 Salatu wa-salaam al-ashraf al-anbiya'i wa-mursaleen. Sayyidina Muhammadin wa-ala ahla bayta al-tayyibin, al-tahireen wa-la'anatullah al-adda'him, ajma'in min al-lan ila qiyam yawm al-deen, aameen ya Rabb al-alameen. Dear respected viewers, thank you for joining us once more live from the holy city of Karbala for this year's show, back to the basics. Of course, those of you who have been tuning in for the past few nights, would know that, of course, we have been taking a slight detour from our usual course of conversation, which is to discuss a systematic methodology for introducing how to discuss our differences with others, but instead, we've actually been taking a more practical look at one of the, dare I say, videos released by a protagonist of the original Islam, someone that I know personally, someone who's normally quite respectful, but someone that made several claims about Shiaism, and the video was called Schooling the Shias, and of course it was released on approximately Christmas Eve, so in jest we have entitled this a Christmas special because of the time that we happen to be refuting this individual happens to overlap or happens to fall upon the Christmas holidays. So inshallah ta'ala, this is the second last night, we'll be looking at that, and then we'll be moving back to our original discussion of analyzing the different worldviews which exist out there. Dear viewers, brothers and sisters, for those of you who are not tuning in for the first time, you would know that we were talking about an individual who had spoken about the famous claim that the Shia do not follow the Ahlul Bayt, but for those of you who are tuning into the first time, allow me to just briefly contextualize. Because it's quite common for world religions to overlap slightly, it's quite common for there to be a level of engagement where one person claims that they follow another person more than the other. So I guess the first examples, I was raised up with throughout my childhood were Christians would claim that they follow the Old Testament prophets, and Jews would claim that Christians don't follow the Old Testament prophets. Now Christians would say that, well, I believe Moses had my particular theological views, and Jews would say, no, look, we are the people that follow the book of Moses. You literally believe it's abrogated by the book of Jesus. So what this leads to is that every sect claims, or every sect, every religion, will make the claim that they follow the particular religious figure that they align themselves with more than a previous religion which they believe has either been abrogated or is now corrupted and deficient. So it's only natural when we have figures who are mutually loved by everyone, figures like Ali Ibn Abi Talib, and Ali, that there would be a claim from others who follow other sects that they love and follow Ali, Ali, more than us. Now this was not the claim made by the brother in the video. The brother who I've already stated is a very candid man, very normally quite a nice guy to sit down with and have a friendly chat, someone that's quite respectful as well, someone that's told me personally, he believes that life is a constant search for truth, and I thank him for that honesty. Of course in this video I saw there wasn't that level of decorum and friendliness, but I will admit, speakers' corner is a unique venue where one normally will get carried away and be forced to act with a degree of showmanship because it's part and product of that location, which is of course why many of the, many of the alama of their I say both sects might recommend for someone not to have to go down to such a place and lower oneself into that way of behaving, but needless to say I'm someone that has gone there in the past and I know fine well what the atmosphere is like, and so I'm not judging this individual for the particular way that he acts in the video, and even if we were to say that this is constantly how he acts, then we as Muslims, we as rational human beings need to learn how to engage with what a person is saying as opposed to how a person is saying it, but of course for those of us who claim to be Muslims we are dictated and bound by a certain etiquette, a certain moral conduct, which we should always have in how we say things, but that doesn't mean to say that we can't listen to someone just because they don't uphold the same moral conduct. I have diverged quite a bit, so allow me to come back to the substance of our topic tonight. The topic of tonight is really who follows the Ahlul-Bait, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them, who actually follows the holy household of the holy Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa ala, who legitimately can make that claim that they follow them. Now, it's quite strange that in today's world there are many people that would be hearing the word Ahlul-Bait for the first time and are Muslims, and this goes to show the level of mass ignorance and deception that we have unfortunately lived in. We have lived throughout a history of persecuting and oppressing the family of the holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa ala. So who does follow the Ahlul-Bait? Before we enter into