Sunni and Shi‘ah Muslims unanimously maintain that the Holy...

Sunni and Shi‘ah Muslims unanimously maintain that the Holy Prophet (S) introduced the twelve Imams ( ‘a ) as his vicegerents and inheritors. Muslim Bukhari, and scores of other narrators who lived before the fourth century A.H., at a time when the number of the Imams ( ‘a ) had not yet come to twelve, have recorded the divine words of the Prophet (S) in their books. These narrations played an important part in attracting people to the Imams ( ‘a ).

That is why the tyrant rulers who feared a shaky rule had, as items of their agenda, the plan to keep these traditional texts in hiding, to distort them, or to assign them esoteric interpretations. We have provided indisputable evidence concerning this matter in our next book “ Rihlati min al-Wahhabiyyah ila al-Ithna ‘Ashariyyah ”.

The Wahhabis, however, say that these narrations have come from the extremist sources, but they have forgotten that the traditional texts on Imamate are preserved in the Sunni authentic books, too; proving that the hadith s in question have not been designed by the Shi‘ahs.

The Wahhabis have neither thoroughly examined the narrations that are accepted by all Muslims of various schools of thought, nor have they taken pains to refer to the Imamiyyah books and study the undeniable evidences there are on the issue of the Prophet’s (S) succession, but ignorantly insist that the belief in Imamate is a fabrication of the extremists and Zoroastrians.

It is our belief that the soaring bird of the Imamiyyah Shi‘ism has two powerful wings to fly with: the thaqalayn hadith and the narrations concerning the twelve Imams [ Ithna ‘Ashar Khulafa’ ]. So long as the Wahhabis have not understood these two, they will not perceive other Imamiyyah realities. In his book “ Al-Imam ‘Ali al-Rida wa Risalatuhu al-Tibbiyyah ”, Dr.

Muhammad ‘Ali Bar, the distinguished Wahhabi author says the following about the thaqalayn hadith , “In his Sahih , Muslim quotes Zayd ibn Arqam as having said ‘Beside a brook at Ghadir Khumm, between Macca and Madina, the Holy Prophet (S) delivered a sermon. Having praised and glorified Allah and having given us admonitions, he said, “O people! I am a human being who is about to be summoned by the divine angel and who is to respond to this call.

I am leaving behind two precious things ( thaqalayn ): The first is the Book of Allah, which contains guidance and light. So take hold of the Book of Allah”; he then persuaded us to act according to it.