In His Name, The Most High
Blessing upon Muhammad and his ahl al-bayt.

Another area of disagreement between ahl sunna wal Jam'a and the follower of the household of the holy prophet (shi'a) is the account of the first revelation. HOW and WHEN are the major concern here.

It is expected to be so in that the first revelation signified the appointment of Muhammad's prophet-hood and was the foundation in which all other subsequent gradual revelations built on.

HOW?

It was the usual custom of the holy prophet (saws) to secluded himself at the Ghair Hira (cave) before his appointment as a prophet with first gradual revelation.

Nobody knows where he always retired except the young Ali (a.s) and his most beloved wife - khadija (R). Often time, they go there to tend to his need as he might be there for days and usually spent the entire month of Ramadhan there (as reported by Imam Ali).

However, Sahih al-bukhari reported a shocking incident that took place at Ghair Hira narrated by Ummul Mu'minina, Aisha on the account of the first revelation:

That when the angel appeared to him, he was TERRIFIED and HESITATED (for he does not know if it is JINN or ANGEL disturbing him) to read what he was commanded to read saying: "I am not learned or I cannot read or what should I read". Alas, at every time interval the angel pressed Muhammad hard inflicting pain on him until he was able to recite; and the 1st six verses of sura al-Alaq were revealed.

The narration goes on to tell us that the Prophet went back to his wife Khadija terrified and recounted to her his dreadful experience. She comforted him and both of them consulted Waraqa Ibn Nawfal, Khadlja's relative and a learned Christian, about it. Waraqa then assured him he was the awaited prophet.

[Bukhari, I, No. 3; VI, No. 478; Muslim I, No. 301, Ibn Hisham vol 1 p. 237 - 238, Suyuti, Itqan p. 23 - 24 etc]

REFUTATION!

This tale by sahih al-Bukhari and many others is rejected on the following grounds:

1. Why would Muhammad's case different as NO person of God or prophet of God for that matter ever hesitated or terrified in their appointment or mission!

In the holy Qur'an, we read:

"Relate in the Book (the story of ) Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East...We sent to her Our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.
She said: "I SEEK REFUGE FROM THEE TO (GOD) MOST GRACIOUS: (come not near) if you fear God" ~Sura Mary'am vs 16 -18.

Saint Mary was prepared and appointed for a specific responsibility, just like Muhammad (saws), she secluded herself in devotion and worship waiting for that moment until angel appeared to her. She was composed and displayed excellently the characteristic of devout servant of God.

Instead of terrifying, she rather seek refuge in Allah, the most high.

Jubril appeared to Muhammad in exact form he appeared to Mary (Israi wal Miraj was where he appeared in his full form).

If Mary'am, a saint whose status was even lower than the shoe-lace of Fatima (a.s), the daughter of Rasul, could display such a unique standing, how about the Leader of all mankind (Sayyidil Bashar)?

2. Why Aisha, the Reporter?

According to Bukhari, Aisha married the holy prophet at the age of six (Shi'a reject this claim also) in the second year of Hijra. Meaning first revelation had occurred 8 -9years before the birth of Aisha.

Well some might argue when she married the holy prophet, she heard it from him.

Aisha should be around 14years (according to Bukhari) when the holy prophet died; since when did the traditionist rely on the report of a minor?

If you reject that, then I sincerely ask what about Khadijah and Ali's report who were not only with Muhammad but also witnessed a glimpse of the incident and the aftermath?

Khadija died around 2-3years before Hijra meaning she witnessed 9 -10years of prophetic mission in Makka. Her husband narrated the incident to her. Where is her report on the account of the 1st revelation from the books of Ahlu Sunnah?

Ali started living under the care and tutelage of Muhammad at the young age of 3 -4years. He was 10years when the first revelation came; and always check on Muhammad at the Ghair Hira. In Nahj al-Balagha, Imam Ali said: " I heard a disturbing groaning when the holy prophet was appointed as a prophet upon which I ask Rasul: what was that groaning? The holy prophet said: it was the groaning of Shay'tan for he has been disappointed with my appointment as the seal of the prophet"

Even if we forget about the fact that Ali has been endowed with knowledge at childhood and come to the conclusion that he was also a minor when the incident happened, Ali (a.s) still spent many years with (and after the demise of) the holy prophet (saws). Where was his report on the account of the first revelation in Sunni source?

