The Fourth Flash

The Fourth Flash

مِنْهَاجُ السُّنَّةِ

(Minhāju’s-Sunnah)

We have deemed it suitable that this flash be named مِنْهَاجُ السُّنَّةِ "the Method of the Prophetic Way (Sunnah)".

Although the question of the imāmate is a subsidiary topic, too much of interest that people have in it has made it so that it is counted as one of the topics relating to [creedal aspects of] faith, and it has become the point of investigation in theology (‘ilmu’l-kalām) and principles of religion (uṣūlu’d-dīn), and it also relates to our fundamental service which directly belongs to the Qur’ān and faith, thus it has been mentioned with some concision.

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّح۪يمِ (a)

لَقَدْ جَٓاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ اَنْفُسِكُمْ عَز۪يزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَر۪يصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِن۪ينَ رَؤُفٌ رَح۪يمٌ (b)

فَاِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللّٰهُ لَٓااِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظ۪يمِ (c)

قُلْ لَٓا اَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ اَجْرًا اِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبٰي (d)

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a In the Name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Compassionate. 

b There has now come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him is your suffering; anxious is he over you, to the believers gentle and compassionate. (Qur’ān: at-Tawba, 9:128) 

c So if they turn away, say: Allāh is enough for me. There is no god but Him. In Him have I put my trust. He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne. (Qur’ān: at-Tawba, 9:129) 

d Say: I do not ask of you a reward for this, except love for the kinsfolk (i.e. Ahlu’l-Bayt). (Qur’ān: ash-Shūrā 42:23) 

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These sublime verses contain many sublime realities, and here, we will point to some of them in `two stations.`

The First Station: This comprises `four subtle points.`

The first subtle point: This articulates the perfect compassion and mercy of the Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) towards his ummah (global Muslim community). Yes, it has come [to us] in authentic narrations that the Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) will manifest his pity and compassion for his Community saying اُمَّت۪ي اُمَّت۪ي "my Community! my Community!" at the time when all, even the Prophets, will be saying نَفْس۪ي نَفْس۪ي "my self! my self!" because of the terror of the Gathering. Indeed, his mother likewise heard him saying in his supplications during his birth اُمَّت۪ي اُمَّت۪ي "my Community! my Community!" as is confirmed by the people of mystical unveiling (ahlu’l-kashf). 

Moreover, his entire life history and the caring nature of the traits of his good character that he spread reveal the perfection of his compassion and pity. The fact that his noble biography and good character shows the limitless needs of his community to send illimitable blessings upon him, and the fact that he reveals his concern, out of his perfect compassion, for all types of happiness of his community display his ultimately endless compassion [for his ummah].

So draw your own conclusions that how ungrateful and remorseless it would be to not adhere to the Lofty Sunnah of this guide who is so gentle (ra‘ūf) and compassionate (raḥīm) to such a great extent. 

The second subtle point: The Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) manifested, within the universal, all-embracing mission of prophethood, immense compassion to a few special, particular individuals. To the superficial glance, expending such immense compassion to those few special and particular individuals would not be consistent with the grave importance of the mission of prophethood. However, in reality, those few individuals constituted one side and representatives of a chain that had the capacity to be the [continuing] locus of the universal, all-embracing mission of prophethood; and this is why he (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) attached such immense importance in the representatives of this chain, for the sake of [that chain]. 

For example: The immense compassion and importance that the Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) showed towards al-Ḥasan (raḍiallāhu anhu) and al-Ḥusayn (raḍiallāhu anhu) in their early years was not a love stemming from mere natural disposition and the sentiment of kinship, but rather from the fact that each of them constituted one side of the luminous thread of the mission of prophethood, and the starting point of the prophetic inheritance and of a very important group [i.e. the heirs of the Prophet (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām)], and a representative and index thereof. 

Yes; the Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) most compassionately placed al-Ḥasan (raḍiallāhu anhu) on his lap and kissed his head for the sake of a great many individuals who would be the inheritors of prophethood and the bearers of the Ahmadan Sacred Law (sharī‘ah), and who would [in their greatness] resemble the Mahdī, like the Ghawthu’l-A‘ẓam Shaykh al-Jīlānī (qaddasallāhu sirrahu), who is from the blessed luminous progeny that forms a chain from al-Ḥasan (raḍiallāhu anhu) onwards; and he (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) saw, with the vision of prophethood, the great, sacred deeds that those individuals would carry out in the future, which he appreciated and approved of. He kissed al-Ḥasan's head (raḍiallāhu anhu) as a sign of that appreciation and as an encouragement [to them]. 

