Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (5/6)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

and the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd, the Sahīh of al-Tirmidhī, and the Sahīh of al-Nasā'ī (1):

“It is narrated from Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—that the words of Allah Most High:

‘Allah only intends to remove impurity from you, O People of the Household, and to purify you completely.’

[Surah al-Ahzāb: 33]

were revealed (2) in her house. She said that she was sitting by the door and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, am I not one of the People of the Household?’ He replied, ‘You are in a good position; you are one of the Prophet’s wives—peace and blessings be upon him.’ (3) She said: Present in the house were the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—(4), Alī, Fātima, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn (5). He covered them with a cloak and said, ‘O Allah, these are the members of my household, so remove impurity from them and purify them completely.’”

The response is as follows:

The virtues of Abū Bakr and Umar established in authentic hadiths are more numerous and greater than those established for Alī. As for this man’s claim concerning the hadiths he cited—that the majority regard them as authentic and transmitted them in their authoritative statements and books—it is one of the most blatant falsehoods uttered against the scholars of the majority. Most of the hadiths he cited are fabricated or weak by consensus of hadith specialists, while those among them that are authentic contain nothing proving Alī’s imamate or his superiority over Abū Bakr

(1) Above the word “al-Nasā'ī” in MS K, the following is written between the lines: “It is as though he came from the women’s quarter, his nisba being to the city of women.” In Wafayāt al-Ayān, 1/60, Ibn Khallikān says of al-Nasā'ī: “His nisba is to Nasā, with both the nūn and the unpointed sīn vocalized with fatha, followed by a hamza. It is a city in Khurāsān.” (2) MSS N, M, A, and W read: “came down.” (3) MS K reads: “the Prophet, the Messenger of Allah.” (4) MSS N and M read: “the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him”; MS K reads: “the Messenger of Allah.” (5) MS K reads: “and al-Husayn—peace be upon them.”

وَسُنَنِ أَبِي دَاوُدَ وَصَحِيحِ التِّرْمِذِيِّ وَصَحِيحِ النَّسَائِيِّ (١) «عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - أَنَّ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: {إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا} [سُورَةُ الْأَحْزَابِ: ٣٣] أُنْزِلَتْ (٢) فِي بَيْتِهَا وَأَنَا جَالِسَةٌ عِنْدَ الْبَابِ فَقُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَلَسْتُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّكِ عَلَى خَيْرٍ إِنَّكِ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. (٣) قَالَتْ: وَفِي الْبَيْتِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - (٤) وَعَلِيٌّ وَفَاطِمَةُ وَالْحَسَنُ وَالْحُسَيْنُ (٥) فَجَلَّلَهُمْ بِكِسَاءٍ وَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ هَؤُلَاءِ أَهْلُ بَيْتِي فَأَذْهِبْ عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْسَ وَطَهِّرْهُمْ تَطْهِيرًا» . وَالْجَوَابُ أَنْ يُقَالَ: إِنَّ الْفَضَائِلَ الثَّابِتَةَ فِي الْأَحَادِيثِ الصَّحِيحَةِ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ أَكْثَرُ وَأَعْظَمُ مِنَ الْفَضَائِلِ الثَّابِتَةِ لِعَلِيٍّ، وَالْأَحَادِيثُ الَّتِي ذَكَرَهَا هَذَا وَذَكَرَ أَنَّهَا فِي الصَّحِيحِ عِنْدَ الْجُمْهُورِ، وَأَنَّهُمْ نَقَلُوهَا فِي الْمُعْتَمَدِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِمْ وَكُتُبِهِمْ هُوَ مِنْ أَبْيَنِ الْكَذِبِ عَلَى عُلَمَاءِ الْجُمْهُورِ ; فَإِنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَحَادِيثَ الَّتِي ذَكَرَهَا، أَكْثَرُهَا كَذِبٌ أَوْ ضَعِيفٌ بِاتِّفَاقِ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِالْحَدِيثِ، وَالصَّحِيحُ الَّذِي فِيهَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى إِمَامَةِ عَلِيٍّ وَلَا عَلَى فَضِيلَتِهِ عَلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ

(١) فَوْقَ كَلِمَةِ النَّسَائِيِّ فِي (ك) بَيْنَ السَّطْرَيْنِ كُتِبَ مَا يَلِي: كَأَنَّهُ مِنْ بُقْعَةِ النَّسَاءِ نِسْبَتُهُ إِلَى بَلَدِ النَّسَاءِ، وَفِي وَفَيَاتِ الْأَعْيَانِ ١/٦٠ يَقُولُ ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ عَنِ النَّسَائِيِّ: وَنِسْبَتُهُ إِلَى نَسَا بِفَتْحِ النُّونِ وَفَتْحِ السِّينِ الْمُهْمَلَةِ وَبَعْدَهَا هَمْزَةٌ، وَهِيَ مَدِينَةٌ بِخُرَاسَانَ. (٢) ن، م، أ، و: نَزَلَتْ. (٣) ك: النَّبِيِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ. (٤) ن، م: النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ك: رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. (٥) ك: وَالْحُسَيْنُ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ.