ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Shi'ite Encyclopedia (chapter 10) Abdullah Ibn Saba (part Ii) After an overview in the previous part, I will Ensha Allah analyze the fictitious story of Abdullah Ibn Saba reported by Sayf, in comparison with the other Sunni reports.

First I give a brief tour of the allegations of Sayf Ibn Umar attributed to Abdullah Ibn Saba: Sayf alleged that a Yemenite Jew, called Abdullah Ibn Saba (also known as Ibn Amutus-Sawda'; son of a black slave), declared his Islam at the time of * Uthman *. He willfully associated himself with Muslims and traveled in their cities and towns, from Damascus to Kufa to Egypt, propagating among Muslims that Muhammad (PBUH&HF) will be resurrected like Jesus.

He also said Ali is Prophet's executor and was deprived of his divine office by Uthman. He provoked Abu Dhar and Ammar Ibn Yasir to agitate against Uthman and Muawiyah. He provoked Muslims to kill Uthman since he had usurped the seat of Ali. Sayf also alleged that Ibn Saba was the key element in the tragedy of the battle of Camel.

Let us now discuss each of the above allegations one by one: The Return of (PBUH&HF) Saif alleged Abdullah Ibn Saba was the one who invented the idea that (PBUH&HF) would return before the Day of Judgment. Saif wrote that Ibn Saba said: If Jesus is going to come back, Muhammad will also return because he is more important than Jesus.

Attributing the idea of al-Raj'a/al-Karra (Bodily resurrection of some dead and returning to this word before the Day of Judgment) to Abdullah Ibn Saba was another trick of Saif Ibn Umar to confuse people's mind with regard to true Islamic beliefs. Had Saif studied Quran carefully he would have seen that many verses Quran confirms the miracle of al-Raj'a has happened in the past for some specific nations and individuals and will also happen in the future for some people.

Although the Shia sources may not be considered as proof to the Sunnis in general, yet in many of our Hadiths, the Ahlul-Bayt (AS) proved the issue of al-Raj'a by Quran. Their logical conclusions from the Quranic verses are quite interesting and can be presented as proof for all Muslims since we all believe in the same Quran.

As such, I am quoting some of the traditions of Ahlul-Bayt (AS) below by classifying them into three categories: I) Those which point to Quranic verses about return in the past. II) Those which point to Quranic verses about return in the future.