Abu al-Khattab
"Abu al-Khattab was a fool – I would narrate to him and yet, he would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, he would add onto them from himself"
كان أبو الخطاب أحمق فكنت أحدثه فكان لا يحفظ، و كان يزيد من عنده
These are the beautiful words which Imam al-Sadiq used to describe Abu al-Khattab.
The beauty in such words, lies not in the apparent meaning one might be inclined to infer.
Rather, the hadith is an invitation by Imam al-Sadiq to the Shi'a to recognize lahn al-qawl لحن القول:
The use of taqiyya (dissimulation) in the Imam's words, and the true meaning underlying it.
After all, the recognition of taqiyya and discernment of its purpose and intention is the definition of a true faqih - a man of true knowledge and discernment - in eyes of our Imams:
(Al-Kafi)
Abu ʿAbdullah (peace be upon him) said:
“A single report that you have diraya of (i.e, true understanding) is better than ten that you merely transmit. For every truth has a reality, and every correct matter has a light.”
Then he said:
“By Allah, we do not consider a man among our Shi‘a to be a true faqih until when something is spoken to him with a lahn (i.e, hints of taqiyya), he recognizes the lahn.”
قال أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام): خبر تدريه خير من عشر ترويه، إن لكل حق حقيقة، ولكل صواب نورا، ثم قال: إنا والله لا نعد الرجل منشيعتنا فقيها حتى يلحن له فيعرف اللحن
Only with such discernment of taqiyya can one become a faqih.
And only with such discernment - diraya - can one truly attain ma'rifa (understanding of our Imams and their station).
Abū Jaʿfar (peace be upon him) said:
“My son, recognize the ranks of the Shiʿa according to the extent of their narration and their diraya.
For ma'rifa is nothing but diraya of our narrations comprehension of narration, and through the diraya of of our narrations the believer ascends to the highest degrees of faith.
4 - معاني الأخبار: أبي، عن علي، عن أبيه، عن اليقطيني، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن زيد الزراد، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال أبوجعفر عليه السلام: يا بني اعرف منازل الشيعة على قدر روايتهم ومعرفتهم، فإن المعرفة هي الدراية للرواية، وبالدرايات للروايات يعلو المؤمنإلى أقصى درجات الإيمان،
Essentially -
The idea of a "faqih" (a man of understanding in religion) in mainstream Islam, is a scholar well-learned in the matters regarding halal and haram (fiqh).
However, in the lens of our Imams,
A faqih is a man well-learned in the underlying theory which defines the religion of Al Muhammad almost entirely.
That theory, which comprises 90% of Shi'ism, is none but:
Taqiyya.
As Imam al-Sadiq said:
"9/10th of religion is in taqiyya. There is no religion to he whom has no taqiyya“ - Imam al-Sadiq (a)."
With that said and known,
Our endeavor today in practicing true Ja'fari fiqh, in the way the Imam intended, would be through dissecting the words of Imam al-Sadiq - the hadith of our post - from every angle:
"Abu al-Khattab was a fool – I would narrate to him and yet, he would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, he would add onto them from himself"
كان أبو الخطاب أحمق فكنت أحدثه فكان لا يحفظ، و كان يزيد من عنده
So let us begin!
Bismillah
1 ) "A FOOL" IN THE EYES OF A FAQIH
The rule of Harun al-Rashid was a very tumultous period for the followers of Al Muhammad (as).
In general, the early decades of the Abbasid empire were full of violence and bloodshed towards those having affinity for the Prophet's household -
That it led our Imams to issue commands to their Shi'a prohibiting even the mention of Imam Ali (as) and Sayyida Fatima:
(Al-Kafi)
Abu ʿAbdillah (peace be upon him) said:
“Beware of mentioning ʿAlī and Fāṭimah (peace be upon them), for there is nothing more hateful to the people than the mention of ʿAlī and Fāṭimah (peace be upon them).”
عن أبي عبد الله عليهالسلام قال إياكم وذكر علي وفاطمة عليهاالسلام فإن الناس ليس شيء أبغض إليهم من ذكر علي وفاطمة عليهاالسلام.
Knowing this,
Imagine if you were the trusted confidant of the Imam of your Time and your duty was to infiltrate the Abbasid beaurucracy for the sake of Shi'ism.
The level of taqiyya you would have to excercise would be significantly higher than the average Shi'i commoner.
