91 16. ͚ABDULLAH IBN “ABA͛ THE JEW [EDITED] ͚Aďdullah iďŶ “aďa͛ ǁas ĐoŶsideƌed ďLJ “uŶŶi Muslim historians ͞the “piƌitual Fatheƌ of the ‘āfiḍah͟. The teƌŵ rāfiḍah (pl. ƌawāfiḍ lit. ͞ƌejeĐteƌs͟Ϳ ǁas oƌigiŶallLJ giǀeŶ to dissenters, defectors, troops having deserted their leader, the Raǁāfiḍ (Rafidites), a Shi͛ah sect. They are those who reject the legitiŵaĐLJ of the appoiŶtŵeŶt of Aďū Bakƌ, ͚Uŵaƌ, as ǁell as ͚UthŵāŶ as Đaliphs, foƌ theLJ ďelieǀe that ͚Ali had been appointed by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (to replace him after his death. It is said that “aďa͛ ǁas Ŷot the Ŷaŵe of Aďdullah͛s father, ďut the Ŷaŵe fƌoŵ ǁhiĐh he Đaŵe fƌoŵ, “aďa͛ iŶ YeŵeŶ, (probably to hide his identity as a son of a Jew). It is like calling an EgLJptiaŶ ͞the soŶ of the Nile.͟ There is a sūƌah (chapter) in the Quƌ͛āŶ called sūƌat “aďa͛ (Sheba, Q. 34) mentioning the Sabaean people1 . 1 The Sabaean people in Yemen had constructed a dam with very advanced technology called Ma͛ƌiď Daŵ for irrigation. It is said that it was 16 meters high, 60 meters wide and 620 metres long. It could irrigate 9,600 hectares – 5,300 hectares belonged to the southern plain, aŶd the ƌeŵaiŶiŶg ďeloŶged to the ŶoƌtheƌŶ plaiŶ, ƌefeƌƌed to ͞Ma͛ƌiď two plains, and referred to in the Quƌ͛āŶ as ͞tǁo gaƌdeŶs to the ƌight aŶd to the left.͟ Allah asked theŵ to ďe gƌateful to Hiŵ, ďut theLJ tuƌŶed away, so that Allah destroyed their dam with ل ˴ي˸س˴ ˴عر ˸ ال ˸َي ϡ ;͞flood of ͚alArīŵ͟Ϳ. Allah said: ͞Indeed there was the Saďa͛ ;“heďaͿ a sigŶ iŶ theiƌ dwelling place – two gardens on the right hand and on the left; (and it was said to them:) ͞Eat of the provision of your Lord, and be grateful to Hiŵ.͟ A faiƌ laŶd aŶd aŶ Oft-Forgiving Lord! But they turned away (from the obedience of Allah), so We sent against them sayl al-aƌīŵ ;flood released from the dam), and We converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and tamarisks, and some few lote trees. Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in such a way except those who are ungrateful (disbelievers) (Q. 34:15-17). It is possiďle that IďŶ “aďa͛ moved from Yemen to Ḥīƌah iŶ IƌaƋ, as al-Baghdādī and Abū )ahƌah said that he was originally from there.
