both men and women.

 

  1. Sarah Converses with Angels

The wife of Ibrahim, khalīl Allāh (the friend of God), known most famously as Sarah, is an exemplary woman who spoke with angels. In addition to Prophet Ibrahim, she also received the angel’s glad tidings and the message from the Divine. As we will soon see, the Qurʾan describes Sarah and Ibrahim’s reception of the glad tidings in exactly the same way:

فَبَشَّرْنَاهُ بِغُلَامٍ حَلِيمٍ

So We gave him the good news of a forbearing son.

[Sūrah al-Ṣāffāt, 37:101]

قَالَ أَبَشَّرْتُمُونِي عَلَىٰ أَن مَّسَّنِيَ الْكِبَرُ فَبِمَ تُبَشِّرُونَ

He said, ‘Do you give me good news though old age has befallen me?

What is the good news that you bring me?’

[Sūrah al-Ḥijr, 15:54]

Note that Prophet Ibrahim’s remarks here were not from distrust [istibʿād], but from amazement and wonder [istiʿjāb]. Here, he says “When I have reached old age, you have come to give me good news? So what is this good news that you bring me?” The angels respond:

قَالُواْ بَشَّرْنَاكَ بِالْحَقّ‏ِ فَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ الْقَانِطِين

“We bring you good news in truth; so do not be among the despondent!”

[Sūrah al-Ḥijr, 15:55]

The angels tell Prophet Ibrahim: Do not despair or lose hope, for the good news that we bring you is true; it is not outlandish and far-fetched.’ The particle “bāʾ” used here in “bi-l-ḥaqq”, means that the words of the angels were figuratively “clothed” in truth .

In response, Ibrahim says:

قَالَ وَمَن يَقْنَطُ مِن رَّحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلَّا الضَّالُّونَ

And who despairs from the Mercy of His Lord except the astray?

[Sūrah al-Ḥijr, 15:56]

Ibrahim is here essentially saying, ‘Not only do I not despair, but despair is antithetical to guidance, and cannot be entertained by Prophets or divine leaders.’ Despair here means thinking or supposing that God is unable to solve a problem—God forbid. This type of despair is a form of disbelief, and it is a sin to fall prey to it, especially for a Prophet.

In the Qurʾan, the same story has been narrated in Surah Hūd. In this surah, we see that Sarah, the wife of Ibrahim, is present and plays an important part in the story. Upon hearing the good news of their child, the following is narrated:

وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِن وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ يَعْقُوبَ

His wife, standing by, laughed as We gave her the good news of [the birth of] Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac.

[Sūrah Hūd, 11:71]

This verse states that when the angels conveyed this message to Ibrahim, Sarah was present, and did ḍiḥk. According to tafsir literature, the verb ḍaḥaka can mean one of two things: either literal elation and joy, or the beginning of one’s menstrual cycle.[2]Here, Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli references Allamah Tabarsī’s Majmāʾ al-Bayān, and Mullah Fayḍ al-Kāshānī’s Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, under verse 71 of Sūrah Hūd.  The verse then states that the angels gave glad tidings of Ishāq [Isaac], followed by Ishāq’s son Yaʿqūb [Jacob] and his descendants.

The conversation that Sarah has with the angels is as follows:

قالَتْ يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَهَـٰذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ ﴿٧٢﴾ قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّـهِ ۖ رَحْمَتُ اللَّـهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ ۚ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَّجِيدٌ ﴿٧٣﴾

She said, ‘Oh, my! Shall I, an old woman, bear [children], and [while] this husband of mine is an old man?! That is indeed an odd thing!’ They said, ‘Are you amazed at Allah’s dispensation? [That is] Allah’s mercy and His blessings upon you, members of the household. Indeed He is all-laudable, all-glorious.’

[Sūrah Hūd, 11:72-73]

  1. The Mother and Sister of Prophet Musa

Many men have found fame through their ability to defend against oppression and through their rage against tyranny. However, in the resistance against the Pharaoh’s oppression, it is the women whose resistance stands out. The Qurʾan discusses three women who protected Prophet Musa and played an important role in raising him.

Prophet Musa, kalīm al-Allāh (the one who spoke to God)[3]In the Islamic tradition, Prophet Musa, known as Moses in the Biblical tradition, is known as kalīm-Allāh, which means the one who spoke to God. This refers to his conversations with the Lord at mount Sīnā. See Qurʾan 4:164, “And to Moses, Allah spoke directly.” , was raised jointly by his mother, his sister, and the wife of Pharaoh (known as Āsiyah in the Islamic tradition)[4]For more on Āsiyah, see Meghji, “A Woman of Paradise: The Rebellious Queen of Pharaoh” in Message of Thaqalayn 17:2 (Summer 2016). . Despite the tyranny of Pharaoh’s rule, these three women put their own lives at risk to protect Prophet Musa.

When describing how the mother of Prophet Musa followed the Divine command to place her child in the river, Allah says:

وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ ۖ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِي وَلَا تَحْزَنِي ۖ إِنَّا رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

We revealed to Moses’ mother, [saying], ‘Nurse him; then, when you fear for him, cast him into the river, and do not fear or grieve, for We will restore him to you and make him one of the apostles.’

[Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:7]

Afterwards, Musa’s mother speaks with his sister, telling her what to do next:

وَقَالَتْ لِأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ ۖ فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَن جُنُبٍ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

She said to his sister, ‘Follow him.’ So she watched him from a distance, while they were not aware.

[Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:11]

Then Āsiyah, the wife of Pharaoh, is quoted as saying:

وَقَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِّي وَلَكَ ۖ لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَىٰ أَن يَنفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

Pharaoh’s wife said [to him], ‘[This infant will be] a [source of] comfort to me and to you. Do not kill him. Maybe he will benefit us, or we will adopt him as a son.’ But they were not aware.

[Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:9]

All three of these women are remembered for their role in facilitating Prophet Musa’s growth, which led to the eventual downfall of the Pharaoh’s tyrannical reign. Clearly, sending the cradle towards the Pharaoh’s palace was not an easy task. Prophet Musa’s mother instructed his sister to follow the cradle until it reached its destination. Once there, she was to note where it landed. And if it landed in the Pharaoh’s palace, she was to suggest Musa’s mother as a wet-nurse:

حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَرَاضِعَ مِن قَبْلُ فَقَالَتْ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ يَكْفُلُونَهُ لَكُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ نَاصِحُونَ

Since before We had forbidden him to be suckled by any nurse. So she said, ‘Shall I show you a household that will take care of him for you and they will be his well-wishers?’

[Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:12]

 

This was also not an easy task: The entire reason that Prophet Musa was in danger was because Pharaoh was killing all the Israelites’ newborn boys. As such, every nursing woman was closely watched in order to see if they had given birth to a son or a daughter. Only women who had new-born children could produce milk, and as such, to recommend and identify someone as a wet-nurse was not mundane. It was a dangerous move, one faced with the possibility of death. This is why, Prophet Musa’s mother had given birth to him in complete secrecy—Pharaoh and his followers were trying to figure out the gender of every child so as to kill the new-born boys:

إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعًا يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَائِفَةً مِّنْهُمْ يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

We relate to you truly some of the account of Moses and Pharaoh for a people who have faith.

[Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:3]

As such, his mother’s instruction to pursue the cradle was precarious. And his sister’s bold recommendation was also a courageous act. Furthermore, Āsiyah’s suggestion to keep the child was not without risk, for she was recommending this to the most blood-thirsty man of the time, a man infamous for the murder of children. And even then, she told him:

وَقَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِّي وَلَكَ ۖ لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَىٰ أَن يَنفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

Pharaoh’s wife said [to him], ‘[This infant will be] a [source of] comfort to me and to you. Do not kill him. Maybe he will benefit us, or we will adopt him as a son.’ But they were not aware.

[Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:9]

Notes   [ + ]

1. ⇧ Here, the author is alluding to the fact that the Qurʾan establishes that women have both rights and roles differing from what was allocated to her at the time of the revelation of the Qurʾan. For example, her share of inheritance is established and protected, even if it might not be equal to that of a man. In cases where women were ignored, the Qurʾan ensured that she was not neglected and that her rights and share were recognized.
2. ⇧ Here, Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli references Allamah Tabarsī’s Majmāʾ al-Bayān, and Mullah Fayḍ al-Kāshānī’s Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, under verse 71 of Sūrah Hūd.
3. ⇧ In the Islamic tradition, Prophet Musa, known as Moses in the Biblical tradition, is known as kalīm-Allāh, which means the one who spoke to God. This refers to his conversations with the Lord at mount Sīnā. See Qurʾan 4:164, “And to Moses, Allah spoke directly.”
4. ⇧ For more on Āsiyah, see Meghji, “A Woman of Paradise: The Rebellious Queen of Pharaoh” in Message of Thaqalayn 17:2 (Summer 2016).

LIFE 2017 – Gate to Prophetic Wisdom: Imam ʿAli & Nahj al-Balāghah

By
al-Sidrah
-

Introduction

Join the Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Seminary July 1st through 8th, for its 3rd Annual intensive course. This year, we will explore Nahj al-Balāghah as a means of understanding the life of the Imam ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (ʿa) and the sacred wisdom he inherited from the Noble Prophet Muhammad (ṣ).

Space is limited, and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. The intensive course is optimized for those who are 18+ years of age. A schedule and scholar’s list will be provided soon. Also, please subscribe to our email list to be informed of upcoming details and confirmed scholars.

Program Overview

This 8-day intensive course will focus on developing a comprehensive understanding of the life and teachings of Imam ʿAli through a focused study of Nahj al-Balāghah, a seminal text comprised of the Imam’s sermons, letters, and aphorisms. Originally compiled by al-Sharīf al-Radī, this work is universally recognized by Muslims to be a profound compilation of wisdom and eloquence.

The curriculum for the intensive program will feature a number of Islamic sciences, such as Philosophy, Theology, Law, Mysticism, and Ethics, explored through the lens of Nahj al-Balāghah. The course will also aim to familiarize students with the contents of the text and the broader concerns regarding Imam ʿAli’s thought and practice.

Tuition & Schedule

We encourage all applicants to participate in the full 8-day course. However, for those who cannot attend the full 8 day duration, we are offering a 4-day schedule. The 4-Day schedule can be optimized for your interest. Contact us for more details.

• Full-8 Day Schedule- $600 USD
• 4-Day Schedule (First-Half or Second-Half) – $400 USD

Course Details

The majority of course instruction will be based upon Nahj al-Balāghah’s text. Class instructors will utilize this text and supplement courses with additional material. The course schedule will be made available to students who apply. A copy of an English translation should be purchased well before the course begins. You can obtain a copy from Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc.

LIFE Discussions & Workshops

Each day will also include round-table discussions with scholars and LIFE participants about themes relevant to contemporary Muslim experiences in the West. Themes, principles, and wisdom from Nahj al-Balāghah will be used to inform and enliven discussions. LIFE 2017 will also feature a series of workshops that will explore practical community building. More information on LIFE Discussions and Workshops will be posted shortly.

Housing Accommodations

We have several trusted, local families ready to house this year’s participants for the duration of the program. We will also have on-site housing available for brothers. However, space is limited and will be given on a first-come first-serve basis. In the event of full capacity, there is an Extended Stay hotel nearby. Please feel free to contact us if you have accommodation questions.