This was the case of Ali ibn Yaqtin - secretly a trustee of Imam al-Kadhim (as), and publicly a vizier of Harun al-Rashid:
One of the Shi'a of Imam al-Kadhim visited the Imam, complaining to him about Ali ibn Yaqtin.
The allegation was that Ali ibn Yaqtin is being hypocritical regarding his profession of Shi'ism and does not in fact believe in the Imamate of al-Kadhim (as).
This is because the Shi'i follower had witnessed Ali ibn Yaqtin stating in an Abbasid gathering:
"I affirm Musa ibn Jaafar is not an imam.
And if I did not believe that he was not an Imam, then may the curse of Allah, the angels, and all of mankind be upon me."
The incident can be noted in the following hadith:
(Al-Ihtijaj of al-Tabrasi, vol 2, page 169)
“O son of Rasul Allah, I fear that Ali bin Yaqteen is be hypocritical to you in claiming that he believes in your wasiya and Imamate.
Imam al-Kadhim asked him: How is that?
He said: Because I attended with him today in the gathering of one of the elders, so the head of the gathering said to him:
You claim that Musa ibn Jaafar is an imam but not this caliph sitting on his bed?
Ali ibn Yaqtin said to him:
I do not say this – rather I affirm Musa ibn Jaafar is not an imam.
And if I did not believe that he was not an Imam, then may the curse of Allah, the angels, and all of mankind be upon me.
The head of the gathering said: May God reward and curse those who slandered you.
يا ابن رسول الله ما أخوفني أن يكون علي بن يقطين ينافقك في إظهار وصيتك وإمامتك، فسأله الإمام: وكيف ذاك؟ قال: لأني حضرت معهاليوم في مجلس أحد الشيوخ فقال له صاحب المجلس: أنت تزعم أن موسى بن جعفر إمام دون هذا الخليفة القاعد على سريره؟ فقال لهصاحبك هذا: ما أقول هذا بل زعم إن موسى ابن جعفر غير إمام، وان لم أكن اعتقد انه غير إمام فعلي وعلى من لم يعتقد ذلك لعنة اللهوالملائكة والناس أجمعين، قال صاحب المجلس: جزاك الله خيراً ولعن من وشى بك
Imam al-Kadhim, however, was not dissuaded by the complaint of this Shi'i.
The Imam of his Time knows that his close elite (such as Ali ibn Yaqtin) speak only the truth.
And when speaking in taqiyya, the Imam's elite speak just as he taught them and they observe from him.
The Imam's elite as the true fuqaha' (i.e, faqihs), hence - Imam al-Kadhim says:
"Musa ibn Jaafar (peace be upon him) said to the narrator:
The situation is not as you thought, but your friend (Ali ibn Yaqtin) is more of a faqih than you."
له موسى بن جعفر (عليه السلام): ليس كما ظننت ولكن صاحبك افقه منك ،
However, how is Ali ibn Yaqtin excercising fiqh here?
Simple:
He recognizes that even if hypothetically, our Imams say things as bizarre as "God doesn't exist!" - out of taqiyya.
We have to accept it as true, because there is a batin (esoteric) true meaning hidden, behind this layer of taqiyya.
The true meaning behind "God doesn't exist" - would be "God exists!", in the batin.
Accordingly, Ali ibn Yaqtin uses the same tactic in his situation (saying something in the dhahir, with an entirely different intended batin meaning):
"For by saying this, he proved my leadership and denied the leadership of anyone else.
Rather, Ali ibn Yaqtin said: Musa is not an Imam – meaning that the one who is not an Imam, Musa is other than him. Thus, Musa is an Imam, because by saying this he only confirmed my Imamate and denied the Imamate of anyone else.
O Abdullah, when will this matter that you thought of your brother go away from you? This is hypocrisy, repent to God”
(( فقالوإنما قال: موسى غير إمام، أي انه الذي غير إمام فموسى غيره، فهو إذن إمام فإنما اثبت بقوله هذا إمامتي ونفى إمامة غيري، ياعبد الله متى يزول عنك هذا الذي ظننته بأخيك؟ هذا من النفاق تب إلى الله))(73 ).
This way "Musa is not an Imam!" Becomes "anyone but Musa is not an Imam".
Of course, there is no such thing as a "batin" to a companion's words.
Hence, Ali ibn Yaqtin would have been simply regurgitating Imam al-Kadhim's usage of taqiyya to redefine "Musa is not Imam", to the Abbasids.
