Tawassul of `Umar through al-`Abbas (Allah be pleased with them)

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Tawassul of `Umar
through al-`Abbas (Allah be pleased with
them)
A question:
How do the contemporary Hanafi scholars explain the hadeeth recorded in
Sahih Al-Bukhari according to which Khalifah Umar (Allah be pleased with
him) asked Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) to ask Allah for rain on
behalf of the Muslim community and not the Prophet Muhammad
at his
grave. The Khalifah said that they USED to ask the Prophet Muhammad
to ask Allah and now they asked his uncle instead.
Before turning to the question and its questionable premises some preliminary
remarks are in order.
First of all, `Umar asked al-`Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib, not his son `Abd
Allah ibn `Abbas. What was posted recently on the Hanbali forum is a mistake
which I pointed out to the author.
Second, the terminology of the Khalifa's request, Allah be well-pleased with
him, is as follows:
"O Allah! We would use our Prophet as a means to You and You
then sent us rain; now we use our Prophet's uncle as a means to
You, therefore send us rain!"
Narrated from Anas by al-Bukhari in his Sahih.
Whoever understands from this that `Umar only used al-`Abbas as his
means and not the Messenger of Allah, upon him peace, because al-`Abbas is
alive and the Messenger of Allah is dead that persons understanding is
dead. (Al-Maliki)
Al-Suyuti mentions the context of this event in his Tarikh al-Khulafa' (Beirut,
1992 Ahmad Fares ed. p. 140):
"In the year 17 `Umar enlarged the Prophetic mosque. That year
there was a drought in the Hijaz. It was named the Year of Cinders
(`am al-ramada). `Umar prayed for rain for the people by means
of al-`Abbas. Ibn Sa`d narrated from [the Sahabi] Niyar al-Aslami
that when `Umar came out to pray for rain, he came out wearing
the cloaks (burd) of the Messenger of Allah, upon him blessings
and peace. Ibn `Awn narrated that `Umar took al-`Abbas's hand
and raised it up, saying, 'O Allah, we seek a means to You with the
uncle of Your Prophet to ask that You drive away from us the
drought and water us with rain'...."

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Now, the event of the tawassul of Sayyiduna `Umar through al-`Abbas shows
the following:
[1] Nowhere in the hadith is there any indication that there was no tawassul
through the Prophet
upon him peace, in the time of `Umar. Such a view is
an inference or an extrapolation that is not based on explicit evidence.
[2] On the contrary, `Umar implicitly made tawassul through the Prophet
upon him peace, at that very time, by wearing his blessed cloaks as he came
out for the prayer for rain as mentioned in the report by Ibn Sa`d. In Sahih
Muslim Asma' says that she inherited the mantle of the Prophet from her
sister `A'isha and that they used it to seek a cure for people.
[3] The use of the Prophet's uncle illustrates that tawassul is essentially
through the Prophet
upon him peace, as the importance of al-`Abbas in
this respect is only in his relationship to the Prophet as `Umar himself states
with the words "the uncle of Your Prophet" in al-Bukhari's version already
mentioned; "the status of al-`Abbas in relation to your Prophet" in al-Lalika'i's
version; and as al-`Abbas states:
"O Allah, truly no tribulation descends except because of sins, nor
is lifted except upon repentence. The people have turned to you by
means of me BECAUSE OF MY POSITION IN RELATION TO YOUR
PROPHET, and here are our hands [raised up] towards you despite our sins - and our forelocks in repentence, so send down
water for us and PRESERVE YOUR PROPHET IN THE PERSON OF
HIS UNCLE." Whereupon the sky let down water as thick as ropes
and the people came over to al-`Abbas passing their hands over
him and saying to him: Congratulations to you, irrigator of the
two Sanctuaries! Whereupon `Umar said, He/This is, by Allah,
the means to Allah and the place of nearness to Him!
Cited from al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar's narration in al-Ansab by Ibn Hajar in Fath
al-Bari (2:497).
So the tawassul continues to be solely through the Prophet
despite
appearances to the contrary, for he is the ultimate recourse of human beings
seeking nearness to Allah as he himself taught the blind man (Say, O
Muhammad, I turn with you to Allah) and as several Sahaba explicitly said,
such as in the following reports:
(a) Report of the Bedouin who said to the Holy Prophet