Furthermore he kissed the neck of al-Ḥusayn (raḍiallāhu anhu) and showed perfect compassion to him and importance to him, all in the name of Islam and the mission of messengership, and for the sake of the illustrious imāms and [all the other] true inheritors of prophethood, like Zaynu’l-‘Ābidīn and Ja‘faru’ṣ-Ṣādiq (raḍiallāhu anhu), amongst a great many luminous Mahdī-like individuals, coming from the luminous chain [of the progeny] of al-Ḥusayn (raḍiallāhu anhu). 

Yes, along with his heart that was acquainted with the unseen, his luminous vision and sight that saw the future, the personage of Aḥmad (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) who, whilst in the Age of Bliss in this world, watched the Gathering Place in the side of endless eternality; and who saw Paradise from the globe, and beheld the angels that are in the heavens from the earth, and saw the events hidden in the darkness of the past from the time of Adam [onwards], and he, who was honoured with even the Beatific Vision of the Majestic Lord, most definitely, saw the spiritual poles, the imams, the inheritors of prophethood and the mahdīs, who form a chain after al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, may Allāh be pleased with them both, and he kissed al-Ḥasan (raḍiallāhu anhu) and al-Ḥusayn's heads (raḍiallāhu anhu) for the sake of every one of them.

Yes - Shaykh al-Jīlānī (qaddasallāhu sirrahu) has a great share in his kissing al-Ḥasan's head (raḍiallāhu anhu). 

The third subtle point: One of the opinions concerning the meaning of the verse (a) اِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبٰي is the following: 

The Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) asks for no reward in return for fulfilling the mission of messengership, other than [that people have] affection, in other words, love for the Family [of the Prophet (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām)] (Ahlu’l-Bayt).

Should it be said: it seems that this interpretation makes an allowance for [some sort of] benefit to arise from blood kinship, whereas the mission of messengership is founded upon Allāh's servants' closeness to Him, not upon blood kinship, and this is based on the secret of اِنَّ اَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ اَتْقٰيكُمْ ^(b). 

The answer: The Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) saw, with his vision that was acquainted with and penetrated into the Unseen, that it would transpire that his Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) would become like unto a luminous tree in the Islamic world, and that the absolute majority of those who would come to fulfil the duty of guidance and direction in the teaching of human perfections throughout all of the strata of the Islamic world would be from the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt), and it was unveiled [to him] that the prayer made by the [entire] Islamic community for the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) in the "witnessing" (at-tashahhud) [in the Prescribed Prayers] has been accepted:

اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰي مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلٰٓي اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلٰٓي اِبْرَاه۪يمَ وَ عَلٰٓي اٰلِ اِبْرَاه۪يمَ اِنَّكَ حَم۪يدٌ مَج۪يدٌ ^(c)

That is, just as the absolute majority of the luminous spiritual guides of the religion of Ibrāhīm (‘alayhissalām) were the messengers descended from the fFamily and the progeny of Prophet Ibrāhīm (‘alayhissalām), so too was it that the Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) saw the Poles of the Family of Muḥammad (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām), who are like the prophets of the Children of Israel, fulfilling the great duties [prescribed by] Islam, and [leading the way in] the majority of the spiritual ways (ṭuruq) and methods (masālik) in the Muḥammadan Community (ummah). 

This is why the verse قُلْ لَٓااَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ اَجْرًا اِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبٰي  ^(d) has commanded and asked love of his Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) from his Community; a great number of hadiths that support this reality have proclaimed: 

“I have left you with two matters. Should you hold fast to them, you will find salvation: one of them is the Book of Allāh and the other is my Family.” ^(e)

This is because the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) are the wellspring of the Lofty Sunnah, and the protectors thereof, and those charged with holding fast to it in every way. On the basis of this secret is it thus that the need to follow the Book and the Sunnah is elucidated by the reality of this hadith, in that what he (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) intended by his Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) in the context of the mission of messengership is exactly the Lofty Sunnah. Thus, whoever forsakes adherence to the Lofty Sunnah cannot truly be from the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt), just as such a person cannot be a true lover of Family. 