Knowing this,
How would we expect Abu al-Khattab to define the following hadith when he hears it?
"Abu al-Khattab was a fool – I would narrate to him and yet, he would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, he would add onto them from himself"
Simple!
"Anyone discrediting Abu al-Khattab is a fool! I would narrate to them and yet, they would would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, they would add onto them from themselves"
Abu al-Khattab, a true faqih - confident in his appointment as Bab of the Imam, would never be phased by such ahadith - nor would his companions.
Because they were aware of the true meaning behind Imam al-Sadiq's words, and the lahn al-qawl of his words.
Let us look at more examples to further highlight this concept.
2 ) THE CONCEALED BEAUTY
The concept of uttering words (false in dhahir, but true in batin) is known as tawriya التورية(concealment).
It is the notion of using word play, or outright false statements, with the intention of convincing your opponents you believe in the same ideas as them.
All the while, hidden behind your words, are different meanings contrary to the idea you are preaching.
We shall demonstrate this concept through the following hadith:
(Ma'ani al-Akhbar of Shaykh al-Saduq)
One of the opponents (non-Shīʿa) was in the presence of al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) and said to a man from among the Shīʿa:
“What do you say about the ten companions (i.e, the 10 companions promised heaven, in Sunni mythology)?”
The Shīʿī man replied:
“I say about them the good words by which Allah removes my sins and raises my rank.”
The questioner said:
“Praise be to Allah who saved me from hating you! I thought you were a Rāfiḍī who hates the Companions.”
The man replied:
“Indeed, whoever hates even one of the Companions—upon him be the curse of Allah.”
The questioner said:
“Perhaps you are interpreting what you say. So what about one who hates the ten Companions?”
The man said:
“Whoever hates the ten Companions—upon him be the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people.”
The questioner leapt up, kissed his head, and said:
“Make me forgiven for accusing you of being a Rāfiḍī before today.”
The man said:
“You are forgiven, and you are my brother.”
Then the questioner departed.
When he left, al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) said to the Shīʿī man:
“Well done—may Allah bless you! The angels were amazed at your usage of tawriya and at how beautifully you spoke. You saved yourself and did not harm your religion. May Allah increase the grief of our opponents upon grief, and may He conceal from them the true intent of those who claim our love while practicing taqiyyah (precautionary dissimulation).”
قال بعض المخالفين بحضرة الصادق عليه السلام لرجل من الشيعة.
ما تقول في العشرة من الصحابة؟
قال: أقول فيهم القول الجميل الذي يحط الله به سيئاتي، ويرفع به درجاتي قال السائل: الحمد لله على ما أنقذني من بغضك،كنت أظنك رافضيا تبغض الصحابة.
فقال الرجل: ألا من أبغض واحدا من الصحابة فعليه لعنة الله.
قال: لعلك تتأول ما تقول، فمن أبغض
العشرة من الصحابة
فقال: من أبغض العشرة من الصحابة فعليه لعنة الله، والملائكة، والناس أجمعين. فوثب فقبل رأسه فقال: اجعلني في حل مما قذفتك به منالرفض قبل اليوم.
قال: أنت في حل وأنت أخي ثم انصرف السائل
انصرف السائل فقال له الصادق عليه السلام: جودت لله درك! لقد عجبت الملائكة ومن حسن توريتك، وتلفظك بما خلصك، ولمتثلم دينك، زاد الله في قلوب مخالفينا غما إلى غم وحجب عنهم مراد منتحلي مودتنا في تقيتهم.
Now, of course, the words uttered by the Shi'i would convince any rational mind that the man when he says statements like:
“Whoever hates the ten Companions—upon him be the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people.”
He genuinely means exactly what he said. There is no work around.
Yet, however, how could Imam al-Sadiq still praise the man's words and see "beauty" in them?
The Shi'a, therefore, were confused and enquired from the Imam:
The companions of al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) said:
“O son of the Messenger of Allah, we did not understand his words except that he seemed to agree with that hostile questioner.”
Al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) replied:
“If you did not understand what he meant, we have understood it. Allah has thanked him for it. Our follower (walī) who is loyal to our allies and hostile to our enemies—when Allah tests him with one of our opponents—He grants him success in giving an answer that protects his religion and his honour, and Allah increases his reward through taqiyyah.
Verily, your companion said: ‘Whoever criticizes one of them, upon him be the curse of Allah’ — meaning, whoever criticizes one of them, that is, the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (peace be upon him).