We have come to you when even our virgins' milk is dry, and the
mother worries for her own life over her child's, The child lets down
his arms sitting still For hunger, a hunger unstilled and
uninterrupted. We have nothing left from what our people eat
Except bitter colocynth and camel-wool mixed with blood. And we
have none but you to flee to, for where can people flee except to
the Messengers?
Then the Prophet
- upon him peace - stood up and he was dragging his
garment. He climbed up the pulpit and said: "O Allah, send us water...."
whereupon rain fell abundantly. Then the Prophet
upon him peace said: "I f
Abu Talib were alive he would have liked to see this. Who will
recite for us what he said?" Hearing this, `Ali stood up and said: "O
Messenger of Allah, I think you mean his saying:

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A fair-skinned one by whose face rainclouds are sought, A

caretaker for the orphans and protector of widows. With him the
clan of Hashim seek refuge from calamities, For they possess in
him immense favor and grace...."
Narrated by al-Bayhaqi in Dala'il al-Nubuwwa (6:141) cf. Ibn Kathir,
al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya (6:90-91) and Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari (1989 ed. 2:629).
(b) Report of Sawad ibn Qarib al-Sadusi who declaimed:
Truly, you are the nearest of all Messengers as a means to Allah,
son of the noblest and purest ones!
Therefore, be an intercessor for me the Day none but you among
intercessors shall be of the least benefit for Sawad ibn Qarib!
Whereupon the Prophet

smiled, upon him peace, and said: You have

obtained success, Sawad!

Narrated by Abu Ya`la in his Mu`jam (p. 265), al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (7:94
6475), Abu Nu`aym in Dalail al-Nubuwwa (p. 114 63), al-Taymi in the
Dalail (p. 132), al-Hakim in the Mustadrak, (3:705), al-Bayhaqi in the Dala'il
(2:251) cf. Ibn `Abd al-Barr, Isti`ab (2:675), Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (4:169) and
Bidaya, Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari (7:180) and Isaba (3:219).
(c) Report of Hassan ibn Thabit who declaimed:
O Pillar of those who rely upon you, O Immunity of those who seek
refuge in you, and Resort of those who seek herbiage and rain, and
Neighboring Protector of those in need of shelter! O you whom the
One God has chosen for His creatures by planting in him perfection
and purity of character!
Narrated by Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Isti`ab (1:276) and Ibn Sayyid al-Nas in
Minah al-Mad-h (p. 73).
[4] The background to `Umar's prayer for rain shows that there was also an
explicit tawassul through the Prophet
upon him peace, performed by the
Sahabi Bilal ibn al-Harith as narrated in two versions:
(a) Version 1
From the Sahabi Malik al-Dar:
The people suffered a drought in `Umar's khilafa, whereupon a
man came to the grave of the Prophet
sallAllahu `alayhi waAlihi wa-Sallam and said: "Messenger of Allah! Ask for rain for your
Community, for verily they have but perished." After this the
Prophet
appeared to him in a dream and told him: "Go to `Umar
and give him my greeting, then tell him that they will be watered.
Tell him: Be clever!" The man went and told `Umar. The latter
wept and said: "My Lord! I spare no effort except in what escapes
my power."
Ibn Kathir cites it thus from al-Bayhaqi's Dala'il al-Nubuwwa (7:47) in
al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya (Ma`arif ed. 7:91-92=Dar Ihya' al-Turath ed. 7:105)
saying: "isnaduhu sahih" and he also declares its chain sound (isnaduhu
jayyidun qawi) in his Jami` al-Masanid (1:223) in Musnad `Umar. Ibn Abi

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Shayba cites it (6:352=12:31-32) with a sound (sahih) chain as confirmed by