92 According to the PeƌsiaŶ histoƌiaŶ Mīƌ KhǁaŶd IďŶ “aďa͛ had haƌďoƌed feeliŶgs of hatƌed agaiŶst ͚UthŵāŶ ďeĐause he expected him to welcome him when he entered Madinah, and this did not happen. Then he made contact with those who were hostile to him, resulted with his expulsion from Madinah ďLJ ͚UthŵaŶ. EǀeŶtuallLJ, he ŵoǀed to EgLJpt aŶd ďeĐaŵe oŶe among the troublemakeƌs agaiŶst ͚UthŵāŶ. There are various views concerning the existence and ƌealitLJ of IďŶ “aďa͛ aŵoŶg the ‘aǁāfiḍ ;“hi͛ahͿ. Contemporary ‘aǁāfiḍ ĐoŵpletelLJ ƌejeĐt the edžisteŶĐe of Aďdullah IďŶ “aďa͛ the Yemenite Jew. They claimed that he had been invented by the Umayyads to cover the crimes committed by the Ṣaḥāďah aŶd to ŵake the “hi͛ah ;‘āfiḍhah heretics) looked bad. They said that the edžisteŶĐe of IďŶ “aďa͛ ǁas Ŷaƌƌated ďLJ “aLJf iďŶ Omar al-Tamimi only, a well-known liar according to Sunni scholars themselves. ͚ALJatollah͛ Muƌtaḍā al-͚Askaƌī iŶ his ďook ͚Aďdullah IďŶ “aďa͛ aŶd otheƌ Myths denied his existence. But theƌe aƌe feǁ ƌepoƌts aďout IďŶ “aďa͛ Ŷot tƌaŶsŵitted thƌough “aLJf iďŶ ͚Umar, among them are as follows: 1. YaḥLJā ibn Ḥamzah al-)uďaLJdī iŶ his ṬūƋ al-Ḥaŵāŵah on the authority of Suwayd ibn Ghaflah al-Ju͚fī al-Kūfī ;d. ϴϬ/6ϵϵͿ ǁho said that he eŶteƌed upoŶ ͚Ali r.a. aŶd said: ͞I passed by some men where IďŶ “aďa͛ were talking negatively aďout Aďū Bakƌ aŶd ͚Uŵaƌ saLJiŶg that you [Ali] hold the same feelings towards theŵ.͟ ͚Ali ƌeplied: ͞What does this ǁƌetĐhed ďlaĐk ŵaŶ ;IďŶ “aďa͛͛s ŵotheƌ ǁas EthiopiaŶͿ ǁaŶt fƌoŵ ŵe?͟ TheŶ he said: ͞I seek ƌefuge iŶ Allah iŶ holdiŶg aŶLJthiŶg ďut good ƌespeĐt foƌ theŵ ďoth.͟ TheŶ he sent afteƌ IďŶ “aďa͛ aŶd edžiled hiŵ to al-Madā͛iŶ ;CtesiphoŶ, former capital of the Persian empire), and ascended the pulpit uŶtil the people ǁeƌe gatheƌed, theŶ pƌaised Aďū Bakƌ aŶd ͚Uŵaƌ, theŶ said: ͞If it ƌeaĐhes ŵe that aŶLJoŶe
93 prefers me over them then I shall lash them as done with the slaŶdeƌiŶg liaƌ.͟2 2. The ‘āfiḍah aŵoŶg the “hi͛ah told )aLJd iďŶ ͚Ali iďŶ alḤusayn r.a. (d. 80/122) during his revolution to abandon the loǀe of Aďū Bakƌ aŶd ͚Uŵaƌ. He ƌeplied: ͞TheLJ aƌe the ĐoŵpaŶioŶs of ŵLJ gƌaŶdfatheƌ,͟ aŶd theLJ said to hiŵ: ͞TheŶ ǁe shall turn you away͟, so he said: ͞Go! foƌ LJou aƌe al-‘āfiḍah ;disseŶteƌs, defeĐtoƌsͿ.͟ 3. OŶ the authoƌitLJ of Aďū Muḥammad ibn Ṭāǁūs aŶd Aďū Ya͚lā fƌoŵ Aďū ͚-Qāsiŵ iďŶ Aďī͛l-͚Alā͛ fƌoŵ Aďū Muḥammad ibn Abī Naṣƌ, fƌoŵ KhaLJthaŵah iďŶ “ulaLJŵāŶ, fƌoŵ Aḥmad ibn Zuhayr ibn Ḥaƌď, fƌoŵ ͚Aŵƌ iďŶ MaƌzūƋ, fƌoŵ “hu͚ďah, from Salamah ibn Kuḥayl, from Zayd who said: ͛͞Ali said: ͚What do I haǀe to do ǁith this ǁiĐked ďlaĐk ŵaŶ?!