And when he said the second time: ‘Whoever reviles them and insults them, upon him be the curse of Allah’, he spoke the truth — because whoever reviles them has reviled ʿAlī (peace be upon him), since he is one of them. But if one does not revile ʿAlī and does not insult him, then he has not reviled them all, but only some of them.”
فقال أصحاب الصادق عليه السلام: يا بن رسول صلى الله عليه وآله ما عقلنا من كلام هذا إلا موافقته لهذا المتعنت
الناصب.
فقال الصادق عليه السلام: لئن كنتم لم تفهموا ما عنى، فقد فهمناه نحن، فقد شكره الله له، إن ولينا الموالي لأوليائنا المعادي لأعدائنا إذاابتلاه الله بمن يمتحنه من مخالفيه، وفقه لجواب يسلم معه دينه وعرضه، ويعظم الله بالتقية ثوابه إن صاحبكم هذا قال: من عاب واحدامنهم فعليه لعنة الله أي: من عاب واحدا منهم، هو: أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام وقال في الثانية: منعابهم وشتمهم فعليه لعنة الله، وقد صدق لأن من عابهم فقد عاب عليا عليه السلام لأنه أحدهم، فإذا لم يعب عليا ولم يذمهفلم يعبهم جميعا، وإنما عاب بعضهم
When we read these words of Imam al-Sadiq,
The reader will begin to understand why I believe Imam al-Sadiq's following description regarding Abu al-Khattab as exemplifying beauty:
"Abu al-Khattab was a fool – I would narrate to him and yet, he would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, he would add onto them from himself"
The beauty is in the Imam's usage of tawriya, the same kind of beauty he noticed in the above Shi'i man's usage of tawriya.
It is beautiful because even the words of condemnation have positive batin connotations.
Yet however,
There is still confusion.
What exactly is the purpose behind Imam al-Sadiq describing a supposed pious, elite companion of his in such a way to his own Shi'a?
How is it logical to perform taqiyya from your own Shi'a?
3 ) TAQIYYA, AS A TOOL OF MISGUIDANCE
It is within Allah's prerogative and exclusive privilege to "misguide whomever He wills" and "guide whomever He wills".
"We have not sent a messenger except in the language of his people to clarify ˹the message˺ for them. Then Allah misguides whomever He wills and guides whoever He wills. And He is the Almighty, All-Wise." (Quran 14:4)
Who then, logically is the conduit of Allah's will?
The one who guides guides people, per Allah's will? And misguide them, per Allah's will?
The Imam!
Imam al-Sadiq tells Mufaddal ibn Umar:
"Indeed, Allah has made the heart of the Imam a dwelling place for His will; so when Allah wills a thing, we (too) will it.”
For this reason, when companions would display audacious disobedience -
Imam al-Sadiq would vow to misguide them;
(Rijal al-Kashi, as quoted in Sayyid Khoei's Mu'jam Rijal hadith, vol 10, page 48)
“Shihab ibn Abd Rabuh was mentioned to Imam al-Sadiq.
The Imam said: ‘Wallah, I will misguide him. Wallah, I will compel him’”
عن داود الرقي، قال: كنت عند أبي عبد الله (عليه السلام)، فذكر شهاب بن عبد ربه، قال: والله الذي لا إله إلا هو، لأضلنه ، والله الذي لا إلهإلا هو، لأجبرنه
How would the Imam misguide his companions?
"Abu Abdullah (al-Sadiq) said: “I have given him a fatwa to misguide him - a type of (fatwa) containing only misguidance and no guidance in it."
The Imam would issue literal fatwa (religious edict), with the intention of misguiding the companion (in the above case Shihab):
(Mukhtasar Basa’ir al-Darajat, page 94)
“On the authority of Yunus ibn Abdul Rahman on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Ammar on the authority of one of our companions who narrated it to him on the authority of Abu Abdullah (al-Sadiq) said a man came.
When Abu Abdullah (al-Sadiq) looked at the man, Abu Abdullah said, “By God, I will misguide him. By God, I will mislead him.”
When the man sat down, he asked the Imam about a matter and the Imam issued him a fatwa on it.
When the man left, Abu Abdullah (al-Sadiq) said: “I have given him a fatwa to misguide him - a type of (fatwa) containing only misguidance and no guidance in it.