Ibn Hajar who says: "rawa Ibn Abi Shayba bi'isnadin sahih" and cites the
hadith in Fath al-Bari, Book of Istisqa ch. 3 (1989 ed. 2:629-630=1959 ed.
2:495) as well as in al-Isaba (6:164 8350=3:484) where he says that Ibn
Abi Khaythama cited it. It is also thus narrated by al-Khalili in al-Irshad
(1:313- 314) and Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Isti`ab (2:464=3:1149).
Al-Albani attempted to weaken this report in his Tawassul (p. 120) but was
refuted in the lengthy analysis given by Mamduh in Raf` al-Minara (p.
262-278), which refutes other similar attempts cf. Ibn Baz's marginalia on
Fath al-Bari, Abu Bakr al-Jaza'iri's tract Wa-Ja'u Yarkudun, Hammad
al-Ansari's articles "al-Mafhum al-Sahih lil-Tawassul" also titled "Tuhfat al-Qari
fil-Radd `ala al-Ghumari," and other such literature.
Ibn Hajar identifies the man who visited and saw the Prophet
upon him
peace, in his dream as the Companion Bilal ibn al- Harith, counting this hadith
among the reasons for al- Bukhari's naming of the chapter "The people's
request to their leader for rain if they suffer drought" in his Sahih, book of
Istisqa'.
(b) Version 2 from al-Tabari's Tarikh (2:509):
In the year of the drought called al-Ramada during the
successorship of `Umar the Companion Bilal ibn al-Harith, while
slaughtering a sheep for his kin, noticed that the sheep's bones
had turned red because the drying flesh was clinging to them. He
cried out "Ya Muhammadah!" Then he saw the Prophet
- upon
him peace - in a dream ordering him to go to `Umar with the
tidings of coming rain on condition that `Umar show wisdom.
Hearing this, `Umar assembled the people and came out to pray
for rain with al-`Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet
upon him
blessings and peace.
[5] `Umar had made tawassul through the Prophet
in the past, upon him
peace, since he said: "WE WOULD USE OUR PROPHET AS A MEANS TO
YOU..." i.e. in his and Abu Bakr's rule (and not only during the life of the
Prophet
upon him peace), as it is improbable that they never once
experienced drought in the previous 8.5 years. But to restrict this
sententence to the Prophet's lifetime is a deficiency stemming from idle lust,
a manipulation of the text of the report, and figurative interpretation without
proof. (Al-Kawthari)
[6] At any rate the major Sahaba did make tawassul through the Prophet
upon him peace, after his time as established by the report from our Mother
`A'isha - Allah be well- pleased with her - in al-Darimi's Sunan, in the 15th
Chapter of the Introduction (1:43) titled: "Allah's generosity to His Prophet
after his death," related from Aws ibn `Abd Allah with a good chain:
"The people of Madina complained to `A'isha of the severe drought
that they were suffering. She said: "Go to the Prophet's grave and
open a window towards the sky so that there will be no roof
between him and the sky." They did so, after which they were
watered with such rain that vegetation grew and the camels got
fat. That year was named the Year of Plenty."
The reader will find extensive documentation on this report in the

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Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine (4:47-52) and it was declared authentic by

all the Sunni experts of hadith, last in date Shaykh Nabil ibn Hashim
al-Ghamri in his 1999 10-volume edition of and commentary on al-Darimi
titled Fath al-Mannan (1:564-566) where he rejects the objections of
al-Albani and his likes to this hadith.
[7] `Umar had made tawassul through the Prophet

