Ithna-e-Ashriyya and Sabai's Belief

A details discussion of sabaism and its founder Abdullah bin Saba' has filled some of the preceding pages of this book. But I deeply realize that the matter needs further discussion and more detailed treatment as it is a crucial matter and has great relevance for the contemporary Muslims. The beliefs propagated and practiced by these people need a dispassionate revaluation. They were strictly condemned and disowned by Hadhrat Ali and his pious progeny. But their resistance finally caved in and these views permeated the very structure of Shiaism to the point that Sabaism became synonymous with Shiaism. It is an established fact, though, that Hadhrat Ali and his children remained immune to the stigma of Sabaism due mainly to the integrity of their faith and the immaculacy of their character.
The need for revaluation is motivated largely by religious compulsions. Our faith does not believe in compromises and alliances based on half truths or sheer hypocrisy. Therefore it is in the interest of the integrity of our faith that the water of lies and fibs should be separated from the milk of truth and purity. The shell of ugly lies should be cracked as soon as it is formed, otherwise it might find prolonged shelter under the warm fluff of a clucky hen and hatch an entire brood of grotesque lies. But even now it is not too late to mend the damage and it is my utmost desire to place things in their true perspective and to take the hump out of the perverse reasoning of the shias. The shia lie must be exposed as otherwise it can misguide an entire community. Enough damage has already been done either through conniving silence or sheer lack of courage to call a spade a spade. But religious issues, especially when they happen to be of such a vital nature, should not be taken lightly or tinkered with like a toy or a mechanical contraption. It is a serious issue and needs to be dealt with seriously. It is my desire to establish the true identity of the shias, especially those who preen themselves as the followers of ithna ashriyyah. These Shias call themselves moderate but their moderation is only a façade to disguise their real posture of immoderacy and fanatic extremism. The innocent people are easily impressed by their posture of balance and equipoise and fall prey to their manipulated sincerity. The fact is that all these are wolfish tricks to seduce the gullible lambs, and to ultimately devour them once they fall into the trap. They are actually the descendants of those who were not only misguided themselves but who led astray others as well. They are the recipients of the heritage of the Sabais which is based on a shameful and dastardly violation of the fundemental Islamic tenents preached and spread by the Prophet (peace be upon him) which had been revealed to him through Gabriel's instrumentality and bore the divine impress. These people replaced divine injunctions by self-prompted fabrications in order to create a rift among the Muslims and dismantle the unity of Islamic faith.

But, it must be stressed, retaliation is not my objective. I hold no personal grudge against the Shias and I don't like to be unfair to them either. I only believe in the dispensation of justice and in the rectification of mistakes, especially when the mistakes are of such gigantic proportions. I shall not add anything of my own but try to judge the Shia convictions in the light of their own statements and observations to lend objectivity to my conclusions. My purpose is purely sclentific and theirfore I will shed as much of the rhetoric as is possible, keeping in view our linguistic constraints. I shall not impute to them any statement which they have not uttered themselves, and I shall not make them account for any thing that is not found in their own literature. By the grace of God, objectivity is my modus operandi which I try to uphold even under the most tempting circumstances which might liquidate my neutrality and provoke my passions.

I shall not rely here on textual reproduction but offer only condensed abstracts and resumes of the views of shia scholars and experts in support of my contention. Since the views were originated and disseminated by Abdllah bin Saba' , a detailed analysis of Sabaism and the beliefs it introjected into early Shiaism will be presented without the slightest distortion. These views will subsequently be compared with the views held by the Shias of ithna Ashriyyah to identify compatibilities or incompatibilities of faith between Sabaism and Shiaism. I would like to make the following initial submission in this connexion to serve as a prologue to the main body of discussion that follows:

1. The Jews exploited the name of Islam and laid the foundations of Sabaism by launching secret organizations under the supervision of Abdullah bin Saba

2. They publicly expressed their love and friendship of Hadhrat Ali and his children, openly proclaimed their faith in them and wangled their way into Hadhrat Ali's party.

3. They were jealous of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and disaffiliated themselves from the first three orthodox caliphs, Hadhrat Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. They openly lambasted them and accused them of blasphemy and apostasy.

4. They instigated the people against Hadhrat Uthman. They levelled baseless allegations against him to spread rift and disunity among the Muslims. They also ridiculed the Muslim rulers and soldiers who had performed deeds of valour on and off the battlefield and contributed to the rapid propagation of Islamic faith.

5. They disseminated Jewish, Christian and Zoroastrian beliefs which did not have even the remotest link with the teaching of Islam. These beliefs had neither been mentioned in Holy Quran nor had they surfaced in the Prophetic way of life, for example, rule by succession indicated in the will, innocence, concepts of return, elimination of death, kingdom of the earth, transfusion of soul, unity, identity between divine and creature attributes, continuation of Prophethood after the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as of revelation. These are absolutely unrelated to Islamic teachings.

These Sabai views are extracted from the statements made by the Shias and their Imams. They invited the people to embrace these beliefs. The details have been ennumerated in the second chapter of the book. Here I shall try to keep my presentation as condensed as possible.




1. The secret organizations functioning under the supervision of Abdullah bin Saba need no elaboration as they have been mentioned not only by sunni scholars but also by the Shia scholars. They were founded mainly to create dissension among the Muslims.

2. The Shias have over - flaunted their love of Hadhrat Ali and his children. Most of it is hog wash as it is based on fake sentiments. There is hardly a streak or stripe of genuine emotion in it. But outwardly they make a great show of it. For them the love of Hadhrat Ali and his children is the main pillar of their faith; it carries the highest priority on their scale of religious values to eclipse all other values. The Quran and the Sunnah have secondary significance in their eyes : they furnish only adventitious sources of their faith. The primary source of faith is the love of Hadhrat Ali and his progeny. Faith in the Quran and Sunnah carries low priority ; similarly faith in Allah and the Messenger of Allah is a casual affair. They obey neither Quranic injunctions nor approve of Prophetic practice. For them virtuous acts and deeds of piety have no reality ! They attach to them no special significance. The worst maxim which is the main staff and support of their faith is "love is religion and religion is love"* and to add to their cheek, they place the formulation of this maxim at the door of Imam Abu Jafar.

In simple words it means that love is religion while prayer, Zakat, Hajj, fasting and other forms of worship declared obligatory by God are not a vital part of religion. It means submission to the rules of Sharia, pious living, and discharge of one's obligations towards relatives, children, neighbours etc are not the essence of religion. Their brand of faith puts the lowest premium on those acts which have been traditionally cherished by the Muslims and whose performance has been repeatedly stressed by Allah and His Messenger. They identify religion with love and they claim that faith is just another label for love. They ascribe to their fifth Imam Abu Jafar Muhammad Baqir the following statement : "It is faith if you love us; and it is luck of faith if you show jealousy toward us".*

It boils down to the obvious conclusion that it is not faith to obey the Quranic injunctions and to act on the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) but it is faith to love the Imams and their children. The Shias claim as a matter of conviction that all the revealed books and all the Prophets have invited people to love Hadhrat Ali and his progeny. The Prophets in their respective eras and the revealed books in their specific contexts have stressed the primacy of love over other components of faith. Therefore, according to them, love is superior even to the five fundamentals of Islamic faith. Love is more spontaneous while the basics of Islam are marked by a restricted flow of emotion, and for them emotio has an edge over reflection, contemplation and action.

Bahrani, a well-known Shia exegete, has reported the words of Hadhrat Ali in his "Tafsir Kabir" through Habbah 'Aufi, one of his companions: Amir - ul - Mominin said : When God invited people to acknowledge my rule on earth and in the heavens, some of them submitted to it while other declined to accept it. Hadhrat Younis was one of those who refused to acknowledge it. Therefore, he was imprisoned inside the belly of a fish and was not released until he confessed to my rule.*

A tradition of Muhammad bin Muslim is recorded in "Basair" : I heard it from Abu Jafar that God secured a promise from all the Prophets to acknowledge Ali's kingdom which was in the shape of a formal convenant.*

To compound the confusion, a statement written in the hand of Shaikh Tusi, is reproduced in "Kinz -ul- Fawaid" in the book "Masail -ul- Buldan". Jabir Jafi has in fact attributed it ot one of the companions of Amir -ul- Mominin: Salman asked Hadhrat Ali about himself. He replied: Salman ! All the nations have been invited to obey me. The nation that opposed the invited to obey me. The nation that opposed the invitation was packed off to hall by God, I am the controller of Hell. Salman, it is true that any one who is closely affiliated to me will also be blessed with my fate. God had secured a pledge from the people about me. Some of the people kept the pledge while others acked out. On hearing this Salman said: old Testament bears witness to what you say and New Testament also endorses your words. O martyr of Kufah ! May my parents be sacrified for your sake ! You are the "Hujjat-Ullah" who helped in the acceptance of Adam's repentance by God. It is on account of you that Yousaf was pulled out of the well and Ayyub under went the ordeal". Amir -ul- Mominin added: "Salman, do you know the reality behind the ordeal of Ayyub?" Salman submitted: "Allah and the Amir -ul- Mominin know better". He replied : Ayyub had expressed doubts about my sovereignty and called it a big favour to me. Allah commanded: Ayyub, you are expressing doubt about something that I have created. I put Adam through the test, and when he acknowledged Ali as Amir -ul- Mominin I condoned his lapses and accepted his repentance. When I did not spare Adam you are too small a fry to express skepticism about his kingdom and hipe that you can get away with it. I swear by my honour that you will have to suffer for it or you better repent and give me your word that you will obey the Amir -ul- Mominin. It was his sheer good luck that he repented in time and escaped my punishment by agreeing to obey Hadhrat Ali.*