Then the man came to Abu al-Hasan (al-Kadhim, and when Abu al-Hasan looked at him, he said:
“By God, I will truly misguide him.”
So the man asked (al-Kadhim) about that particular issue (which he asked al-Sadiq), so al-Kadhim gave him a fatwa.
The man said: “Impossible! Impossible! I have asked your father about this and he gave me a different fatwa. It is obligatory upon me to never leave his order - ever.”
Abu al-Hasan, peace be upon him, said: By God, I have given him a fatwa containing only guidance and no misguidance.”
الاسناد عن يونس بن عبد الرحمن عن محمد بن
إسحاق بن عمار عمن حدثه من أصحابنا عن أبي عبد الله (ع) قال جاء رجل فلما نظر إليه أبو عبد الله " ع " قال اما والله لا ضله اما واللهلأوهمنه فجلس الرجل فسأله مسألة فأفتاه فلما خرج قال أبو عبد الله " ع " لقد افتيته بالضلالة
التي لا هداية فيها ثم إن الرجل جاء إلي أبي الحسن [ع] فلما نظر اليه أبو الحسن [ع] قال اما والله لأضلنه بحق فسأله الرجل عن تلكالمسألة بعينها فأفتاه فقال الرجل هيهات هيهات لقد سألت عنها أباك فأفتاني بغير هذا وما يجب علي ان ادع قوله ابدا فلما خرج قال أبوالحسن " ع " اما والله لقد افتيته بالهداية التي لا ضلالة فيها.
The concepts of "misguiding the Shi'a" and "tawriya", constitute the foundational theories to the Khattabiya's understanding of Imam al-Sadiq's disassociation from Abu al-Khattab:
(Firaq al-Shi'a of al-Qummi)
“And Abū ʿAbdillāh (peace be upon him) intended to reproach us by cursing us outwardly, while inwardly (he was in fact cursing) our opposers and those who differ from us.
They interpreted his curse of Abū al-Khaṭṭāb as referring to Qatāda ibn Diʿāmah al-Baṣrī, the Sunni jurist of the people of Basra. Qatāda used to visit Abū Jaʿfar and Abū ʿAbdillāh (peace be upon them), and his kunya was also Abū al-Khaṭṭāb.
So Abū al-Khaṭṭāb and his followers interpreted that when Abū ʿAbdillāh cursed ‘Abū al-Khaṭṭāb,’ he meant that Basran scholar (Qatāda), and they claimed that Abu ʿAbdillāh was deliberately confusing his companions in order to lead them further into misguidance and bewilderment.”
وأن أبا عبد الله أراد أن يعيبنا بلعنه إيانا في الظاهر، وفي الباطن (يلعن) أضدادنا ومن خالفنا، وتأولوا في ذكره أبا الخطاب أنه عنى قتادةبن (دعامة) البصري، فقيه أهل البصرة. وكان قتادة يأتي أبا جعفر وأبا عبد الله، وكان يكنى بأبي الخطاب، فتأول أبو الخطابوأصحابه أنه الذي لعنه أبو عبد الله وأن ابو عبد الله يلبس على أصحابه ليزيدهم ضلالا وتيها
The Khattabiya are thus clearly established as proponents of the idea that the Imam misguides his Shi'a.
Additionally, they believed the Imam partook in tawriya when cursing "Abu al-Khattab" -
That, to the public, it was believed that the accursed "Abu al-Khattab" is Muhammad ibn Abi Zaynab, founder of the Khattabiya.
But in the batin, the "Abu al-Khattab" accursed by Imam al-Sadiq was actually the Sunni scholar Qatada!
A classic case of tawriya, which would redefine our hadith of discussion:
"Abu al-Khattab was a fool – I would narrate to him and yet, he would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, he would add onto them from himself"
Into -
"Qatada was a fool – I would narrate to him and yet, he would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, he would add onto them from himself"
Qatada, after all, fits the description of the hadith. He frequently visited the Imam, received ahadith from him, but still remained persistent to his Sunnism.
This shows that he did not understand the Imam's words and hence not properly preserve them nor their meanings.
Now, the question remains:
What evidence backs the idea that Imam al-Sadiq was performing taqiyya / tawriya when calling Abu al-Khattab a fool?
4 ) DISCERNING THE TAWRIYYA
"Abu al-Khattab was a fool – I would narrate to him and yet, he would not preserve my words perfectly. In fact, he would add onto them from himself"
كان أبو الخطاب أحمق فكنت أحدثه فكان لا يحفظ، و كان يزيد من عنده
First of all,
Let us start by taking this hadith at face value.