Questions?

For more information or questions please feel free to email intensivestudies@aiseminary.org.

Apply Today

Click here to fill out the application form. All applicants must be 18+ years of age. Deadline to apply is June 10, 2017.

Announcement: New Resources Site

By
al-Sidrah
-

The Sidrah team has launched a new Resources website, dedicated to the study and dissemination of the numerous sciences studied in the Islamic seminary. It is directed both to a general audience, as well as seminarians and specialists. God-willing, the website will include general and specialized glossaries, biographies of noteworthy Islamic personalities, and encyclopedia articles on varying subjects like Arabic, Islamic Law, and Qur’anic studies. It is intended to provide some insight into the work of the seminary, and more importantly, preserve and share the knowledge produced therein.

Currently, we are working on completing a glossary of terms, particularly for the fields of Arabic morphology (ṣarf) and Arabic grammar (naḥw). If you have any suggestions, concerns, corrections, or would like to contribute, please email us. Thank you!

Tadwīn al-Ḥadīth: Introduction and Preliminary Discussions

By
Haziq Sheikh
-

The Circulation and Recording of Hadith: Section 1

The following is a lightly-edited selection from baḥth al-khārij (advanced jurisprudence) lectures of Sayyid Aḥmad Madadī, a respected jurist and student of Sayyid Abū l-Qāsim al-Khūʾī and SayyidʿAlī al-Sīstānī. He resides and teaches in the holy city of Qom.

This series of lectures deals with the history of the writing and circulation of hadith (tadwīn al-ḥadīth) in the Muslim world, as a precursor to his main discussion on taʿāruḍ al-adillah (dealing with the resolution of conflicting religious evidence). Sayyid Madadī did not intend this section of the lessons to be a detailed historical lecture. Rather, he intended to convey his own conclusions on tadwīn al-ḥadīth, and to prepare his students to understand his chosen method(s) for resolving taʿāruḍ al-adillah. As such, they can serve as a good starting place for further research into the history of Shiʿi hadith studies and as a survey of the discussions therein.

Introduction: TheʿUlamāʾ and their Transmitted Legacy

Shia and Sunniʿulamāʾ approach the sources of Islamic teachings in different ways, albeit with some overlap. Hadith discussions and research in the Sunni world, even from the very earliest of stages in their intellectual development, have revolved around a baḥth rijālī (narrator analysis). For example, Abū Ḥanīfah would accept mursal reports, while al-Shāfiʿī would not. It is even said that theʿulamāʾ used to act upon mursal reports until the time of al-Shāfiʿī, who rejected these reports as non-authoritative.[1]The acceptance of marāsīl (“detached”), traditions in which the contiguity of the narrators is not maintained, is a matter of dispute among Sunni jurists. The marasīl of tābiʿūn (“Successors,” i.e. the generation following the Companions) were accepted by Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik b. Anas, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, and others. They were rejected by al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, and the rest of Ahl al-Ḥadīth as a general rule. See: Majd al-Dīn Abū Sa‛ādāt al-Mubārak b. Muhammad Ibn al-Athīr, Jāmiʿ al-Uṣūl Fī Aḥādīth al-Rasūl, Vol. 1 (Irbid: Maktabah Dār al-Bayān, 1969), 117-119.

This is in contrast to the qudamāʾ (earlier scholars) of the Imami Shiʿa, who in their hadith-analysis originally focused on books and sources, engaging in what can be called baḥth fihristī (catalogue analysis). This does not mean they were not engaged in other forms of research. The Shia are indeed distinguished in having engaged both in baḥth fihristī, baḥth rijālī, and baḥth riwāʾī. However, the primary concern of the Shiʿi jurists and scholars of hadith was not the individual narrators. There is a clear distinction here between analyzing a text with regard to the individual narrators in the isnād (chain of narrators), as opposed to analyzing it through its written source and origin.

There are two tiers of discussions with regard to our riwāyāt. The first pertains to fahāris (catalogs of authors, singl. fihrist), where we examine the books of the companions and jurists and the ṭuruq (chains of authorities, singl. ṭarīqah) of their respective works. The second regards the narrations in our hadith compilations, such as al-Kutub al-Arbaʿah. For example, often Shaykh al-Kulaynī will present us with the following chain of narrators:

ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm, from his father, from al-Nawfalī, from al-Sakūnī

With the repetition of this chain and with reference to the fihrist-texts, it becomes clear that the original source of this narration is the book of al-Sakūnī, a companion of Imam Ṣādiq (ʿa).[2]Al-Sakūni is the narrator’s nisbah (tribal affiliation). His name is Ismāʿīl b. Abū Ziyād; his father’s name was Muslim. Shaykh al-Ṭūsī mentions that al-Sakūnī was anʿāmmī (non-Shiʿi) but that the jurists of the sect (ṭāʾifah) acted on his reports. All of the chains of authorities (ṭuruq, singl. ṭarīqah) mentioned in the catalog of authors (fihrist, pl. fahāris) for the book(s) and riwāyāt of al-Sakūnī coalesce back to the same Ibrāhīm b. Hāshim mentioned in al-Kulaynī’s isnād. See: al-Sayyid Abū al-Qāsim al-Khūʾī, Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth, vol. 4, 1st ed. (Najaf: Maktabah al-Tawzīʿ), 21-25 and 98-99.

