Essence of Shia Faith By SHEIKH ABU JAFFER MOHAMMED BIN ALI BIN HUSSAIN BIN MUSA known as BABWAY AL QUMMI Explanations of the Text by AYATULLAH SHEIKH MUHAMMAD HUSSAIN AL NAJAFI English Translation by DR. SAFI HASSAN Maktaba Sibtain 296/9 B, Setellite Town, Sargodha i All Rights Reserved with the Publishers Published in 2012 by Maktaba Sibtain 296/9-B, Setellite Town, Sargodha Printed by Syed Izhar-ul Hassan Rizvi at Izharsons Printers 9-Rattigan Road, Lahore e-mail: [email protected] Price: Pak Rs. 700.00 US $ 75.00 Can be had from Mir Zamir 306-316 Cherry Wood Road, Bordesleygreen, Birmingham, B9 4UU, UK ii The Author Exact date of birth of Sheikh Suddooq is not known but the year of his birth can be determined, because his father Ali bin Babway has requested the 12th Imam through his emissary Hazrat Hussain bin Rooh to appeal Allah to grant him with a son. Hazrat Hussain bin Rooh passed his request to the Imam, who replied in writing that God will grant him with a son in the near future, who will be of great benefit to the people. After Imam‟s intercession Sheikh Suddooq came to this world. The time of Hussain bin Rooh‟s emissaryship started in 305 Hijrah, therefore Sheikh Suddooq‟s birth can be determined around 306 Hijrah. He was born in the city of Qum and his birth is considered as being one of the miracles of the 12th Imam. His initial education started under the patronage of his father, Ali bin Babway Qummi, whose piety, God fearing and knowledge was well known to the people. Hence a child who was born with the intercession of Imam; his depth of knowledge and capabilities can be easily imagined. Within 20 years of his life he memorised thousands of tradition from the Prophet and his holy progeny with its complete authentication and sources. At the age of 22 or 23, after the death of his father he became the grand leader of Shias. Though several Ulema (Scholars) traveled to Qum to meet the Sheikh, but he himself journeyed to other parts of the Islamic world to gain knowledge from other grand masters. He extracted Ahadith from both Shia and Sunni sources and also removed many misunderstandings that existed in their minds about the Shia school of faith. This provided him with a golden opportunity to extend Shia point of view among the other Islamic sects. Though Abbasside‟s were no less cruel to the Shia faith, but God has decided to spread his massage, therefore, in line with great Imams, the rulers failed to suppress the massage of Sheikh Suddooq. iii During this period the Abbasside‟s reign weakened in Egypt and other African territories and as a result several independent dominions evolved, which helped him spreading the massage of Ahlulbait within those states. Sheikh has spent his entire life in propagating the teaching of Ahlulbait, and in this capacity he wrote several books on every aspect of Shia faith. According to Sheikh Toosi he wrote around 300 books but Sheikh Najashi counts his books around 200. His greatest achievement is a remarkable book called Mun-la-Yazha-rul-faqeeh, which provides guidance on Islamic law. His other great work is a book called Al-Aaitiqadiah whose English translation and commentary is provided for your reading. Sheikh Suddooq died in 381 Hijrah and was buried in Tehran. His grave was reopened in 1238 Hijrah and to the astonishment of the people his body appeared to be freshly laid down, while his shroud was completely worn out. May God send His blessing on his soul? iv Ayatullah Mohammed Hussain Najafi Grand Ayatollah Allama Shaikh Muhammad Hussain Najafi was the first Athna Ashri Shi'a Aalim from Pakitan to be elevated to the status of marjiyyat, and he is now the grand spiritual leader of South Asian Shia Muslims, after the demise of Saiyyed Ali Naqi Naqvi of Lucknow. At the present moment there are two Marjas of Pakistani descent, the other Ayatollah Sheikh Basheer Hussain Najafi, who has chosen to reside in Najaf, Iraq, while Sheikh Muhammad Hussain Najafi who elected to live in Pakistan, is the only Marja on Pakistani soil, running his Hawza (Religious Institute) in the city of Sargodha. He was included in the list of "Five hundred most influential Muslims of 2010", along with other 24 individuals selected from Pakistan. Muhammad Hussain was born in Jahanian Shah; district Sargodha (Punjab, Pakistan), during April 1932. He belongs to Dhakku branch of the Jat community. He had two paternal uncles and both of them were Shia thinkers. Maulana Imam Bakhsh was a religious teacher in Jahanian Shah, while Maulana Sohrab Ali Khan was a reputed scholar of Uch Sharif. His father Rana Tajuddin had the wish of making his son a great religious