Besides, it is recorded in "Sarair Ibn Idris" through Baznati through Sulaiyman bin Khalid: I heard Abu Abdullah saying that there is not a prophet, man, Jin or angel on the earth or in the skies who is not under divine obligation to obey us. God has not engendered any creation whom he has not invited to acknowledge our rule and commanded them to accept us as His presence on earth. Therefore all the creatures whether they live on the earth or in the skies are either believers because they have faith in us or they are disbelievers because they do not repose their faith in us.*

Finally, another treadition bearing on this issue is reproduced with reference to "Manaqib Ibn Shahr Ashob". The tradition has originally been related by Muhammad bin Hanfiyyah. Amir -ul- Mominin said: God presented my trust to the skies in the shape of reward and punishment. They said: O God! Don,t offer this burden of trust with the qualification of reward and punishment: we bear it without any reservation. Then God placed my trust and kingdom before the birds. The first among them to believe in it were ( ) and the first among them who declined to believe in it were the owl and the phoenix. May God curse them. God inflicted his punishment on the owl and as a result he cannot fly during day time because the birds hate him. The phoenix vanished into the seas and he has not left a trace behind. Similarly God placed me before the earth as trust. He purified and blessed the portion of the earth which accepted my rule and leadership, filled its fruits and vegetables with declicious juices and gave special vigour and mineral vitality to its waters; and the portion of the earth which declined to acknowledge me as its ruler, God made it barren and uninhabitable, loaded its trees with bitter and tasteless apples and turned its saters saltish and sour.*

Kulaini, who has the status of Imam Bokhari among the Shias, ascribes the following tradition in his "Sahih" to Abu Abdullah Jafar, the sixth innocent Imam of the Shias:

"Our kingdom is in fact the divine kingdom that God conferred on every prophet".*

His father, Abu Jafar, is reported to have stated:

"By God ! There are seventy thousand rows of angels in the skies which can not be counted by the collective strength of human beings on earth and all of these angels acknowledge our leadership and our kingdom".*

He added: "God secured the pledge from our Shias to acknowledge our rule while they were like ants in the world of spirits".*

At the end Kulaini reproduces the words of the innocent Imam Abu Hassan:

"The Imamat of Hadhrat Ali is indicated in all the books revealed to the Prophets".*

Salim Hinat has stated: I submitted the following Quranic verse to Abu Jafar for interpretation:

"The truthful soul has come down (with this Quran). (He has) transfused it into your heart so that you are one of those who warn people (through the divine faith) and (this Quran) is revealed in plain and clear Arabic."

He explained that the verse referred to the rule of the Amir_ul-Mominin.* Similarly Abu Jafar's opinion was sought on the following Quranic verse:



"And he establishes the rule propagated through the old Testament or the New Testament or through whatever has been revealed by God". He explained that the verse referred to Ali's rule.* His son Jafar remarked that Ali's rule was an unchallenged fact.

"It is present even in the former revelations made to Abraham and Moses".*

Kulaini has reported a divine revelation from Abu Jafar through Somali:

"Hold firmly on to what has been revealed to you. You are undoubtedly on the right path."

It means that he believes in Ali's sovereignty. He also believes that Ali is the straight path.* If a person has not squared his account about Ali's rule, he will not be questioned about other things but packed away to hell straight away. Bahrani writes:

"God did not confirm the appointment of a Prophet until he confessed the love of the Ahl-i-Bait. The sole purpose of their assignment was the expression of their love for the Ahl-i-Bait".*

The love of Ahl-i-Bait is the passport to Paradise and the guarantee of immunity from hell. The entry into Paradise and the release from hell do not depend on acts of piety. Any one who loves Ali and his progeny is an inmate of paradise and any one who does not love them is an inmate of hell. The punctuality of prayer and the rigour of fasting can not release him from the clutches of hell. Abu Jafar has stated: "Any one who opposes the Ahl-i-Bait is undoubtedly an inmate of hell, an inmate of hell, and it is immaterial whether he prays and fasts regularly or commits theft and adultery".*

They have imputed a bogus tradition to the Prophet (peace be upon him) who is supposed to have told Hadhrat Ali.

"Any one who loves you will enjoy the company and the status of the Prophets and any one who dies in a state that he is jealous of you, then it is immaterial for him whether he winds up in the lap of Judaism or Christianity."*

Similarly the greatest truth - teller of the Shias--who in fact is their greastest liar --has stated: The Prophet said: "cheer up, O Ali, because God has forgiven you, your Ahl-i-Bait, your Shias, those who love your Shias and those who love the people who love your Shias".*

Ayyashi has reported from Abu Abdullah Jafar in his Tafsir: "Those who believe in Hadhrat Ali shall stay in Paradise for ever irrespective of their evil deeds".*

People claim that the love of Ali is a virtue that liquidates the effects of evil.* But even virtue loses its efficacy if it is blended with malice towards Ali.* They have similarly imputed a fake tradition to the holy Prophet (peace be upon him.) He is reported to have stated: I have heard God saying that Ali is my presence among my creatures, my light in the universe and the trustee of my knowledge. Any one who manages to seek his close affiliation will not be packed off to hell even if he happens to be dis-obedient; but any one who refuses to seek such affiliation will not be allowed to enter paradise even if he happens to be obedient otherwise".*

\ Thus for the Shias the obedience or disobedience of God is immaterial; it is only a marginal affair. What really matters is the love of Ali. It is the central fact from which other issues spring. Ali's love, therefore, has precedence over Quranic and prophetic injunctions. Any sensible person can guess that it is an upside-down religion based on the inversion of religious values. Instead of emphasizing piety and good deeds, it stresses Ali's love and claims that his love eclipses all other matters and transcends the restrictions imposed by Sharia. In other words it cancels out conventional impositions by asserting their irrelevance and their complete subordination to the all-embracing love of Hadhrat Ali. It clearly flouts the Quranic injunction.

"The most virtuous man in the eyes of Allah is the pious man".* Quran also declares:

"Paradise will be brought nearer to the pious and hell will be taken out and brought nearer to the misguided"* It adds:

"The believers must eventually win through. Those who humble themselves in their prayers, who avoid vain talk, who are active in deeds of charity, who abstain from sex, except with those who are joined to them in the marriage bond or (the captives) their right hands possess-for in their case they are free from blame. But those whose desires exceed these limits are transgressors. Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their convenants, and who strictly guard their prayers, these will be the heirs who will inherit paradise: they will dwell there (for ever) It further adds:

"Then shall any one who has done an atom's weight of good, seet it! And any-one who has done an atom's weight of evil shall seet it"*

It declares at another place:

And no one shall carry the burden of other's sins (on his shoulders)*

God furhter declares:

"So he who gives (in charity) and fears (God) and (in all sincerity) testifies to the best-We indeed make smooth for him the path to bliss. But he who is a greedy,,miser and thinks himself self -- sufficient and gives the lie to the best -- We will indeed make smooth for him the path to misery, nor will his sealth profit him when he falls head-long (into the pit)

Quran makes it clear in another context:



"Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds, except the companions of the right hand. (They will be) in gardens (of delight): they will question each other and (ask) of the sinners "what led you into hell-fire"? They will say: "We were not of those who prayed, nor were we of those who fed the indigent; But we used to indulge in vantiies with frivolous talkers; and we used to deny the day of judgement until there came to us the hour that is certain. Then will no intercession of (any) intercessors profit them."*

It is an incontrovertible fact that the Sharia does not discriminate between human beings on the basis of status and pedigree. Abu Lahb will not enter Paradise because he is the Prophet's uncle; and it is not considered sufficient just to announce his entry into hell but the fact is plainly embodied in the words of the Quran that Abu Lahb is damned and he is accorded no exceptional latitude on account of his blood relationship with the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Quran clearly ordins:

(When Abu Lahb had cursed the Prophet, he could not hurt him at all. On the contrary), both of his hands snapped and he died a natural death. Neighter his goods were of any use to him, nor could he avail himself of his wealth. He will soon enter the raging fire of hell and his wife will also accompany him who instigated people against one another. A rope of rush grass will be round her neck".*

The Sharia did not discriminate against Hadhrat Bilal or against any other human being who was similarly placed. The fact that he was a negro carried no value in the eyes of Sharia. His personal nobility and good deeds endeared him to the people. The Prophet (peace be upon him) liked him for his performance rather than his back - ground and so he communicated to him the news of his entry into Paradise.

People who believed in God, the Prophet (peace be upon him), the book revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and stressed good deeds as the criterion of proximity to God and His Messenger and as a passport to Paradise were exceptionally blessed people. They prayed during the night, fasted during the day, and held the flag of Islam firmly in their hands to conduct Jehad for the pleasure of the Lord. The divine help and support kissed their feet, and the angels came down from the heavents to assist them. Paradise lived in the shadows of the swords they pulled out to perform feats of valour for the dominance of truth over falsehood and for the glorification of the divine faith. They shook the foundations of the palaces of Qaiser and Kisra and took the hell out of self-conceited kings, emperors, tyrants, rebels and atheists. They put to the sword infinitely superior armies of the Christians and the Zoroastrians and turned the battlefield into their funeral place. But the unholy conspiracy was unhatched against these pious souls to disenchant them with the purifying injunctions of Sharia, which sends a wave of life through the dead corpses, and infuses a new spirit into lifeless frames. They conspired to disillusion the brave and courageous nation with their faith and with the genuine teachings of Islam. They in fact chalked out their heinous plan to crush the valiant community systematically and the first step in their crushing plan was to alienate them from the invigorating springs of pious deeds, sustained struggle, Jehad and the other valuable features of their religion to pave the way for the eventual negative conversion. Therefore they propagated the philosophy that a rigorous mode of living did not necessarily ensure Paradise : it was rather irrelevant to one's spiritual salvation. The redemption of human beings depended on the expresseion and demonstration of their love for a few hallowed personalities and on the acknowledgement of their rule over them and over the rest of creation. They achieved a few successes in their unholy designs and some innocent people fell into their hideous trap because they exploited the names of pious people for the realization of their ugly ends. Instead of emphasizing the primacy of prayer and other central issues, they emphasized purely marginal issues and completely inverted the structure of their faith by fore - grounding nominal concerns and fri-volous matters. Abul Hassan, their eighth Imam, observes:

"Each man will be aked first of all about his love for us, the Ahl-i-Bait".*

This is the reason that they underplay the role of prayer, Zakat etc and place maximum emphasis on the love of Ahl-i-Bait and the acknowledgement of their overlordship. Kulainin observes in "Al-Kafi" with reference to Abu Jafar:

"Islam is based on five principles (1) prayer (2) Zakat (3) fast (4) Hajj (5) sovereignty or guardianship. But sovereignty carries for greater importance than others".*

Their main objective is the love and friendship of the house of Ali. In order to justify their whimsical contention they have manufactured a number of traditions and imputed them to the pious people to confer on them the appearance of veracity. One of these traditions is imputed to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) . According to it, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Gabriel came over to me and said: O Muhammad! your God sends you regards and commands that He has made prayer obligatory but the patient is exempted (from the obligation); that He has made the fast obligatory but the patient and the passenger are exempted; that He has made Hajj obligatory but the poor or starving man is exempted; that He has made Zakat obligatory but a person falling short of the minimum level of monetary specification is exempted; But I have made the love of Ali bin abi Talib obligatory without any provision of exemption or latitude.*

This is perhaps the reason that for them love of Ali (hub-i-Ali) is the yardstick to measure belief and disbelief.

