In the footsteps of Ahlul Bayt

In the Footsteps of Ahlul Bayt

Sheikh Abu Eesa Niamatullah

Opening and Praise

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All Praise is to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And the ends of the righteous are not in the hands of the wrongdoers. And I pray and I give salutations upon the most honored of men and upon his family and his spouses and the mothers of believers and his companions, and we await his sunnah till the Day of Judgment.

I begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and of course all praise is due to him, and I send peace and blessings upon his messenger, the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And we send peace and blessings as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala himself has ordered us to do in the Qur'an, upon his family, and upon the companions, and upon all those people who follow that perfect, blessed, righteous way until the final day comes in completion.

The Challenge of Discussing Ahlul Bayt

This is a topic which, however you title it, people will want to make their own assumptions of what is going to be said, or what is needed to be said, and what is the issue, and so on. Ahlul Bayt, a concept and a phrase which has so much izzah, so much respect, so much honor, so much weight, has in our time, in our current time, in fact throughout history, but certainly in our time due to the political ramifications of the various factions of the world vying over the deen of Islam, it has taken a political dimension, it has taken a sense of fitna, which causes tension, which causes argumentation, and so on.

And it is our job insha'Allah to try and clarify the facts from what is falsehood. It's upon us to try and find out what is that which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala requires of a balanced nation. Because what you'll find in such a topic, such an issue, are the extremes. And you'll find always, actually, that deviation and misguidance is occurring because people go into extremes in a certain issue.

Foundation: Love of Allah and His Messenger

And I want to say to start off with that this is a lecture only for those people who love Allah and His Messenger. Because if you love Allah and you love His Messenger, then you'll know that the love of Allah is only achieved by obeying the Messenger. And those who obey the Messenger will know that his obedience is achieved by obeying those that he leaves behind to rule over us.

Because he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Bukhari 7137)

"Whoever has obeyed me, then he has obeyed Allah. And whoever has obeyed the one who I leave in charge over you, then he has obeyed me."

The Blessing of Divine Guidance

Allah jalla wa 'ala has given us this religion with ilm and nur, with knowledge and light. And there is no doubt upon its straight path. There is no doubt about what is right and wrong. So therefore, misguidance and deviation will come from the internal. It will not come from the divine. And so it is the desires and the mistakes of the people that will take something which is pure and clean and make it confused and cause problems thereafter.

Allah jalla wa 'ala has mentioned in the Qur'an why he has sent down the Messenger:

"Remember the grace of Allah on you and what he has revealed to you of the book and the wisdom, giving you good counsel thereby."

And then an interesting ayah, Allah jalla wa 'ala addresses the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and he says:

"And remember what is recited in your houses of the verses of Allah and wisdom."

The Unity of Muslims: The Only Permitted "Shia"

And from this deen, when you as a Muslim who loves Allah and His Messenger, and you follow Allah and His Messenger, and you establish as your guide the (كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَالسُّنَّةِ) the book of Allah and the sunnah of His Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, then you will never go astray. Because He, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, guaranteed to His nation in the most authenticated of hadith that I have left behind me two things, whoever holds onto them will never be misguided. That is the Qur'an and the sunnah.

And the first after Tawheed, of course, is the unity of the Muslims. The unity of the Muslims. And Allah jalla wa 'ala says:

"Hold tight to the rope of Allah and do not divide into factions."

Allah jalla wa 'ala also says:

"Do not be amongst those who split up their religion and become sects. Each group is happy with what it has before it."

And here is the first use of the word Shia in this talk. Shia in its absolute literal sense means a faction, a branch, a party breaking off from something and creating something else. Allah jalla wa 'ala does not allow this behavior. Allah jalla wa 'ala does not allow this from the Muslims. And in fact compares it to the style and the way and the methodology of the Mushrikeen, to be divisive.