scholar. However, he died in 1944 when Muhammad Hussain was only twelve years old, after which the family members persuaded the widow that Muhammad Hussain should look after the family business, but she complied with the wish of her late husband and allowed her son to continue with his education. After secondary school education, he got admission in Madrasah Muhammadia in Jalalpur Nankiana, Sargodha, where one of his prominent teachers was Ayatollah Allama Hussain Bakhsh Jarra. In 1947, he initiated the study of Dars-i-Nizami under the tutalege of Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Naqvi in Jhang, and completed the study v under the guidance of Ayatollah Syed Muhammad Yar Shah Naqvi Najfi, the most prominent disciple of Allama Baqir Naqvi. In 1953, he passed the examination of Maulavi Fazil from the University of Punjab, and moved to Najaf in 1954 for higher education. Before going to Najaf for higher religious education, he was married to his maternal cousin in 1952. His teacher Allama Yar Shah had links with ulema of Najaf, and he wanted Muhammad Hussain to be married in a scholarly family of Najaf, but Muhammad Hussain declined this proposal due to cultural differences. In 1954, his only son Muhammad Sibtain was born. At the age of five, he got seriously ill and died, as Muhammad Hussain did not have enough money for his treatment. After Sibtain's death, Sheikh Najafi did not have children for next eleven years. He married the daughter of Haji Muhammad Shafi (Faisalabad) in 1970, and was blessed with three daughters from this marriage. His first wife died in 1996. In 1954, he moved to Hawza Ilmiye Najaf to finalize his religious education. He attended the lectures of the following Marjas: 1. Grand Ayatollah Mohsin Al-Hakim for dars-e-kharij of Fiqh 2. Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Javad Tabrizi for dars-e-kharij of Kifaya-tul-Usool 3. Grand Ayatollah Meerza Baqir Zanjani for dars-e-kharij of Usool-e-Fiqh 4. Grand Ayatollah Bazurg Tehrani for Fehm-e-Hadees-o-Rajjal & Kutb Shanasi 5. Grand Ayatollah Mahmood Shahroudi for dars-e-kharij of Fiqh 6. Grand Ayatollah Abdul Aala Sabzwari for dars-e-kharij of Fiqh 7. Grand Ayatollah Abul Qasim Rashti for Rasail-o-Makatib 8. Grand Ayatollah Abdul Hussain Amini (the writer of famous Al-Ghadeer) for Ilm-e-Munazira 9. Grand Ayatollah Mulla Sadra for Satheeyat & Asfar 10. Grand Ayatollah Aqae Muhaqqiq for Darse Manzooma Sabzwari 11. Grand Ayatollah Aqae Fazel for Ilm-e-Kalam 12. Grand Ayatollah Abdul Karim Zanjani for Tanawwo dar Islami Uloom-o-Funoon andIttehad-e-Islami vi He wrote following books: Faizan ur-Rahman fi Tafsir ul-Quran It is a 10-volume comprehensive Tafsir of the Qur‟an. Masail ush-Sharia (Translation of Wasael ush-Shia) It is an Urdu translation of a great Shia book of Hadith compiled by Shaikh Hur al-Aamili. Thirteen volumes out of twenty have been published. Kawakib-e-Muzayya (Translation of Al-Jawahar as-Sunnia fil-Ahadees-al-Qudsia) It is an Urdu translation & explanation of Shaikh al-Hur al- Aamili's book on Hadithe Qudsi. Ahsan ul-Fawaid fi Sharh al-Aqaid It is a two volume Urdu translation & explanation of Sheikh Saduq's famous Risala "Al-Aqa‟id". It contains all the Shia beliefs, and their truthfulness in the light of the Qu‟ran and Hadith. Usool ush-Sharia fi Aqaid ush-Shia This book discusses the beliefs of Ghali's, Tafwizi's and Shaykhi's denominations, who are propagating their thoughts under the guise Shia Islam, and negates them in the light of Quran and Hadith. Aitaqadat-e-Imamia It is an Urdu translation & explanation of Allama Majlisi's "Risala tul-Lailia". Aqsam-e-Tauheed Mukhtasir Aqaid ush-Shia Qawaneen ush-Sharia fi Fiqh-e-Jafariya (Tawzih ul- Masail) It is a book of Fiqh in two volumes, covering all the aspects of human life according to the Jafaria School of Jurisprudence, including the modern human issues. The superiority of Jafari Jurisprudence over vii other Islamic Schools of has been proved in the light of Qu‟ran and Hadith. Khulasa tul-Ahkam It is an abridged version of Qawaneen ush-Sharia. Hurmat-e-Ghina Aur Islam This book discusses the prohibition of ghina in Islamic Sharia. Hurmat-e-Reeshtarashi This book discusses the prohibition of shaving beard in Islamic Sharia. Namaz-e-Juma Aur Islam It is a book proving that Juma Prayers are wajib even during the occultation of the 12th Imam. It was published by Syed Muhammad Dehlavi in Karachi. Iqd ul-Juma'n (Translation of Mafatih al-Janan) Ayatollah Najafi had translated Mafatih al-Janan during his stay at Najaf, but did not publish it, as another translation of the same book was available from Lahore.