Abu al-Khattab (the founder of the Khattabiya) would narrate the ahadith of Imam al-Sadiq, yet - not preserve them perfectly, and would add onto them from own words.
Is this really a quality of foolishery? Is it condemnable?
The following hadith clarifies:
(Al-Kafi)
"Narrated Muḥammad ibn Muslim, who said:
I asked Abū ʿAbdillāh (al-Ṣādiq, peace be upon him): “Can I hear the ḥadīth from you and then add to it or omit from it?”
He said: “If you intend to convey its meanings, then there is no harm."
محمد بن يحيى، عن محمد بن الحسين، عن أبن أبي عُمير، عن ابن أُذينة، عن محمد بن مسلم قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله (الصادق) (عليهالسلام): أسمع الحديث منك فأزيد وأنقص؟ قال: إن كنت تريد معانيه فلا بأس
If merely not preserving the hadith perfectly and adding to it is a sign of foolishery,
Then Muhammad ibn Muslim - the renowned scholarly companion - is a fool.
Secondly,
If one were to argue that Abu al-Khattab's "lack of preservation" and "adding from himself" refers to Abu al-Khattab exploiting a valid task, for malicious purposes.
In the sense that it is acceptable to add or omit from a hadith and not recalling it word-by-word,
However - Abu al-Khattab utilized this to manipulate the ahadith of Imam al-Sadiq.
Then why do the Shi'a of Imam al-Sadiq's followers concur that Abu al-Khattab's deputyship entailed the following:
(Al-Kafi)
"Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, before he went astray, would carry the questions of our companions to Imam al-Sadiq and would bring back their answers"
كان أبو الخطاب قبل أن يفسد، وهو يحمل المسائل لأصحابنا، ويجئ بجواباتها
This means that Abu al-Khattab's appointed deputyship seen below:
"A man asked Aba al-Hasan [al-Kadhim] عليه السلام and said: How did it happen that Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said about Abi al-Khattab what he said about him at first [in commissioning him] and then came the command to disassociate from him? So he said to him: Is it only for Abi Abdillah عليه السلام to appoint but not to depose!”
233] رجال الكشي: محمد بن مسعود، عن علي بن الحسن، عن معمر بن خلاد قال: قال أبو الحسن عليه السلام: إن أبا الخطاب أفسد أهلالكوفة فصاروا لا يصلون المغرب حتى يغيب الشفق و لم يكن ذلك إنما ذاك للمسافر و صاحب العلة، و قال: إن رجلا سأل أبا الحسن عليهالسلام فقال: كيف قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام في أبي الخطاب ما قال ثم جاءت البراءة منه؟ فقال له: أكان لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام أنيستعمل و ليس له أن يعزل
The main purpose of this deputyship was being a conduit of the Imam! His safeer (messenger), transmitting the Shia's questions to the Imam and the Imam's words back to them.
How could a "fool" be entrusted with such dangerous position? Being entrusted by the Imam to transmit his words to the Shi'a?
Nonetheless a fool who cannot preserve the Imam's words and adds onto it!
Thirdly,
Imam al-Sadiq vouched for Abu al-Khattab's integrity, when he was in his position of deputyship.
Imam al-Sadiq testified that Abu al-Khattab does not swear by Allah falsely.
That even if a trustworthy person claims Abu al-Khattab said something, while Abu al-Khattab swears he did not -
Then we must believe Abu al-Khattab is telling the truth.
(Khara'ij wal-Jara'ih)
"It was narrated from Dāwūd ibn Kathīr al-Raqqī, who said:
I was with al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him), together with Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, al-Mufaḍḍal, and Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Balkhī, when Kathīr al-Nawāʾ entered and said:
“This Abū al-Khaṭṭāb insults Abū Bakr and ʿUmar [and ʿUthmān] and publicly dissociates from them.”
Al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) turned to Abū al-Khaṭṭāb and said:
“O Muḥammad, what do you say?”
He replied:
“It is false; by Allah, he has never heard me insult them.”
Al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) said:
“He has sworn, and he does not swear falsely.”
Then he said:
“It is true; I have not heard it from him, but a trustworthy person narrated it to me from him.”
Al-Ṣādiq said:
“Even the trustworthy cannot convey that.”