The suggestions advanced by some of the contemporary Shias* that the belief in sovereignty is not obeligatory and a disbelief in it does not excommunicate a person from the fold of Islam is unadulterated deception. These deceptions are consciously designed to hoodwink the innocent people. The facts speak eloquently against their deceitful posture and the facts have been established with documentary evidence in the preceding pages. The Imams of the Shias have condemned the heresies and blasphemies of their own followers and what could be a more cogent and authentic proof to their totally fallacious stand. It clearly proves that the Shias have tried to convert their whimsical reflections into religious statements.

Sayyid Bahrani has explained this concept which is basically a Jewish concept and is the calculatingly wicked invention of Abdullah bin Saba. The concept preaches the suspension of Sharia to effect the spiritual alienation of the Muslims from their moorings and is therefore anti-Islamic. It reflects the Jewish ire and malice against the Muslims and their well-orchestrated efforts to undermine Islamic unity. Bahrani supports the view and calls it the fulcrum of Shia faith. Any one who denies it can not be rated a believer. Mufid also writes in support of it:

Imamiyyah agree that any one who denies the Imamat of an Imam or refuses to obey him which is a divinely obligated duty, is a dis-believer, a misguided person and a permanent inmate of Hell. It is unlawful for the believers to give bath to a person or join in his funeral prayer who opposes the right of sovereignty.* Babwi Qummi, Tusi, Mulla Baqir Majlisi, Syed Sharif Murtadha and a number of their Imams and religious leaders have endorsed this view without the slightest twinge of shame or the faintest tweak of compunction.

Malicious criticism of the Companions:

The malice of Shias against the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) knows no bounds. It operates like an unlimited company. The Shias are remarkable batsmen on the turj of spite but their performance on the matting of virtue is Iamentable. They score in fours and sixes when they are batting against the companions but when they have to speak n their favour, their score is zero. The hatred of the companions is now a permanent feature of the Shia faith and they give vent to it so naturally and effortlessly that they don't have to feel apologetic about it. An apology usually follows a feeling of outrage. Since the Shia act of hatred is not outrageous in their eyes, it hardly needs the formality of an apology. There is not a single book of the Shias which does not brag about its maltreatment of the companions. Whenever the Shias mention their names and their deeds, they do it with a feeling of extreme loathing and revulsion. Their attitutde receives an amplified exposure in the first chapter of my book "Ash-Shia was-Sunnah" and it is accorded similar treatment in the second chapter of my book "Shias and the House of Ali". i don't like to repeat the contents of these chapters here mainly for two reasons: first it will spin out the discussion to unmanageable proportions, and secondly repetition is tantamount to impropriety: it invariably culminates in the bluntness of the readers' attention and in many cases an agonized dwindling of their interest. Those who are interested in the details may refer to the other books where the Shias are exposed in their true colours. Here I would like to confine myself to an analysis and dissection of what the contemporary Imam of the Shias-Syed Khomeni--has recorded in his book "Kashf -ul- Israr" --Khomeni is a political figure and a politician is normally expected to qualify his stand with a certain amount of flexibility and respects the sentiments of others out of sheer courtesy, even though it happens to be a sophisticated form of diplomacy. But Khomeni has cast off the slough of political reservation and has expressed his views with exceptionally insistent clarity which almost borders on a kind of stubbornness: He writes:

"Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman were not the Khalifahs of the Messenger of Allah, but they changed the divine injunctions, muddled up the concepts of what is lawful and what is forbidden and persecuted the children of the Prophet (peace be upon him). They were ignorant of divine laws and religious injunctions.*

After this Khomeni expresses his own views about Imamat and explains the belief of the Shias. He writes under the caption: "Why isn't the name Imam explicitly mentioned in they holy Quran? He asserts that according to reason and the Quran Imamat is one of the established fundamentals of Islamic faith and this fundamental component has been mentioned at various places in the Quran. One may naturally ask why isn't the name of the Imam explicitly indicated in the Quran when it carries such vital significance. The unambiguous indication of the name would have obviated the outbreak of wars between the Muslims and saved them from unnecessary torture and agony. There are many answers to this question but I would like to express straightaway that all the differences that cropped up between the Muslims were a consequence of the day of Saqifah; if the day had not dawned on the earth, the differences would not have seen the light of the day. I believe the dispute would not have whimpered away even if the name of the Imam were clearly mentioned in the Quran. The people who had embraced Islam to gain political power would never have reconciled to Quranic specification if it clashed with their express expectations and they would have tried to twist its meanings to suit their preconceptions. They could easily sacrifice Quranic injunctions at the altar of their selfish designs. On the contrary, the presence of a specification would have added immensely to the stock-pile of their crooked objectives. They would have sought ways and means to demolish the very foundations of Islam and done incalculable damage to its survival. They in fact cared two hoots for Islam. All that they cared for was their personal well-being. They could not relinquish their vested interests but they could barter away Islam without the least amount of hesitation. They would not have hesitated to wage war against Islam, and if they had done so, Ali bin abi Talib could not stand aside as a silent spectator and let them play havoc with the structural foundations of Islam. Thus it is clearly established that the absence of the name of Imam in the holy Quran reflects infinite divine wisdom. It was in the interest of Muslim community and the survival of Islam. The lack of specification, therefore, in no way devalues the stature of the Imam. On the contrary, it carries an implicit divine sanction of the inherent element of sacrifice that is normally associated with the personality of an Imam. It was sheer divine expediency not to make an explicit reference to Ali bin abi Talib in the Quran.

Even if his name were mentioned in the Quran, these people for whom Quran was an instrument to gain political power, would have mutilated the relevant verses and destroyed the Book of Allah.

If they were restrained to do so through divine inter vention or some other consideration, then they would have imputed fake statements to the Prophet (peace be upon him) that God had suspended the prophethood of Ali bin abi Talib and had ordained to resolve the issue of Khilafat through mutual consultation.

It is also improper to say that if the name of the Imam was indicated in the Quran, the tribal chiefs would not have opposed Hadhrat Ali, and even if they have opposed him in the face of Quranic specification, the Muslims would have condemned them, they would have even waged war against them. But I do not subscribe to this view because it is a historical fact that they publicly expressed their disapproval of Quranic injunctions but the people did not condemn them: On the contrary, they stamped the seal of their approval on their opposition to Quran.*

Khomeni has also ennumerated a number of instances to establish the opposition of Hadhrat Abu Bakr and Hadhrat Abu Bakr and Hadhrat Umar to the inviolability of the Quran. Under the captions of "Hadhrat Abu Bakr and his opposition to Quranic specifications" and "Umar and his ipposition to the Quran revealed by the Creator" Khomeni has tried to underscore the obviousness of the issue.*

After the self-manufactured opposition, Khomeni remarks: Abu Bakr and Umar used to oppose the Quran in the presence of Muslims but the people attached no value to their inimical posture and supported them unreservedly. They were members of their group, endorsed their policies and sought their help and assistance on all occasions. All these details reveal the undeniable fact that these powerhungry people would never have relinquished their self-acquired offices even if there had been the name of the Imam in the Quran because, in their intoxicated state, they would have felt no scruples in flouting the specific divine injunctions, and in brushing aside the claim of Hadhrat Ali as the Prophet's successor. Abu Bakr, who was exceedingly hypocritical, disinherited the daughter of the Prophet (peace be upon him) of the heritage of her own father. Both the Quran and the human reason are witness to this heritage but he invented a bogus tradition to prove his point. It was equally expected of Umar to have condemned the divine irrelevance in case God or Gabriel or the Messenger of Allah had mentioned the name of the Imam. The people would not have condemned him even if he had discarded the Quran and forbidden them to implement its injunctions. They would have followed Umar's prescription without the least resistance. They had already accepted unquestioningly the alterations Umar had introduced into the Islamic faith. It was quite possible because they preferred Umar's opinions and proposals even to Quranic injunctions and the sayings and observations of the Prophet (peace be upon him).*

Khomeni has come out with a number of similar statements which provide a clear reflection of the attiude of the Shias towards Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). I have discussed these attiudes with reference to a political figure who is regarded by the Shias as the invisible Imam and whom some of the Sunnis also treat as the harbinger of good luck. These Shia beliefs are an exact replica of the views they have inherited from Abdullah bin Saba and the Sabais. The beliefs of the non-political Shia scholars also fall into the same pattern.