The Akhbārīʿulamāʾ–mostly for polemical purposes–were among the most adamant in distinguishing between the meaning of the term “ṣaḥīḥ” (sound) per the ancient scholars (qudamāʾ) and its meaning according to the later scholars (mutaʾakhkhirīn)[3]At the forefront of this polemic, arguing in favor of this distinction was Mullā Muḥammad Amīn al-Astarʾābādī in his famous al-Fawāʾid al-Madaniyyah, where he contrasts the isnād-rijāl analysis of the later scholars for the sound hadith with any report of certain provenance from the maʿṣūm, regardless of its isnād, as the intent of the term among the qudamāʾ. See: Muḥammad Amīn al-Astarʾābādī and al-Sayyid Nūr al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī, al-Fawāʾid al-Madaniyyah wa bi dhaylih al-Shawāhid al-Makkiyyah, 2nd ed. (Qom: Muʾassasah al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1426/2005), 109-113. . Among the Shiʿa, the main agent of this switch from a baḥth fihristī to a complete and total baḥth rijālī isʿAllāmah Ḥillī.

For example, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (r) mentions a narration fromʿAlī b. Jaʿfar, the youngest son of al-Ṣādiq (ʿa) famous for his collection of masāʾil from his brother Imam al-Kāẓim (ʿa), about how to purify a vessel a pig has drunk from:

Shaykh Mufīd reported to us from Abū al-Qāsim Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad, from Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb, from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā, from al-ʿAmrakī b.ʿAlī, fromʿAlī b. Jaʿfar, from his brother, Mūsā b. Jaʿfar (ʿa). He (ʿAlī b. Jaʿfar) said: I asked him (al-Kāẓim) about a pig that has drunk from a vessel. What is done with it? He said, “It is washed seven times.”[4]Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1390/1970), 261, hadith 47-760

Both al-Kulaynī and al-Ḥimyarī–the author of Qurb al-Isnād–before him possessed the Masāʾil ofʿAlī b. Jaʿfar. Later, a different manuscript also reached al-Majlisī. However, this narration does not appear in any of these texts or manuscripts. In addition to this, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī himself does not produce a fatwa corresponding to this narration in any of his legal texts, nor does anyone after him give a fatwa according to it. The first jurist to rule based on this narration is Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, who lived about two centuries after al-Ṭūsī, and his fatwa is only based on recommendation (istiḥbāb). The first to rule that it is obligatory to do so isʿAllāmah al-Ḥillī, because he understood this report to be sound per its chain of transmission. The fact that no extant manuscript ofʿAlī b. Jaʿfar’s work today contains this narration could mean one of two things:

1. Shaykh al-Ṭūsī made a mistake. For example, this report was a gloss in the margins of a manuscript of the Masāʾil, and he ascribed it to the text itself mistakenly.
2. This report was in al-Ṭūsī’s manuscript–meaning it is a mistake in the reporting of the text–and, therefore, has since been added to the original text.

If our primary focus for this report was rijālī, then our attention would be given to the individual narrators in the isnād. Thus, because we see that this report, as it appears in Shaykh al-Ṭūsī’s Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, has reached us through a reliable isnād–that is, it is contiguous and from trustworthy narrators–it will be considered valid evidence in the derivation of law. However, if we pay attention to the original source of this narration–in other words, the hadith text it was originally sourced in–then our focus will be on the various manuscripts of that text, the text’s status/reception among the jurists and scholars of hadith, the different chains of authority mentioned in the fahāris, and so on.

Although the above hadith reported by al-Ṭūsī does not have any problems in its isnād, issues do surface when it is compared to the content utilized by other, earlier jurists from the various copies ofʿAlī b. Jaʿfar’s Masāʾil that were in circulation. Additionally, there is no fatwa in accordance with this particular report prior to the second half of the seventh century A.H. Thus, the sound isnād is insufficient evidence to establish the Imam as the source of the report. Conversely, if we have an isnād that may contain an unknown (majhūl) or even weak narrator, this apparent defect may be considered irrelevant due to the fame/renown of the original source for the hadith and the uniformity of source manuscripts that the jurists had access to.

In any case[5]For more insight into Sayyid Madadī’s ideas on baḥth fihristī see: Kāẓim Khalaf, “Manāhij al-Ijtihād wa Ṭarāʾiq al-Muhaddithīn ḥiwār maʿa al-Sayyid Aḥmad al-Madadī,” Markaz al-Buḥūth al-Muʿāṣirah fī Bayrūt, November 19, 2016, nosos.net/مناهج-الاجتهاد-وطرائق-المحدّثين. , it is necessary to fully grasp these discussions when learning how to deal with conflicting evidence, which is necessary to become a jurist. To do that, one must understand the intellectual legacy of the ancient scholars, which, in turn, requires us to understand the history of tadwīn (circulation) and writing of hadith. This discussion begins with looking at the history of Sunni hadith.

The Hadith and the Sunnah

As an introduction to this discussion, it is important to understand the distinction between sunna, hadith, and taḥdīth, terms often conflated by researchers. Taḥdīth is, very simply, the oral transmission of hadith. The sunnah (pl. sunan) of the Prophet (ṣ) is his legislation (tashrīʿ). For example, Allah mandated the five daily prayers, each originally two rakʿahs. Then the Prophet (ṣ) added two more rakʿahs to each, except Maghrib, to which he added just one rakʿah. The original two rakʿahs are from God’s legislation–the farḍ–while the obligatory additional rakʿahs are prophetic legislation through the legislative authority (wilāyah tashrīʿiyyah) delegated to him–that is, sunnah.[6]Muhammad b. Yaʿqūb al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1 (Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1429/2008), 662-665, hadith 4-697

Another example is God’s forbidding the consumption of wine specifically and the Prophet (ṣ) then expanding that to the prohibition of all intoxicants.[7]Ibid. The phrasing for this in the hadith is the following: ḥarrama Allāhu –ʿazza wa jalla– al-khamra bi-ʿaynihā wa ḥarrama rasūlullāhi–ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-ālihi–al-muskira min kulli sharābin. There is also the famous tradition instructing when the prayer is not to be repeated, referred to as the hadith of Lā Tuʿād (lit. “will not be repeated”) by theʿulamāʾ, narrated by Zurārah where Imam Bāqir (ʿa) mentions that the qirāʾah and tashahhud in ṣalāh are sunan and the sunnah does not overrule the farīḍah.[8]Muḥammad b.ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn ibn Bābuwayh al-Qummī, al-Khiṣāl (Qom: Markaz al-Manshurāt al-Islāmiyyah, 1403/1982), 284-285, hadith 35 Related is the following narration from al-Ṭūsī’s abridgment of al-Kashshī’s Maʿrifah al-Rijāl:

[Narrated] from Ḥamdwayh, from Muḥammad b.ʿĪsā, from Muḥammad b. AbūʿUmayr, fromʿUmar b. Udhaynah, from Zurārah.

He said: Ḥumrān and I were sitting with Imam al-Ṣādiq (ʿa), and Ḥumrān said to him, “What do you think about the view of Zurārah that I disagree with?” The Imam said, “What issue is that?” Ḥumrān said, “He claims that [establishing] the times of prayer was delegated to the Prophet (ṣ) and he was the one who established them.” The Imam replied, “And what do you think?” “I believe Jabrāʾīl (ʿa) came to him on the first day with the first prayer time, and on the second day with the latter prayer time. Then Jabrāʾīl said, ‘O Muḥammad, whatever is between them is a time.’” Then the Imam said, “O Ḥumrān, Zurārah is saying Jabrāʾīl only came in an advisory capacity to the Prophet (ṣ). Zurārah is correct. Allah delegated that to the Prophet (ṣ). He established it and Jabrāʾīl indicated [approval].”[9]Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Ikhtiyār Maʿrifah al-Rijāl al-maʿrūf bi-Rijāl al-Kashshī, 1st ed. (Qom: Muʾassasah al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1427/2006), 132, hadith 20-227.

Aḥadīth are more general than the sunan. They encompass characteristics and attributes of the Prophet (ṣ), his mannerisms and appearance, how he would conduct himself in battle, historical information about him, sīrah, how he would eat and drink, and so on. On the other hand, sunan speak particularly about his legislations. This distinction between sunan and aḥādīth seems to have been present among the Ṣahābāh. It can also be inferred from the report of IbnʿAbbās, when the Khawārij seceded from Amīr al-Muʾminīn (ʿa) and he said, “Do not debate them with the Qurʾan as it has many possible meanings. Rather dispute with them using the sunnah.”[10]Jalāl al-DīnʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. al-Kamāl al-Suyūṭī, Mafātīh al-Jannah fī al-Iḥtijāj bi al-Sunnah, vol. 1, 3rd ed. (Medina: Dār al-Nashr al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah, 1399/1979), 59.

Arabic as Written Text

The prevailing opinion among the Sunniʿulamāʾ is that the Prophet (ṣ) forbade the writing of his hadith. Some said it is permissible to write down the hadith for memorization. But after one has memorized it, he must efface it. However, prior to diving into the discussion of the circulation and writing of hadith, it would be beneficial to understand some of the background behind writing and script in the Muslim world.

Prior to the advent of Islam, there was no standard script among the people of Mecca. Some writing may have existed in the Musnad script, a Yemeni script that resembles cuneiform (mismārī). An Iraqi named Bishr, the brother of a famous Arab king, Ukayd, learned the Ḥīrī script that would later be called the Kufan script. Ḥīrah was an ancient city that functioned as the capital city of the Lakhmid Empire. It was also close to the city of Madāʾin, which was at that point a major Persian city.

At the time, there were two main scripts extant in Iraq, the Suryānī (Syriac) script–an entirely clerical language–(the Bible was written in this script) and the Nabaṭī (Nabatean) script, which was used by the general population. The Ḥīrī script that Bishr learned was the Suryānī script that he taught to several Meccans after he migrated, marrying the sister of Abū Sufyān. Among those he taught were Abū Sufyān himself, Muʿāwiyah,ʿUmar, and Ṭalḥah.[11]It is apparent that Sayyid Madadī bases his narrative of the development and movement of Arabic script on historical sources. Other researchers, through paleographic study, believe that Arabic script was developed from Nabṭī rather than Suryānī. See: Dr. Ṣalāh al-Dīn al-Munjid, Tārīkh al-Khaṭṭ al-ʿArabī, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Jadīd, 1982), 12-19. This script, along with some development of the Nabaṭī script, survived until about the 4th-century after the Hijra–around 310 to 315 AH. It was the Abbasid vizier, Ibn Muqlah, a man renowned for his calligraphy, who then took elements from both the Kufan and Nabaṭī script and created the Naskh script used today.

After the Naskh script became the new standard, there was a long process of rewriting texts that were previously written in the Kufan script. The Kufan script had unique characteristics, such as the lack of diacritical markings and niqāt (dots), as well as the lack of an alif in the middle of words, which is why certain words in the Qurʾan such as Ismāʿīl are written: إسمـعيل, without the alif in the middle. Indeed, many scribal errors (taṣḥīf) in texts can be attributed to this confusion of the script and the conversion to the new script.

