A Closer Look at Naghul Balagha

8/14/2019 A Closer Look at Naghul Balagha

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A Closer Look atNahj Al-Balagha A Restatement of some Facts



Table of Contents

▫ The Qur'an - how sufficient is it?

▫ The Basis of Ali's Argument for the Caliphate

▫ Characteristics of an Imam

▫

Who are Included in the 'Ahlul-Bayt'?

▫ Ali's relationship with others- Ali (r) and the Companions of the Prophet (s)- Ali (r) and Umar (r)- Ali (r) and the Practice of Lanat (Cursing)

▫ Ali (r) and Verse 3:7 (Do the Imams have Knowledge of theAmbiguous Verses of the Qur'an?)

▫ Ali (r) and the Importance of being with the MainBody of Muslims

▫ An Ending Comment



The Qur'an - how sufficient is it?

Typically, the Shia scholars assert that Islam is incomplete without theAhlul-Bayt, and that the Qur'an itself does not serve as an independantsource of knowledge without the Imams acting as divine interpretors ofthe Islamic Law. This is the basis of the Shia faith, and the maindifference between it and mainstream Islam.The first conflict between Nahj Al-Balagha and Shiism starts with thevery first Sermon. For the sake of argument, we are going to assume, likethe Shia scholars, that Nahj Al-Balagha indeed consists of Ali's words.Near the end of the Sermon, Ali (r) states:

. .

Then Allah chose for Muhammad (s) to meet Him, selected him for His ownnearness, regarded him too dignified to remain in this world and decided to removehim from this place of trial. So He drew him towards Himself with honour.But the Prophet (s) left among you the same which other Prophet (s) left among



their peoples, because Prophet (s) do not leave them untended without a clear pathand a standing ensign, namely the Book of your Creator with you clarifying its

permission and prohibitions, its obligations and discretion, its repealing

injunctions and the repealed ones, its permissible matters and compulsory ones, its particulars and the general ones, its lessons and illustrations, its long and theshort ones, its clear and obscure ones, detailing its abbreviations and clarifying itsobscurities.In it there are some verses whose knowledge is obligatory and otherswhose ignorance by the people is permissible. It also contains what appears to beobligatory according to the Book but its repeal is signified by the Prophet's (s)sunnah or that which appears compulsory according to the Prophet's (s) action

but the Book allows not following it.

It is clear that Ali (r) does not include the Ahlul-Bayt among therepositories the Prophet (s) left behind. Rather, the only twofundamental sources of jurisdiction are clearly stated as the Qur'an andthe Prophetic Sunnah.

When Ali (r) was fatally wounded by Ibn Muljam, he reminded thepeople of the two things the Muslims should never forsake, found in the149th Sermon:

:

As for my last will, it is that concerning Allah, do not believe in a partner for Him, and concerning Muhammad (s), do not disregard his Sunnah. Keep thesetwo pillars and burn these two lamps.



It is ironic that Shias quote some Sunni ahadith mentioning theThaqalayn, while many are not even aware of this statement of Ali (r)found in Nahj Al-Balagha in which he clearly reminds people of Tawhid

and the Sunnah in his last will. Shouldn't he be reminding the people ofthe rights and role of the Ahlul-Bayt?

Now, the following quote from Sermon 133 shows that unlike Shias, Ali(r) did not consider the Imams to be the medium through which oneunderstands the Qur'an. Rather, he makes it abundantly clear that theQur'an is itself clear and the medium through which one understands

everything.

The Book of Allah is among you. It speaks and its tongue does not falter. It is ahouse whose pillars do not fall down, and a power whose supporters are never routed.

An important observation should be made here. Shias criticize andcondemn Umar (r) for saying that the Qur'an is sufficient for guidanceafter the Prophet's (s) demise. It is ironic that in Sermon 176, Ali (r) statesthe very same:

: .



And know that this Qur'an is an adviser who never deceives, a leader who never misleads and a narrator who never speaks a lie. No one will sit beside this Qur'anbut that when he rises he will achieve one addition or one diminution - addition in

his guidance or elimination in his (spiritual) blindness. You should also knowthat no one will need anything after the Qur'an and no one will be free fromwant before the Qur'an.

One of the side-effects of Shias' extraordinary emphasis on the Ahlul-Bayt is that the Qur'an is undermined in the process. But the afore-mentioned quote from the Sermon makes it abundantly clear that the

Qur'an is the ultimately independent source of guidance, and the Ahlul-Bayt do not have any exclusive privilege in understanding its message.

One of the bases of the argument for Imamate presented by Shias is theassumption that Allah can never leave the earth devoid of a divinerepresentative - be it a Prophet or an Imam, and that this had been thecase since Adam's (a) time. Let us see what Sermon 91 states:

;

Even when He made Adam (a) die He did not leave them without one who wouldserve among them as proof for His Godhead, and serve as the link between themand His knowledge, but He provided to them the proofs through His chosen

Messengers (a) and bearers of the trust of His Message, age after age tillthe process came to end with our Prophet Muhammad (s) and His pleas andwarnings reached finality.



This portion of the Sermon makes it abundantly clear that the hujjiyah(divine representation) of Allah ended with the Prophet (s) and was notto be continued by any divine medium between Allah and humanity.

Perhaps a good ending to this section would be this quote from Sermon147, in which Ali (r) describes those who have been misguided:

The people will have united on division and will therefore have cut away from thecommunity, as though they were the Imams of the Qur'an and not the Qur'antheir Imam.

O Allah! Save us from becoming those who try to interpret the Qur'an

based on their own whims.



The Basis of Ali's Argument for the Caliphate

An important point we must keep in mind is that Shias firmly insist thatthe Prophet (s) explicitly appointed Ali (r) as his successor at GhadirKhum. What is interesting is that nowhere in Nahj Al-Balagha does Ali(r) use this 'explicit appointment' as one of his argument for attaining thecaliphate. In fact, not once does the term 'Ghadir Khum' occur in theentire Nahj Al-Balagha. So did Ali (r) indeed think that he was appointedfor the caliphate?In Sermon 162, Ali (r) uses the following reason to claim his right to thecaliphate:

As regards the oppression against us in this matter although we were the highest asregards descent and the strongest in relationship with the Messenger (s) of Allah.

This quote from the Sermon shows that the reason Ali (r) presents for hisclaim to the caliphate is his closeness to the Prophet (s) by blood.However, he uses the term 'we' which refers to the Banu Hashim ingeneral, and not Ali (r) specifically.

Thus Ali's claim is not "because I was appointed by the Prophet (s)", rather the

Sermon shows that it was because of closeness by blood enjoyed by thewhole clan of Banu Hashim.



Moreover, the same Nahj Al-Balagha quotes Ali (r) in Sermon 205 assaying:

By Allah, I had no liking for the caliphate nor any interest in government ,but you yourselves invited me to it and prepared me for it.

Can a divinely-appointed guide ever express distaste for what has been

ordained for him by the Almighty Himself?

A reminder should be presented here that the default Shia reason forbelieving in Ali's right to the caliphate is because the Prophet (s)allegedly appointed him as his successor at Ghadir Khum.On the other hand, Nahj al-Balagha seems to indicate that Ali's reason forbelieving in his superior right to the caliphate was because of his deep

understanding of the Sunnah and his closeness to the Prophet (s), and henever brings forth any argument that indicates that the Prophet (s) hadappointed him as his successor.

It is also worth noting that just like Ali, none of the other companionsunderstood the event of Ghadir Khum as indicative of Ali's succession todive guidance after the Prophet (s). Thus, it is not the occurrence of the

event that is doubted, rather the Shia understanding of the event.

Letter 6 of Nahj Al-Balagha is possibly the most conflicting with Shiadoctrine. It discusses the role of Shura in the process of electing theImam. According to this letter, Ali (r) said:



.

Verily, those who took the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr (r), Umar (r) andUthman (r) have sworn allegiance to me based on the same principles. Those who

were present at the election haveno right to go back against their oaths of allegiance and those who were not present on the occasion have no right to opposeit. And verily Shura (consultation) is for the Muhajirs and Ansars, sowhomsoever they selected, became caliph as per approval and pleasure of Allah . If somebody went against such decision, then he should be persuaded toadopt the course followed by others, and if he refuses to fall in line with others,then war is the only course left open to be adopted against him and if he refuses to

follow the course followed by the Muslims, Allah will let him wander in thewilderness of his ignorance and schism.