The way these Shias have maligned the character of Hadhrat Uthman is too well known to be slurred over. The Shia malice towards him has been discussed in the first and second chapter of this book. The discussion is properly documented with quotations and excerpts from the books by Shia scholars. For futher details the readers are advised to refer to my books "Ash-Shia was Sunnah" and "Ash-Shia wa Ahl-ul-Bait". There is not a single Shia book which does not contain the allegations levelled by the Sabais against the character of Hadhrat Uthman and his administration. There is not much difference between the Sabai and Shia allegations. The Shias have rather outstripped the Sabais in their malice by adding more charges to the formidable list. The concepts of specification through will, invisibility and return are actually the concepts floated and practised by Abdullah bin Saba and the bunch of rogues who followed him. The other concepts are taken over from the Christians and the Zoroastrians and are therefore anti-Islamic in their conception. The idendification of creatures with the creator, the elevation of human beings to divine stature, the concepts of transfusion of souls into one another, transmigration, the continuation of prophethood after the holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the mode of revelation and other matters relating to the Book of Allah have been transferred to the Shias from the Christians and Zoroastrians.

Mamaqani observes in his book "Tanqih-ul-Maqal":

"What was considered extremism or fanaticism in the past is now one of the fundamental needs of religion".*

Mamaqani's observations are quite valid because the early Shias condemned all forms of extremism and fanaticism. And if at all these attitudes were there, they did not highlight them. But the Shias have imported these views from the Sabais and have elevated them to the status of beliefs and have padded out their books with the imported stuff. As a consequence, they believe that Hadhrat Ali was the executor of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and they have invented a number of traditions to prove their point. Kulaini in his "Kafi" has attributed a tradition to J'afar :

"When Aminah bint Wahb was about to give birth to the Prophet (peace be upon him), Fatimah bint Asad and wife of Abu Talib called on her and stayed with her till his birth. One of them said to the other: do you see what I am seeing She replied : yes I am also seeing the light that has spread between the east and the west. They were busy in conversation when Abu Talib came in and asked them: what's the matter ? What are you wondering at? Fatimah told him about the light she had perceived. Abu Talib said: Shall I tell you a good news? Fatima said: please do. Abu Talib replied: you'll give birth to a child who will be the executor of this newborn"*

They have invented another tradition by propping up the lie on a Quranic verse. When God declared:

"Warn your close relations against (divine punishment)" the Prophet (peace be upon him) called his relatives and offered them food. But the food remained intact (though they had their fill)--However their finger prints were visible on the food they had consumed. They were about forty in number. Similarly they were offered a bowl of soup which proved enough for all of them. Some of the soup was rather left over. When all of them had finished their meal, he addressed them: I swear by God that no young Arab can bring you better than what I have brought for you. Is there any one of you who would like to be my right hand, and he will be my brother, my executor and your Caliph? On hearing this all of them were silent, but Ali stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah! I'll be your helper. The Messenger of Allah caught hold of him by his neck and said: he is my brother, executor and Khalifah: you should listen to him and obey him. They were on their feet laughing. They said to Abu Talib: you have been commanded to listen to your son and obey him.*

Then they repeated exactly what Abdullah bin Saba had stated but imputed it to Abu Jafar Muhammad Baqir. "I swear by Allah that Gabriel and the angels came down to Adam with the Prophetic message on "the precious night", and by God Adam had not breathed his last till the nomination of his executor; and each prophet who came after Adam also had an executor, and by God the night the revelation came to the Prophet, he was commanded to nominate his executor; and this has been the practice from Adam down to Muhammad (peace be upon him).*

Again it s related on the authority of Jafar that Musa nominated Yosha bin Nun as his executor, Yosha bin Nun appointed his son Harun as his executor, and ultimately succession passed down to Hadhrat Muhammad (peace be upon him).

When God appointed Muhammad his prophet (peace be upon him) those who believed in him turned Muslims but there were many others also who did not believe in him. However, he continued the propagation of the divine message and waged wars for the dissemination of the divine religion. Then God sent down the revelation that he should declare the superior status of his successor but he submitted to the Lord: Oh, Allah! the Arabs are a harsh-tempered nation. They are without a book and they have not been graced with the presence of a prophet either. They are unaware of the superiority and status of the prophets. Therefore if I anticipate the superiority of my progeny, these people will not believe in me. God replied: don't worry and tell them; May God bless you! you'll soon come to know. Thus he mentioned the superior status and precedence of his successor over others but it split the people. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sized up their true intentions. God declared:

"We know that there is a burden on your chest on acount of what they say. But the fact is that they are not condemning you but denying the divine commandments."

These people denied His commands without justification. The Prophet (peace be upon him) loved them and always impressed upon them the need to help one another and occasionally referred to the superiority of his successor until the revelation of the Surah which condemned the attitude of the companions and equated it with downright sacrilege. when the news of his death was conveyed to them, they used it as an argument against him. God declared in the Surah

"Pray with concentration and focus all your energies (of head and heart) on your Creator"

That is, when you get rid of adventitious issues, you should brace yourself and announce your successor and proclaim his superiority over others. In pursuance of the Quranic verse he observed:

"Ali is also the master of those who has accepted me as their master. Oh Allah, you should be friendly with those who are friendly with Ali and you should be friendly with those who are friendly with Ali and you should show enmity towards those who show emnity towards Ali-he repeated it three times--I shall and down the person who loves Allah and His Messenger and Allah and His Messenger love him in return. He will not seek the way of escape so that he may be included among those who believe in the return or resurrection. He will love his companions and his companions will love him".

He also added:

"Ali is the chief of all believers".

He further added:

"Ali is the pillar of faith and after him he will keep people on the right track with the help of the sword. The right is always with Ali, no matter which way he is inclined"*

It is also attributed to him that the succession had come down to the Prophet from the heavens in the form of a book but it was revealed to him in a sealed form. Gabriel had told him. O Muhammad! your children will be your successors for your community. He replied: O Gabriel which of my children? Gabriel explained: We shall pray to God on their behalf and on behalf of their children that He should appoint you the guardian of the knowledge of prophethood as He had made Abraham the guardian of prophethood. His heritage is intended for Hadhrat Ali and your children have also come out of his loins. Ali opened the first seal and acted according to the instructions contained in it. Hadhrat Hassan opened the second seal and acted on its prescription. After the death of Hadhrat Hassan, Hadhrat Hussain opened the third seal; it contained the message: wage war, shed blood, die as a martyr and prepare some other peoplefor martyrdom also because they will die as martyrs along with you. Therefore he acted accordingly and handed the heritage over to Ali bin Hussain before his martyrdom. He opened the fourth seal and it bore the prescription: when the knowledge is veiled, you should be quiet and keep your head low. At the time of his death he handed it to Muhammad bin Ali. When he opened it he fould the message: explain the Book of Allah, confirm the message of your father, make your son your successor, treat the nation well, defend the rights of Allah, speak truth in the midst of fear or peace and don't be scared of any one except Allah. He acted accordingly and then passed the seal to the next Khalifah.*

And finally Kulaini has related another tradition attributed to Abu Jafar: When Hadhrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) completed his Prophetic tenure and his life cycle on earth, then God revealed to him: O Muhammad! you have completed your Prophetic tenure and earthly so journ, therefore you should hand over your knowledge, faith, heritage and other signs of prophethood to Ali bin abi Talib among your Ahl-i-Bait as I'll not discontinue the circulation of these things among your children the way I had not dis-continued them among the children of prophets.*

These are exactly the things propagated by Abdullah bin Saba and which are central to Sabaism: Yosha bin Nun was the executor of Musa and Ali is the executor of the Messenger of Allah and Ali's Imamat is declared obligatory by Allah.*

Absence or Invisibility:

The concepts of invisibility and return are also taken over by the Shias from the Sabais. They had assimilated these concepts when the early Shias had expired and Shiasim had incorporated into its conceptual frame the views and beliefs preached by Sabaism. Right from Hadhrat Ali down to their impalpable Imam--who is not even born--the Shias have nourished this concept in relation to all of their Imams. These factors have been discussed at length in the preceding chapters and here I have would like to confine myself to the views of Ithna 'Ashriyyah Shias about the invisible Imam.

They claim that a son was born to Hassan Askari. They further claim that this son of Hassan Askari disappeared and became invisible, and his disappearance falls into a two-fold pattern.

(1) The major absence (ghaibat-i-Kubra)

(2) The minor absence (ghaibat-i-Sughra),

and in order to make their point authentic, they have imputed another fake tradition to Imam Jafar:

There are two aspects of the absence of Imam Qaim (1) ghaibat-i-Saghirah and (2) ghaibat-i-Tavilah. The place of the first disappearance is known only to the elite Shias while the place of the second disappearance is known only to special friends.*

It is also attributed to him: The disappearance of the Imam is of two kinds. He comes back after one form of disappearance and about the second form of disappearance it is said that he dies no matter which valley he is living in. I asked what should we do when we face such a state of affairs. He replied: when some one comes out with such a claim, you should put to him questions about certain things. If he answers correctly, his claim is valied, but his claim is invalid if he answers incorrectly.

A similar tradition is imputed to his faither.

"Ghaibat-i-Sughra" is a form of disappearance in which the disappearing Imam leaves behind a definite consensus and a nimbus of plausibility. Those members of the Imamiyyah, who believe in the Imamat of Hassan bin Ali, do not disagree about his bonafides. Among the disappearing Imams are included Abu Hashim Daud bin Qasim Jafri, Muhammad bin Ali bin Bilal, Abu Umro Uthman bin Said Samman, his son Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Uthman, Umra Howazi, Ahmad bin Ishaq, Abu Muhammad Wajnani. Ibrahim bin Mohzyar, Muhammad bin Ibrahim and some other people who will be mentioned subsequently in the context of traditions relating to their disappearance. The period of this form of absence was seventy four years. Abu Umro Uthman bin Said Umri received it from his father and grandfather and other people receivd the insignia of privilege from him. He performed a number of miracles. When he died, his son Muhammad acted as his successor on account of his specification. He also died by the end of Jamadi-ul-Akhir in 304 or 305 A.H., and Abul Qasim Hussain bin Ruh- who belonged to Banu Nau Najt acted as his successor on account of the specification made by Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Uthman. He died in Sh'aban; Abul Hassan Ali bin Muhammad Umri acted as his successor on account of his specification who died in the month of Shaban in 328 A.H.

Abu Muhammad Hassan bin Ahmad Maktab has reported. The year Ali bin Muhammad Samri died, I was in Medinah. I called on him a few days before his death. He came out and placed before the people a signed document. It contained the following message: Bismillah ! O Ali bin Muhammad Samril ! May God bless your brothers with a stupendous reward on your count. You'll expire within six days but you should not specify any one as your successor. The chain of invisibility is about to start. Therefore no one will appear without divine consent. The phenomenon of appearance will take a long time to materialize especially when the hearts are hardened and the world spills over with tyranny and oppression. Some people will call on my Shias and claim that they have observed the phenomenon, but any one who makes such a claim before the rebellion of Sufiyani and Sayha is a liar and a spinner of yarns.

We noted down the contents of the document and left the place. When a period of six days elapsed we called on him who was present there, and submitted to him: Who is your successor? He replied: this matter is in the hands of God. These were the last words he uttered and died immediately after. Then the era of long absence (ghaibat-i-Tula) set in through which we are still passing. But by the grace and wisdom of God, the troubles will simply roll away by the end of this era.*

Where does the invisible Imam live and what does he do are moot points. The Shias believe that the invisible Imam lives in Sardab Samra'. Qutub Rawindi has reported: The Abbasis despatched an armed batallion. When the soldiers entered the house, they heard the recitation of Quran from Sardab. They all gathered at the entrance of the cave and posted a heavy guard around it so that he could neither climb up nor climb down. The leader of the batallion was also there, waiting for the entire force to arrive. The invisible Imam also came out and stood at the entrance of the cave and then he walked past them. When he disappeared again, the leader ordered his men to go inside the cave. But the soldiers told him that he had walked past him. The leader replied: I haven't seen him. Why did you spare him when he was giving us the slip? They said: We thought you were watching him.*

The Shias also claim that he has disappeared in Madinah.* According to another version he is hiding in Makkah.* The third version locates him in Ridhwa. Ridhwa is a mountain on which Muhammad bin Hanfiyyah disappeared. This is at least what the Shias believe. A Shia poet, Syed Humeri says:

"He disappeared in Ridhwa and has been invisible for a long time. He has (in-exhaustible reserviors of) honey and water.*

Some people believe that he is hiding in Zi Tuwa. Nuri Tabrisi has referred to a famous Shia prayer which he has attributed to their Imams. It is known as "Nadbah". They are commanded to offer it on all the four Eids. The prayer is addressed to the invisible Imam and embodies an equally veiled desire to know his where-abouts:

"I wish I knew your place of residence and the spot where you are hiding-Ridhwa Zi Tuwa or some other place".*

According to another version he has disappeared in Shamrukh, a valley in Yemen, or probably he has disappeared on the island of Khidhra.*

Jazairi has come out with a fantastic tale. He refers to a cluster of islands where the distance between the cities takes a whole year to be covered. Only the pious Shias live in these areas. All of them believe in Ali's sovereignty. Their kings are the children of their Imams. They rule justly and command others to dispense justice and equity to people as well, and they are the largest in number.* There are still others who believe that the Imam is residing in Ja-Bilaqa or Ja-Bilasa. In short, they have invented innumberalbe obscenities to establish the reality of what appears to be a purely imaginary entity.

What does the invisible Imams do? There are also a number of fantasic explanations about the engagements of the invisible Imam. The Shias claim that he comes during the season of pilgrimage; he can see the pilgrims but the pilgrims can not see him.* They rely on the experience of the maidservant of Ibrahim Bin Abdah whose words bear testimony to the visible presence of the invisible Imam: I was standing beside Ibrahim in Safa. Meanwhile the invisible Imam came over and stood beside Ibrahim. He took the book of Manasik from him and told him a number of things.*

Another Shia, whose lie is quite obvious, says that once he saw the invisible Imam near Hajr-i-Aswad. People were drawing towards him but the imam kept repeating that they were not commanded to do so.*

Still another Shia claims to have undergone a similarly fantastic experience: Just now I saw Sayma--a courtier--In Sur Man Rai that he broke the gate of my house. I went over to him and found that he had two (planks) in his hand. I asked him: what are you doing in my house? Sayma replied: your father had died issueless. If this is your house, then I would leave and on saying this he left the house.*

An-other Shia spins out an-other interesting story: He says: I went to perform Hajj along with a friend of mine. When we reached Muqif, we saw a young man squatting there who had covered himself with a shawl and a length of cloth. He was wearing yellow shoes. The shawl and the length of cloth were roughly priced at one hundred and fifty dinar. He did not carry any traces of travel either (he did not look tired). A beggar came over to us but we pushed him back. Nevertheless he moved closer to the young man and begged him and it seemed as if the earth had picked up some thing and handed it over to him. The beggar prayed hard and long for him. The young man stood up and disappeared. We asked the beggar what had he given him. He showed us gold pebbles which roughly weighed twenty Mishqal. I told my companion that our master was beside us and we did not even feel his presence. Then we set out in his search, we combed the entire area of Muqif but we could not trace him. When we asked the residents of Makkah and Medinah they replied that a young Alvi performed Hajj every year.*

A tradition is attributed to Ali Radha who is supposed to have remarked: The body of the invisible Imam can not be seen nor can his name be mentioned.* Similarly Hassan Askri is reported to have observed: you can not perceive him as a physical entity. It is unlawful to utter his name. People asked how should they remember him. He replied: you should call him "Hujjat-i-Al-i-Muhammad" instead of calling him by name.* Urbili writes: He is present and alive. He keeps appearing and disappearing. And when he tours diferent parts of the world, the servants and courtiers with horses, tents, marquees' etc accompany him. Then he has related the story narrated by Shams-ud-Din Harquli: My father told me that during his youth a sore appeared on his left thigh which was as big as a man's fist. The sore burst every year and blood and puss oozed out of it. The pain that accompanied it kept him away from his daily chores. Those days he was staying at Harqul. One day he came to Hullah and attended the 'Majlis' of Said Radhi-ud-Din and told him about the intense pain caused by the sore and expressed his desire to have it prmanently treated. He sent for all the medical experts of Hullah. when they gathered there, he showed them the sore spot. They diagnosed the sore as 'Tautha'. They said that it was right on the femoral vein and its treatment was quite hazardous. They apprehended that an incision into the abscess might puncture the vein and result in his death. Said Radhi-ud-Din told them: I am on my way to Baghdad. It is possible the medical experts there are in a better position to treat the sore. Thus he took me along to Baghdad. He consulted the medical experts and they endorsed the opinion of experts in Hullah. As he heard their opinion, his chest constricted. Said said to him: The Shariah has allowed you to offer your prayers in these clothes. However you should be on your maximum guard and try not to be self-deceived as it is prohibited by Allah and His Messenger. At this my father said to him: When things have come to such a pass and i happen to be in Baghdad, it would be better for me to visit Mashhid and return home. He appreciated my father's suggestion. Thus he left his cloths and other articles with Said Radhi-ud-Din and set out for Mashhid.

My father adds: When I entered mashhid, visited the Imams and slipped into the basement, I prayed hard to God and to the imam. I spent a part of the night in the basement and stayed in mashhid till thursday. Then I went towards Dajlah. There I had a bath, put on clean clothes, filled the pot with water and turned about on my way back to Mashhid. All of a sudden I saw four horse riders coming out of Bab-i-Sor'. A tribe of noblemen lived in the suburb of Mashhid who also grazed their goats in that area. I presumed them to be the noblemen of that tribe. When i came face to face with them i found two of them were quite young. One of them was just a boy. His face was covered with swords. The third was an old man who carried a lancet and the other carried a sword. The old man with the lancet stood on the right side of the path and he pitched his lancet into the ground. Both the young men stood on the left side of the path. The fourth man stood before my father in the middle of the path. then the others greeted him and he returned their greetings. He said to my father: Are you going back to your family tomorrow? He replied: yes, (it's true). He said: come a little closer so that I may have a look at the sore spot. I did not like him touching me and I thought to myself that the Badvi people perhaps did not flinch from filth. I have just come out of the water and my shirt is wet all over. Any way I moved closer to him. He caught hold of my hand and clasped me to him self. He started probing me from my shoulder till his hand touched the sore and he squeezed it with his hand which caused me considerable pain. Then he joined his group. The old man said to me: Ismail, you are successful. I wondered how did he know my name! I said: We are all successful by the grace of God. The old man said: do you know that he is the Imam? I moved towards him, clasped him and kissed his thigh.

Then he moved on. I also moved along. He said to me: you'd better go back now. I said: I.d like to be with you all the time. He explained: it's better for you if you go back. I repeated what I had said earlier. The old man said: Ismail, you should feel ashamed of yourself. The old man said: Ismail, you should feel ashamed of yourself. The Imam has repeated it twice and you are opposing it. And he struck at my forehead. i stood there and they moved a few steps ahead of me. The Imam turned towards me and said: When you reach Baghdad, Abu Jafar, i.e., Khalifah Mustansir will call you to his court. When you call on him, he will try to palm something off to you but you should not take anything from him. Ask my son Radhi to give you a letter for Ali bin Aodh because I have indicated it in my wil that he should give you what you really crave for. Then he walked away with his companions until all of them vanished out of sight. I felt my separation from the Imam rather deeply and for a while I sat glued to the ground. A few people gathered round me. They said: you look pale. Are you in pain? I replied: no, I'm not in pain. They asked me again: Have you had a tiff with someone. I replied: no, not at all. On the contrary I would like to ask you if you have seen the horse-riders who passed by you. They said: they are respectable people and are the owners of goats. I replied no, no, he was in fact the Imam. They inquired: Was it the old man or --? I replied: he himself placed his hand on the spot and it caused me some pain too. But when my foot was exposed I saw that the disease had not left even a trace behind. Out of sheer terror I thought that the sore was perhaps on the other leg. When I bared the other leg, I did not see anything on it either.*

Another story is related about Abu Atwah who was suffering from testicular enlargement. He beloged to the Zaidiyyah sect and did not like that his children should show any inclination towards the Imamiyyah views. He told them: I'll believe neither in you nor will I adopt your religion until Imam Mehdi appears and cures me of this disease. He repeated it many times. Once we had gathered at the time of night prayers that my father screamed at the top of his voice and called us. When we reached near him he said: meet your Imam; he has just been to see me. We came out but we did not see anything. on our return, we asked our father about it. he explained. A man came to me just now and said: Atwah! i asked: who are you? He replied: I am the Imam of your children and I have come to relieve you of this pain. He brought his hands forward and squeezed my testicles and moved away. When I moved my hand forward I could find nothing. The story gained wide publicity. I asked other people about it and they also confirmed it.

There are many traditions about the invisible Imam. A large number of people have visited him. There were others who had lost their way and were put back on the tracks by their Imam.*

Return (Rijat): The Shias of Ithna Ahriyyah also believe in the comcept of return or resurrection as preaced by Abdullah bin Saba, the founder of Sabaism. The difference between their positions is that while Abdullah bin Saba believed in the return of Hadhrat Ali, the Shias believe in the return of their invisible and incorperal Imam. It is noteworthy that this concept has been operative in all Shia sects and in all eras, except in the era of early Shias who were totally allergic to such obscenities and vulgarities and who practised unadulterated Islam. At present the concept of return is one of the operative principals of the Shia faith, especially the faith that is professed by the followers of Ithna Ashriyyah who gloat over it in spite of the fact that their pious forefathers gave it the cold shoulder it deserved.

The Shias do not simply believe in the return of the invisible imam but they believe in the return of a host of other irrelevancies. For example, they believe that the other Shias and their Imams, as well as their enemies, will also return. Thus they have minted a number of fake stories and traditions to concretize their lie. They have also dashed off full-length books to give credibility to the baseless myth. I would like to make reference to some of the absurdities to underscore the amorphous make-up of Shia faith and to emphasize the extent and magnitude of their revulsion for the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) , his wives, his companions and the members of his family. It is also intended to pinpoint their insult and desecration of the Holy Quran whose divinity is unquestionable and whose reverence is absolutely binding on every Muslim because a Muslim is not a Muslim if he does not respect and follow the injunctions of the Holy Quran. Besides if he does not respect the Quran, he can hardly be expected to respect God who is its originatior and the Prophet (peace be upon him) who is the communicator of its message. And when a Muslim does not believe in Quran, God and the Prophet (peace be upon him) as he should and yet calls himself a Muslim, I believe he is even worse than the infidels.

Mulla Baqir Majlisis observes in his "Bihar-ul-Anwar"

"O brother! I hope ow that you have no doubts and reservations about the concept of return which I have established through my stretched-out prelude and which has been practised by Shias in all times. The consensus of the Shias on this issue is as clear as the sun at its meridian. How can a believer who believes in the integrity and truthfulness of his pure Imams deny the two hundred unambiguous traditions, especially when they happen to be continious and have been recorded by the Imams and scholars in more than fifty books and manuscripts.*

Shias have imputed the following tradition to Hussain bin Ali:

"If there is just one day left in the extinction of the world, God will stretch it out to such a length that one of my children will give birth to a person who will fill the oppressed and persecuted would with justice and equity"*

They have similarity imputed a bogus tradition to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

"The Qaim who is born out of my children will resemble me in name. His patronym will be like my patronym, his habits will be like my habits and his Sunnah will be my Sunnah. He will impress upon the people to follow my practice and invite them to embrace the Book of Allah. Whosoever obeys him in fact obeys me; and whosoever disobeys him in fact disobeys me. One who denies invisibility in fact denies my reality. One who maligns him in fact maligns me, and one who attests his truth in fact attests my truth. I'll complain to God against those people who doubt my words about him and I'll protest to God against those who deny my glorification of him and tend to misguide my nation.

Who will be the Mehdi?

When Hadrath Hassan bin Ali patched up with Hadhrat Muawiyyah, some of the people condemned his conciliatory step and strongly dissaproved of his allegiance to Hadhrat Muawiyyah. But the words he used to refute his critics appear to have been cooked up by the Shias. He is supposed to have replied: Alas! you don't know the reality of what I have done. By God! what I have done is in the best interests of the Shias. Don't you know that I am your Imam and it is obligatory for you to obey me. And according to the indication made by the Messenger of Allah I am one of the chiefs of the youngest inmates of Paradise? All of them replied: why not. What you say is absolutely correct. He added: do you know when Khidhar broke the boat, murdered the child and repaired the wall, Moses got annoyed with him because he did not know that each one of us carries the band of allegiance to a rebellious person of his times. Only the Qaim is an excepand Isa bin Miriyam will pray behind him. God will keep his birth a secret, and he will remain invisible so that he is not forced into allegiance of any such person. When the ninth Imam is born out of the children of my brother Hussain, God will give him a long life during his state of invisibility and then reveal him in the guise of a young man even less than forty years in age to prove that nothing can defy God's supervision and His will prevails over the will of others.*

A similarly fake tradition is attributed to Imam Jafar "If some one acknowledges all the Imams and denies Imam Mehdi, it means he acknowledges all the prophets and denies Muhammad (peace be upon him). People asked him: O son of the Prophet! who among your children will be Mehdi? He replied: the fifth who will be the son of the seventh but he will remain invisible; therefore it will not be proper for you to mention his name.*

His position and status:

They rely on the tradition of Ali bin Hussain to determine the position and status of this Imam: "whosoever among us is blessed as Imam Qaim will embody in himself the Sunnahs of six prophets; one of these Sunnahs will be Noh's, the second will be of Ibrahim, the third of Moses, the fourth of Ayyub, the fifth of Christ and the sixth Sunnah will be the Sunnah of Hadhrat Muhammad (peace be upon him). Noh's Sunnah will symbolize long life, Ibrahim's Sunnah will reflect secrecy of birth and segregation from people, Moses' Sunnah will spell out absence and invisibility, Christ's Sunnah will stand for the difference of opinion among the people about his reality, Ayyub's Sunnah will usher in comfort after calamity and the Sunnah of Hadhrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) will appear with the force of the sword --the birth of this Qaim will be kept secret from people. The people will say that he is not yet born that he should revolt. Besides he will not wear the band of his allegiance. The period of his invisibility will be blessed with the rewards conferred on the martyrs of Badar and in his case the reward will be multiplied a thousand times.*

N'omani has related it on the authority of Ali bin Hussain that Mehdi will recline against Baitullah and he will say:

"I am Adam's remainder, Noh's treasure, Ibrahim's nominee, and Muhammad's selectee".*

"I am Allah's remainder (baqih) and His Khalifah and Hujjat for you".*

"Gabriel will always be with him".*

Shias also discuss it in a lighter vein occasionally. When Musa bin Imran read about the honour and distinction reserved for Qaim among the children of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Safar I, he prayed to God: Oh Allah! Make me the Qaim among the children of muhammad. God replied: he will be among the children of Ahamd. Musa looked it up in Safar II but he found the same answer. He made the same submission and again received the same reply. Then he consulted Safar III, but found an identical explantion and repeated his prayer to God again he received the same reply.*

When will the invisible Imam appear?

Kulaini in his "Kafi" reports from Asbagh bin Nubatah: I called on Amir-ul-Mominin. I saw that he looked worried, and out of worry he was scratching the ground. I submitted: Amir-ul-Mominin, what's the matter? Are you in love with the earth? He replied: I am in love neither with the earth nor with any thing that is of the world. But I am thinking about the child who will be born out of my children. He will be the Mehdi and transform the world of oppression and persecution into a cradle of justice and equity. His absence will be rather strange and as a result many people will go astray and others will return to the fold. I asked: O Amir-ul-Mominin! how long will be the period of his absence? He replied: six days or six months or six years. I inquired: Is it really about to happen? He replied: yes, yes. As he is about to be born, similarly his disappearance is also about to occur. Asbagh, don't get lost. They are the best people because they will live among the best people of the nation.*

It is also attributed to Abu J'after Baqir:

O Thabit! God had decided to reveal him in seventy but when Hadhrat Hussain was martyred, God's wrath descended on the inmates of the earth and he postponed it to one hundred and forty. When I told you about it, you made it public and tore away all the folds (of secrecy). Then God waived aside the time clause altogether. Allah effaces any one He likes and keeps alive any one He likes and He has with him the Un-ul-Kitab.*

It is also attributed to his son Jafar:

"The year one hundred and forty had been fixed for him but God postopned it because you had made it public".*

He has also reported a tradition attributed to Abu Jafar. "The maximum span between Qaim and Nafs Zakiyyah will be over fifteen nights".*

His son Jafar is reported to have observed:

"When the wall of Kufah mosque adjacent to Ibn Masud's house collapses, that will be the moment of the Kingdom's decline and at that time the Qaim will make his appearance".*

It is clear as day light that Nafs Zakiyyah was murdered and many thousand nights have elapsed since his murder. Similarly hundreds of years have passed since the wall of Kufah mosque collapsed but the impalpable Imam has not appeared yet.