In fact, Imam Ali (a.s)'s report was totally different from that of Aisha on the account of the first revelation. In that Imam explained that the holy prophet had been expecting Jubril for long for his appointment as a prophet hence, his seclusion in the cave!

3. Has the holy prophet (saws) not prepared for his appointment?

Qur'an clearly stated Jesus was neither killed nor crucified. If christian insisted he died and was crucified because of his responsibility to liberate us from sin; the so-called sacrifice was made nonsense by the fear and hesitation of 'Jesus' who was never ready to die or be sacrifice. He exclaimed: "O my Lord...why are thou forsaken me?"

Compare to Imam Hussain or Nabi Ismail's readiness.

The gist here is, what has the holy prophet been doing for 40years before his appointment as a prophet? Has Allah not gradually preparing him for the task ahead of him? Does he have or not, the fore-knowledge of his prophetic task and mission?

We read in the book of history that he had been seen and confirmed as a prophet by a monk when he was a lad in the company of Abu Talib while on a trip. His character, knowledge, calmness, signs (whereby there were shadows and beacon of light hovering at him)etc even at that tender age were what the monk saw to confirm his future prophet-hood.

The holy prophet NEVER hesitated or terrified on his appointment as a prophet. He was calm and collected and Never being inflicted with pain by Jubril.

4. Waraqa bin Nawfal, a christian monk?

According to this report, the holy prophet was in the state of fear, trembling and the wife suggested a monk to see to his trouble!
This is an erronous belief. Alas! Sunni failed to gist us weather Waraqa accepted Islam and Muhammad after he has 'confirmed' him as a prophet. This man, history says, leave many more years to witness prophetic mission.

WHEN?

Ahl sunnah believed the 1st revelation took place in the holy month of Ramadhan at Laylat Qadr (night of majesty) with the 1st six verses of Surah Alaq (chapt 96). In contrast, Shi'a affirmed the verses were revealed on the 27th Rajab synchronized with the appointment of Muhammad as the seal of prophet of God.

Sunni Rationale were the verses of Allah (swt) in the holy Qur'an which states:

"Month of Ramadhan, in which was sent down Qur'an..." ~Baqarah vs 185

"We swear by the Glorious Book that We revealed it on a blessed night. (Surah al-Dukhan, 44:2-3).

"We have indeed revealed This In the Night of Power..." ~ Sura Qadr vs 1.

SHI'A REPLY

No doubt those verses clearly showed that holy Qur'an was revealed at night of majesty (in the month of Ramadhan) but they do not mention the place of its revelation and do not stated if it was revealed to Muhammad (saws) during that same night.

There were two methods of revelation:

»Gradual revelation of the Qur'an to the holy prophet (saws).

»and the other is its revelation in installments from the Lauhul Mehfuz to Baytul Ma'mu'r.

According to the Imams of ahl al-bayt (a.s) the few verses of Surah al-Alaq were revealed to the Holy Prophet on the 27th of Rajab (being part of gradual revelation) and the ENTIRE Qur'an, in one compact form, was revealed in the month of Ramadan from a place named by the Qur'an as 'Lauhul Mehfuz' to another place 'Baytul Ma'mur'; and then into the HEART of the holy prophet (saws).

This view is confirmed by the very verse of Surah al- Dukhan which says:" We swear by the glorious BOOK that We revealed it (Qur'an) on a blessed night."

It is evident from this verse (on the strength of the pronoun which turns towards the word 'Book') that it was revealed in its entirety during the Glorious Night (falling in the month of Ramadan), and it is only proper that this revelation should be other than the revelation which took place at the time of the appointment of the Prophet to the prophetic mission, because at that time only a few verses (of sura al-Alaq) were revealed.

Just like a house builder who builds gradually with the previous knowledge of the complete architectural plan and entire design of the house, the Holy Prophet too possessed knowledge of the ENTIRE Holy Book, he was however directed not to make haste in divulging its contents and to wait till he received orders regarding its communication to the people gradually.