upon him peace, in the

campaign of Tabuk and had therefore directly experienced the Divine

munificence and Prophetic generosity.
"When the travel provision of the people decreased they thought of
slaughtering their camels but `Umar came to the Prophet
upon
him peace, and said, 'How will they survive without their camels?'
The Prophet
said, 'Call to them to bring every remainder of their
travel provisions.' A piece of leather was spread and they brought
whatever they had. Then the Messenger of Allah stood and
supplicated, then he blessed over the food and summoned them to
being their bags. The people supplied themselves to the last one.
Then the Messenger of Allah said, 'I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah!'"
Narrated from Salama ibn al-Akwa` by al-Bukhari and Muslim and from Abu
Hurayra by Muslim and Ahmad.
[8] `Umar used al-`Abbas to show people the status of the Prophet's family
in the society and teach them to respect and venerate them, as Ibn Hajar
said in explanation of the report of Anas cited above:
"It is desirable to seek the intercession of saintly people and the
relatives of the Prophet
sallAllahu `alayhi wa-Alihi wa-Sallam,
and it shows al-`Abbas's great merit and that of `Umar due to the
latter's humbleness before al-`Abbas and his recognition of his due
right."
This is confirmed by al-Ajurri's narration in al-Shari`a and Ahmad in Fada'il
al-Sahaba (2:937 #1802) that Ka`b al- Ahbar took al-`Abbas's hand and
said, "I shall hide it away [this handshake] for your intercession on my
behalf." Al- `Abbas replied: "Why, will I have the power of intercession?"
Ka`b said: "Yes, there is none from the Household of the Prophet
upon him
and them peace, except they have the power of intercession!" Ka`b al-Ahbar
also said to Sayyidina `Umar: "Whenever the Israelites had a drought they
sought intercession through their Prophet's household" as narrated by Ibn
`Abd al- Barr in al-Isti`ab (2:814).
[9] It is known that `Umar had a particular veneration for the Prophetic
Household (Ahl al-Bayt) as illustrated by the following reports:
(a) Ibn Sa`d narrated from al-Sha`bi and al-Hasan that al- `Abbas had some
need of `Umar one day and said to him: "Commander of the Believers,
suppose the uncle of Musa, upon him peace, came to you as a Muslim, how
would you treat him?" He replied, "I swear by Allah that I would treat him
well!" Al-`Abbas said, "Well, I am the uncle of Muhammad the Prophet
upon him and his House blessings and peace!" `Umar said, "Abu al-Fadl, and
what do you suppose? By Allah, your father [`Abd al-Muttalib] is certainly
dearer to me than my own father!" He said, "By Allah?" `Umar said, "By
Allah, yes! Because I know that he [`Abd al-Muttalib] is dearer to the

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Messenger of Allah than my own father, therefore I prefer the love of the
Messenger of Allah to my love."
(b) A man disparaged `Ali ibn Abi Talib in the presence of `Umar whereupon
the latter said: "Do you know the dweller of this grave? He is Muhammad ibn
`Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Muttalib. And `Ali is the son of Abu Talib ibn `Abd
al-Muttalib. Therefore, do not mention `Ali except in a good way for if you
dislike him you will harm this one in his grave." Narrated by Ahmad with a
good chain in Fada'il al-Sahaba (2:641 #1089).
(c) After `Umar saw al-Husayn ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib waiting at his door he
said to him: "You are more deserving of permission to enter than [my son]
`Abd Allah ibn `Umar! You see the goodness that was placed on our head;
[therefore] first Allah; then you [the Prophetic Household]!" and he placed his
hand on his head as he spoke. Narrated by Ibn Sa`d, Ibn Rahuyah, and
al-Khatib.
(d) Jabir said he heard `Umar ibn al-Khattab say on the pulpit after he
married Umm Kulthum, the daughter of `Ali and Fatima - Allah be
well-pleased with them:
"Do not disparage me [for marrying a young girl], for I heard the
Prophet
say, upon him blessings and peace: 'On the Judgment
Day every means will be cut off and every lineage severed except
my lineage.'"
Narrated by al-Tabarani. Al-Haythami said its narrators are those of
al-Bukhari and Muslim.
`Umar desired to place himself in the Prophet's lineage through this marriage
due to the precedence of Ahl al-Bayt in the Prophet's intercession, upon him
and them peace.
[10] Nor is this intercession solely by way of the Prophet's mere supplication
(du`a) and by means of al-`Abbas's mere supplication as claimed by the
innovators and by the terminology of the question cited above. Rather, it was
by means of their person (dhat) AND du`a as literally stated in the following
reports among many others:
(a) Intercession through the Prophet's person according to Ibn `Umar:
In Sahih al-Bukhari: `Abdullah ibn Dinar said:
"I heard Ibn `Umar reciting the poetic verses of Abu Talib:
A fair-skinned one by whose face rainclouds are sought, A
caretaker for the orphans and protector of widows.
"`Umar ibn Hamza said: Salim narrated from his father (Ibn
`Umar) that the latter said: "The poet's saying came to my mind
as I was looking at the face of the Prophet
- upon him blessings
and peace - while he was praying for rain - and he did not come
down until the rain water flowed profusely from every roof-gutter:
A fair-skinned one by whose face rainclouds are sought, A
caretaker for the orphans and protector of widows."
One sub-narrator added: "These were the words of Abu Talib."