Ishaq bin Ammar is supposed to have stated: Abu Abdullah told me that the matter has been postponed twice".*

There is no doubt that the Shias were persistently seduced by false hopes and expectations of the appearance of their Qaim and the return of their Mehdi and they are still the victims of these illusions and delusions. It has been attested by their seventh Imam Musa bin Jafar and endorsed by Kulaini in "Kafi" and Nomani* in "Kitab-ul-Ghaibah". The main object of these attestations and endorsements is to strengthen the beliefs of the Shias in these spurious traditions so that they do not back out of thier commitment to Shiaism. Yaqtin reportedly told his son Ali bin Yaqtin: our situation is rather funny: what was conveyed to us has been implemented, but what was conveyed to you had has not been implemented, that is, the promise made by Bani Abbas. Ali replied: what was conveyed to you and us had the same objective. The only difference is that your affair has now ripened and it has materialized as was promised to you. Our affair has not matured yet and we are still being seduced by hope. It will harden our hearts if we are told bluntly that the affair will mature after two or three hundred years and the people might turn away from Islam. Therefore you should say that the time of the appearance of the Imam is pretty close, that he is just about to appear and people will draw consolation from it.*

Jazairi relates on the authority of Majlisi that during the period of Safawi kings he anxiously awaited the appearance of the Imam on the basis of three traditions. He says that all the traditions bearing on this issue are intact. The reporters have recorded them without alteration or modification and have not explained the subtleties involved in them. Since they are not fake traditions, it is ot proper to reject them out of hand. No one before Majlisis had tried to offer their explanation. But when Majlisi appeared on the scene, he focussed His attention on their interpretation. Some of the traditions he related to the establishment of the Safawi kingdom and others he appended to the appearance of Alif Salam. First I'll reproduce these traditions as they are and then I'll make reference to the interpretation offered by Majlisi.

First tradition:

Muhammed bin Ibrahim Nomani observes in his book "Kitab-ul-Ghaibah": "I saw a few people who had appeared in the east. They were in pursuit of truth but the truth evaded them. But when they saw him, they placed their swords on the shoulders. In that state whatever they demanded was given to them, but they did not accept it until they stood up (on their feet) nor were they ready to give it to any martyrs".

Majlisi has explained that the people, who are blessed with special insight, are aware of the fact that those who appeared in the east belonged to the Safawiyyah chain. The leading light of this chain was Shah Ismail. The words of the tradition "they were not ready to give it to any one else except your Imam" refer to the Imam Qaim. The tradition carries a clear pointer that the Safawi rule and the rule of Mehdi are concurrent. It means that the Safawis will hand over the rule to Imam Mehdi on his appearance without any dispute.

Second tradition:

This tradition is also recorded by Nomani in the same book with the requisite amount of certification. Once Amir-ul-Mominin was relating events which will occur after him till the appearance of Mehdi. Hadhrat Hussain asked him: Amir-ul-Mominin ! When will God purify the earth of tyrants? He replied: It will not happen until the blod of uncountable people is unlawfully shed on the face of the earth. Then he recounted at great length the details relating to the rule of Banu Umayyah and Banu Abbas which the reporter has condensed. Amir-ul-Mominin said: When Qaim appears in Khorasan, over-powers Fan and Malkan and crosses the island of Bani Kavan and moves into Jailan, he will accept the invitation of Abr and Dilam. (At that time) the flags of the Turks will appear for my son who will spread in different countries. Barah will be completely fuined and then a leader will appear. Similarly he related an other long story and then said: When there will be thousands arrayed in impregnable rows, the ram will kill the kids and then the second one will appear. The avenger will take his revenge and the infidel will be annihilated. Then the expected Qaim will appear and reveal to the people what is kept hidden from them. Hussain ! he will be one of our children and he will be an exceptional son. He will appear between the pillars of Yamani and Hatim with a small bunch of people at Thaqalain and he will not spare any dastardly fellow on earth. How lucky are the people who will live in his era and witness his rule! Majlisi has explained in his tradition that the island of Bani Kawan is in the vicinity of Astribad. Dilam are the people who live in Qazvin and in the areas adjacent to it. Huramat are the sacred spots. The ruin of Basrah refers to wars and other calamitous events. The cumulative impact of these natural and unnatural phenomena will be the total decimation of Basrah. Qaim stands for Mehdi. The two pillars are the pillars of Kabah i.e., Rukn and Hatim and this is the place of the Imam's appearance. Zar Yasir means a small party of people whose number will equal the number of the martyrs of Badr. Thaqalain implies both Jinn and human beings. It means he will overwhelm both of them. They are referred to as Thaqalain because they have added to its burden though they live on it; or it is because they are superior among the earthly creatures and the Arabs use the word Tahaqal in reference to a respectable person or because the various hardships they face have hardened them. The dastardly people are tyrants and infidels.

Allama Majlisi further explains that the rebels of Khorasan are the Turkish rulers like Changez Khan and Hulaku Khan. The one who will revolt in Jailan is Shah Ismail. That is why he declared him as his son. The chief executive is either the mentioned king or any one of the Safawi kings. "The ram will kill the kids" is pregnant with historical allusion. It refers perhaps to Safi Mirza becuse he had murdered his father Shah Abbas (1), and he had avenged his blood, and the one who murdered him had also murdered his father Safi Mirza. "Then the awaited Qaim will appear" refers to the mergence of Safawi rule with the rule of Mehdi.

Third tradition:

This tradition is recorded by Muhammad bin Masud Ayyashi in his Kitab-ut-Tafsir. He is one of the most reliable traditionists. He has reported it from Abu Lubaid Fakhrumi who has reported it from Baqir: He remarked in the context of the excesses committed by the Banu Abbas administration; Abu Lubaid! Some of the distinctive letters of the Quran are packed with infinite knowledge. When Allah revealed the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood up until his light became appearent and the divine articulation was established, though when he was born, one hundred and three years had elapsed out of the seventh thousand. He added: Whenever you count them without repetition, you will find a reference to him in the distinctive letters of the Book of Allah. When anyone of these letters is a terminal letter, its termination will be an indication of the fact that someone from the Banu Hashim will stake out his claim as the Qaim. He further added: means one , thirty and forty , means ninety and they add up to one hundred and sixty one. was the beginning of Hussain bin Ali's appearance. When he completed his tenure, then at the occasion of Al-Mas , a Qaim from among the children of Abbas appeared and when come to its end, a Qaim from among us will appear. Try to grasp all these details and explanations and keep them secret.

Majlisi explains that from to seven implies the initial point of Adam's creation. Besides, this tradition contains many figures and I have offered various interpretations in my book "Bihar-ul-Anwar". Here I'll confine myself to only one interpretation but even this interpretation needs a prelude and a preface. Every one knows that in the authentic books of mathematics, various terms have been coined for the alphabetical letters but the mathematical figures contained in this tradition rely for their interpretation on the Western terminology. In the former times Arabs had made considerable progress in the field of mathematices. Thus stood for the figure of sixty, for ninety, for three hundred, for eight hundred, for nine hundred, for one thousand and the remaining letters carried the conventinal sense.

When you grasp the preface you will arrive at the date of birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him) through a servey of the Surahs in case the repetitive letters are not taken into account for analytical purposes. For example and etc are repeated but they will be counted only once in the mathematical calculation. Similarly etc will be counted only three times. When you count these letters tot up to one hundred and three from the creation of our father Adam down to the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and in the light of the tradition this period adds up to six thousand one hundred and three years (plus three years of ). Each thousand starts with a date, and out of seven thousand one hundred and three years, the initial period of each year has already expired as is formerly established. The number of these letters is also one hundred and three. Thus which is at the beginning of Surah Baqrah, refers to the birth of the prophet (peace be upon him). The explanation of Amir-ul-Mominin that when any one of these letters terminates, its terminal period will give birth to a Qaim among Banu Hashim makes sense in the light of this calculation. It means that the rule of Banu Hashim starts with Abdul Matlib and a period of seventy one years links the rule of Abdul matilb and the rule of the prophet (peace be upon him), and it covers all the figures of . The arrangement of in the Surahs Baqrah and Al-Imran points to the appearance of Hadhrat Hussain as a period of seventy one years links his appearance and the beginning of the Prophetic rule. It points towards the arrival of Banu Abbas on the basis of arrangement of Quranic Surahs because the Banu Abbas are also Hashmis, though their claim to rule was dubious and the period from the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the establishment of Banu Abbas rule though it was much longer if counted from the date of their allegiance.

It is also possible that the beginning of its date coincides with the revelation of Surah 'Iraf. If this is the case, then it will be coterminous with the time of allegiance. If it is calculated from another angle, it will actually provide the basis of the tradition recorded in "Kitab ma'ani-ul-Akhbar" and by the grace of God I shall discuss it at a later stage. Occurs at five places in the Quran and the Amir-ul-Mominin did not hesitate to explain it as he had hesitated o explain . From the beginning of its composition, its aggregate comes up to one thousand one hundred fifty five years because it is the year 1078 A.H. It means (seventy seven ), years are still left in the appearance of the imam. And if these dates are calculated from the date of birth, the total period tots up to sixty five years. This is an abridged version of majlisi's explanation.*

Now the fifty five years as well as the seventy seven years have passed; rather as in-ordinately long period has expired but it is regrettable that the time of the return of their invisible Imam has not yet arrived nor there appears to be any sign of its arrival. A poet has remarkably stated:



"The time for the basement has not yet arrived to give him birth whom you have invested with the human shape in your fancy.

"Your rational faculties are to be pitied as you have added a third entity to the phoenix and the ghost.

How and where will he come?