The Holy Qur'an says:

Do not make haste in narrating the contents of the Qur'an till you receive orders in this behalf through revelation. (Sura Qiyamat vs 16 - 17).

Who knows better than the head of the household of Muhammad? Imam Ali (a.s) proclaim:

"Ask me before you lose me for there's not a single verse or chapter in the holy Qur'an that I do not know its meaning, where it was revealed, how and when its being revealed..."

No wonder the holy prophet said:

"Ali is with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is with Ali; the two shall never part until they meet me at the pool" (Tirmidhi, an-Nasai, Muslim, Hakim)

Wa salam

your post is too long. break them into smaller posts so that people do not get disinterested. and please stop believing that you are the only followers of the people of the household [ra]. the difference between you and the general muslim is that you hate some of the comppanions [ra] so much so that you curse them in spite of two of them being buried next to the Holy Prophet [SA] and a grave dug for Isa bin Maryam [AS] is near them and most unbelievably so is that Allah had praised them and confirm the forgiveness of their sins.


this your separation [shia] is what i dont get. if Ali bin Abi Talib [ra] didnt curse them, how dare you to curse them? you even abuse the wives of the prophet [SA] and you say you love him. how? do you think anyone could love you and curse or abuse your wife and you will be happy if you know? even if i divorce a woman, it is not permissible for anyone in my family to curse her. if i am married to a woman, if you love me and you curse her, i know you dont love me and i will be annoyed enough to sever my relationship with you.


lying on the person of Ali [ra] is not good. How is being belongs to Allah alone. And Muhammad [SA] does not know the meaning of Alif, Laaam, Miiim and many other verses. There is no way Ali [ra] will know them, either since Muhammad [SA] is the source of knowledge among men and Allah does not let him know everything, including the true nature of soul/spirit of man. Do not worship other than Allah and when you exaggerate the knowledge of man or any, it is in itself worship.

One,
Thanks for the advice. But note that I didn't post to entice or get people 'interested'. Anybody who is interested should read or leave it. This is an Islamic discussion not a play which many get amused.

Two,
It is very disheartened that you leave the main topic and started revealing the 'pain' you've been nursing about shi'a. Its understandable dear brother. No problem! Am just a kind of person who doesn't like beating round bushes; however, all your accusations shall be broken down one after the other. Please if you can't control your emotion and follow Qur'anic injunction which says: "Call unto the way of your Lord with wisdom and good manners; and reason with sound argument..." Then you should quit.

TO YOUR PAINS:

A. "...that we assumed to be only follower of ahl al-bayt (a.s)

My question is Are you? If yes then you have a lot of question to answer:

The holy prophet (saws) said:

"I leave two weighty things behind. So long you follow them you will never go astray, Book of Allah and my Ahl al-bayt"

NB: Does that sound strange? Yes it will because you have been brainwashed that he said he (saws) left Qur'an and sunnah.

All your six most authentic hadith (Bukhari, muslim, tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn majah and Abu dawud) ONLY recorded "book of Allah and ahl al-bayt" as Muhammad legacy and NEVER recorded the brainwashed "sunnah".

The only source where you will find "Qur'an and Sunnah" is al-Muwatta of Imam Malik who said the hadith is not Mutawattir.

So where are you?

B. The Ahl al-bayt (a.s), the prophet (saws) said: "the similitude of my ahl al-bayt is that of the ark of Noah; whosoever embark on it is SAVED and whosoever turn away from it will PERISHED" (al-Mustadrak ala sahihayn of Hakim, Sawaiq Muhriqa of Ibn Hajar, Imam suyuti in his "Darr Manthur etc)

Who are the ahl al-bayt? Where exactly are you being attached to them? what is your position with their leadership after Muhammad (saws)? How many hadith have you taken from Ali (a.s), who since age 3years had been with the holy prophet (saws) to the point of his death (thereby he (saws) declared: 'I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the gate to it'? How many have you taken from Abu Hurayra, a man who barely know Muhammad?

C. Sincerely, I urged you to qoute a single book from our books where 'the two' had been cursed. And where does been buried beside Muhammad make one 'saint'?

NB: If you really want a sincere further discussion on Abu Bakar and Umar; in sha Allah I will be here.

Our stand with the Sahabas is we do not believe ALL of them are righteous as the ahlu sunnah used to claim!

Qur'an says there are lots of Munafiq among them, some the holy prophet knew and some he did not know (Sura Tawba).

The holy prophet said on the day of Judgement some will be drag to hell and he (saws) will appeal that 'these are my companions' but it will be said that they have deviated after his demise.

As regard the wives of the holy prophet (saws), only Aisha and Hafsa do we have logerhead with. Why? I urge you to read sura Tahrim (chap. 66), the whole sura was revealed because of her behavioural attitude and Allah concluded by given example of the wives of Noah and Lut whom Allah put under the guidance of these friends of God yet they betrayed them.

Besides the first fitnah in Islam where two muslim group faced each other in a bloody cold civil war was instigated and led by Aisha despite Allah's command on her to stay indoor.

Any Muslim who curse them, have gone extreme. Truly many does curse them but these are immature attitude.

When one of Imam Ali (a.s)'s companions said to Imam Ali after Allah had given him victory over Aisha and his troop at the battle of Jamal; the companion said let's take her captive. Imam Ali replied: 'can you take your mother captive?'

Lastly,
What are the lies we've made about Imam Ali (a.s)? Please highlight for your claims to be of any worth.

Thanks for your time.

double post

Dear brother, I've once told you if you dislike my lengthy post, then quit. Its not by force to read. Its by choice. This is religious matter for Allah's sake. Then u said Allah revealed short short surahs. Yes! But never forget you equally have lengthy ones! Lol

Brother why don't you be sincere to yourself for once and stop beating round bushes?

A muslim is enjoyed by Nabi (saws) to search for knowledge from cradle till death. If you see or come across something new, you make enquiries not accusing!
About Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussain (alehimu salam)! Now I know you know NOTHING about them.
Imam shaafi'I (r) said:
"O Ahl al-bayt of the prophet! Your love has been made obligatory in the Qur'an; and suffice is of your merit that whoever prays and did not send salam to you, he's prayer is void."

i can't read all that you wrote. its too lengthy. Allah made many many surah short and told His Messenger [SA] to be gentle with the people so that they dont flee. Yet he was gentle from the start, a lesson for all while you are here telling all of us that your case is different, we must take it or leave it and your post must be long. read it all by yourself then and get your own blessing for writing what turns off those people you want to address.

do i follow the the people of the house? yes. all my life and i follow those sahabah [RA] who followed the prophet [SA], making dawah and dying in far away land. whats wrong with you that is making you think that islam is only by the family when it was more than that in the lifetime of the Prophet [SA], Ali, fatima, Hassan, Hussain [RA jamiah]?

this is complete disinformation as the bulk of muslims didnt get Islam from the the family, but the sahaba [RA] who spent wealth and lives for the pleasure of Allah, following His Messenger [SA]. what surprises me always though i am no sunni is the way many thinks that after the prophet [SA] died, suddenly Ali became the lamb instead of the lion he was and its people like you who are now the 'lions' fighting the fight of Ali [RA]! did Ali suddenly abandon what was his nature [boldness] in the time of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman [RA] and suddenly became a fighter, again, later? i cant respond to you again. i do not want you to become angry with me. enjoy your writing, probably gonna be a one man show lack varied viewpoint because islam must only be about the family and not others that Allah recognized in the Quran as foreigners in the land and helpers [RA jamiah].

But you can read lengthy novels? Good.
Everything we do is by choice not force.
Advice: QUIT.

Assalam aleikum,

Brother Baqir may Allah (swt) reward you abundantly for your very informative,enlightening and decisive article in the op.

Brother Roy,please drop the argument and emotions.tackle the facts instead.i read the entire thread thus far in less than 10 minutes.there is no point arguing over what you dont want to read.also no point to pull redherrings and evade the topic.it is not every time a Shia brings up a topic that you must go on the offensive that the Shia curse or dislike SOME companions for known reasons.stick to the topic.then you will see who is following guidance and truth and who has been misled for centuries that the Prophet (sa) was an "ignorant man" who was unsure of his own prophethood,and Jibril (as) "squeezed" him and applied pain on him.auozubillah!