Sunni Shiite Islam

Br. Tasneem,

Regarding your points

1.) If we cannot even agree on the ONE verse that (even in mainstream Sunni books) is in reference to Imam Ali (a.s.) as a member of the Ahly Al'Bayt (the verse of purification), then I don't expect any agreement on this point. I don't know where the author came up with the number "300" (although I am not saying he is incorrect either, as I have not seen his evidence).

2.) I have never said that this verse is in reference to Imam Ali (a.s.). I cited the verse because it was pointed out to me that the Al-Islam.org has a passage that says that the "position of an Imam is higher then a Prophet." I was simply proving that in Quran this principle has been established.

3.) It was Allah's will that the caliphate was not given to Ali. I'm sure all usurpers and criminals around the world (who hide under the cloak of Islam) are happy to hear this from you. The "Ul Al'Amr" does not refer to any power-hungry despot who happens to gather a big enough army to steal what belongs to the Umma. Allah (s.w.a.) is "Al-Adl" (The Most Just), so how could he order you to obey a tyrant? May Allah (s.w.a.) guide you and I to the straight path.

Assalamalaikum Herjihad

I shall try to answer your question. At the time Mohammed (PBUH) received nabuwat (prophethood) he was 40 and Hazrat Ali was only 10. MOhammed (PBUH) died at the age of 63 and Hazrat Ali would be 33. At the time of Mohammed (SAW) death Hazrat Hassan and Hussain would probably be between 10 to 15. The amount of time that Hazrat Ali, Hassan and Hussain got to spend with Mohammed (PBUH) was far less than Hazrat Abu Huraira, and even if they did because of their youth their experiences & impressions would not be as pronounced as those who spent a greater part of their lives in the company of the Prophet.

Hazrat Abu Huraira virtually spent all his time in the Mosque and was there most of the time in the company of the Prophet (PBUH).

Here are some excerpts about Abu Huraira (r.a.a)

Abu Huraira (r.a.a) enjoyed a great talent, he was gifted with an extraordinary long term memory to the extent that he would hear a discussion or a speech and be able to reproduce the identical discussion or speech years later without changing or deleting one single word from it.

This great gift that Abu-Huraira enjoyed could have been the worst thing that could have happened to him as some people used his well known and authentic name to make up false Ahadith about our beloved Prophet, and link these false Ahadith to Abu Huraira (r.a.a). However, through hard and sincere efforts put in by some of the pious scholars who sacrificed their lives to preserve and save our beloved Prophet's Ahadith (sayings) and save them from any harm by the enemies of Islam who tried to mislead Muslims by adding to them thing that were never said by the Prophet of Allah (s.w.t), Abu Huraira's reputation was saved from their wrong doing until our present day.

Abu Huraira became a Muslim at the hands of At-Tufayl Ibn Amr who was the chief of the tribe to which he belonged. When he submitted to the truthfulness of this religion, he accompanied At-Tufayl to Makkah and had the privilege of meeting the noble Prophet (s.a.w.). The Prophet (s.a.w) asked Abu Huraira what his name was, "Abdu-Shams" (the servant of the sun), Abu Huraira replied. So he was introduced by the holy Prophet (s.a.w) to change his name to "Abdur-Rahman" (the servant of the Beneficent). However, he continued to be known among people as "Abu Hurrah" (the kitten's father) because of his love for a cat he looked after and fed, and which used to stick to him wherever he went.

Abu Huraira lived with his mother who was still a Mushrik. He prayed for her and tried hard to convince her to join Islam, but she adamantly refused. One day when he was telling her about Islam she uttered some words about the Prophet which saddened Abu Huraira greatly. He went to the Prophet (s.a.w), his eyes full of tears and told him about what had happened between him and his mother. He also asked the Prophet to make supplication to Allah (s.w.t) for her to make her heart respond to Islam. The Prophet responded to Abu Huraira's request and prayed for his mother. When Abu Huraira returned home he was delighted to hear his mother, who had just taken a shower, testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger. So he rushed back to the Prophet with his eyes glowing with joy, and informed him that Allah had answered his prayers, and guided his mother to Islam. He then said: "O Allah's Messenger, Ask Allah to make me and my mother lovable to the believing men and women". So he (s.a.w.) said: "O Allah, make this servant of yours and his mother lovable to every believing man and woman".

With his great gift and talent, Abu Huraira realised that he was able to serve this religion a great deal. He realised that, because many of the early companions who had the most knowledge died in the battles in Allah's cause, this religion needed people to preserve it, as in these days the companions used to write only the Qur'an fearing it might get mixed with the Hadith of the Messenger, if the latter was to be documented too. Even among those who had a great deal of knowledge, many of them were occupied by their trades and didn't have as much free time as Abu Huraira to spend with the Prophet (s.a.w). Also the fact that he had an extraordinary long term memory meant that he could hear the Prophet's teachings and be able to ask a writer to write them later knowing that he will not forget any of them. Therefore, during the four years Abu Huraira stayed with the Prophet (s.a.w) in Madinah, he set himself to accompany the holy Prophet to gain knowledge and memorise his sayings and teachings in order to preserve the word of Allah (s.w.t) and the teachings of his beloved Prophet (s.a.w). The Prophet (s.a.w.) himself directed Abu Huraira to an effective way to memorise his Hadiths, Abu Hurrah said: Allah's Prophet one day said to us: "whoever spreads his dress until I finish my talk, and then takes hold of it, will not forget anything from what he heard from me".

The fact that Abu Huraira set himself to preserve the teachings of the noble Prophet, meant that he was always close to the Prophet (s.a.w) in his stay in Madinah, as he had free time at his disposal, unlike the Muhajirin he did not work in trade and unlike the Ansar he did not have a land to look after. This enabled Abu Huraira to stay with the noble Prophet at Madinah and to go with him on journeys and expeditions.

He loved the Prophet a great deal, he was never tired of looking at the Prophet nor was he tired of listening to him. Often he would praise Allah for his good fortune and say "Praise be to Allah who has guided Abu Huraira to Islam, Praise be to Allah who taught Abu Huraira the Qur'an, Praise be to Allah who has bestowed on Abu Huraira the companionship of Muhammad (s.a.w)".

Abu Huraira underwent much hardship and difficulties as a result of devoting his life to knowledge and companionship of the holy Prophet (s.a.w): "One day, my hunger became so severe that I placed a stone on my stomach. I then sat down in the path of the companions. Abu Bakr passed by and I asked him about an Ayah of the book of God. I only asked him so that he would invite me but he didn't".

After the death of the holy Prophet (s.a.w), Abu Huraira continued his duties in conveying the teachings of the Prophet (s.a.w). He went on preaching a great number of Ahadith, which made some of his friends curious of the large amount of Ahadith that he memorised in such a short time. Although the fact that he was able to memorise so many Ahadith was justified by the fact that he was dedicated to staying with the Prophet and due to the extraordinary ability to memorise speeches from the first time.