͛ He ŵeaŶt Aďdullah iďŶ “aďa͛ ǁho used to attaĐk Aďū Bkƌ aŶd ͚Uŵaƌ.͟ (This report has a good sanad of trustworthy narrators). 4. ͚Ali tells IďŶ “aďa͛: ͞Woe to you! By Allah he (the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (did not tell me anything that he kept hidden from others, I heard him say that from now until the Hour there will be thirty liaƌs aŶd LJou aƌe oŶe of theŵ.͟ ;“oŵe of its narrators have been criticized, but it has been narrated through several other chains with better narrators). The edžisteŶĐe of IďŶ “aďa͛ the Jeǁ ǁas ƌeĐogŶized aŶd ŵeŶtioŶed iŶ “hi͛ah ďooks, suĐh as folloǁs: 1. The 3rd century Hijrah Shi͚ah sĐholaƌ aŶd authoƌitLJ Aďū Muḥammad al-ḤasaŶ iďŶ Mūsā al-Naǁďakhtī who wrote on the seĐts aŶd ǀieǁpoiŶts of the “hi͚ah. He said: (a) The fiƌst seĐt ;lead ďLJ IďŶ “aďa͛Ϳ that exaggerated (guluww) with ahl al-bayt aŶd ͚Ali ǁas the “aďaite 2 This very same narration has been narrated through different channels ǁith autheŶtiĐ ĐhaiŶs of tƌaŶsŵitteƌs, suĐh as Aďū IsḥāƋ al-Fizāƌī iŶ his al-“īƌah on the authority of Shu͚ďah fƌoŵ “alaŵah iďŶ Kaḥīl fƌoŵ Aďū alZa͚aƌā͛ fƌoŵ )aLJd iďŶ Wahď; the Ŷaƌƌatoƌs are trustworthy.
94 ;“aďa͛iLJLJahͿ seĐt. Ali ǁaŶted to ďuƌŶ hiŵ aliǀe, but iŶstead, he edžpelled hiŵ to Madā͛iŶ (Ctesiphon). (b) He was the fiƌst to ƌeǀile Aďu Bakƌ, ͚Uŵaƌ, ͚Uthman and other Companions, and he would free himself from them (just like the view of Shi͚ah ‘āfiḍah today). He said that ͚Ali r.a. commanded him to do so (just like the Shi͚ah ‘āfiḍah claimed). ͚Ali ǁaŶted to kill hiŵ, ďut due to the protest of the people he expelled him (c)Knowledgeable people aŵoŶg the assoĐiates of ͚Ali said that ͚Abdullah iďŶ “aďa͛ ǁas a Jeǁ ǁho ďeĐaŵe Musliŵ aŶd shoǁed loLJaltLJ to ͚Ali. He ǁas theŶ the fiƌst ǁho propagated the foundation of tashayyu͛ which is rafḍ (rejection of the majority of the ṣaḥāďah, espeĐiallLJ Aďū Bakƌ aŶd ͚UŵaƌͿ, aŶd guluww (exaggeration) with the Ahl al-Bayt and ͚Ali. 2. Aďū ͚Aŵƌ Muḥaŵŵad iďŶ ͚Uŵaƌ (ibn ͚Abd al-͚Azīz) alKishshī (d. 340/951) in Ikhtiyāƌ Ma͚ƌifat al-‘ijāl (known as ‘ijāl KishshīͿ ďLJ Aďū Ja͚faƌ Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Țūsī (d. 400/1009), also adŵits the edžisteŶĐe of IďŶ “aďa͛ and his belief iŶ the diǀiŶitLJ of ͚Ali aŶd the pƌophethood of hiŵself. The fifth “hi͛ah iŵāŵ Aďū ͚Aďdullah Ja͚faƌ al-ṢādiƋ (80- 148/699-765) was reported to have cursed ͚Aďdullah iďŶ “aďa͛ who used to Đlaiŵ ͚Ali to ďe God, whereas ͚Ali himself was an obedient servant of Allah. It was also ƌepoƌted that IďŶ “aďa͛ had said to ͚Ali: "You are Him (i.e., God), and it has been revealed to me that you are God and I am a prophet.