that discussion, of course, there's a very, very necessary conversation, which must be had between everyone, which is who are the Ahlul-Bait? Now, my point here, because we don't really have the time nor the effort nor the resources for this Christmas special to dwell into the question of who are the Ahlul-Bait that we should be following. So allow me to say this. Ahlul-Bait in the Arabic language merely means people of the house. Now, sadly, some shias do misunderstand this particular point, which is that, yes, according to the Arabic language, the term Ahlul-Bait, notice that I said according to the Arabic language and not according to a specific usage of the word. But according to the Arabic language, the word Ahlul-Bait does encompass wives. It also encompasses the servants who are in the house. It encompasses pretty much anyone that lives in the house. So is that our definition of a Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa alayhi wa alayhi? No, this is not our definition of a Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa alayhi wa alayhi. We don't mean people like Anas bin Malik, the Prophet servant who lived in the house with him, and unfortunately, behaved in a certain way during certain times of the year when the Prophet would have guests coming round. But that's not our topic for tonight. We're not talking about people like Anas bin Malik who were servants in the Prophet s house. We're not talking about the adopted sons of a Prophet. We're not talking about, for example, the wives of a Prophet. Now, this is a big contention between Sunni and Shia. Does the word Ahl al-Bait include the wives? We, the Shia of Ifna Ashariah, the followers of the original Islam as was revealed to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa alayhi, and as was preserved by the Holy Imams, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them. We do not believe that the wives of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi are part of the Ahl al-Bait by the definition, by the specific definition of those who should be followed. Now, what does that lead to? It might lead to someone asking, but what do you mean those that should be followed? Why are you making a difference? Well, at the end of the day, when the brother in the video was claiming that he follows the Ahl al-Bait more than we do, we need to ask the question, why is one even following the Ahl al-Bait? So it's clear that there are a group of people known as the Ahl al-Bait, to whom obedience and to whom following is a praiseworthy act. We are saying that the wives are not included in that definition. And it would be very difficult to make a claim to follow the Ahl al-Bait, firstly, when it came to a day like the Battle of the camel, the Battle of Jaman, in which Aisha, the wife of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi, came out and fought against the army who were backing the legitimate Caliph and the first successor of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi, Imam Ali alayhi sallatu wa sallam. When Aisha comes out and fights Imam Ali, and she takes the lives of tens of thousands, at the very least of her so-called children, it becomes very difficult for us to know how are we going to follow the Ahl al-Bait in such a circumstance if both Aisha and Ali ibn Abi Talib are part of the Ahl al-Bait. So rationally, we would say that either both of them are wrong, which no one claims, either one of them is right. But they cannot both be right at the same time. Rationality does not allow that option. So we see that the definition of the Ahl al-Bait, which includes the wives, is falsified. So we come now to who actually follows the Ahl al-Bait, and why should the Ahl al-Bait be followed? The Ahl al-Bait, of course, should be followed due to the narration known as Haditha Thaqalain, the narration of the two weighty things which we have discussed in the previous two episodes, but allow me to discuss it in even further depth tonight. Haditha Thaqalain states what? The most famous, the most widely transmitted version of the narration of Thaqalain states what? Verily, I'm leaving behind two weighty things, two Thaqal, and Thaqal means something which is necessary to be left behind. The Book of Allah and my Itrati, my Progeny, my Ahl al-Bait. The narration goes on to state, and these two shall never separate until they reach me at the lake fonts on the day of judgment. So the Quran and the Ahl al-Bait are inseparable. That's the first particular expression. Remember, the Holy Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi, in this narration says that if you hold on to them, you will never go astray as well. So that's the first narration, that you have Ahl al-Bait who are tied to the Quran, they never separate, and they are the two weighty things. The second narration, which is also quite famous, it's not an isolated report, states that they are the Khalifatain. What is a Khalifa? A Khalifa is something that takes the place of that which is leaving it behind. So the Prophet is saying, I am leaving behind two Khalifas. The Quran is taking my place when I leave, my Ahl al-Bait is taking my place when I leave. So we see that these two objects, the Quran, the Ahl