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Note that in his translation of Bukhari (2:65), Muhammad Muhsin Khan alters
the wording of the hadith to read: "A white person WHO IS REQUESTED TO
PRAY FOR RAIN" in place of "by whose face rain is sought." This is tahrif i.e.
textual and semantic manipulation of the most important source in Islam after
the Qur'an.
(b) Intercession through al-`Abbas's person according to `Umar:
"People! The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu `alayhi wa-Alihi
wa-Sallam considered al-`Abbas like his father, venerating him and
greatly respecting him and his rights. Therefore, O people! take
the lead of the Messenger of Allah in the person of his uncle
al-`Abbas and take the latter as your means to Allah Most High in
the context of your tribulation."
Narrated from `Umar with a sound chain by al-Baladhiri and with weak chains
from Ibn `Umar by al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar in al-Ansab and Ibn `Asakir in
Tarikh Dimashq (8:932) as cited by Ibn Hajar in the Fath (1959 ed. 2:497).
Shaykh Mahmud Mamduh in Raf` al- Minara (p. 120) rejected al-Albani's
claim in his book al-Tawassul (p. 67-68) that the chain of this hadith is
"mixed up" (mudtarib) as inapplicable here.
[11] `Umar showed the possibility of tawassul through X. even though Y. also present - may be better than X. He showed that tawassul through the
inferior in the presence of the superior is permissible as there is Consensus
that the best of all living human beings after Prophets then, namely `Umar,
`Uthman, and `Ali are all three superior to al-`Abbas, Allah be well-pleased
with all of them. This was also a mark of humbleness on `Umar's part as
already cited from Fath al-Bari. Another example of this is the tawassul of
Mu`awiya for rain through the Sahabi Yazid ibn al-Aswad al-`Amiri as
narrated by Abu Zur`a al-Dimashqi in his Tarikh and his tawassul also
through the Tabi`i Abu Muslim al-Khawlani as narrated by Ahmad in al-Zuhd
cf. al-Tahanawi, I`la' al-Sunan (8:193).
[12] `Umar used al-`Abbas also as a precaution lest people's faith in the
Prophet
upon him peace, be shaken in case the prayer were not answered.
[13] Finally, the Sunna prayer for rain formally has to be performed by the
outward, political Imam of the Muslims or his deputy. It is in that function
that the office of the Messenger of Allah upon him blessings and peace
had ceased and was taken over, first by Abu Bakr, then by `Umar.
Al-`Abbass position in this event is that of the deputy of the latter as the
Commander of the Believers. And Allah knows best.
-I have compiled the above from the references cited below and the lights
imparted by my teachers on this subject may Allah keep them and thank
them for guarding pure and authentic Sunni doctrine from the ignorant and
the extremists.

Contemporary Hanafi References:

- Al-Kawthari, Muhammad Zahid. "Mahq al-Taqawwul fi Mas'alat al-Tawassul"
("The Eradication of Gossip Concerning the Use of Intermediaries") in his

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Maqalat ("Essays") and recently published as a monograph with introduction