When Kathīr al-Nawāʾ left, al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) said:
“By Allah, if Abū al-Khaṭṭāb had said what Kathīr claimed, he would have known about them (the Companions) what Kathīr did not know.
By Allah, they (Abū Bakr and ʿUmar) once sat in the gathering of the Commander of the Faithful (ʿAlī, peace be upon him) by force — may Allah not forgive them, nor excuse them!”
٨٢ ـ يج : روي عن داود بن كثير الرقي ، قال : كنت عند الصادق 7 أنا وأبو الخطاب ، والمفضل ، وأبو عبد الله البلخي ؛ إذ دخل علينا كثيرالنواء ، فقال : إن أبا الخطاب هذا يشتم أبا بكر وعمر [ وعثمان ] ويظهر البراءة منهم ، فالتفت الصادق 7 الى أبي الخطاب وقال : يامحمد! ما تقول؟ ، قال : كذب والله ما سمع مني قط شتمهما [ مني ] ، فقال الصادق 7 : قد حلف ، ولا يحلف كذبا ، فقال : صدق ، لمأسمع أنا منه ، ولكن حدثني الثقة به عنه ، قال الصادق 7 : وإن الثقة لا يبلغ ذلك. فلما خرج كثير [ النوا ] قال الصادق 7 : أما والله لئنكان أبو الخطاب ذكر ما قال كثير ، لقد علم من أمرهما [ هم ] ما لم يعلمه كثير ، والله لقد جلسا مجلس أمير المؤمنين 7 غصبا فلا غفر اللهلهما ، ولا عفا عنهما
For this reason, Humran ibn A'yan (the brother of Zurara), when narrating from Abu al-Khattab - he says:
"It was narrated to me by the one whom I do not accuse of lying"
The Shi'a were conditioned by Imam al-Sadiq to accept Abu al-Khattab's trustworthiness.
“Humran ibn Ayan said to Abu Abdullah, peace be upon him:
‘Are you (Imams) prophets?’.
He said: “No”
I said: “It was narrated to me by the one whom I do not accuse of lying that you said you are prophets”
He (the Imam said): ‘Who is that, Abu al-Khattab?’
I said: ‘Yes’
He said: ‘Those are the words of a delusional person’
I said: “On what basis do you make this judgement?’
He said: “We judge by the rule of the family of Dawud (i.e, we do not need to prove our judgement)
2) حدثنا محمد بن الحسين عن صفوان بن يحيى عن أبي خالد القماط عن حمران بن أعين قال قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام أنبياء أنتمقال لا قلت فقد حدثني من لا اتهم انك قلت انكم أنبياء قال من هو أبو الخطاب قال قلت نعم قال كنت إذا اهجر قال قلت فبما تحكمون قالنحكم بحكم آل داود.
Fourth and finally,
The level of insight Abu al-Khattab had was certainly not brash or foolish.
It is a level of insight vouched for by the Holy Imam himself, as we can see in the following hadith of al-Kafi.
In following hadith, Muhammad ibn Muslim argues that anyone who is not Shi'i is flat-out a kafir.
Abu al-Khattab, meanwhile, argues that establishing kufr (disbelief) for someone requires explicit proof - not a blanket excommunication.
In the end,
Imam al-Sadiq agrees with Abu al-Khattab and states that believing in all non-Shia to be kuffar without hujja (proof) is similar to the sayings of the Khawarij (who excommunicated arbitrarily) - thus, Muhammad ibn Muslim is wrong.
This shows us that the man Imam al-Sadiq entrusted with his ahadith, Abu al-Khattab, carefully preserved the Imam's teachings and was not a fool.
(Al-Kafi)
ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm narrated from his father, from Ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥajjāj, from Hāshim Ṣāḥib al-Barīd, who said:
I, Muḥammad ibn Muslim, and Abū al-Khaṭṭāb were gathered together, when Abū al-Khaṭṭāb said to us:
“What do you say about those who do not know this matter?”
I (Muhammad ibn Muslim) said:
“Those who do not know this matter are unbelievers (kāfir).”
Abū al-Khaṭṭāb said:
“He is not a kāfir until the proof is presented to him. Once the proof is presented and he still does not recognize it, then he is a kāfir.”
Muḥammad ibn Muslim said:
“Glory be to Allah! How can he be a kāfir if he does not recognize it and does not deny it? He is not a kāfir if he does not deny it.”
Later, when the proofs were established, I entered upon Abū ʿAbdillāh (al-Ṣādiq, peace be upon him) and informed him about this. He said:
“You have been present while they were absent. But your meeting is tonight at the middle jamrah (Jumrah al-Wusṭā) in Minā.”
When the night came, we gathered with him, along with Abū al-Khaṭṭāb and Muḥammad ibn Muslim. He took a pillow and placed it on his chest, then said to us:
“What do you say about your servants, your women, and your family? Do they not testify that there is no god but Allah?”
I said:
“Yes.”
He said:
“Do they not testify that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)?”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Do they not pray, fast, and perform Hajj?”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Do they recognize what you are upon?”
I said: “No.”
He said: “Then what are they in your view?”
I said: “Those who do not know this matter are kāfir.”
He said:
“Glory be to Allah! Have you not seen the people on the road and the people by the waters?”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Do they not pray, fast, and perform Hajj, and do they not testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah?”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Do they recognize what you are upon?”
I said: “No.”
He said: “Then what are they in your view?”
I said: “Those who do not know this matter are kāfir.”
He said:
“Glory be to Allah! Have you not seen the Kaʿbah, the circumambulation, the people of Yemen, and their attachment to the curtains of the Kaʿbah?”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Do they not testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and do they not pray, fast, and perform Hajj?”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Do they recognize what you are upon?”
I said: “No.”
He said: “Then what do you say about them?”
I said: “Those who do not know this matter are kāfir.”
He said:
“Glory be to Allah! This is the saying of the Khārijites.”
Then he said:
“If you wish, I will tell you more.”
I said: “No.”
He said:
“Indeed, it is evil for you to speak about something you have not heard from us.”
١ ـ علي بن إبراهيم ، عن أبيه ، عن ابن أبي عمير ، عن عبد الرحمن بن الحجاج ، عن هاشم صاحب البريد قال كنت أنا ومحمد بن مسلموأبو الخطاب مجتمعين فقال لنا أبو الخطاب ما تقولون فيمن لم يعرف هذا الأمر فقلت من لم يعرف هذا الأمر فهو كافر فقال أبو الخطابليس بكافر حتى تقوم عليه الحجة فإذا قامت عليه الحجة فلم يعرف فهو كافر فقال له محمد بن مسلم سبحان الله ما له إذالم يعرف ولم
يجحد يكفر ليس بكافر إذا لم يجحد قال فلما حججت دخلت على أبي عبد الله فأخبرته بذلك فقال إنك قد حضرت وغابا ولكن موعدكم الليلةالجمرة الوسطى بمنى.
فلما كانت الليلة اجتمعنا عنده وأبو الخطاب ومحمد بن مسلم فتناول وسادة فوضعها في صدره ثم قال لنا ما تقولون في خدمكم ونسائكموأهليكم أليس يشهدون أن لا إله إلا الله قلت بلى قال أليس يشهدون أن محمدا رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآله قلت بلى قال أليس يصلونويصومون ويحجون قلت بلى قال فيعرفون ما أنتم عليه قلت لا قال فما هم عندكم قلت من لم يعرف [ هذا الأمر ] فهو كافر.
قال سبحان الله أما رأيت أهل الطريق وأهل المياه قلت بلى قال أليس يصلون ويصومون ويحجون أليس يشهدون أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدارسول الله قلت بلى قال فيعرفون ما أنتم عليه قلت لا قال فما هم عندكم قلت من لم يعرف [ هذا الأمر ] فهو كافر.
قال : سبحان الله أما رأيت الكعبة والطواف وأهل اليمن وتعلقهم بأستار
الكعبة قلت بلى قال أليس يشهدون أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآله ويصلون ويصومون ويحجون قلت بلى قالفيعرفون ما أنتم عليه قلت لا قال فما تقولون فيهم قلت من لم يعرف فهو كافر.
قال سبحان الله هذا قول الخوارج ثم قال إن شئتم أخبرتكم فقلت أنا :
لا فقال أما إنه شر عليكم أن تقولوا بشيء ما لم تسمعوه منا
Therefore,
Our conclusion is that the hadith about Abu al-Khattab being a "fool" who did not preserve the Imam's words are taqiyya and expressions of tawriya - likely referring to the detractors and opponents of Abu al-Khattab such as the Sunni cleric Qatada.
Hope this was a beneficial read
Wasalaam
John Andaluso
