Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers has asked this question:

Assalamu alaykum,

Dear Brother/sister,

Are you sunni? The reason I ask this is because of the response you gave to the question on Khums...it is exactly what a sunni would respond. I don't mean to differeniate between sunni/shia but sunni don't regard Imamiyah hadith as authetic. This include almost all the hadith transmitted from Imam Jafar Sadiq (as). Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) clearly describes in hadith the meaning, distrubution, and what classifies as khums and your description falls dreadfully short of that.

Regarding translations, again these are interpretation of the translator and by no means qualify as to what Allah may have meant. The Imam is the only one qualified to explain the Quran. Either stop calling yourself a shiah let alone a dawoodi bohra or state the reasons behind your statements!!! You by noways reply with statement a shiah would according to Allah, the Prophet and the Imams teachings.

Was salams

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our brother for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Imams vis-à-vis Al-Quran

The answer to your question “are you a ‘sunni’?”. I am afraid the answer is ‘no’. We are neither sunnis, nor shias, nor any other sect of Islam. We are all muslims as Allah has commanded us to be, and we have submitted our will to Allah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon verse 52-54: And you all belong to one and the same ummah, and I am your Lord; so fear Me Alone! Yet afterwards the people divided themselves into different sects, and each sect rejoices in what it has. Well, leave them deeply involved in their heedlessness up to an appointed time.

Breaking Islam into sects is a sin, and is the handiwork of Shaitaan. Thus if anybody asks us what sect we belong to, the best answer to give them is that we belong to the sect that our beloved Prophet Mohamed (saws) belonged to! If He (saws) was a Shia, we are Shias! If He (saws) was a Sunni, we are Sunnis! If He (saws) was a Dawoodi Bohra, we are Dawoodi Bohras! Nobody with an iota of knowledge can claim for Prophet Mohamed (saws) that he was a Shia, Sunni or any other sect for that matter. He was a true muslim as commanded by Allah in the Glorious Quran. And we are commanded by Allah in the Glorious Quran to follow the Messenger of Allah (saws).

I really do not know if the ‘sunnis’ regard the Imamiyah hadiths as authentic or not. If you could email the hadith of Imam Jaffar As-Sadiq regarding the meaning, distribution and what classifies as khums, we will try to determine in the light of the Holy Quran and traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws), if the hadith is indeed authentic or not. The hadith can only be authentic if it is in compliance with the Holy Quran. Any hadith that is not in compliance with the words of Allah in the Holy Quran is sure to be a concoction as the Prophet (saws) never did or said anything against the Holy Quran. Just because somebody today says that these words were said by the Imam Jaffar As Sadiq, does not necessarily mean that the Imam said these words.

It is one of the infinite mercies of Allah Subhanah, that the Holy Quran is amongst us today in its original form. For people whose first language is not Arabic, the best way to understand the Holy Quran is to read the translation in a language he can understand. That will give them a very good idea of what Islam is all about and what Allah Subhanah is guiding mankind to. The Holy Quran and the traditions of the Prophet (saws) are more than enough for the guidance of mankind.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32: O Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His Messenger.” And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.

Your statement that ‘the imam is the only one qualified to explain the Quran’ has no basis or evidence whatsoever from the Glorious Quran. The Holy Quran is amongst us in its original form and the traditions of the Prophet (saws) are recorded by various eminent scholars. Allah says Himself in the above aayah of the Holy Quran, to follow Allah and His Messenger (saws), as is said in various other aayahs of the Holy Quran. There is not a single aayah in the Quran where Allah says that the Imam is the only one qualified to explain the Quran or anything even remotely close to it in meaning or text. This is a man-made statement, and to use it to form the fundamental of any sect of Islam is nothing short of mis-guidance. These sort of statements are made by unscrupulous leaders who then try to take people away from the clear guidance of the Holy Quran and make the people invoke themselves and their ancestors in their graves. Once these unscrupulous leaders have taken the Holy Quran and its clear guidance away from the people, they create all kinds of sects and stories to take people further and further away from the Holy Quran.

The other thing we must understand very clearly here that only, and I repeat ONLY, the Prophets of Allah have the right to come to mankind and proclaim that they are the Prophets and Messengers of Allah. No Imam, no Dai, no bhaisaheb, no shaikh, no leader, can come to man and say that he has been chosen by Allah as Imam or Dai or whatever else!!! Anyone who does so, is a confirmed liar! The imams, dais and all other leaders (if any) are chosen by man himself and have no authority from Allah. Allah appoints only Messengers for mankind as stated in the Holy Quran several times. Thus to claim that only the imams are qualified to explain the Quran is a man-invented statement and has no basis or evidence from the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran is for all mankind to understand and we will be questioned about it on the Day of Judgement.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 43 Surah Zukhruf verses 43-45: So hold fast to the Book (Al Quran) that has been revealed to you; you are surely in the Straight Way. The fact is that this Book is a great honor for you and your people, and soon you shall be called to account for it. You may ask all other Messengers whom we sent before you (O Mohamed), if We ever had appointed any other gods to be worshipped besides Ar-Rahmaan.

Our intention is to invite one and all to read and understand the message of the Lord of the Worlds, and then decide what path you want to take to Allah. We ask no reward and no thanks from you, our reward is in the safe custody of the All Merciful Allah. Our intention is for mankind to move away from the worship and invocation of man and graves, and come to the sole worship and invocation of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and everything in between. Our intention is to stop being slaves of man (Abde-Syedna) and become the slaves of Allah (Abd-Allah).

May Allah guide you and us all to read and understand the Holy Quran and hold fast to His Book. May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path that leads to His Mercy, and keep us away from all the other paths that lead straight to the eternal fire of Hell. 

May Allah guide you and us all to the Siraat al-Mustaqeem

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan