Ibrahim bin Sayyar bin Hani, alias Nazzam (d. 230 A.H.), famous
philosopher and theologian of Ahle Sunnat, who due to his beautiful discourse
in prose and poetry has become famous as Nazzam; he is the founder of the
Nazzamiya sect and is from the elders of Mutazila. He is among those who have admitted
to the trespassing on the sanctity of Lady Fatima Zahra (s) by the second
Caliph of Ahle Sunnat and some other facts and events, which took place in the
early period of Islam; but regretfully some Ahle Sunnat scholars have condemned
him severely only because he has admitted these facts and without any
justification leveled false accusations against him and have even expelled him
from the folds of Islam and related him to Brahmanism.[1]
In his numerous books, he has quoted the incident of attack on the
house of Lady Zahra (s):
On the day of allegiance of Abu Bakr, Umar hit at the side of
Lady Fatima (s), which led to the miscarriage of her child, who was named as
Mohsin.[2]
As was hinted, Nazzam became a target of many allegations due to his
explanation of some historical facts, so that naturally by criticism,
investigation of accusatory instances and exposing of reality, the allegations
laid on him would be removed.[3]
[1]
Nazzam was not an ordinary person in the view of Ahle Sunnat; on the contrary,
he was praised in many ways, some of which are mentioned below:
Khatib Baghdadi, a senior
Ahle Sunnat scholar, says regarding him:
Ibrahim bin Sayyar Abu
Ishaq al-Nazzam was of those who came and settled down in Baghdad . He was reformer and theorist of
scholastic theology (according to Mutazali view) has written numerous books. He
was a literary person and has composed a large number of profound and
meaningful couplets regarding theology. Abu Uthman Jahiz (his student) has
quoted extensively from him.
Tarikh Baghdad, Vol.
6, Pg. 97, No. 3131, Ahmad bin Ali Abu Bakr al-Khatib Baghdadi (d. 463 A.H.),
Darul Kutub Ilmiya, Beirut .
Ibne Makula has said about
him as follows:
Nazzam implies Ibrahim bin
Sayyar Abu Ishaq Nazzam…He was reformer and theorist of scholastic theology. He
was also a literary personality having composed a large number of beautiful and
eloquent couplets.
Al-Ikmal fee Rafal
Irtiyab Anil Mutalif wa Mutakhaliif fil Asmaa wal Kun, Vol. 7, Pg. 274, Ali
bin Hibatullah bin Abi Nasr Ibne Makula (d. 475 A.H.), Darul Kutub Ilmiya,
Beirut, First edition 1411 A.H.
[2] Al-Wafi
bil Wafiyat, Vol. 6, Pg. 17, No. 2444 – Al-Milal wan Nihal,
Shahristani, Vol. 1, Pg. 57, Darul Marifa, Beirut.
[3]
The most important objections leveled against Nazzam are due to the following
reports:
1- Clarification of the
Imamate of Amirul Momineen (a) by the Messenger of Allah (s)
Nazzam believed that
Imamate was fixed after the passing away of the Holy Prophet (s) and he said:
The Messenger of Allah (s) declared Amirul Momineen (a) as the Imam after him,
but Umar denied it.
Reply:
This statement is not only
related to Nazzam, the Mutazali; on the contrary, some other senior Ahle Sunnat
scholars, like Ghazzali have also clarified it and he says:
…among the sermons of the
Holy Prophet of Islam (s) is the sermon of His Eminence, according to the
consensus of all Muslims, the sermon on Eid Ghadeer, in which he said: Of
whomsoever I am the master, Ali is also his master. Umar bin Khattab after this
command of the Messenger of Allah (s) congratulated Ali (a) in the following
manner: O Abul Hasan, congratulations, congratulations, today you have become
my master and master of all. This statement of Umar is his acknowledgment of
the command of the Prophet and Imamate and leadership of Ali (a) and a sign of
his acceptance of the selection of Ali (a) for the leadership of the Ummah, but
after a passage of time, Umar was beset with selfish desires and inclination
for his own rulership and leadership, and the institution of Caliphate was
changed from its original position and through military expeditions and attacks
and by expansion of the territories of Islam, he led the Ummah to controversies
and a turning back to the period of Ignorance, [and he became implication of
this verse of Quran:]
فَنَبَذُوهُ
وَرَاء ظُهُورِهِمْ وَاشْتَرَوْاْ بِهِ ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً فَبِئْسَ
مَا يَشْتَرُونَ
“…but they cast it
behind their backs and took a small price for it, so evil is that which they
buy.” (Surah Aale Imran 3:187)
And when the Messenger of
Allah (s) passed away, he said before his demise: Bring paper and inkpot, so
that I may solve the problem of Caliphate after me and introduce to you the
one, who is eligible for it. Umar said: Don’t pay attention to this man, he is
talking nonsense.
