Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (6/457)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

[A Section on the Rāfidī’s Third Argument for Ali’s Imamate—may Allah be pleased with him: The Imam Must Preserve the Revealed Law]

Section

The Rāfidī (1) said:

“The third argument is that the imam must preserve the Revealed Law. Revelation ceased with the death of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and the Book and the Sunnah do not encompass the detailed rulings for all particular cases (2) that will arise until the Day of Resurrection. There must therefore be an imam appointed (3) by Allah Most High and protected from slips and errors (4), lest he omit some rulings or add to them, deliberately or inadvertently. By consensus, no one other than Ali (5) possessed these qualities.”

The answer may be given in several ways:

First: We do not concede that the imam must preserve the Revealed Law. Rather, the Muslim community must preserve it. The Law can be preserved by the community as a whole just as it can by one individual. Indeed, when the Law is transmitted through mass transmission, that is better than its being transmitted by only one person. When every group through whom (6) authoritative proof is established transmits under protection from error (7), the intended purpose is achieved. Moreover, the protection from error enjoyed by the transmitters of a mass-transmitted report in their transmission is, in the judgment of all mankind, greater than the infallibility of anyone (8) who is not a prophet, for Abū Bakr, Umar, and Uthmān

(1) In K: p. 146 (M), p. 147 (M). (2) K reads: “the rulings governing particular cases.” (3) N and B read: “infallible.” (4) K (p. 147 M) reads: “from errors and slips.” (5) K reads: “Alī—peace be upon him.” (6) N and B read: “through it.” (7) N and M read: “transmits some of it”; B reads: “is transmitted with protection from error.” I hope that the reading I have adopted is correct. (8) The word “anyone” is omitted from M.

[فصل كلام الرافضي على الوجه الثالث من وجوه إمامة علي رضي الله عنه يجب أن يكون حافظا للشرع] فَصْلٌ قَالَ الرَّافِضِيُّ (١) : " الثَّالِثُ: أَنَّ الْإِمَامَ يَجِبُ أَنْ يَكُونَ حَافِظًا لِلشَّرْعِ؛ لِانْقِطَاعِ الْوَحْيِ بِمَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - وَقُصُورِ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ عَنْ تَفَاصِيلِ الْأَحْكَامِ الْجُزْئِيَّةِ (٢) الْوَاقِعَةِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَلَا بُدَّ مِنْ إِمَامٍ مَنْصُوبٍ (٣) مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، مَعْصُومٍ مِنَ الزَّلَلِ وَالْخَطَأِ (٤) ، لِئَلَّا يَتْرُكَ بَعْضَ الْأَحْكَامِ، أَوْ يَزِيدَ فِيهَا عَمْدًا أَوْ سَهْوًا. وَغَيْرُ عَلِيٍّ (٥) لَمْ يَكُنْ كَذَلِكَ بِالْإِجْمَاعِ " . وَالْجَوَابُ مِنْ وُجُوهٍ: أَحَدُهَا: أَنَّا لَا نُسَلِّمُ أَنَّهُ يَجِبُ أَنْ يَكُونَ حَافِظًا لِلشَّرْعِ، بَلْ يَجِبُ أَنْ تَكُونَ الْأُمَّةُ حَافِظَةً لِلشَّرْعِ. وَحِفْظُ الشَّرْعِ يَحْصُلُ بِمَجْمُوعِ الْأُمَّةِ كَمَا يَحْصُلُ بِالْوَاحِدِ، بَلِ الشَّرْعُ إِذَا نَقَلَهُ أَهْلُ التَّوَاتُرِ كَانَ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَنْ يَنْقُلَهُ وَاحِدٌ مِنْهُمْ. وَإِذَا كَانَ كُلُّ طَائِفَةٍ تَقُومُ بِهِمْ (٦) الْحُجَّةُ تُنْقَلُ بِعِصْمَةٍ (٧) ، حَصَلَ الْمَقْصُودُ. وَعِصْمَةُ أَهْلِ التَّوَاتُرِ حَصَلَ فِي نَقْلِهِمْ أَعْظَمُ عِنْدَ بَنِي آدَمَ كُلِّهِمْ مِنْ عِصْمَةِ مَنْ (٨) لَيْسَ بِنَبِيٍّ، فَإِنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ

(١) فِي (ك) ص ١٤٦ (م) ، ١٤٧ (م) . (٢) ك: أَحْكَامِ الْجُزْئِيَّاتِ. (٣) ن، ب: مَعْصُومٍ. (٤) ك (ص ١٤٧ م) : مِنَ الْخَطَأِ وَالزَّلَلِ. (٥) ك: عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ. (٦) ن، ب: بِهِ. (٧) ن، م: تَنْقُلُ بَعْضَهُ، ب: يُنْقَلُ بِعِصْمَةٍ، وَلَعَلَّ الصَّوَابَ مَا أَثْبَتُّهُ. (٨) مَنْ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (م) .