The Shias base their beliefs on Jafar's statement that the twenty-sixth of the month of Ramadhan will be called the day of the Qaim and it will be the day of Ashurah, the day on which Hadhrat Hussain was martyred: It means I find him standing between the Rukan and the place of ibrahim on the 17th of Muharram. Babriel is standing in front of him and speaking loudly: O people ! come and pledge hour allegiance. On hearing these words the Shias from all corners of the world will rush madly to take the oath of allegiance at his hand. Distances will shrink to facilitate their arrival. God, on account of His Qaim imam, will turn the oppressed world into a cradle of justice and equity".*

Then he relatd how the Shias will gather to pay homage to Imam Qaim: When the Imam calls the people to prayer, he will call out the name of God in Hebrew language.* Then three hundred and thirteen of his companions will be elected. People will scramble towards him companions will be elected. People will scramble towards him like autumn leaves with flags in their hands. Some of them will be picked up from their beds and despatched to makkah overnight. Some people would be seen flying among the clouds during day time, and their names, the names of their fathers, their marks of identification and their social and racial status will also be made public. I submitted: may I be sacrificed for your sake! Who will be the greatest believer among them? He replied that the man with the strongest faith would be seen flying among the clouds during day time----------- There will be the missing people and the following revelation obviously applied to them:

"Whereever you are, God will bring you (here)".*

Shaikh Taifah Tusi states that a herald will proclaim the name of Qaim from the skies. The proclamation will be heard from the east to the west. The people will wake up on hearing it. Those who are standing will slump on the ground and those who are sitting will rise in a state of stupefied anxiety because it wil be the voice of Gabriel.*

Nomani has added that all the creatures will hear the voice. It will wake up the sleeping people and rally them in the courtyards of their houses. Qaim will appear and revolt on hearing the voice as it will be Gabriel's screem.*

Similarly they have attributed a tradition to Mufdhil bin Umar: I asked Jafar bin Baqir: In which area of the world will the mehdi appear? He replied: when he appears, each eye will catch a glimpse of him. He will disappear on the last day of 226 A.H. and no one will see him until every one can see him. he will appear in Makkah. By God! O Mufdhil; it seems as if he is in makkah and I am looking at him. He is wearing the prophet's lenght of cloth. he has a turban on his head and he is wearing his patched shoes. He has his stick in his hand and he will enter Makkah driving the emaciated goats with it. No one will recognize him when he enters Makkah. Mufdhil asked: Sir, in that case, how will he make his appearance? He replied: He will appear alone, and move towards the House of God alone until the night spreads, the eyes sleep and the silence of the night prevails. Then the rows of angels along with Gabriel and Michael will come down. Gabriel will say: O Master! Your word is about to be received by people and your orders are about to be obeyed. The Imam will brush his hand against his face and say:



"I thank God who has fulfilled His promise and made us inherit the Paradise so that we may live in it whereever we like. There is infinite reward for those who do good".

And then he will shout at the top of his voice from a spot between the Rukan and the place of Ibrahim: O my friends, my special people! and O all those people whom God has created to witness my appearance, come to me professing my allegiance. This voice will reach all the people while they are asleep on their beds in the east and the west and it will reach them simultaneously. They will come leaping towards you and will assemble in front of you on the spot between the Rukan and the place of Ibrahim. Then God will command a beam of light to spread vertically from the earth towards the skies and each believer on the face of the earth will benefit from its radiance till it enters the house of the believers which will send a wave of joy into their hearts. Though the believers will not be consciously aware of the Qaim's presence, they will unconsciously assemble before him and they will be three hundred and thirteen in number, equal to the number of the companions who took part in the battle of Badar.*

Imam Qaim will address the people reclining against the House of God: O people! any one who likes to see Adam and Shayth can see them now. I am Adam and Shayth standing right in front of you ; any one who likes to see Ibrahim and his son can see them: I am brfore you in the form of Ibrahim and Ismail; if any one likes to see lsa and Shamun, can see them now: I am lsa and Shamun ; any one who likes to see Muhammad and Amir-ul-Mominin can see them now: I am Muhammad and Amir-ul-Mominin; one who likes to see Hassan and Hussain can see them now: I am Hassan and Hussain; any one who likes to see the Imams born among the children of Hussain can see them now: I am Hassan and Hussain ; any one who likes to see the Imams born among the children of Hussain can see them now: I am the aggregate of all Imams. Obey me and I'll tell you which you have already been told and I'll also tell you which you have not been told. Any one of you who recites the books should listen to me and then consult the books God revealed to Adam and Shayth. The followers of Adam and Shayth will say. By God! These are the true books because we have seen in them what we did not know. We have come to know what was declared irrelevant in them or the modifications and alterations made in them. Then the Imam will read out to them the true and genuine books of Noh and Ibrahim. He will also read out to them the old testament, the Bible and the New Testament. Their followers will spontaneously react and say: by God! This is the comprehensive Testament and that is the perfect Bible. And these books will be in inexhaustible quantity. Then the Imam will recite the Holy Quran and the Muslims will utter: by God! This is the comprehensive Testament and that is the perfect Bible. And these books will be in inexhustible quantity. Then the Imam will recite the Holy Quran and the Muslims will utter: by God! this is the true and complete Quran which is without change or mutilation.*

This Imam will appear in the shape of a thirty-year old graveful young man. Accordingly, the Shias have imputed a fake tradition to imam jafar. He is supposed to have anticipated that even if the Qaim does appear, people will not recognize him as he will return in the shape of a graceful young man. Only the people from whom God had secured the pledge will remain steady in their conviction. According to an other tradition the Qaim, like Ibrahim Khalil, will enjoy a long life tenure of one hundred and twenty years. Then he will disappear for a short spell and reappear in the form of a thirty-year old lovely young man.*

First of all Gabriel will pledge allegiance to him as has been stated by Tabrisi etc. Gabriel will come to him and ask him about the nature of his invitation. The Qaim will answer him. Gabriel will say : First of all I pledge fealty to you. Therefore he will bring his hand forward and then Gabriel will place his hand over his hand.*

Bahrani says that Gabriel will descend on a drain pipe in the guise of a white bird and among all the creatures he will be the first one to take the oath of allegiance at his hand.* They also dash it with the spice of addition: Gabriel visited the prophet (peace be upon him) to enquire after his health, sent saluatations on him and said: It is my last day to descend on earth. they also quote the tradition of Ata bin Yasar that Gabriel visited the Prophet (peace be upon him) at his death - bed and said: O Muhammad ! I am flying towards the skies and I shall never return to the earth. It is also attributed to Abu Jafar that Gabriel addressed the prophet (peace be upon him) on his death-bead and said: O Muhammad! it is my last descension on earth because I had to descend on earth only to see you.*

On the other hand they claim that Gabriel will come down and pledge allegiance to him. Not only Gabriel but the other angels will also come down and swear fealty to him as Jazairi has reported from Jafar: He will be reclining against Haram. He will stretch his hand forward and it will be lighted without any pain and he will say: it is the hand of Allah. First of all Gabriel will kiss his hand, then all the angels will pledge fealty to him and they will be followed by Najib among the Jinns and Naqib among the believers.*

This is endorsed by Mufid, Tabrisi, Ibn-ul-Fatal, Bahrani, Nomani etc who have imputed a bogus tradition to Muhammad Baqir: It seems I am looking at Qaim in Najf-i Kufah. He is leaving Makkah in the company of five thousand angels. Gabriel is on his right side, Michael is on his left side and the believers are in the vanguard and they will distribute the armies among the various cities.*

Not only five thousand, but an extra force of thirteen thousand, three hundred and thirteen angels will also descend on him. I asked: Will all of them be angels? He replied: yes, they will all be angels who were with Noh on his raft, they were with Ibrahim when he jumped into Nimrod's fire; they were with Moses when the river split for the sake of Bani Israel; they were with Jesus when he ascended to the heavens; four thousand angels who were with the Prophet (peace be upon him) as "Musawimin", one thousand "Murdafin" and three hundred thirteen "Badriyyin", and four thousand angles who wanted to fight along with Hadhrat Hussain but he had not permitted them. All of these angels had anxiously awaited the arrival of Qaim and are looking forward to his rebellion.*

Nomani has also recorded it in his "Kitab-ul-Ghaibah" with the addition* that Gabriel will be holding his flag on that day and it will be vertically pointed like the perpendicular shapes of the divine canopy.* The four thousand angels who wanted to fight on the side of Hadhrat Hussain but he had not permitted them to do so, will stay around his grave till doomsday in a miserable state and with dishevelled hair. The leader of these angels is Mansur and they welcome any one who visits the grave, and bid farewell to anyone who leaves the grave after the visit. They enquire after sick people and take part in the funeral of a dead man.*

What will he do? One of the worst characteristics of Shias is their shameless propensity for lies. They have obviously inherited it from the Jews and the Zoroastrians who tarnished the glory of Muslim rule and Islamic grandeur through their hideous conspiracies. Out of sheer malice the Shias spread the rumour that first of all the Qaim will kill the Quraishis and crucify them and put the Arabs to sword. Accordingly they have attributed a false tradition to Abu Jafar:

If the people come to know that, after his appearance, the Qaim will massacre them, the majority of them would prefer not to see him. He will initiate his campaign with the mass murder of Quraish and wield his sword with such ruthlessness that most of the people would say he is not a member of the Prophet's progeny, because if he had been one of his children, he would have been compassionate.*

Mufid and Tabrisi relate on the authority of Jafar: When the Qaim among the children of Muhammad (peace be upon him) makes his return, he will order five hundred members of Quraish to stand up and then he will chop their necks off; he will again order five hundred more members to stand up and will chop their necks off; and then another five hundred and he will repeat the operation six times. I asked: Will the Quraishis be in such numbers at that time? he replied: yes, Quraishis and their Mawalis will make the number.*

He will prove himself the cutting (edge of the) sword for the Arabs; he will think only of the sharp sword as far as Arabs; he will think only of the sharp sword as far as Arabs are concerned and he will not accept any body's repentance."*

They have placed a similar tradition at Jafar's door-sill as well:

"When Qaim appears, the only thing between him and the Arabs will be the sword. He will not agree on anything except the sword. Then why are they keen on the appearance of the Qaim? He is the sword and death lurks under the shadow of the sword".*

This reflects their malice against the Arabs in general, and Quraish in particular. It proves unmistakably the Jewish and Zoroastrian heritage of the Shias and difinitively establishes the infilteration of Jewish beliefs into the Shia faith. Majlisi in his "Bihar" has imputed a tradition to jafar:

"Qaim will walk through