͟ So the commander of believers (i.e., Ali) said: "How dare you! Satan has made a mockery of you. Repent for what you have said. May your mother weep at your death! Quit (your claimͿ.͟ But he refused, so he (Ali) imprisoned him and asked him three tiŵes to ƌepeŶt, ďut he didŶ͛t. Thus he ďuƌŶt hiŵ ( i.e., his corpse after killing him) with fire and said: "Satan had taken him into his whim, he used to come to him and to induce these ;thoughtsͿ iŶ hiŵ͟. It is also mentioned that:
95 (a) A group of knowledgeable people (namely, Sunnī scholars) ŵeŶtioŶed that ͚Aďdullah iďn “aďa͛ ǁas a ĐoŶǀeƌted Jeǁ aŶd shoǁed his loLJaltLJ to ͚Ali r.a. (b) As a Jew he used to saLJ that ͚Ali r.a. after the death of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (ǁas like Joshua ;Yūsha͚Ϳ iďŶ NūŶ afteƌ Pƌophet Moses ;MūsāͿ a.s. (c)He was also the first to witness the saying of the obligation of the leadership (iŵāŵahͿ of ͚Ali r.a., aŶŶouŶĐed opeŶlLJ his disaǀoǁal of his ;͚Ali͛sͿ eŶeŵies, and declared them disbelievers. From here those who opposed the “hi͚ah used to say that the foundation of al- ‘āfiḍī ǁas takeŶ fƌoŵ the Jeǁs. 3. Al-MāŵƋāŶī, aŶotheƌ “hi͚ah sĐholaƌ iŶ his TaŶƋīh al-MaƋāl fī ͚Ilŵ al-‘ijāl, admitted that: (a) According to the consensus of the ‘āfiḍī seĐt, all of the ṣaḥāďah iŶĐludiŶg IďŶ “aďa͛ were apostates except three people. (b) IďŶ “aďa͛ ŵaŶifested ghuluww (exaggeration), and Đlaiŵed that ͚Ali was a deitLJ aŶd that he ;IďŶ “aďa͛Ϳ was a pƌophet. EǀeŶtuallLJ ͚Ali ďuƌŶed hiŵ. 4. Ni͚ŵatullāh al-Jazā͛iƌī, aŶotheƌ faŵous “hī͚ī sĐholaƌ iŶ his book al-AŶwāƌ al-Nu͚ŵāŶiyyah (2/234) said that ͚Aďdullah iďŶ “aďa' said to Ali (͚alayhi al- salāŵ), "You are the Worshipped One in truth." So Ali (alayhi ͚l-salām) banished him to al-Madā͛in (Ctesiphon). It was also said that he was a Jew who accepted Islam and whilst upon his Judaism he used to say about Joshua bin Nūn and Moses like ͚Ali and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم .(As Joshua was a waṣī to Pƌophet Moses, so ǁas ͚Ali to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم .( It was also said that ǁheŶ ͚Ali had assuŵed poǁeƌ IďŶ “aďa͛ asĐƌiďed diǀiŶe hoŶouƌ to hiŵ aŶd said to hiŵ Ε˴ ن˸ ˴ ˴Εَ أ ن˸ ˴ أ ͞Thou are Thou͟, aŶd said as reported by al-JuƌjāŶī that the Quƌ͛āŶ, was one part of nine parts of the whole Quƌ͛āŶ, known only by Ali, and theƌefoƌe, ͚Ali ďaŶished hiŵ to alMadā͛iŶ ;CtesiphoŶͿ the former capital of Persian empire.
96 It is tƌue that ŵaŶLJ ĐlassiĐal “hi͚ah sĐholaƌs adŵit the edžisteŶĐe of IďŶ “aďa͛ iŶ histoƌLJ, ǁho pƌopagated “aďaite ;“aďa͛iLJLJahͿ ďeliefs, ďut theLJ ƌejeĐt aŶLJ ĐoŶnection between Tashayyu͚ ;“hi͚isŵͿ aŶd the “aďaite ďeliefs. The ‘āfiḍī “hī͚ah scholar Aďū Ja͚faƌ Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan al-Țūsī ;385-460/995- 1067)3 in his Ikhtiyāƌ Ma͚ƌifat al-‘ijāl called IďŶ “aďa͛ ͞aŶ infidel.͟ He was cursed by the imām, because instead of preaching for the iŵāŵat of ͚Ali he pƌeaĐhed his ;͚Ali͛sͿ diǀiŶitLJ. Hoǁeǀeƌ, tǁo esseŶtial ďasiĐs pƌeaĐhed ďLJ IďŶ “aďa͛ were also ďelieǀed ďLJ the ‘āfiḍī “hi͚ah: ;ϭͿ The ƌeǀileŵeŶt of Aďū Bakƌ, ͛Uŵaƌ, aŶd ͚UthŵāŶ aŶd otheƌ Đompanions where he claimed that he had been ĐoŵŵaŶded ďLJ ͚Ali r.a. to do so. (2) The obligation of leadership (iŵāŵahͿ of ͚Ali aŶd deĐlaƌiŶg the iŶfidelitLJ of his ;͚Ali͛sͿ eŶeŵLJ aŵoŶg the ṣaḥāďah. There are some similarities between the teachings of Ibn “aďa͛ aŶd those of Tǁelǀeƌ “hi ͚ah ‘āfiḍah, as follows: IďŶ “aďa͛ Đlaiŵed the diǀiŶitLJ of ͚Ali, whereas the Shi͚ah Đlaiŵed that ͚Ali had said in his sermon called َ Δيّ ت ˴خΎر ˸ ˵خ ˸ط˴بΔَ ˵اإف˸ ال ͞The boasting Sermon͟ ǁheƌe it was cited and sung in their celebrations of Ḥusayn and in their parties. ͚Ali ǁas allegedlLJ claimed to have over fifty qualities or authorities which had ďeeŶ giǀeŶ to hiŵ ďLJ Allah, as if he ǁas Allah͛s ageŶt iŶ His ˸ي ن˷يΔَ)creation ˴َت ˸كϭ ˴َ˴يΔٌ ϭ(. I shall mention here twenty of them, as follows: (1) I have the key of the unknown (al-ghayb), nobody knows it after the Messenger of Allah except I; (2) I am the one who gives leaves and fruit to trees; (3) I am the one who lets the spring waters pour forth; (4) I am the one who lets the water of the rivers flow; (5) I am the one who brings the dead out of their graves; (6) I am the master of the Day of 3 Al-Țūsī was known as the Shaykh al-Ṭā͛ifah ;͞The Head of the “eĐt͟Ϳ was born in Iran. In his ϭϴ1ص 3ج َرΎاأخب َمن َفيه َفϠاخت َΎفيم َرΎاإستبص he believed in the possibility of practising ŵut͚ah (temporary marriage). He had a chapter where he said that it was possible to marry more than four wives in the ŵut͚ah. His other bookَ ϡΎاأحك َΏذيϬت contained jurisprudence the vast majority of which were attributed to their imāms.