Because in Islam and in the Qur'an, there is only one Shia, there is only one faction, there is only one party. As Allah jalla wa 'ala said to Ibrahim:

"And certainly one of the key adherents of the party was Ibrahim."

And this is the party of what but of Allah, Hizbullah. About which He says:

"Whoever maintains friendship and closeness with Allah and His Messenger and those who believe, then know that the party of Allah are the triumphant, that are the victorious."

Excellence Through Taqwa Alone

All of them are part of this brotherhood and not one has any fadhl over another. There is no excellence of one over the other. One is not better than the other whether he is richer or poorer, whether he is black or white, but the only excellence amongst them is the one who is closer to Allah jalla wa 'ala. That one who is actually more best, more honorable, more closer to Allah is the one who has most taqwa and taqwa here is the one who is always thinking about Allah or what Allah wants before what he or she wants.

The Concept of Ubudiyyah (Servitude to Allah)

And this is what Ubudiyyah is all about. Ubudiyyah servitude to Allah jalla wa 'ala is the basis upon which one person becomes better than another and it is the only criteria. There is no other single criteria that allows a person to become special or sacred or holy and closer and better other than his servitude to Allah jalla wa 'ala.

So the person, he becomes more humble in front of Allah, he becomes higher with Allah jalla wa 'ala. And that's why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, a man who has Ismah, he has no sin, he was correct in his decisions, he was forgiven all of what happened to him before and everything which will happen. Yet he would pray and he would fast and he would commit himself to Allah jalla wa 'ala so much that the greatest of the people of this nation, the companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam were amazed.

What did he say? Should I not be a grateful slave? And the greatness of this statement is that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recognizes that the greater and the more humble the slave that he is, the greater that he will become in the eyes of Allah.

Allah's Selection of Special People

Yes, despite all this, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has, out of his mercy and out of his grace, chosen certain people in this nation to achieve higher ranks, to become of higher status. And of these people are the companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And of this group are what we call the Ahlul Bayt.

And that is not by some coincidence. It is not just because you have a sticker saying companion, or you have a sticker saying Ahlul Bayt, that you have become something amazing. No. It is because what has been challenged to them, what has been given to them, and what was expected from them, they achieve and they excel.

In fact, if you look at the statement of Imam Zayn al-Abideen, he said that I fear, I fear that for every sin we will be punished twice. But I am hopeful that for every good action we will be rewarded twice. Why did he say that? Because he knows, and this is the key, that those people that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala confers special favour upon, they are under extra pressure to perform.

Definition of Ahlul Bayt

And who are the Ahlul Bayt? Literally translated, of course, it means the people of the house. So the people of the house who are normally, who are the wives and the children, this is the people who normally live in your house. But we know that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave the choice to the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to either choose him and Allah and Al-Akhirah or to choose the dunya, this life here, and enjoy yourself, they decided that we will choose the message of Allah, Islam, Allah, and the Hereafter.

When this ayah was revealed in Surah Al-Ahzab, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam then went to his four key, most important members of the household. Ali radiyallahu anhu, and Fatima radiyallahu anha, and Hassan radiyallahu anhu, and Husayn radiyallahu anhu. And he said, and he made dua, O Allah, remove from my Ahlul Bayt, remove from the people of my household, all rijs, all impurity, all problems, all issues, remove them from that.

But technically speaking, the definition of Ahlul Bayt are those people whom it is haram upon them to receive sadaqa, to receive the charity. And this is because Hassan radiyallahu anhu, as narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari, picked up a date, and when he put it into his mouth, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ran to him, pulled it out, and said, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the household, or our household, the Ahlul Bayt, does not accept the sadaqa. (Bukhari 3072)

And this is because sadaqa is seen as the excess of people, that which is left over, that which is given out of some kind of pity to others. And the one who receives sadaqa, is seen as the weak one, and there is no respect in receiving charity. There is respect in receiving a gift, but there is no respect in receiving charity. And the family of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam does not befit the one who is needy, and who requires the help of the other people.