The secret in his desire (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) to unite his Community around the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) is the following: he knew by means of Divine permission that with the passing of time the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) would become exceedingly numerous in number, and he (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) perceived that the Muslims would be beset by weakness, and with Divine permission he reflected on the necessity that a strong, very numerous, mutually supportive group exist that could serve as the pivot and centre of the spiritual ascension of the Islamic world; this is why he (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) wished to unite his Community around his Family. 

Yes - even be it that the members of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) are not on a much higher level than others in terms of their creed and faith, they can leave others far behind in their submission and adherence and loyalty to the spiritual truths of Islam and faith, for they carry loyalty to Islam in their innate natures, bloodline and creation. Even if one's innate loyalty is rather weak or not a glorious one or even one that is not rightful, that loyalty again is not abandoned at all. 

Given this, the loyalty of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) is such a powerful, truthful and glorious loyalty to the truth [of Islam] that the lineage of all of their grandfathers were connected to it and were elevated by means of it, and they sacrificed their spirits and their life for the sake of it, which is indeed a deeply rooted and innate loyalty in and of itself.

Could any members of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) who truly feel this [power and glory of their forefathers] ever abandon this loyalty [to the cause of Islam]?

Thus is it, because of this intense, powerful adherence and innate holding fast to Islam that the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) accept the slightest sign that is in Islam's interests as if it were the strongest proof, for they are loyal by their innate natures - whereas others only adhere [to Islam] after [they have discovered] a strong proof [of its truth]. 

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a except love for the kinsfolk (i.e. Ahlu’l-Bayt). (Qur’ān: ash-Shūrā 42:23)

b the most noble of you in the sight of Allāh are the most godfearing amongst you. (Qur’ān: al-Ḥujurāt 49:13)

c O Allāh, send blessings upon Muḥammad and upon the Family of Muḥammad, just as You sent blessings on Ibrāhīm and upon the Family of Ibrāhīm, verily You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorified. 

d “I ask of you no reward for this but the love due to kinfolk” (Qur’ān: ash-Shūra, 42:23)

e Sunanu’t-Tirmidhī

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The fourth subtle point: We will now make a short allusion to a question that has become the centre of a dispute between the Shī‘a and the Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah, and that has been inflated to such a degree that it has entered into the books of creed and been counted amongst the fundamental tenets of faith; the question is the following: 

The Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah say: "Our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) was the fourth of the four Rightly-guided Caliphs (Al-Khulafāu’l-Arba‘a), and our master Abū Bakri’ṣ-Ṣiddiq (Abū Bakr the Veracious) (raḍiallāhu anhu) was the best of them and the most entitled to the Caliphate, in that he was the one first entrusted [with the position]."

The Shī‘a, on the other hand, say: "Our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) was the one with the right [to the Caliphate], but he was wronged. He is the best of all of them." The essence of the reasoning supporting their claim is that they say: The prophetic hadiths that have been related about our master ‘Alī (raḍiallāhu anhu), as well as the fact of his being the one who most of the saints and Sufi orders trace back to, in terms of his distinction of being ‘the Sultan of the Ssainthood’, and his unique qualities of knowledge, courage and worship, and the close relationship that the Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) had with him and with the Family [including ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu)], who form the chain of his progeny - all of this points to his being superior, and to the Caliphate having always been his right, but that he was usurped.

The answer [to this is] that our master ‘Ali’s repeated affirmation (raḍiallāhu anhu) of the superiority of the three Rightly-guided Caliphs (al-Khulafāu’r-Rāshidūn), his following them for more than twenty years, and his taking on the status of Shaykhu’l-Islam during their incumbencies all invalidates this claim of the Shī‘a. The Islamic conquests, and the events of the Holy Struggle against the enemy that took place during the caliphates of the three Rightly-guided Caliphs as well as the events of the incumbency of our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) also invalidate the claims of the Shī‘a about the Islamic Caliphate, which is to say that the claim of the Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah is the true one. 

