Category: Tarikh

Praise be to Allah.His full name was Abu’l-Fath, ‘Umar ibn Ibraaheem al-Khayyaami
al-Naysapoori. He was a poet and philosopher from among the people of Naysapoor, where he
was born and died.
He was born in 408 AH, in the town of Naysapoor, where he died and was
buried in 517 AH, or it was said, 515 AH.
He was a scholar who was well versed in mathematics, astronomy,
language, fiqh and history.
Because of his brilliance as an astronomer, he was appointed as director
of the observatory in Baghdaad, and because of his interest in philosophy, his name is
associated with that of Ibn Seenaa (Avicenna), who wrote articles filled with kufr which
put him beyond the pale of Islam.
He is also famous for his poetry, the best known of which is al-Rubaa’iyaat,
which is filled with ideas of kufr, promiscuity and heresy. No wonder the West took such
an interest in publishing and distributing this book! It has been translated into many
languages, such as English, French, Russian, German, etc. The British sought to spread the
ideas of immorality and promiscuity advocated by al-Khayyaam in al-Rubaa’iyaat,
so they spread it in the countries which they colonized, such as India and Iran, and
attributed it to one of the Muslims, rather one of the greatest of them – or so they
claimed.
One of the verses about wine – in al-Rubaa’iyaat –
says:
Drink wine, for it is the relaxation of the soul
A cure for the soul and heart, and entertainment.
If you are overwhelmed with stress and grief,
Save yourself through it, for it is like the ship of Nooh.
Denying the idea of resurrection after death, he said:
Get up before death seizes you
And take the rose-coloured (liquid) [i.e., wine] to expel darkness
O fool, you are not a piece of gold
To be buried and later brought forth
His words of promiscuity and immorality include the following:
As much as you can, follow the people of immorality
Destroy the structure of fasting and prayer
Receive the best words from al-Khayyaam
Drink, sing and pursue the good things
His mocking of the sharee’ah, his insolence towards his Lord and
his attitude towards repentance may be seen in the following words:
Every day I have the intention to repent
If night falls and I feel that I want to repent from drinking wine
Then the season of flowers comes and then,
O Lord, I repent from my intention to repent
Some researchers, such as al-Zarkali, said that later he repented and
performed Hajj. Others, such as ‘Abd al-Haqq Faadil, expressed doubts about the
attribution of al-Rubaa’iyaat to him.
Whatever the case, the Rubaa’iyaat do not indicate that he
repented, because they contain clear statements of kufr, wilful neglect of virtuous
attributes and rejection of the idea of repenting and turning to Allaah. Indeed, they
contain no indication that their author believed in Allaah and the Last Day.
The doubts about whether he wrote these words are outweighed by number
of people who attributed them to him. Allaah knows best what is really the case.
For more details on his life, see al-A’laam by al-Zarkali,
5/38; Mu’jam al-Mu’aalifeen by ‘Umar Ridaa Kahhaalah, 2/549; ‘Umar
al-Khayyaam bayna al-Kufr wa’l-Eemaan, by Ihsaan Haqqi; Thawrat al-Khayyaam
by ‘Abd al-Haqq Faadil.
May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Praise be to Allah.Everything is standing in its position by the permission of Allaah,
whether it be the heavens and all that is in them or the earth and all that is on it
– even the rock which you asked about. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):
“Verily, Allaah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move
away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one
that could grasp them after Him…” [Faatir 35:41]
“And among His Signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His
Command…” [al-Room 30:25]
The Rock in Bayt al-Maqdis is not suspended in space with air around it
on all sides; it is attached to the side of the mountain of which it is a part and by
which it is supported; both it and the mountain stand in their positions because of the
well-known physical laws governing the universe; in this regard it is like everything else
that exists. We do not deny that Allaah is Able to hold part of His creation in space; all
of creation is standing in space by the power of Allaah, as stated above. Allaah raised
the mountain above the people of Moosa when they refused to follow the laws that Moosa
brought them. It was held up by the power of Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And (remember) when We took your Covenant and We raised above
you the Mount (saying): ‘Hold fast to that which We have given you, and remember that
which is therein so that you may become al-muttaqoon (the pious).” [al-Baqarah 2:63]
“And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had
been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said): ‘Hold
firmly to what We have given you, and remember that which is therein, so that you may fear
Allaah and obey Him.” [al-A’raaf 7:171]
But our point here is to explain what is in fact the case: the rock in
Jerusalem is not suspended in space, completely separate from the mountain; it is attached
to it and is supported by it. And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.There is no basis in shareeah for taking the crescent or star as
a symbol of the Muslims. This was not known at the time of the Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), or at the time of the Khulafa al-Raashidoon (the
first four leaders of Islam after the death of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), or during the time of the Umawis (Umayyad dynasty). It emerged some time
after that, and historians differ as to when this symbol was first adopted and who was the
first to adopt it. Some say it was the Persians, others say it was the Greeks, and that
this symbol was somehow passed to the Muslims. (See Al-Taraateeb al-Idaariyah
by al-Kittaani, 1/320). It was said that the reason why the Muslims adopted
the crescent was that when they conquered some western countries, the churches there had
crosses on top of them, the Muslims replaced the crosses with these crescents, and the
practice spread in this way. Whatever the case, symbols and banners must be in accordance
with the teachings of Islam, and as there is no evidence that this symbol is prescribed by
Islam, it is better not to use it. Neither the crescent nor the star are symbols of the
Muslims, even though some Muslims may use them as symbols.
As regards what Muslims think about the moon and the stars, they
believe that they are part of the creation of Allaah, and as such can neither benefit nor
harm people, and they do not have any influence over events on earth. Allaah has created
them for the benefit of mankind, an example of which is seen in the aayah or verse of the
Quraan (interpretation of the meaning):
They ask you (O Muhammad) about the new moons. Say: These are
signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage
[al-Baqarah 2:189]
[The commentator] Ibn Katheer said, explaining the phrase Say: these
are signs to mark fixed periods of time: From them (the new moons) they may know
the times for repaying loans, the iddah (waiting period) of their women
[after being divorced or widowed] and the timing of their Hajj (pilgrimage) Allaah
has made them signs to mark the times when Muslims should start to fast and break their
fast [the beginning and end of Ramadaan], to count the iddah of their women
and to know the times for repaying loans. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer).
[Another commentator] Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said in his commentary on this aayah [verse]: This explains the wisdom behind
the waxing and waning of the moon, which is to avoid any confusion in appointed dates,
dealings, oaths, Hajj, iddah, fasting, breaking fasts, length of pregnancy,
rentals and other matters that concern mankind. Similar to this aayah are others
(interpretation of the meanings):
And We have appointed the night and the day as two aayaat
(signs). Then, We have made dark the sign of the night while We have made the sign of day
illuminating, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of
the years and the reckoning [al-Isra 17:12]
It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light
and measured out its (their) stages, that you might know the number of years and the
reckoning [Yoonus 10:5]
Counting the new moons is easier than counting days. (See Tafseer
al-Qurtubi).
With regard to the stars, the scholars of Islam say that
Allaah created these stars for three reasons: to adorn the heavens, to drive away the
devils (shayaateen) and as signs for navigation. (Saheeh al-Bukhaari,
Kitaab Bad al-Khalq), as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
It is He Who has set the stars for you, so that you may guide
your course with their help through the darkness of the land and the sea
[al-Anaam 6:97]
And indeed We have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps, and We
have made such lamps (as) missiles to drive away the shayaateen (devils), and have
prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire. [al-Mulk 67:5]

Praise be to Allah.wa alaikum us-salaam wa-rahmat ullaahi wa-barakaatuh
All Praise be to Allaah.
As long as you are confident in your heart about your belief, no such insinuations will hurt you (inshaa’
Allaah). If a doubt strikes a believer or something appears to him as a conflict between different textual
sources of Shari’ah, he must believe that indeed for such doubts there are true answers and for such
apparent conflicts there are solutions even if he doesnt know it or is unable to find the right answer
himself. However, a person should not collect all the doubts in his heart and worry about the
complexities and leave aside the learning of useful knowledge. This is because it is incumbent upon a
Muslim to learn and know things which have been clearly described (Muhkamaat) in Shari’ah so that he
may be able to repel the doubts.
Regarding the question you have asked, it is a known fact that legislation differs from one Shari’ah to
another, while the principles and beliefs remain the same in all of them. So, making of portraits was
allowed in the Shari’ah of Sulayman (peace be upon him) but is prohibited in our Shari’ah. Similarly,
making prostration of salutation was permitted in the Shari’ah of Yusuf (peace be upon him) but is illegal
in ours. Also, war booty was prohibited for nations before us but it is completely legal for us. The
Qiblah of people before us used to be towards Bayt Al-Maqdis, but for us it is towards Ka’bah. In a
similar way, marriage between brothers and sisters was permitted in the Shari’ah of Adam (peace be
upon him) as opposed to those that came afterwards. The following is a clarification on the issue by
Haafidh Ibn Katheer, who said:
Allaah allowed Adam (peace be upon him) to marry his daughters to his sons for necessity. Every
couple used to have a boy and a girl. Hence, he married the girl of one couple to the boy of another.
This is said by Suddi regarding what has been narrated by Abu Maalik and Abu Salih, from Ibn Abbas,
by Murrah from Ibn Masood and by other companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that
Adam did not have (in his grandchildren) a baby boy unless it was accompanied by a girl, so he married
the male of a couple to the female of another, and the female of a couple to the male of another.

Praise be to Allah.Ibn Sayyaad’s name was Saafi, or ‘Abd-Allaah, ibn (the son of) Sayyaad or Saa’id.
 He was one of the Jews of Madeenah, and it was said that he was one of the Ansaar. He was a child at the time when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah. It was also said that he became Muslim.
 Ibn Sayyaad was a dajjaal (a liar), and he used to tell fortunes, sometimes what he said came true, and sometimes it did not. He became famous among the people, and it was rumoured that he was the Dajjaal. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to find out about him, so he used to go to him secretly, without revealing his identity to him, hoping to hear something from him. He also asked him some questions directly, to find out what he really was. He outlived the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then he was lost on the day of al-Harrah. [comment deleted]
The story of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Ibn Sayyaad
 ‘Abdaan told us, ‘Abd-Allaah informed us, from Yoonus from al-Zuhri, who said, Saalim ibn ‘Abd-Allaah informed me that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) informed him that ‘Umar set out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to look for Ibn Sayyaad, and they found him playing with some boys near the battlement of Banu Maghaalah. At that time Ibn Sayyaad was on the threshhold of adolescence. He did not notice anything until the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) struck him on the back with his hand. Then he said to Ibn Sayyaad, “Do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allaah?” Ibn Sayyaad looked at him and said, “I bear witness that you are the Messenger of the unlettered.” Ibn Sayyaad said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allaah?” He ignored that and said, “I believe in Allaah and His Messengers.” Then he asked him, “What do you see?” Ibn Sayyaad said, “(Sometimes) a truthful one comes to me and (sometimes) a liar comes.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “You have been confounded.” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “I am concealing something from you.” Ibn Sayyaad said, “It is al-dukh.” [Referring to Soorat al-Dukhaan]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “Be off with you! You will never go beyond your rank.” ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “Permit me to strike his neck (kill him), O Messenger of Allaah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “If he is he (the Dajjaal), then you will not be able to overpower him, and if he is not (the Dajjaal), then your killing him will not do any good.”Saalim said, I heard Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) say: After that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Ubayy ibn Ka’b set off to go to some date-palm trees where Ibn Sayyaad was. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concealed himself in order to hear something from Ibn Sayyaad before Ibn Sayyaad saw him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw him lying on his bed with a blanket around him from which was coming a murmuring sound. The mother of Ibn Sayyaad saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) hiding behind the trunk of the palm-tree and said, “O Saaf!” – which was his name – “Here is Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!” Then Ibn Sayyaad jumped up and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “If she had left him alone, things would have been made clear.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1355).
“Battlement” refers to a structure like a fortress.
Maghaalah was a tribe of the Ansaar.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to talk to Ibn Sayyaad without him realizing who he was.
“from which was coming a murmuring sound” means, a low voice, or moving the lips as in speech, or speaking in an indistinct manner.
See Fath al-Baari for the commentary on the above hadeeth in Kitaab al-Janaa’iz of Saheeh al-Bukhaari.
 ·Was Ibn Sayyaad the great Dajjaal?
 The hadeeth quoted above – which describes some of the features of Ibn Saayaad and how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) examined him – indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not pass judgement on the matter of Ibn Sayyaad, because it was not revealed to him (by Wahy) whether he was the Dajjaal or not.
 Many of the Sahaabah thought that Ibn Sayyaad was the Dajjaal. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) swore that he was the Dajjaal in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Sahaabah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not disapprove of that. Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said, “I saw Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah swear by Allaah that Ibn al-Saa’id was the Dajjaal. I said, ‘Do you swear by Allaah?’ He said, ‘I heard ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab swear to that effect in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not disapprove of that.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6808).