We can say with certainty that the Qurʾan was written during the Meccan period of the prophetic mission in the Kufan script. The evidence also suggests that nothing called the sunna or the hadith of the Prophet (ṣ) was circulated during this time. In fact, very few sunan were revealed then. For example, as we mentioned previously, the obligatory ṣalawāt were each originally two rak‛ahs. However, they were devoid of any particular order or organization. The Muslims would pray in the morning, at noon, etc. without any set and obligatory boundaries of time, until the fifth year after the start of the prophetic mission. Then the following verse was revealed:

أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ ۖ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

Establish ṣalāh at the sun’s decline until the darkness of the night and [establish] the recitation of dawn. Verily the dawn recital is witnessed.[12]Qurʾan, al-Isrāʾ:78

These are two preliminary discussions useful in understanding the history of writing and circulating hadith. Next, we will discuss the origins of the permissibility of writing hadith, along with the views of Sunniʿulamāʾ regarding it.

Notes   [ + ]

1. ⇧ The acceptance of marāsīl (“detached”), traditions in which the contiguity of the narrators is not maintained, is a matter of dispute among Sunni jurists. The marasīl of tābiʿūn (“Successors,” i.e. the generation following the Companions) were accepted by Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik b. Anas, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, and others. They were rejected by al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, and the rest of Ahl al-Ḥadīth as a general rule. See: Majd al-Dīn Abū Sa‛ādāt al-Mubārak b. Muhammad Ibn al-Athīr, Jāmiʿ al-Uṣūl Fī Aḥādīth al-Rasūl, Vol. 1 (Irbid: Maktabah Dār al-Bayān, 1969), 117-119.
2. ⇧ Al-Sakūni is the narrator’s nisbah (tribal affiliation). His name is Ismāʿīl b. Abū Ziyād; his father’s name was Muslim. Shaykh al-Ṭūsī mentions that al-Sakūnī was anʿāmmī (non-Shiʿi) but that the jurists of the sect (ṭāʾifah) acted on his reports. All of the chains of authorities (ṭuruq, singl. ṭarīqah) mentioned in the catalog of authors (fihrist, pl. fahāris) for the book(s) and riwāyāt of al-Sakūnī coalesce back to the same Ibrāhīm b. Hāshim mentioned in al-Kulaynī’s isnād. See: al-Sayyid Abū al-Qāsim al-Khūʾī, Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth, vol. 4, 1st ed. (Najaf: Maktabah al-Tawzīʿ), 21-25 and 98-99.
3. ⇧ At the forefront of this polemic, arguing in favor of this distinction was Mullā Muḥammad Amīn al-Astarʾābādī in his famous al-Fawāʾid al-Madaniyyah, where he contrasts the isnād-rijāl analysis of the later scholars for the sound hadith with any report of certain provenance from the maʿṣūm, regardless of its isnād, as the intent of the term among the qudamāʾ. See: Muḥammad Amīn al-Astarʾābādī and al-Sayyid Nūr al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī, al-Fawāʾid al-Madaniyyah wa bi dhaylih al-Shawāhid al-Makkiyyah, 2nd ed. (Qom: Muʾassasah al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1426/2005), 109-113.
4. ⇧ Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1390/1970), 261, hadith 47-760
5. ⇧ For more insight into Sayyid Madadī’s ideas on baḥth fihristī see: Kāẓim Khalaf, “Manāhij al-Ijtihād wa Ṭarāʾiq al-Muhaddithīn ḥiwār maʿa al-Sayyid Aḥmad al-Madadī,” Markaz al-Buḥūth al-Muʿāṣirah fī Bayrūt, November 19, 2016, nosos.net/مناهج-الاجتهاد-وطرائق-المحدّثين.
6. ⇧ Muhammad b. Yaʿqūb al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1 (Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1429/2008), 662-665, hadith 4-697
7. ⇧ Ibid. The phrasing for this in the hadith is the following: ḥarrama Allāhu –ʿazza wa jalla– al-khamra bi-ʿaynihā wa ḥarrama rasūlullāhi–ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-ālihi–al-muskira min kulli sharābin.
8. ⇧ Muḥammad b.ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn ibn Bābuwayh al-Qummī, al-Khiṣāl (Qom: Markaz al-Manshurāt al-Islāmiyyah, 1403/1982), 284-285, hadith 35
9. ⇧ Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Ikhtiyār Maʿrifah al-Rijāl al-maʿrūf bi-Rijāl al-Kashshī, 1st ed. (Qom: Muʾassasah al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1427/2006), 132, hadith 20-227.
10. ⇧ Jalāl al-DīnʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. al-Kamāl al-Suyūṭī, Mafātīh al-Jannah fī al-Iḥtijāj bi al-Sunnah, vol. 1, 3rd ed. (Medina: Dār al-Nashr al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah, 1399/1979), 59.
11. ⇧ It is apparent that Sayyid Madadī bases his narrative of the development and movement of Arabic script on historical sources. Other researchers, through paleographic study, believe that Arabic script was developed from Nabṭī rather than Suryānī. See: Dr. Ṣalāh al-Dīn al-Munjid, Tārīkh al-Khaṭṭ al-ʿArabī, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Jadīd, 1982), 12-19.
12. ⇧ Qurʾan, al-Isrāʾ:78

Who was Imam ʿAli? – Sunni Islam, Theological Boundaries, and Imam ʿAlī: An Interview with Professor Nebil Husayn

By
al-Sidrah
-
www.salamstock.com

Early Islam was rife with a vast spectrum of beliefs, many of which were coupled with vehement, even violent disputes. Indeed, when we read about its early history, Islam seems to have been very different from how we think about it today. And Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib was a focal point for many of these various disputes. How did early Muslims view Imam Ali? What are the various factors that led to or were affected by the views of these early Muslims? And how are the views of early Muslims relevant to us today?

We sat down with Professor Nebil Husayn at the 2015 Muslim Group Conference in Chicago, Il, to gain insights into some of these questions, and to ponder how to approach Islamic history. His dissertation at Princeton University, entitled, “The Memory of Ali ibn Abi Talib in the Early Sunni Community,” was on the issue of Pro-ʿAlid perspectives, Anti-ʿAlid sentiment, and the imprints of early Muslim thought on Sunni Islam. Professor Husayn now teaches Islamic Studies at the University of Miami.