Anyone with an unbiased mind will grasp the clear message beingconveyed in this letter. Shias usually argue that in this letter Ali (r) wasin fact using Muawiya's argument against his own self, and thusmentioned the Shura not as something valid but as something thatMuawiya should feel himself bound to.

One of the indications of the defect of this argument is the deliberatemistranslation of most translations of this letter. Why did Shia translatorsfeel need to do so? Is their understanding to be used as the premise to



understand Ali's words, or should Ali's words be understood based onwhat he himself said?

Moreover, it should be noted that Ali (r) never objects to the idea ofShura itself in Nahj Al-Balagha. The most vicious attack by Ali (r) of theShura is in the Sermon of Shiqshiqiyah (if we are to assume they areindeed his own words), and even in this Sermon he does not attack theconcept of Shura, rather he criticizes how it was conducted.And yet, he complied with the decisions of the Shura and fully assisted inthe governance of the first three caliphs!

Can one sincerely say, after reading this letter without any bias, that Ali(r) was against the concept of Shura? We leave it up to the reader todecide.



Characteristics of an Imam

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O people. the most rightful of all persons for this matter (namely the caliphate) ishe who is most competent among them to maintain it, and he who knows best

Allah's commands about it. If any mischief is created by a mischief-monger, he

will be called upon to repent. If he refuses. he will be fought.

In this excerpt from the Sermon entitled "On the Eligibility for theCaliphate", we come across a very important point, and that is: the rightto the succession depends on the person's knowledge of the Law andnot his appointment by the Prophet (s).

The description of the Caliph is what would be expected by andacceptable to any rational mind, and nowhere does it mention that one ofthe prerequisites is appointment by an infallible predecessor.

We shall now turn our attention to a phrase that is promoted much byShias, and that is 'Ulil-Amr' (those charged with authority), found in thefollowing verse of the Qur'an (4:59):



O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged withauthority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger , if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is

best, and most suitable for final determination.

While Shias emphasize the fact that the Qur'an orders us to obey the'Ulil-Amr' believing it refers to the infallible Imams, they fail to ponderon the second part of the verse. That is, in the case of disagreements, oneis ordered to refer to Allah and His Messenger (s) and not the Ulil-Amr.One would expect that had the Shia interpretation of the verse been true,

then after the demise of the Prophet (s) the Muslims would have beenordered to refer to the Ulil-Amr. But that is not the case.Let us see what Nahj Al-Balagha (letter 53) has to say about the issue:

:)

( :

: .

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When you are faced with problems which you cannot solve or with a difficultsituation from which you cannot escape or when uncertain and doubtfulcircumstances confuse and perplex you, then turn to Allah and the Holy

Prophet (s) because Allah has thus ordered those whom He wants to guide . The way to turn to Allah is to act diligently according to the clear andexplicit orders given in His Holy Book and to the turn to the Holy Prophet (s)means to followhis Sunnah which has been generally accepted to becorrectly recorded .So far as dispensing of justice is concerned, you have to be very careful in selectingofficers for the same. You must select people of excellent character and high calibre

and with meritorious records. They must possess the following qualifications: Abundance of litigations and complexity of cases should not make them lose their temper. When they realize that they have committed a mistake in judgement they should not insist on it by trying to justify it. When truth ismade clear to them or when the right path opens up before them, they should notconsider it below their dignity to correct the mistake made or to undo the wrongdone by them. They should not be corrupt, covetous or greedy. They should not be

satisfied with ordinary enquiry or scrutiny of a case, but should scrupulously gothrough all the pros and cons, they must examine every aspect of the problemcarefully, and whenever and wherever they find doubtful and ambiguous points,they must stop, go through further details, clear the points, and only then proceedwith their decisions. They must attach the greatest importance to reasoning,arguments and proofs. They should not get tired of lengthy discussions andarguments. They must exhibit patience and perseverance in scanning the details,

in testing the points presented as true, in sifting facts from fiction and when truthis revealed to them they must pass their judgements without fear, favour or

prejudice. They should not develop vanity and conceit when compliments and praises are showered upon them. They should not be mislead by flattery andcajolery. But unfortunately they are few persons having such characteristics.