Ibn ‘Umar told a strange story about Ibn Sayyaad which was narrated in Saheeh Muslim from Naafi’, who said: Ibn ‘Umar met Ibn Sayyaad on one of the paths of Madeenah, and said to him something which made him so angry that he swelled up and filled the road. Ibn ‘Umar went to Hafsah and told her about this. She said, “May Allaah have mercy upon you! Why did you upset Ibn Sayyaad? Don’t you know that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that he (the Dajjaal) will emerge when something makes him very angry?” (Saheeh Muslim, 2932)
In spite of that, when Ibn Sayyaad grew up, hetried to defend himself and said that he was not the Dajjaal; he was apparently upset by this accusation, and he quoted as evidence the fact that the attributes of the Dajjaal described by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not apply to him.
 Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said: “We went out for Hajj or ‘Umrah, and Ibn Saa’id was with us. We stopped at a place to camp, and the people separated and I was left with him (Ibn Saa’id). I felt very nervous and afraid of him, because of what had been said about him. He brought his luggage and put it with mine. I said, ‘It is very hot – why don’t you put your things under that tree?’ So he did that. Then some sheep appeared before us, and he went and brought a large vessel (of milk) and said, ‘Drink, O Abu Sa’eed.’ I said, ‘It is too hot, and the milk is hot.’ In fact (the only thing wrong was) that I did not want to drink from his hand, or take anything from his hand. He said, ‘Abu Sa’eed, I have been thinking that I should take a rope and suspend it from a tree, and hang myself, because of what people are saying about me. O Abu Sa’eed, does anyone know more about hadeeth than you Ansaar? Are you not one of the most knowledgeable of people about the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? Didn’t the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say that the Dajjaal is a kaafir, and I am a Muslim? Didn’t the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say that he would be sterile, with no children, and I have left my child behind in Madeenah? Didn’t the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say that he will never enter Madeenah or Makkah, but I have left Madeenah and am headed for Makkah?’ … I was about to accept his excuses, then he said, ‘But, by Allaah, I know who the Dajjaal is, where he was born and where he is now.’ I said to him, ‘May you perish for the rest of the day!’” (Narrated by Muslim, no. 5211).
 According to another report, Ibn Sayyaad said: “By Allaah, I know where he is now and I know his father and mother.” It was said to him, “Would you not be happy to be that man?” He said, “If it were offered to me, I would not refuse.” (Narrated by Muslim, 521)
 The scholars were confused by the reports about Ibn Sayyaad. Some scholars said that he was the Dajjaal, and others said that he was not. Both groups had evidence (daleel) for what they said, and their views conflicted a great deal. Ibn Hajar tried to reconcile the two views by saying: the best way in which we may reconcile what is said in the hadeeth of Tameem al-Daari and the view that Ibn Sayyaad was the Dajjaal is to say that the Dajjaal is the exact same person whom Tameem al-Daari saw chained up, and that Ibn Sayyaad was a shaytaan (a devil) who appeared in the image of the Dajjaal at that time, until he went to Isfahaan, where he hid with his qareen, until the appointed time comes when Allaah will decree that he should emerge. Because the matter is so confusing, al-Bukhaari, instead of attempting a reconciliation, narrated the hadeeth of Jaabir from ‘Umar, believing it to be more saheeh, and did not narrate the hadeeth of Faatimah bint Qays about the story of Tameem. (Fath al-Baari, 13/328)
It was said that Ibn Sayyaad was one of the dajjaals or liars, but he was not the greater Dajjaal. And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.Islam began with the beginning of the Prophet’s mission, when Jibraa’eel (the Archangel Gabriel) brought down the Revelation from Allah in Makkah (Mecca) in the Arabian Peninsula. This occurred on a Monday in the month of Ramadaan, in the fortieth year of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) life, thirteen years before his Hijrah (migration) to Madeenah (which marks the beginning of the Islamic or Hijri calendar). According to the Gregorian calendar, the beginning of the Prophetic mission happened around 608 or 609 CE. Salmaan al-Farsi, may Allah be pleased with him, one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reported that between Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), there were six hundred years.
And Allah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.Islam was spread by proof and evidence, in the case of those who listened to the message and responded to it. And it was spread by strength and the sword in the case of those who stubbornly resisted, until they had no choice and had to submit to the new reality.
And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.