97 Resurrection; (7) I am the one who gives light to the sun, the moon and the stars; (8) I am the one who knows the past and the present; (9) I am the master of solar eclipse and lunar eclipse; (10) I am the master of the planets and the stars;(11) I am the light of the lights; (12) I am the one who has the keys of Paradise; (13) I went beyond Moses at sea and I drowned Pharaoh and his soldiers; (14) I am the one who explores the seven heavens and the seven earths in a split second, instantly ;lit. ͞iŶ the tǁiŶkliŶg of aŶ eLJe͟Ϳ; ;ϭ5) I am the lantern of guidance; (16) I am the key of piety; (17) I am the End and the Beginning; (18) I am the one who sees the deeds of the servants (slaves); (19) I am the one who knows the orbits of rotating celestial bodies (planets and stars); and (20) I am the master of measure and the drops of rains. These stateŵeŶts iŶdiĐate the diǀiŶitLJ of ͚Ali Đlaiŵed ďLJ the extremists among the Shi͚ah followers. The second siŵilaƌitLJ ďetǁeeŶ IďŶ “aďa͛ aŶd the “hi͚ah ‘afidah, is their belief in the apostasy of the majority of the ṣaḥāďah, and the curse at Abu Bakr aŶd ͚Uŵaƌ. Among their statements are as follows: 1. Al-Majlisī iŶ his Biḥāƌ al-AŶwār, vol. 30, p. 145 in a chapter entitled ͞The iŶfidelity of the thƌee peƌsoŶs ;i.e., Aďū Bakƌ, ͚Uŵaƌ, aŶd ͚UthŵāŶͿ, theiƌ hypoĐƌisy, their disgraceful deeds, their shameful traces, and the merit of disclaiming association with them and cursing them͟ he said that the whole ṣaḥāďah (companions of the Prophet) were infidels except three, four, five, six, or seven persons, depending oŶ ǀaƌious ƌepoƌts of the “hi͚ah. In the same volume, p. 381 it is reported that a mawlā (a freed slaǀeͿ of ͚Ali iďŶ al-Ḥusayn asked him aďout Aďū Bakƌ aŶd ͚Uŵaƌ, he aŶsǁeƌed that ďoth of them and anyone who loved them were infidels. Aďū Ḥamzah al-Thuŵālī asked ͚Ali iďŶ al-Ḥusayn about the tǁo peƌsoŶs ;i.e., Aďū Bakƌ aŶd ͚UŵaƌͿ, he ƌeplied: ͞Both aƌe the fiƌst ǁho aĐted tLJƌaŶŶiĐallLJ agaiŶst
98 our right, took our inheritance from us, and sat on the seat we deserved more than they did. May Allah do not forgive them, and do not have mercy on them. Both of them were infidels and anybody who brought them into power. 2. Al-KulaLJŶī iŶ his al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 198 ƌepoƌted that Aďū Ja͚faƌ said: ͞Afteƌ the death of the Pƌophet people ďeĐaŵe apostates except three persons: al- MiƋdād iďŶ al-Aswad, Aďū Dharr al-Gifāƌī, aŶd “alŵāŶ al-Fāƌisī.͟ Dƌ. “alaLJŵāŶ al-͚Aǁdah iŶ his ďook ͚Aďdullah iďŶ “aďa͛ said that he was influenced by Jewish and Christian ideas. WheŶ the Đaŵp of ͚Ā͛ishah, Ṭalḥah and al-Zubayr decided to ŵake peaĐe ǁith ͚Ali who appreciated it, the followers of Ibn “aďa͛ kŶoǁŶ as al-“aďa͛iLJLJah attaĐked ďoth Đamps at night, so that each camp defended itself, and the ͞battle of the Camel͟ took place. Ibn Ḥazm (384-456/994-1064) long ago had said that none of the two camps started the attack, but defended themselves against the attack. This “aďa͛iLJLJah gƌoup ďelieǀed that ͚Ali ǁas also a pƌophet, that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (had concealed nine-teŶth of the Quƌ͛ān, cursing the Ṣaḥāďah, ḥulūl (incarnation), and taŶāsukh (transmigration of souls). (Turner, 1 September, 2017) المراجع: أبϭَعمرَالبΎحث.َمكΎفحΔَالشبΕΎϬَ.فيديϭ العϭدة,َالدكتϭرَسϠيمΎنَبنَفϬد.َعبدَهَبنَسبإَϭَأثرهَفيَاحداثَالفتنΔَفيَصدرَ اإساϡَ.دارَطيبΔَ,ϭ1ϭ1 هـ http://harunyahya.com/en/Articles/3448/the-people-of-sabaand the-arim-flood http://www.saaid.net/bahoth/43.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_ibn_Saba%27 http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/189-abdallah-ibnȚsaďa By: Haƌtwig HiƌsĐhfeld http://islamicweb.com/arabic/Shia/ibn_saba_true.htm https://ar.m.wikipedia.org.wiki سيϭالطَالشيخ