and notes by Shaykh Wahbi Sulayman Ghawji (1997).
- Al-Dajwi, Yusuf Ahmad al-Kawtharis Shaykh. Four Articles on tawassul
originally published in Majallat al-Azhar and reprinted at the beginning of
Ghawjis edition of al-Kawtharis Mahq al-Taqawwul.
- Ghawji, Wahbi Sulayman. Introduction to Mahq al-Taqawwul.
- Al-Nass, Samer. Al-Wasilatu ila Fahmi Haqiqat al-Tawassul ("The Means to
Understanding the Truth of Seeking a Means"). Beirut: Dar al-Tawfiq, 2003.
The best treatment in our opinion.
Other references:
- Muhammad ibn `Alawi al-Maliki, Mafahim Yajib an Tusahhah ("Necessary
Correction of Certain Misconceptions"). 10th ed. (p. 153-156.)
- Abul-Hasanayn `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Rahman al-Makki al- Hashimi,
al-Salafiyya al-Mu`asira: Munaqashat wa-Rudud (Contemporary Salafism:
Discussions and Rebuttals) p. 143-145.
- Al-Ghumari, Irgham al-Mubtadi` al-Ghabi bi-Jawaz al- Tawassul bil-Nabi
("Compelling the Dunderheaded Innovator to Accept the Permissibility of
Using the Prophet as a Means"). Ed. Hasan `Ali al-Saqqaf. 2nd ed. Amman:
Dar al-Imam al-Nawawi, 1992.
- Mahmud Mamduh, Raf` al-Minara bi-Ahadith al-Tawassul wal- Ziyara
("Raising the Lighthouse with the Hadiths of Seeking Means and Visitation [of
the Prophet]") p. 118-121.
In his book (al-balagh-ul-Mubeen) Imam Shah Waliullah infers that the
Khalifah did not consider it allowed to ask those who had left this world or
the absent for intercession.
This is contrary to the view reported from Shah Wali Allah in his book Fuyud
al-Haramayn ("The Outpourings of the Two Sanctuaries) cf. http://www.almaqsood.org/islam/shah-1.htm
The apparent contradiction is explained by the fact that some books of Shah
Wali Allah may not be free from Wahhabistic interpolations, see
LivingIslam.org < Ibn Taymiyya/ Shah Wali Allah/ Ibn `Abd al-Barr >
It is known that the beasts themselves ask for rain as in the Prophetic hadith
of the ant narrated from Abu Hurayra by al-Daraqutni, his student al-Hakim,
and others:
cf. Ibn Abi Shayba (6:62, 7:71)
Abu al-Shaykh, al-`Azama (5:1572)
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (3:360)
Ibn Hajar, Talkhis al-Habir (2:97 #718)
Ibn al-Mulaqqin, Khulasat al-Badr (1:250)
Al-San`ani, Subul al-Salam (2:83)
Al-Shawkani, Nayl al-Awtar (4:27)
Al-Tahanawi, I`la' al-Sunan (8:193).
And the Sunna requires us to bring the beasts out during the prayer for rain,
and the Prophet said,
- upon him peace,

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- "Were it not for the beasts they [who withhold zakat] would never
be granted rain." Narrated by Ibn Majah.
- "Were it not for the pasturing beasts punishment would be poured
on you literally." Abu Ya`la, al-Bazzar and others.
So we may hope for their intercession, but not for that of the Prophet
Muhammad??
No, the Khalifah did not consider the Prophet
upon him peace, to be absent
nor to have left this world. Otherwise, why did he address the Prophet
upon him peace, and Abu Bakr in their graves as narrated by al-Tabarani
through trustworthy narrators (see below) and why was "nothing more
important to him" - as narrated from him by al- Bukhari in his Sahih - than to
be buried near them?
Qays ibn Abi Hazim narrated that one day, `Umar addressed the people from
the pulpit in Madina and said in his address:
"Verily there is in the Gardens of `Adn a palace which has five
hundred doors, each posted with five thousand of the ladies of
Paradise, and none but a Prophet shall enter it." At this point he
turned to the grave of the Messenger of Allah - upon him blessings
and peace - and said: "Congratulations to you, O dweller of this
grave!" Then he continued: "And none but a Most-Truthful One
(siddiq) shall enter it." At this point he turned towards Abu Bakr's
grave and said: "Congratulations to you, Abu Bakr!" Then he said:
"And none but a Martyr shall enter it," and he pointed to himself.
He continued, speaking to himself outloud: "And when did you
inherit martyrdom, `Umar?" Then he said: "Truly, the One who
brought me out from Makka unto the migration to Madina is able
to bring me martyrdom!"
Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Awsat through trustworthy narrators cf.
al-Haythami, Majma` al-Zawa'id (9:54-55).
Do the Ahnaaf consider Khalifah Umar to have performed his ijtihad on this
issue but the Ahnaaf disagreed with him? Please explain.
Even if the act of `Umar were not originally a Sunna - which it is - the ijtihad
of the Khulafa' al-Rashidin nevertheless has the probative force of Sunna in
this Religion, with which no School, Hanafi or other, is at liberty to differ. Not
that the Ahnaaf disagreed with him in this or in anything else whatsoever that
comes to mind! And it is a poorly phrased question indeed that places an
entire Sunni School in the immaterial position of disagreeing with one of the
Khulafa' al-Rashidin when this is the exclusive wont of Ahl al-Bid`a.

Hajj Gibril
GF Haddad
[Mon, 20 Oct 2003]

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