Should it be said: There are two types of Shī‘a, the first being the Shī‘a of Sainthood (Shī‘atu’l-Walāyah), and the other the Shī‘a of the Caliphate (Shī‘atu’l-Khilāfah). Now, let us recognise that this second type are not in the right, because of their malice and politicking. Yet the first type do not harbour any malice or do any politicking. The truth of the matter is this that the Shī‘a of Sainthood have become affiliated with the Shī‘a of Caliphate. In other words, some of the saints of the Sufi orders deem our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) to be the greatest [of the Companions]. They affirm the claim of the Shī‘a of Caliphate, whose cause is a political one.

The answer: [The nature of] Imām ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) must be considered from two aspects.

The first: From the perspective of his personal perfections and degree. 

The second: From the perspective of his being the representative of the collective spiritual personality of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt), for the collective spiritual personality of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) is that which reveals - to some extent - the [full] quiddity of the Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām). 

Now, from the first aspect, all of the people of spiritual reality and foremost amongst them our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) give precedence to our masters Abū Bakr and ‘Umar (raḍiallāhu anhuma), for they see their stations to be higher in the service to Islam and closeness to Allāh. 

In terms of the second aspect, our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) is the representative of the collective spiritual personality of the Prophet (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām), and no one can be compared with the collective spiritual personality of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) in so far as it represents the Muḥammadan Reality, (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām). 

The hadiths which mention the virtues of our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) with remarkable praise and appreciation are attributable to that aspect [of his]; indeed, there is an authentic narration which reinforces this truth, which is that the Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) proclaimed that “the progeny of each prophet [continues] through himself, and that my own progeny [continues] through ‘Ali.”

The secret underlying the wider diffusion of the hadiths praising our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) when compared with those concerning the other Caliphs is that the people of truth - that is the Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah - disseminated the narrations related about our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) widely, to counter the Umayyad and Kharijite attack on him, and their unjust and aggressive disparagement of him. The other Rightly-guided Caliphs (al-Khulafāu’r-Rāshidūn), on the other hand, were not exposed to such a great amount of criticism, and there was not thus such a great need to disseminate the hadiths related about them. 

Moreover, the Most Noble Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) foresaw with the vision of prophethood that in the future our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) would face painful incidents and internal divisions and strife (fitan), and so he [both] consoled him and guided the Community with important hadiths, like the hadith مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلَاهُ فَعَلِيٌّ مَوْلَاهُ (a) to save him from disheartenment, and to rescue his Community from making bad assumptions about him. 

The extravagant love that the Shī‘a of Sainthood have for our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) and their preference of him [over other Companions] with regard to the Sufi way does not make them culpable in the same way that the Shī‘a of the Caliphate are, for the people of sainthood look upon their spiritual guide with pure love in accordance with their methodology. The nature of love is that it involves exaggeration (ifrāṭ). The lovers wish to see their beloved as being of a higher station [than his actual station], and indeed this is how they see [their beloved]; it may well be that people who experience spiritual states will be excused for their ecstatic outbursts of love, on the condition that their preference, which arises from their love, does not lead them to the condemnation of the Rightly-guided Caliphs (al-Khulafāu’r-Rāshidūn) nor to showing enmity towards them, and [on the condition] that it does not lead them to depart from the sphere of Islamic principles. 

On the other hand, since political malice has invaded the Shī‘a of the Caliphate, they are unable to save [themselves] from malice and transgression and lose the right to any [sort of] apology.

Since the nation of Iran was wounded at the hands of our master ‘Umar (raḍiallāhu anhu), they manifest their [desire] to take revenge on our master ‘Umar in the form of "love of ‘Ali (ḥubbu ‘Ali)," in a way that accords with the saying لَا لِحُبِّ عَلِيٍّ بَلْ لِبُغْضِ عُمَرَ (b); in the same way, ‘Amr Ibnu’l-‘Āṣ’ insurrection against our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), and ‘Umar Ibnu Sa‘d’s terrible war against our master al-Ḥusayn (raḍiallāhu anhu) has bequeathed the Shī‘a anger and intense hostility to the name "‘Umar." 

Yet the Shī‘a of Sainthood have no right to criticise the Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah, for the Ahlu’s-sunnah do not disparage our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), but sincerely love him. Yet they are on their guard against exaggerated love which the noble hadith considers dangerous. The prophetic praise that has been related about the "party" of ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) refers to the Sunnis, for it is the Sunnis who are the party of ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), and who are the people of the truth, and who love him in a manner that is sound. An authentic hadith has explicitly stated that exaggerated love for our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) is dangerous in the same way that exaggerated love for Prophet ‘Īsā [Jesus] (‘alayhi’s-salām) has proven dangerous for the Christians. 