Click here to listen to the interview.

ʿIyādat al-Marīḍ, or “The Etiquette of Visiting the Sick” in Hadith-Narrations

By
Sayyid Sameer Ali
-

ʿIyādat al-marīḍ, or “visiting the sick,” is an important Islamic moral commandment. It is the right of a Muslim, who is ill and bedridden, for other Muslims to make an effort to visit him and provide comfort. This right exists because the Muslim community consists of members bound by faith, devotion, and commitment to each other’s well-being. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ urges the Muslims to fulfill this commandment, stating:

A Muslim has five rights upon his fellow Muslim: that he should greet him when they meet, answer him when called, visit him when he is sick, accompany his bier when he dies, and love for him what he loves for himself.[1]

This narration highlights the mutual devotion that exists between members of the Muslim community, including visiting each other when one member of the community falls ill. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to inquire about his companions if one of them was absent from the congregation for more than three days, and the Messenger would visit him if he was sick.[2]

Often, our conception of illness or sickness is related to being bedridden or even terminally ill. This is, of course, false. The hadith literature does not indicate that the commandment to visit a sick Muslim applies only when he or she is terminally ill. Rather it encourages Muslims to visit each other when a person might be bedridden or absent from the physical congregation of the Muslim community. For our purposes, these illnesses may include the common cold, the flu, or any other condition which prevents a Muslim from being physically present in the masjid or the community center.

The social and spiritual rewards for visiting the sick are tremendous. It strengthens the mutual bonds between community members, provides space for displaying devotion and commitment to the faith, and offers Muslims an opportunity to remember God. Visiting the sick is compared to visiting Allah Himself. A narration from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ states that on the Day of Judgment, Allah will address his servant and say:

“O my servant! I was sick and you did not visit me!” The servant will reply: “O Allah! How could I have visited you in your sickness? You are the Lord of the realms!” God will reply: “Did you not realize that my servant, so-and-so, was ill, and you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you had visited him you would have found Me with him?”[3]

This tradition is indeed exceptional. It places the sick person in the direct company of God, and compares the company of the sick person to the presence of God. It also provides the Muslim an opportunity to directly visit Allah by visiting the sick person. The paradigm is unique and differs from the common perception of a visit: the visitor becomes the one seeking God and benefiting from His company, while the sick person as the host is the one near whose bedside Allah is found for all those who choose to visit Him. Like a masjid, the sick person is temporarily turned into a Divine space, a sacred presence, and one who provides others with the opportunity to visit God.

The sick person also has the opportunity to gain rewards from God. He or she is to act in a dignified manner, avoid complaining about his or her medical condition, and be content with what Allah has decreed for him. A narration in al-Kāfī states:

Whoever is sick for three days and does not complain to his visitors, his flesh and blood will be replaced with something better.[4]  

Avoiding complaining about a sickness with which Allah has decided to test a believer is an opportunity to show strength, fortitude, and patience. The sick person’s physical state will be improved, and his or her body will be bettered, if he or she can remain patient in the face of sickness, which may include pain, discomfort, and disability.

The hadith–narrations also mention a particular etiquette for visiting the sick, a propriety that should exist between the visitor and the sick person. Here, we will examine a few of these prescribed behaviors: First, the visit should be kept short (takhfīf al-julūs). A short visit ensures that the sick person has sufficient time for rest, and the visitor is not intruding on the path toward recovery. It also creates an opportunity for a short, but meaningful, conversation between the visitor and the sick person; a visit of limited duration must create and find meaning during the social exchange. A hadith attributed to Imam ʿAlī ibn abī Ṭālib (ʿa) specifically stipulates a brief visit.[5]

The second etiquette is for the visitor to abandon any expectation of being hosted and treated as a guest in the house of the sick believer. A visitor cannot expect the usual exchange of food, snacks, or even a meal that usually accompanies a social visit. The visitor should bear in mind the physical, and possibly financial, constraints the illness has placed upon the person being visited. This also creates an opportunity for members of the Muslim community to exchange something that is intangible, immaterial, and beyond the usual constraints of social interaction. They exchange comfort and presence; the sick person offers his or her own presence as a gift to the visitor.[6] The third etiquette is for the visitor to bring gifts to the sick person. A narration states that a sick person should not be visited empty-handed; small gifts such as apples, quinces, pears, or perfumes should be taken by the visitor to the sick person.[7] These gifts fulfill the expectations of the sick person that God is providing for them through the visitor, increasing the sick person’s sense of comfort and relief.

The fourth etiquette is showing empathy for the condition of the patient. This behavior qualifies any discussions of death, sickness, and suffering, and tempers it with kindness, gentleness, and emotional and spiritual presence. It assures the visitors that they are present and care for their fellow believers at times of illness, creating an expectation of reciprocity and general awareness. It also provides the sick person with comfort and relief. A report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ states:

When you visit a sick person, remove his or her anxiety about dying, as this might provide relief to the Soul.[8]

Such behavior certainly acts to reduce anxiety, decrease discomfort, and improve some of the feelings the sick person may be experiencing.

The fifth, and perhaps final display of akhlāq, is performing a prayer for the sick person. This provides the visitor with the opportunity to pray and seek the fulfillment of their desires in close proximity to God’s presence. The visitor is invited to supplicate to God for the healing of the sick person as well as for his or her own personal needs. A narration in Biḥār al-Anwār mentions a particular duʿāʾ for the sick from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

O Allah! Heal him (the sick person) with your healing, cure him with your medicine, and save him from your affliction!