Who are Included in the 'Ahlul-Bayt'?

Shias often quote Sunni ahadith in praise of the Ahlul-Bayt but shun thepart of the narrations that explain who the Ahlul-Bayt consists of. Themainstream Muslims assert that it includes not only Ali (r) and hisoffspring, but also his brothers Jafar and Aqil, and the Prophet's (s) uncleAbbas, and their offspring. So in general the narrations refer to the clanof Banu Hashim.On the other hand, Shias assert that the Ahlul-Bayt includes the Prophet(s), his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and the 9 Imams from theirprogeny.

What is surprising is that this definition is not only historicallyinaccurate, but there is not one authentic narration that can be tracedback to the Prophet (s) or the Imams that gives this definition!

Let us see how the Nahj Al-Balagha defines the Ahlul-Bayt in Letter 9:

While it was the practice of the Holy Prophet (s) that whenever a battle waswaged and some people fled, he sent his Ahlul-Bayt (members of his household) to

fight out the battle to protect his companions. These members of Bani Hashim often fought single handed and some even met martyrdom as for instance,Ubayda bin Harith was killed in the Battle of Badr, Hamza bin Abdul



Muttalib in Uhud and Ja'far bin Abu Talib in the Battle of Mu'tah.It is clear without a shred of doubt that, in Ali's mind, the Ahlul-Baytwas a term that denoted those that belonged to the Prophet's (s) clan,

namely the Banu Hashim.This happens to be precisely mainstream Islam's understanding as well!

Let us now bring up one more time Sermon 162, in which Ali (r) uses thefollowing reason to claim his right to the caliphate:

As regards the oppression against us in this matter although we were the highest asregards descent and the strongest in relationship with the Messenger (s) of Allah.

Thus, the potential candidates - if the candidacy were to be restricted tothe Ahlul-Bayt - would also include Abdullah bin Abbas and Abdullahbin Jafar, the two nephews of Ali, as well all the other great members of

the clan of Banu Hashim.This of course is far from the later Shia understanding of the matter.





What a beautiful description, and how to close to the Qur'anicdescription of the Companions of the Prophet (s) found in the verse48:29.

This is quite a sharp contrast to the general belief held by Shias about theCompanions of the Prophet (s), many of whom believe the majority ofthe Companions became apostates after the Prophet's (s) demise.

Ali (r) and Umar (r)We now direct our attention to a very interesting piece of advice,recorded in Sermon 146, in which Ali (r) is advising the Caliph Umar (r):

.

: . !

In this matter, victory of defeat is not dependent on the smallness or greatness of forces. It is Allah's religion which He has raised above all faiths, and His army which He has mobilised and extended, till it has reached the point where it standsnow, and has arrived its present positions. We hold a promise from Allah, and Hewill fulfil His promise and support His army.



The position of the head of government is that of the thread for beads, as itconnects them and keeps them together. If the thread is broken, they will disperseand be lost, and will never come together again. The Arabs today, even though

small in number are big because of Islam and strong because of unity. You should remain like the axis for them , and rotate the mill (of government) with (thehelp of) the Arabs, and be their root.

This sounds like sound and sincere advice on the part of Ali (r). We seethat not only does he acknowledge Umar's (r) army (consisting of theCompanions of the Prophet) as Allah's army, but he also refers to Umar

as the thread of a string of beads and the axis of a mill.

It is interesting to read the Shia commentaries for this particular Sermon,and they are quite useful. They are not useful in that they provide anaccurate explanation - rather, they are useful because they show thatUmar is to be criticized no matter what, and even this sound piece ofadvice is turned into an attack on Umar!

With that said, let us now quickly move on to another interestingstatement of Ali (r) found in Sermon 228:

!

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May Allah reward such and such man who straightened the curve, cured thedisease, abandoned mischief and established the sunnah. He departed (from this



world) with untarnished clothes and little shortcomings. He achieved good (of thisworld) and remained safe from its evils. He offered Allah's obedience and fearedHim as He deserved. He went away and left the people in dividing ways wherein

the misled cannot obtain guidance and the guided cannot attain certainty.