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a Whoever has me for master, has ‘Ali for master. (Sunanu’t-Tirmidhī 3713)

b (That they love ‘Ali is) not for the love of ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), but for the hatred of ‘Umar (raḍiallāhu anhu).

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Should the Shī‘a of Sainthood say: 

After accepting and recognising the extraordinary perfections of our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), there is no way that one can prefer our master Abū Bakri’ṣ-Ṣiddiq (Abū Bakr the Veracious) (raḍiallāhu anhu) over him.

The answer would be: Were the personal perfections of our master aṣ-Ṣiddīqu’l-Akbar (The Great Affirmer of Truth) (raḍiallāhu anhu) or of our master al-Fārūqu’l-A‘ẓam (the Great Differentiator of Right and Wrong) (raḍiallāhu anhu), and the perfections [they evinced] during their Caliphates in [their fulfilment of] the mission of the spiritual inheritance of prophethood to be placed on one side of a scale; and were the extraordinary personal perfections of our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) to be placed on the other side of the scale, [including] all that he did for the sake of the Caliphate, the defensive battles and holy struggles that arose from the painful civil strife that he was forced to become involved in, and by reason of which he has been subject to [people's] having bad opinion about him, there can be no doubt that the scale of the balance of our master Abū Bakri’ṣ-Ṣiddiq (raḍiallāhu anhu), or that of our master ‘Umaru’l-Fārūq (raḍiallāhu anhu), or that of our master ‘Uthmānu Dhu’n-nūrayn (raḍiallāhu anhu) would outweigh it; the Sunnis saw this, and thus preferred them [over him].

Moreover, the degree of prophethood is higher and more exalted than the degree of sainthood, to the extent that the manifestation of a gram of prophethood is better than the manifestation of a kilo of sainthood, as has been proven in "the Twelfth Word" and "the Twenty-fourth Word." From this perspective, the Divinely-granted success conferred on our master aṣ-Ṣiddīqu’l-Akbar (raḍiallāhu anhu) and upon our master al-Fārūqu’l-A‘ẓam (raḍiallāhu anhu) during their caliphates has been accepted as a proof by Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah that Allāh gave them a greater share of the inheritance of prophethood and in the foundation of the rulings of the messengerhood. Our master ‘Ali's personal perfections (raḍiallāhu anhu) were unable to override that supreme [innate] share of rulership, and this is why he became the Shaykhu’l-Islam during the Caliphates of the noble two Shaykhs, and respected and revered them. The people of truth, Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah love our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), and really revere him - how then could they not love and revere the two Shaykhs, whom our master ‘Ali himself loved and revered? (raḍiallāhu anhum ajma‘īn)

We will elucidate this truth by way of an example: 

Twenty kilos of silver and four kilos of gold are given out of the legacy of a rich man to one of his children, the second [of his children] is given five kilos of silver and five kilos of gold, and the third is given three kilos of silver and five kilos of gold. Now, although the last two receive quantitatively little, they receive qualitatively a large amount. 

As in this example, the minor increase that the two Shaykhs have in their share of the gold of the truth of Divine proximity (al-aqrabiyyatu’l-ilahiyyah) - that is, Allāh's closeness to His servant - that became manifest in their inheritance of prophethood and their foundation of the rulings of the messengerhood, outweighs the minor increase of closeness (al-qurbiyyah) - that is, the servant's drawing closer to Allāh - that arises from personal perfections and from the jewel of sainthood, and [outweighs even] most of numerous perfections, and sainthood and closeness. When making a comparison [between them], it is important to take these points into consideration. Otherwise, were a comparison to be made in terms of his personal valour, knowledge and sainthood, the face of reality would change. 

Moreover, one cannot make a comparison in terms of the collective spiritual personality of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) that is embodied in the person of our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), or [in terms of] the Muḥammadan Reality (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām) that becomes manifest in that collective spiritual personality regarding [prophetic] inheritance in an absolute sense, for that personality contains one sublime secret of the Messenger (‘alayhi’ṣ-ṣalātu wa’s-salām). 