al-Bait, very important to the religion of Islam. Something which can never be separated. The Quran is, of course, the book of Allah, Azawajal, and it is the very revelation by which the majority of Muslims will give credence to the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi, as being a prophet. What I mean by that is not to say that there's Muslims out there that dispute it, but rather there are Muslims who will believe in the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi, for independent reasons of the Quran. But the vast majority of Muslims believe that the Quran is what gives legitimacy to the Holy Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi. So if the Quran gives legitimacy to the Holy Prophet and carries this heavy, bearing status and weight in the religion of Islam, what status do the Ahl al-Bait have who never separate from the Quran? And this is why there is necessarily, necessarily a need to demonstrate who follows the Ahl al-Bait. So once we have realized this need, once we have broken beyond the cheap sensation of those who say that the Prophet's family are not an important part of Islam, we would see that we need to find that sect, that school of Islamic theology, that school of Islamic jurisprudence, which leans towards following this group known as the Ahl al-Bait. And this is why the man in the video places a strict emphasis on stating they don't follow the Ahl al-Bait as in the Shia don't follow the Ahl al-Bait. I follow the Ahl al-Bait. We the Ahlul Sunnah follow the Ahl al-Bait more than the Shia do. So when you have someone making this claim, know that there's a good reason why he's making this claim. And that good reason is he needs to now justify his theological position by affiliating and aligning himself with the Ahl al-Bait, alaihi wa sallam. But the question is, do they really follow the Ahl al-Bait? We have discussed this over the past few nights and we shall continue to discuss it right after a very short break. Dear viewers, please join me after it. Wa sallamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Salamu alaykum, dear viewers. Who follows the Ahl al-Bait? A very important question which we were asking before the break. A very important question put forward by an individual who is out there to school the Shias or was quote unquote schooling the Shias apparently. Very important question, which we have already discussed that at the theoretical level, the schools which this individual who was schooling the Shias, the schools which he affiliates himself with have failed the test. When I say they have failed the test, I mean they fail at the very most fundamental level. They don't make the cut in this discussion. So it's ironic that the schools which don't make the cut come out and try and give some schooling, but then again, this is what you expect from a school that doesn't quite meet the criteria necessary to be a school. You would expect its education system to be a slight failure. And I mean that with all due respect to the brother. He's normally a very nice man. So what I would say is this. I'll remind the viewers that over the past two nights I have cited several of the texts of Osul al-Fiqa. Osul al-Fiqa is what? Osul al-Fiqa is that fundamental science which you have before the science of fiqa. Fiqa, for those of you who don't know the Arabic terminologies of your religion, what you would understand is when you need to know what is my taqlif? What is my daily responsibility vis-a-vis this particular issue in life? What is my daily responsibility vis-a-vis how I ought to engage with people of the opposite gender at work? All these obligations in terms of how you are to act, what you are to do, what you are not to do, this is known as fiqa. This is known as jurisprudence. What is the ruling on how I ought to behave in a certain situation? Or how I have to behave, not ought to behave. Because ought to behave might imply that there is a degree of freedom in choosing to do so or not. Fiqa is concerned with halal, permissible, and haram, the impermissible. Usul al-Fiqa, therefore, which would literally translate as the roots of jurisprudence, is looking at how we now derive these principles. So they would discuss, one of the first discussions would be, what is a legitimate source for teaching us our religion? Now, of course, Muslims would agree that the ayat al-ahkam of the Quran are sources of law. They would agree that the statements of the holy Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa alaih, which are, which we have, confidence in their reliability in, are legitimate sources of Islamic law. Vashia would state in the books of Susul al-Fiq, that after venerations of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa alaih, venerations of the 14 infallibles, or the 13 after the Prophet, rather, sallallahu alaihi wa alaih, that is to say Fatima, Imam Ali, Imam Hassan, Imam Hussain, Imam Ali ibn al-Hussain, Zain al-Abideen, Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir, Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad al-Sadq, Imam Musa, Imam Ali al-Riva, and all the way down to the 12th Imam, are legitimate sources of Islamic law. What they state, what they teach us, either in