Who is Ali (r) referring to? The Shia commentaries state that it was acompanion of Ali, most probably Malik Al-Ashtar. However, a closerlook at an alternative source for this Sermon (Tabari 3:285) shows thatthis man was none other than Umar (r)!Moreover, Ibn Abil-Hadid the commentator of Nahj Al-Balagha mentions

that he had the author's (Syed Radi) original hand-written copy of NahjAl-Balagha in which it says 'Umar' instead of 'such and such man' .

It is also perhaps worth mentioning that the narrations of Ali's praise forUmar are not uncommon, and are found in the Sahihs of Bukhari andMuslim, as well as the various books of History.





Ali (r) and Verse 3:7 - Do the Imams have Knowledgeof the Ambiguous Verses of the Qur'an?

Shia scholars read the verse 3:7 such that the meaning understood from itis that Allah as well as the Rasikhun fil-Ilm (those firmly-grounded inknowledge) know the interpretation of the ambiguous verse. Let us seewhat Sermon 91 has to say about the Verse:

Know that those firmly-ground in knowledge are those who refrain fromopening the curtains that lie against the unknown, and their acknowledgement of

ignorance about the details of the hidden unknown prevents them from further probe. Allah praises them for their admission that they are unable to getknowledge not allowed to them.

How different a picture from the one painted by Shias! While Shiasbelieve that Ali (r) - being from those firmly-grounded in knowledge -knew the interpretations of the ambiguous verses, Ali (r) himself clearly

states that the firmly-grounded in knowledge do not know theinterpretation of such verses!



Ali (r) and the Importance of being with the Main Body of Muslims

In this last section, we will look at a Sermon directed at those whodissent from the main body of Muslims. This happened to be theKhawarij when the Sermon was uttered, and today it includes Shias,Qadiyanis, and other splinter sects.

Sermon 127 states:

:

! .

With regard to me, two categories of people will be ruined, namelyhe who lovesme too much and the love takes him away from rightfulness, and he who hates metoo much and the hatred takes him away from rightfulness. The best man withregard to me is he who is on themiddle course . So be with him and be with the great majority (of Muslims) because Allah's Hand (of protection) is with themajority. You should beware of division because the one isolated from the group is(a prey) to Satan just as the one isolated from the flock of sheep is (a prey) to thewolf.



This Sermon raises many important points, including:

1) the warning that those who hate or love him too much are from

those who went astray,2) the clear statement that the best path is the middle course,3) the fact that the middle course is the great majority of Muslims,4) the assurance Allah's Hand is with the majority,5) the advice to not isolate into factions.

Shias should stop and think how many of these key points they do not

abide by. It is quite likely that, aside from hating Ali, they commit everyother mistake Ali (r) warned against!



An Ending Comment

As pointed out more than once, we assumed for the sake of argumentthat the entire Nahj Al-Balagha is authentic as believed by Shia scholars.However, in reality no mainstream Muslim can believe that since thebook not only has internal contradictions but also presents an image ofAli (r) that is contradicted by the authentic accounts of his personality.While mainstream Muslims believe that Ali (r) was from the most God-fearing, pious, brave and patient of men, Nahj Al-Balagha at timesdepicts him as a lonely and moody man who complains much about themishaps that befall him, and always complains about the lack of help andsupport. Such are not the characteristics of the true believers, and thuswe flatly reject these false notions.One of the things that should be clear from this small booklet is thatthere are some fundamental doctrines in Shiism that were completelyunknown to the Ali (r) seen in Nahj Al-Balagha. Ali (r) understood therole of the Qur'an differently from how Shias do. Ali's understanding ofthe role of Caliphate and the characteristics of the Caliph were starklydifferent from the Shia understanding. His understanding of the term'Ahlul-Bayt' was different from that of Shias, and he did not believe inthe fabrications that extremists attribute to the Imams. Finally, it is clearthat to Ali, it is of the utmost importance that Muslims focus on unity andstick to the majority - believing in the well-known Sunnah and being

wary of splitting off into splinter sects.

O Allah! Make us from the followers of the true teachings which Ali (r)and the Imams from his progeny stood for, which was none other thanthe Sunnah of the Prophet (s).

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A Closer Look at Naghul Balagha