The Shī‘a of the Caliphate, on the other hand, have no right to anything but embarrassment in front of the Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah; for despite their claim of loving our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) intensely, they [in fact] disparage him, and their school of thought entails his having had bad character. Because they say this: “Our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) went along with our master Abū Bakri’ṣ-Ṣiddiq (raḍiallāhu anhu) and with our master ‘Umar (raḍiallāhu anhu), even though they were [in his view, according to the Shī‘a] not entitled [to the Caliphate], and according to Shī‘a terminology, dissimulated in his dealings with them (at-taqiyya) - that is, he feared them, and so dealt with them ostentatiously.” [How come this could be regarded as love!] They ascribe fear to this hero of Islam, who earned being called "Asadu’llāh" - the Lion of Allāh, the leader and guide of the sincere, trusted ones (ṣiddiqūn), and [saying that he] used to feign affection for those who he had no affection for, and that under the influence of fear he dissimulated in his dealings with them for more than twenty years, and that he consented to following tyrants. His being described in this way and ascribed this blemish on his name is in no way love for him, and indeed our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) would keep himself away from this type of love.

The school of thought of the people of truth, on the other hand, in no way disparages our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), nor does it accuse him of bad character. They do not ascribe fear to the like of that extraordinary bravery and they say of him:

“Had he not considered the Rightly-guided Caliphs (al-Khulafāu’r-Rāshidūn) to be on the truth, he would not recognise them even a minute and obey them. In other words, since he saw them as being true owners of the office of Caliphate and more virtuous than himself, he surrendered his effort and bravery for the sake of the truth.” 

The upshot: Too much (ifrāṭ) and too little (tafrīṭ) of everything is not good at all. Steadfastness (istiqāmah), on the other hand, is the golden mean; this is why the Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah have chosen it. 

Yet most unfortunately, some ideas like those of the Wahhabism and Khawārij, has tried to some degree to conceal themselves under the cover of "Sunnism (Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah)," for lovers of politics and certain atheists criticise our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu), saying, "he was not fully deserving of the Caliphate (al-Khilāfah), nor was he able to properly administer [the Caliphate]" - far be it from him! - "because he did not understand politics." Because of these wrongful accusations from those people, the Shī‘a adopt a resentful attitude towards the Ahlu’s-sunnah. 

The truth is that the principles and foundations of the school of thought of the Ahlu’s-sunnah do not entail these ideas, but rather establish the opposite of them; the Sunnis cannot then be accused of holding these ideas, which come from Khawārij and atheists. Nay, the Ahlu’s-sunnah support our master ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) more than the Shī‘a do, and they mention ‘Ali (raḍiallāhu anhu) in their sermons and prayers with praise befitting him; and especially the saints (awliyā') and the purified ones (aṣfiyā'), the overwhelming majority of whom are of the madhhab of Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah, consider him to be a guide and sultan of all of the saints. 

It is incumbent then upon the Shī‘a to not adopt a hostile attitude towards the Sunnis, ignoring the Khawārij and atheists who deserve the hostility of both the Shī‘a and the Sunnis (Ahlu’s-sunnah) - indeed, certain Shī‘a leave [the practice of] the sunnah simply in order to oppose the Ahlu’s-sunnah. 

Anyway, we have now spoken much on this topic, for it has amongst the ulama become a point of which much research turns.

O Ahlu’s-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah, [you] who are the people of the truth, and O Shī‘a, [you] who have taken love of the Family (Ahlu’l-Bayt) as a way! Immediately discontinue this wrongful, harmful controversy, which is meaningless and without reality. Otherwise, the contemporary atheistic current, which is strongly dominant, will exploit one of you and use you against the other to crush them. After beating one of you, they will destroy the one they used as a tool. Thus, you must leave these insignificant topics, which drive people to split up into sects, for you are all the people of Divine unity, and there exist between you hundreds of sacred, deep-rooted bonds that command brotherhood and unity. 

The Second Station: This station will be about the second reality of the verse

فَاِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللّٰهُ لَٓااِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظ۪يمِ (a) (Footnote)

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Footnote: This Second Station has been written as the Eleventh Flash.

a So if they turn away, say: Allāh is enough for me. There is no god but Him. In Him have I put my trust. He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne. (Qur’ān: at-Tawba, 9:128-129)