Sirrul Aalameen wa
Kashfe Maa fid Darain, Vol. 1, Pg. 18, Chapter of Sequence of Caliphate and
rulership, Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad Ghazzali (d. 505 A.H.), Edited:
Muhammad Hasan Ismail and Ahmad Farid Mazidi. Darul Kutub Ilmiya, Beirut,
Lebanon, First edition, 1424 A.H. and 2003 A.D.
Our question to Ahle Sunnat
scholars is: Would you deem Ghazzali unreliable because of this statement?
2- Umar’s doubting the
prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (s)
The second objection made
against Nazzam is that he believed that Umar bin Khattab in the Treaty of
Hudaibiyah, had doubted in the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (s):
Reply:
Umar’s objections to the
Holy Prophet (s) during the treaty of Hudaibiyah is a story, which is also
mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim:
Narrated Abu Wail: We were
in Siffeen and Sahl bin Hunaif got up and said, “O people! Blame yourselves! We
were with the Prophet on the day of Hudaibiyah, and if we had been called to
fight, we would have fought, but Umar bin Khattab came and said, ‘O Allah’s
Apostle! Aren’t we in the right and our opponents in the wrongs’ Allah’s Apostle
said, ‘Yes.’ Umar said, ‘Aren’t our killed persons in Paradise
and their’s in Hell?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ Umar said, ‘Then why should we accept
hard terms in matters concerning our religion? Shall we return before Allah
judges between us and them?’ Allah’s Apostle said, ‘O Ibne Al-Khattab! I am the
Apostle of Allah and Allah will never degrade me.
Al-Jami as-Sahih
al-Mukhtasar (Sahih Bukhari), Vol. 2, Pg. 1162, Tr. no. 3011, Kitabul Jihad
was Sayr, Chapter of the sin of one who makes a vow and then violates it,
Muhammad bin Ismail Abu Abdullah Bukhari Jofi (d. 256 A.H.), Edited: Dr.
Mustafa Dibul Bagha, Daar Ibne Kathir, Yamama, Beirut, 3rd edition,
1407 – 1987.
Doubt of Umar in the
prophethood of the Holy Prophet (s) is among the universally accepted facts among
Ahle Sunnat and Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abdur Razzaq Sanani, Shamsuddin Dhahabi, Ibne
Hibban etc. has mentioned this story in detail and even clarified that Umar bin
Khattab, due to his doubt and audacity to the Holy Prophet (s) used to give
alms and perform good acts by way of penalty for his act. For example refer to
the commentaries of Tabari and Suyuti under the commentary of verse 60:1 and
Thalabi, Thaalabi Baghwi, and Baghdadi under the commentary of the verse 48:25
has presented this matter in the following manner:
Umar said: By Allah, I
never doubted from the time I accepted till the day I came to the Prophet and
said: Are you not the Messenger of Allah (s)? I said: Are we not on the right
and our enemies not in the wrong? He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Then why should we
accept hard terms in matters concerning our religion?
Al-Kashf wal Bayan (Tafsir
Thalabi), Vol. 9, Pg. 60, Abu Ishaq Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim Thalabi
Nishapuri (d. 427 A.H.) – 1035 A.D., Darul Ahya Turath Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon,
1422 A.H. – 2002 A.D. First edition, Edited: Al-Imam Abu Muhammad bin Ashur,
Reference and research: Ustad Nazir Saadi.
Jamiul Bayan An Taweel
Ayyul Quran (Tafsir Tabari), Vol. 28, Pg. 61, Muhammad bin Jarir bin
Yazid bin Khalid Tabari, Abu Ja’far (d. 310 A.H.), Darul Fikr, Beirut. 1405
Tafsir Baghawi, Vol.
4, Pg. 202, Al-Baghawi (d. 516), Darul Marifa, Beirut , Edited: Khalid bin Abdur Rahman
al-Ak.
Tafsir Khazin (Lubabut
Taweel fee Maani at-Tanzeel) Vol. 6, Pg. 208, Alauddin Ali bin Muhammad bin
Ibrahim Baghdadi, famous as Al-Khazin (d. 725 A.H.), Darul Fikr, Beirut,
Lebanon, 1399 A.H. – 1979 A.D. Unedited.
Al-Jawahirul Ahsan fee
Tafseerul Quran (Tafsir Thaalabi), Vol. 9, Pg. 60, Abdur Rahman bin
Muhammad bin Makhluf Thaalabi (d. 875), Mausasal Aalami Lil Matbuat, Beirut.
Ad-Durrul Manthur,
Vol. 8, Pg. 129, Abdur Rahman bin Kamaal Jalaluddin Suyuti (d. 911 A.H.), Darul
Fikr, Beirut –
1993.
