2. The Example of the Imams
AftertheProphet’sdeath, theMuslimswereverymuchdividedonthe
issueofleadership.ThisgavebirthtothetwogroupsknownastheShi‘a
andtheSunnis.TheShi‘a livedbythesharī‘abyfollowingthe Qur’ān,
and thesunnaof the Prophet andof the Imams.
The sunna, in Shi‘a definition, means “the sayings, deeds and silent
approvaloftheProphetandthetwelveinfallibleImamsofAhlu'l-bayt.”
Althoughtheissue ofthe leadershiphasalreadybeen discussedin an-
otherlesson in PartOne, I would liketo mentionone reason whythe
Imams of Ahlu ’l-bayt are preferable as the source of the sharī‘a than
anyone else.
TheMuslimsoftheearlydaysrealizedtheimportanceoftheProphet’s
sunnaandstartedtomemorizehissayingsknownashadith.Latergen-
erationspreserved the saying they hadheard from the companionsof
theProphetinthebooksofhadith.EventheactionsoftheProphet,ob-
servedbyhiscompanions,werepreservedinwriting.Butthisprocessof
preservingthesunnaoftheProphetwasnotimmunefrommistakesand
forgery.Many sayingswereinvented andwrongfullyattributedto the
ProphetduringtheearlyperiodoftheIslamichistory,especiallyduring
theUmayyidera.Attimes,therulersbribedthecompanionstofabricate
‘hadīth’intheirfavourand/oragainsttheiropponents.At othertimes,
somepeopleinvented‘hadīth’forapparentlygoodcausesnotrealizing
that theywere usingthe wrong meansof trying tomake peoplemore
religious!
Abu ‘Ismah, Faraj bin Abi Maryam al-Marwazi was asked: “From
wherehaveyougotallthesetraditionsnarratedthrough‘Ikrimah,from
Ibn‘Abbās,fromtheProphet,describingtherewardofrecitingeachand
everysūrah(chapter)oftheQur’ān?”Hesaid,“Ifoundpeopleinterested
only in thefiqhof Abu Hanīfah andmaghāziof Ibn Ishāq; therefore, I
forgedtheseahādīth forthe pleasureofGodto bringthembacktothe
Qur’ān.”
Inthisbackgroundoftheearlydevelopmentofhadīth,wemustfind
an authenticand informedsource forthe sunna of the Prophet.When
youlookattheMuslimsoftheProphet’sdays,youcanfindnoonewho
wasmore knowledgeable, informed,reliable andcloser to the Prophet