This supplication reveals that the entirety of the sick person’s experience originates in God’s will and is aimed—as far as we can determine—at bringing the sick person and his visitor in closer proximity to Allah. The illness and its cure, the malady and its medicine, and the affliction and its abatement emerge from God and return back to Him. Illness presents a cumulative and total experience in the Muslim community which reveals one of the manifestations of the verse:

Say, All is from Allah. What is the matter with these people that they hardly understand any tiding?[9]

At the moment of supplication, the sick believer’s prayers are also answered, and he or she is invited to pray for the visitors, their families, and the community in general.

As is apparent from a brief examination of these verses, visiting the sick members of the Muslim community is a duty for all believers, contains great opportunities for spiritual connection and growth, and is a moment of supplication and devotion to the Divine Presence. The encounter between the sick person and his or her visitor calls for a particular etiquette, which eschews superficial manners of behavior and social expectation; it provides a spiritual space and enriches certain metaphysical realities which the Muslim community should be aware of.

 

[1] Abul-Qāsim Pāyanda, Nahj al-Fasaha (Tehran: Sāziman-i Intishārāt-i Jāwidān, 1992), 634.

[2] Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Ṭabātabāʾī, Sunan al-Nabi: A Collection of Narrations on the Conduct and Customs of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (Kitchener, Ont: Islamic Publishing House, 2007), 27.

[3] Pāyanda, Abul-Qāsim, Nahj al-Faṣāhah, 311.

[4] Usūl al-Kāfī, vol.3, p.115, h1.

[5] Ibid, vol. 3, p.118, h6.

[6] Al-Muḥaddith al-Nūrī, Mustadrak al-Wasāʾil, vol. 2 (Qum: Muʾassasah Āl al-Bayt l-Ihya al-Turāth), 154.

[7] Uṣūl al-Kāfī, vol.3, p.118, h3.

[8] Al-Karājikī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Kanz al-Fawāʾid, vol. 1 (Qum: Intishārāt Dār al-Dhakāʾir), 379.

[9] Quran, 4:78 (Arberry translation).

Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Seminary Reading-List

By
al-Sidrah
-

Over the past fifteen years, members of the Shīʿī community have embarked on a large project of digitizing English-language articles and books on Islamic topics from Shīʿī authors. Various websites and Dropbox links provide web-based reading opportunities, PDF downloads, and e-Book offerings. In addition, academia has taken a stronger interest in Islamic Studies in general, and Shīʿī studies in particular; this has led to new publications by academic presses, as well an increase in works published for the general reader. But with this progress has also come the consternation of many seekers and readers as they fail to effectively wade through the mire of hundreds of texts whose topics range from refutations of Orientalist history to detailed discussions on Shīʿī philosophy of law.

This small project will organize a list of texts into useable categories as a basic reference for individuals who would like to find a text in a given field. The list will not be exhaustive; rather, we hope to provide the reader with specifically insightful or important texts—though this does not amount to an endorsement, as some of the foundational texts in a given field may have gaps or disagreeable content. This should eliminate some of the confusion and frustration that occurs when searching for a work on a particular topic.  We hope that this will offer a rough curriculum for interested readers and give them a sense of the breadth of the available works in English.

At the outset, our list will remain small and dedicated primarily to introductory books to Islamic doctrine and practice in general. The list will be composed, primarily, of texts written by Muslim scholars in general and Shīʿī scholars in particular, but will also include relevant texts and articles written by others. We hope that this resource will build over time—both in terms of the number of texts represented and the categories into which they fit.

Our list will be organized by the last name of the author or editor, with the title thereafter. Occasionally, for translated works, authors names are transliterated differently due to different standards. For consistency’s sake, we have used the transliteration we have found to be most common; the reader ought to bear in mind that searching for a work in translation by a particular author may require searching various spellings of the author’s name; for example, “Murtaza Mutahhari” may sometimes be seen as “Murtada” or “Murtaẓa” or “Murtadha.” Translator names will be omitted unless it is relevant due to multiplicity of translations. Occasionally a text may fall into multiple categories and will be listed as such.

 

Introduction to Islam and/or Shīʿī Islam

  • Bahonar, Jawad and Beheshti, Muhammad Husayni – Philosophy of Islam
  • Chirri, Mohamad Jawad – Inquiries about Islam
  • Chittick, William and Murata, Sachiko – The Vision of Islam
  • Haider, Najam – Shīʿī Islam: An Introduction
  • Kashif al-Ghita, Muhammad Husayn – The Shi’ah: Origin and Faith
  • Lari, Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi – Lessons in Islamic Doctrine (4 Volumes – 1 – God and His Attributes 2 – The Seal of the Prophets and his Message 3 – Resurrection, Judgement, and the Hereafter 4 – Imamate and Leadership)
  • Mudhaffar, Muhammad Ridha – The Faith of the Imamiyyah Shi’ah
  • Mutahhari, Murtaza – Fundamentals of Islamic Thought: God, Man, and the Universe
  • Mutahhari, Murtaza – Goal of Life
  • Nasr, Seyyed Hossein – The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity
  • Rahman, Fazlur – Islam
  • Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad – An Introduction to Islam
  • Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad – Islam: Faith, Practice, and History
  • Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad – Shīʿism: Imāmate and Wilāyat
  • al-Sadr, Muhammad Baqir – Shi’ism: The Natural Product of Islam
  • Shomali, Mohammad Ali – Discovering Shi’i Islam
  • Tabatabaʾi, ʿAllamah Muhammad Husayn – Islamic Teachings: An Overview
  • Tabatabaʾi, ʿAllamah Muhammad Husayn – Shi’ite Islam
1234...6Page 3 of 6
© Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Seminary - All Rights Reserved