The Historic Caliphate and Its Transition

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when he left this dunya, and he left the Khilafah upon Nubuwwah, the caliphate upon this manhaj, the methodology of prophethood, he said that it would last for 30 years in the authentic hadith. And he also said in the hadith narrated by Imam al-Tirmidhi, that after that 30 years, there would be a mulk wa rahma, that there would be a kingship, and that there would be mercy. (Tirmidhi 2226)

And subhanAllah, when you see the prediction of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the statement of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it was exactly as he said. Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu was the first Khalif, and then after that Umar, and then after that Uthman, and then after that Ali, and then when it got passed on to Hassan, and then he then decided, for the best interest, to give it over to Muawiyah, up until then, it had been passed on according to the way of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And how long? 30 years exactly.

Divine Protection for the Companions

You need to recognize that whatever you say, whatever you want to believe about the companions and about the people of the household, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has already covered them, has already given them the guarantee of protection. He's already said that in so many different cases, directly and indirectly.

You could take his direct statement when he said, that the best of mankind is my generation. Not the best of a few people, the best of mankind, completely. Then those that come after them, and then those that come after them. (Bukhari 2652)

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in the incident of Hatib ibn Balba, when he, and he was a companion of course of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he's done treason. He was a traitor. He spied, or attempted to spy on the Muslims. And when they caught him, and the companions around him were absolutely furious. And Umar, said, let me chop off his head.

And what did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam say? An amazing statement. He said, this person shahid Badr. He was at Badr. And what do you know, Allah jalla wa 'ala has said to him:

"Do as you wish because I am forgiving you." (Bukhari 3007)

And in another narration:

"Do as you wish because Jannah has become obligatory upon you."

The Tragedy of Division and Hatred

How is it that one of the groups can look at some of these companions and look at some of the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and say what they say about them and do what they do with respect to their honor and their Izzah. How is it possible when Aisha radiyallahu anha, the beloved wife of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is accused of and cursed and treated in a way that one wouldn't do to the worst of one's enemies with one little fact that they forget that Allah jalla wa 'ala is her defender, that Allah jalla wa 'ala chose Surah An-Nur, the Chapter of Light, to free her, to cleanse her and to establish in the hearts of the believing Muslims that she is from the greatest of them, from the Ummahat al-Mu'minin, from the mothers of the believers.

The Reality of Human Nature and Fitna

Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu in the authentic narration, what did he say? He said that I maintain aal, the family, the Ahl al-Bayt is more important to me than I maintain my own family. Umar al-Khattab said to Abbas when Abbas became Muslim, he said to him, Wallahi, I am more happier with your Islam than the Islam of my own father because I know that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam will be happy today.

Is that possible for people who hate each other, who detest one another? Is it possible that Ali radiyallahu anhu stands upon the members in Kufa and he said, he said, I will tell you something, Abu Bakr is the best of this nation and then the best is Umar and if you want, I will tell you the third as well. (Various authentic narrations)

The Truth About Marriage and Relationships

How can anyone attack Aisha and say anything about her, when we know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not only clarifying in the Qur'an her maqam but look at the reality of surah An-Nur when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"The vile women are for the vile men and the good women are for the good men and the good men are for the good women."

If you make the woman vile, what are you saying about the man?

The Battle of Jamal: A Test and Fitna

When the battle occurred between Ali and Aisha, this was a battle and as Allah says in the Qur'an that in the fitna people collapse people are tested that's what fitna is about. It's not something we should be proud of the battle. But it happened and it happened because people make ijtihad and people make mistakes.

Statements from the Ahlul Bayt Themselves

Ali radiyallahu anhu in a very famous and authentic statement, he said two men are destroyed with respect to me: the first the one who loves me to an extreme and praises me with that which I have not been blessed with, he is destroyed. And the other one, the one who hates me and accuses me of that which I have not done, again he is destroyed.

Imam Zayn al-Abideen, what