their sayings, their deeds, or their test its approval, are legitimate sources for us to arrive at Islamic doctrines and their behavior is our binding evidence upon us. This is what Shia states. So at the theoretical level, Shias have made the cuts. You might want to ask, have Shias been able to make the cut on a practical level? That's a very good question. And it's a question that we will discuss at the appropriate time. But the question now is, if Shias have made the cut at the theoretical level, let's see, have the Sunnis made the cut at the theoretical level as well? What we observed, brothers and sisters, by going through their books of Asul al-Fiqh, and you can refer back to this in the Christmas special, Schooling Who, which was part one of us looking at this particular claim. You can go back to that video for the quotes. What we found was that no, there is an admission on their behalf that they don't take what the Ahlul-Bayt have to say. Now they might argue that the Ahlul-Bayt amongst them differ. That's fine. It states that the Ijma of the Ahlul-Bayt is not a hudja, a binding hudja upon the people of the Ahlul-Sunnah. And what does that tell you? If I make the claim that I follow the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa-ala. But then I state, but the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa-ala makes mistakes in his itjtihad. Then am I really following the Prophet? Or do I make the claim that I follow, for example, scholar X and that I'm a follower of his? But then I go and do taqlid to someone else. Am I really following scholar X or am I following the person I do taqlid to? You see, you can't claim to follow Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi sallallahu wa-ala. But then state that I believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib is prone to making errors because then you're not really following him. You're not following him because you're the one telling him now what he can do that's correct and what he can't do. So you see at the theoretical level, the brother failed because his own books over Sulul Fiqh, his own scholars, make clear they don't believe that these are individuals that need to be followed. Now, am I stating this from nowhere? Of course not. Allow me to just quote a well-known Salafi scholar because the brother leans towards the Ahl al-Hadif sect in order to establish my point. Ibn Othaymeen, or Ibn al-Othaymeen, Ibn Othaymeen, brother, states in his ta'aliq, his comments upon Sahih Muslim, volume nine, page 80. What does he state? La yumkin. It is not possible. An nukhattah al-sahaba, it's not possible for us to fault the companions. And then he states, ravi Allahu anhum fi bay'ati abibakr. He states, may God be pleased with him, inner pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr. Wa nusawwab al-ibna abii talib. And give, so it's not possible for us to say that the companions made a mistake in them giving allegiance to Abu Bakr. This is the statement of Ibn Othaymeen. And it's not possible to say that the correct judgment was the judgment of Ali ibn abii talib, fi ma ra'a in what he saw. So it's not correct for us to say that what was correct was what Ali ibn abii talib saw, li'an man ra'a man... I forgot. Li'an ma ra'a hu alii. Because what Ali saw, ravi Allahu anhum, alaihi salatu was-salam, mukhalif li'vahar ma ja'at bihi as-sonnah. Is in contradiction. It is in conflict with what the apparent sonnah has brought. And that is that he, Ali ibn abii talib, believed that he was more deserving of the caliphate than Abu Bakr. So this particular position of Ali ibn abii talib's. Ibn Othaymeen, the great Salafi hadith commentator, the great Salafi scholar, what does he state? He states that we cannot say that Ali ibn abii talib is right because he goes against the apparent of the sonnah and goes against what the other companions saw. Now the question here is, if you can state this, and if Adnan Rashid would say I agree with Ibn Othaymeen here, Adnan Rashid of course is the name of the uncle in the video, I didn't actually want to mention his name, but I've mentioned his name now, so insha'Allah ta'ala, the brother knows who we're discussing. If he claims to respect Ibn Othaymeen, this opens up a can of worms because what he's saying is we follow Ali except where our scholars don't like what Ali did. And that's not very scholarly now, is it? Because basically what you're telling me is you follow him in everything you like. And if I say I follow the religion of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi, except in areas that I like to disagree with it, what am I doing? Am I following the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi or am I following my hawa? Am I following my desires? Dear brothers and sisters, we have to make very clear here that when you claim to follow the Ahlul Bayt, you have to make sure that you do follow the Ahlul Bayt and you have to make sure that you give the right necessary means of asserting that you do follow the Ahlul Bayt and look at what your sources are. Thank you for joining us once more. Please join us tomorrow in which we will round off this discussion to a close. Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.