On the basis of this, this
matter does not exclusively pertain to Nazzam, on the contrary, numerous senior
Ahle Sunnat scholars have also narrated such things.
Now, with attention to this
point, would you declare persons Bukhari, Muslim, Dhahabi, Ibne Hibban, Abdur
Razzaq Sanaani, Tibrani and Suyuti…as weak because of this matter?
3- Tarawih Prayer – an
innovation of Umar
The third objection leveled
against Nazzam was that he considered Tarawih Prayer as an innovation of Umar!
Reply:
Narrating of this matter is
not exclusive to Nazzam; on the contrary, this is among the facts of history;
so much so, even Muhammad bin Ismail Bukhari, in the most authoritative book of
Ahle Sunnat, has narrated it. Bukhari writes:
Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Qari
said, “I went out in the company of Umar bin Al-Khattab one night in Ramadan to
the mosque and found the people praying in different groups. A man praying
alone or a man praying with a little group behind him. So, Umar said, ‘In my
opinion I better collect these (people) under the leadership of one Qari (Reciter)
(i.e. let them pray in congregation!)’. So, he made up his mind to congregate
them behind Ubayy bin Kaab. Then on another night I went again in his company
and the people were praying behind their reciter. On that, Umar remarked, ‘What
an excellent Bidat (i.e. innovation in religion) this is.
Al-Jami as-Sahih
al-Mukhtasar (Sahih Bukhari), Vol. 2, Pg. 707, Tr. no. 1906, Kitab Salatul
Tarawih, Chapter of excellence of those who pray in Ramadhan, Muhammad bin
Ismail Abu Abdullah Bukhari Jofi (d. 256 A.H.), Edited: Dr. Mustafa Dibul
Bagha, Daar Ibne Kathir, Yamama, Beirut, 3rd edition, 1407 – 1987.
Can Muhammad bin Ismail
Bukhari be considered weak, because he has narrated this report and can his
book be declared unreliable?
4- Prohibition of Mutah of
Hajj by Umar
The fourth objection
against Nazzam is that he believed that Umar bin Khattab went against the
practice of the Holy Prophet (s) and prohibited Mutah of Hajj.
Reply:
This matter is also a
universally accepted historical fact and it is not only Nazzam who has narrated
it; on the contrary, many senior Ahle Sunnat scholars, including Muhammad bin
Ismail Bukhari and Muslim Nishapuri have clarified this matter in their
respective Sahih.
Muhammad bin Ismail Bukhari
has mentioned in his Sahih: Narrated Imran: The verse of Mutah was
revealed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (s) and we performed
Hajj-at-Tamattu in the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle and no verse was revealed
prohibiting it and the Messenger of Allah (s) also did not forbid it as long as
he lived and somebody said what he wished according his own opinion. Muhammad
(Bukhari) said: This person was Umar bin Khattab.
Al-Jami as-Sahih
al-Mukhtasar (Sahih Bukhari), Vol. 4, Pg. 133, Tr. no. 4246, Kitabut
Tafsir, Baab Faman Tamatta-a bil Umrah Ilal Hajj, Muhammad bin Ismail Abu
Abdullah Bukhari Jofi (d. 256 A.H.), Edited: Dr. Mustafa Dibul Bagha, Daar Ibne
Kathir, Yamama, Beirut, 3rd edition, 1407 – 1987.
And Muhammad bin Muslim
Nishapuri writes:
Abu Nadra reported: While I
was in the company of Jabir bin Abdullah, a person came to him and said that
Ibne Abbas and Ibne Zubair differed on the two types of Mutas (Tamattu of Hajj
and Tamattu with women), whereupon Jabir said: We used to do these two during
the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (peace be on him). Umar then forbade us to do
them, and so we did not revert to them.
Sahih Muslim, Vol.
2, Pg. 914, Tr. no. 1249, Kitabul Hajj, Baab Taqsir Fil Umrah, Muslim bin
Hajjaj Abul Husain Qashiri Nishapuri (d. 261 A.H.), Edited: Muhammad Fawad
Abdul Baqi, Darul Ahya Turath Arabi, Beirut.
And Sarakhsi, the famous
Hanafite jurist has clarified in Al-Mabsut, and he writes:
It is narrated from Umar in
a correct report that he prohibited temporary marriage and said: Two Mutahs
were lawful during the lifetime of the Prophet and the people acted on them;
but I prohibit them: one is the Mutah of Hajj and the other is the Mutah
marriage.
Al-Mabsut, Vol. 4,
Pg. 27, Shamsuddin Sarakhsi (d. 483 A.H.), Darul Marifa, Beirut .
On the basis of this,
objections of some Ahle Sunnat scholars, like Shahristani and Safdi are not
applicable to him and his special beliefs will not lead to him being considered
as weak, because many Ahle Sunnat senior scholars also have the same beliefs.