Praise be to Allah.In fact people differed concerning that. It
was said that he is buried in Syria, or in Iraq, and Allaah knows best what is true. With regard to his head, they also differed concerning that;
it was said that it is buried in Syria, or in Iraq, or in Egypt. The correct view is that the site in Egypt is not his grave, rather that is a
mistake and the head of al-Husayn is not there. A number of scholars have written essays on that and explained that there is no evidence for the
head of al-Husayn being in Egypt. The most likely to be correct is the view that it is in Syria, because it was taken to Yazeed ibn Mu’aawiyah who
was in Syria. There is no basis for the view that it was taken to Egypt. Either it was kept in Syria or it was returned to his body in Iraq. 
Whatever the case, the people do not need to
know where it is buried or where it is. Rather what is prescribed is to pray for forgiveness and mercy for him, may Allaah forgive him and be
pleased with him, for he was killed unlawfully. So we should pray for forgiveness and mercy for him, and hope for much good for him. He and his
brother al-Hasan will be the leaders of the youth of Paradise, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said. May Allaah be
pleased with them. 
If a person’s grave is known, there is
nothing wrong with saying salaams to him and making du’aa’ for him, as other graves may be visited, without going to extremes in that or
worshipping them. It is not permissible to ask the dead to intercede, because nothing can be asked of the dead; rather we should make du’aa’ for
them and pray for mercy for them if they were Muslims, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Visit the
graves, for they will remind you of the Hereafter.” 
If a person visits the graves of al-Husayn or
al-Hasan or any other Muslim to make du’aa’ for them and pray for mercy and forgiveness for them, as he would do at the grave of any other Muslim,
this is Sunnah. But visiting graves to pray to their occupants or seek their help or ask them to intercede – this is a reprehensible action, and
indeed it is major shirk. It is not permissible to build mosques or domes etc over graves, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allaah curse the Jews and Christians, for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” (Saheeh –
agreed upon). And because it was narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) in al-Saheeh that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade plastering over graves, sitting on them and erecting structures over them.” So t is not permissible to
plaster over graves, perfume them, place screens around them or erect structures over them; all of that is forbidden and these are means that lead
to shirk. And we should not pray at graves because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those who came before you
used to take the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as places of worship; do not take graves as places of worship, for I forbid you to
do that.” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh from Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Bajali (may Allaah be pleased with him). 
This hadeeth indicates that it is not
permissible to pray at graves or to take them as mosques; and because that is a means that leads to shirk and worshipping someone other than
Allaah by calling upon them (the occupants of the graves), seeking their help, making vows to them, and touching the graves to seek their
blessings. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against that. Rather graves should be visited in the manner
prescribed in sharee’ah only, to give salaams to them and make du’aa’ for them and pray for mercy for them, but without travelling specifically
for that purpose. 
And Allaah is the Source of strength and the
Guide to the straight path.

Praise be to Allah.
The book Nahj al-Balaaghah is one of the books that
are attributed to Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be
pleased with him), but it contains many things concerning which those who
claim to be Muslims have disputed. Following the great scientific principle
which was followed by the imams of Islam in obedience to the shar’i command
to verify reports, we have no choice but to refer to the scholars and
specialists to check on the veracity of the things that are attributed to
‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), because what is narrated from the
Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) has an effect on sharee’ah,
especially in the case of someone like Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (may Allaah
be pleased with him), concerning whom some people have exaggerated or fallen
short, but Allaah guided the Ahl al-Sunnah to follow a middle course. 

By referring to the words of the scholars concerning this
book and comparing its contents with what has been proven with saheeh
isnaads from ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), it becomes clear that
there is material in this book that contradicts what was proven from him
(may Allaah be pleased with him). So we should look at what some of these
great scholars have said: 

Imaam al-Dhahabi (may Allaah be pleased with him) said in his
biography of al-Murtada ‘Ali ibn Husayn ibn Moosa al-Moosawi (d. 436 AH): I
said, he was the compiler of the book Nahj al-Balaaghah which is attributed
to Imam ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), but the reports contained
therein have are no isnaads. Some of it is false and some of it is true, but
it contains some frabricated reports of things that the Imam would never
have said. But who is the fair-minded man who would look at it in an
objective manner?! It was said that it was compiled by his brother Shareef
al-Radiy. It includes slander against the companions of the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); we seek refuge with
Allaah from knowledge that is of no benefit.

Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 17/589 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: “Most of the khutab (sermons) that the author of Nahj al-Balaaghah
includes in his book are lies against ‘Ali. ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with
him) is too noble and too worthy to have uttered such words. But these
people fabricated lies and thought that they were praise, but they are
neither truth nor praise. Whoever says that the words of ‘Ali or any other
human being are above the words of any other created being is mistaken, for
the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
are above his words, and both of them are created beings. Moreover the
correct meanings that are to be found in the words of ‘Ali are to be found
in the words of others, but the author of Nahj al-Balaaghah and his
ilk took many of the things that people say and made them the words of ‘Ali.
There are some words narrated from ‘Ali that he did say, and some of them
are true words that would have been befitting for him to say, but in fact
they are the words of others. Hence in Kalaam al-Bayaan wa’l-Tabyeen
by al-Haafiz and in other books there are words narrated from people other
than ‘Ali and the author of Nahj al-Balaaghah attributed them to
‘Ali. If these sermons which were transmitted in Nahj al-Balaaghah
were really spoken by ‘Ali, they would have been found in other books that
existed before this book was written, and they would have been narrated from
‘Ali with isnaads and otherwise. It is known from those who are well versed
in the study of narrations that many of them (these sermons) – indeed most
of them – were unknown before this, therefore it may be concluded that they
are fabrications. So the narrator should state in which book they are
mentioned, who narrated it from ‘Ali, and what its isnaad is. Otherwise,
anybody could say something and claim that it was said by ‘Ali. Those who
are well-versed in the knowledge of the hadeeth scholars and of reports and
isnaads and are able to tell what is sound and what is not sound would know
that these people who transmitted reports from ‘Ali are the least likely
people to know about reports and be able to distinguish the sound from the
unsound.

Manhaaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah,
8/55. 

Other scholars who pointed out the lies in this book was
al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi, in al-Jaami’ li Akhlaaq al-Raawi wa Adaab
al-Saami’, 2.161; al-Qaadi Ibn Khalkaan; al-Safadi, and others. The
things that have been said against it may be summarized in the following
points: 

1.There are seven generations of
narrators between ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) and the author of
this book, and he did not mention any name whatsoever. Hence we cannot
accept his words without an isnaad.

2.If these narrators are
mentioned, it is essential to research about them and find out whether they
are trustworthy.

3.The fact that most of these
sermons did not exist before this book was written indicates that they were
fabricated.

4.Al-Murtada – the author of the
book – was not one of the scholars of reports, rather he was one of those
whose religious commitment and competence were debatable.

5.The slander that it contains
against the leading Sahaabah is sufficient to count it as false.

6.The insults and slander that it
contains are not the characteristics of the believers, let alone their
leaders such as ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him).

7.It contains contradictions and
clumsy expressions from which it may be known for certain that it was not
produced by one who was prominent in eloquence and fluency.

8.The fact that the Raafidah
accept it and are certain that it is as true as the Qur’aan, despite all
these objections, indicates that they do not pay attention to verifying
sources and ensuring that they are sound with regard to the matters of their
religion.

 Based on the above, it is clear that this book cannot be
attributed to ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), therefore nothing in it
can be used as evidence in matters of sharee’ah, no matter what the issue
is. But whoever reads it in order to find out what it contains of eloquence,
the ruling is the same as that on all other books on Arabic language,
without attributing its contents to Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (may Allaah be
pleased with him).

 See Kutub hadhdhara minha al-‘Ulama’, 2/250

Praise be to Allah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
commanded that the Jews be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, and said
that no two religions should co-exist in the Arabian Peninsula. This is a
shar’i ruling. It is not permissible for any mushrik to remain there. With
regard to the presence of the Jews in Madeenah, Khaybar, etc., this was
before the command to expel them, as is well known. The command to expel
them came during the final illness of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), then ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) expelled
them after that.