ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Hadith al-Thaqalayn The Meaning of Hadith al-Thaqalayn In each of the parts of the ‘Abaqat dealing with a particular hadith, the author, Sayyid Hamid Husayn - quddisa sirruh - after dealing with its tawatur goes on to deal with the meaning and doctrinal import of the hadith.

In fact, this is the method which he is forced to follow in order to refute the statements of Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz in the Tuhfah regarding the tawatur of the traditions mentioned by him as well as their doctrinal import. In the second section of the part of the ‘Abaqat dealing with Hadith al-Thaqalayn, Sayyid Hamid Husayn deals with Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz's objections, the first of which relates to its transmission and the rest to its doctrinal impact.

The first objection dealt with is the statement of Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz that only Zayd ibn Arqam from among the Prophet's has narrated the tradition. This objection is met by pointing out that at least thirty-four have narrated the tradition. The sources which narrate the tradition from each of them - which were mentioned earlier in this article - are pointed out by him.

Moreover, he points out, Zayd's narration of the tradition has two lengthier versions as recorded by al-Nasa'i in al-Khasa'is, al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, al-Tabarani and ‘Ali al-Muttaqi. Moreover, he points that the wording of the tradition as quoted by Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz has not been narrated or recorded by any Sunni authority on tradition.

The next statement of Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz that is dealt with is his outright denial that Hadith al-Thaqalayn implies the religious leadership of the Ahlul Bayt (A). The author points out that since the Prophet (S) has placed the Ahlul Bayt (A) by the side of the Qur'an, it means that the Ahlul Bayt (A) have to be followed, like the Qur'an, as the living guides of the Ummah in matters of doctrine, ritual and law. He cites the statements of numerous leading Sunni authorities in affirmation of this.

The author points out that the words 'thaqalayn' and the command to hold on to them (al-i’tisam, al-akhdh or al-ittiba’ in accordance with the different wordings) unambiguously imply that in the same way as it is obligatory to follow the Qur'an, so also it is equally obligatory to follow the Ahlul Bayt (A) in the matters of Islamic teachings.