10 February 1908

(At the time of Zuhr)

The Exaggeration of Shias

The Promised Messiah (as) said:

The Shias exaggerate to the extreme. One Shia writes in his book that all Prophets—so much so that even the Holy Prophet (sas)—are in need of the shafa’at [intercession] of Imam Husain (ra). Then they allege that revelation had descended upon Hazrat Ali (ra), but angel Gabriel made a mistake. It is also written that when the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went on the Mi’raj [Spiritual Ascension], Hazrat Ali (ra) was already present there, and a person referred to Hazrat Ali (ra) as God, whereupon he replied that well, there are hundreds of thousands of servants of God, you be the one for me. In other words Hazrat Ali (ra) is made out to be God.

It is strange that in the heavens Ali is God, but upon the earth he is but a single disciple of the Holy Prophet (sas) who could not even properly handle a simple Khilafat [Successorship of the Holy Prophet (sas)].

I cannot understand what kind of Islam people find in the Shia religion. They [the Shias] consider all the Companions of the Holy Prophet (sas), barring a few, to be apostates; they harshly criticize the Ummahatul-Mo’minin [Mothers of the Believers; i.e. the wives of the Holy Prophet (sas)]; they declare the Quran to be the account book of [Hazrat] Uthman—what faith can a people, who do not have the Book of Allah, be said to possess! Can hurling vile abuse, and sitting at home and continuously reviling others and those who have passed away be called a religion of any kind?’

Then there is [the doctrine of] Taqiyyah, worse than which there can be nothing—disavow one’s faith wherever overpowered or when one sees his own interest being jeopardized.

Then, tell me if they have any good commentary [of the Quran] from which it would become known whether these people are familiar with the Word of God. In every commentary I have seen, I found every verse being interpreted to imply that it was in support of Ali. The same obsession is found in regard to Muqatta’at,1 the ک [Kaf ] in کٓہٰیٰعٓصٓ2 [Kaf Ha Ya Ain Sad] is said to mean Karbala. Then, the Oneness of God, which is the essence of Islam—even the Aryas, who are die-hard enemies of Islam, are better than them as they despise the worship of thousands of idols, but these people have started idolatry [in Islam] anew. It is one and the same whether someone worships a stone, a tree, or a human being.

They may, of course, express the excellences of Imam Husain (ra); I do not forbid them, and to the extent that denying noble Prophets and disrespecting the righteous is not implicit, I am prepared to accept—but it cannot be that we make him to be God. If they really have love for Imam Husain (ra), they should follow him. When one comes to love a person, one desires to become like him and one comes to understand that acting like him is one’s religion and faith. There have been so many Prophets—did anyone ever say that he should be worshipped?

The fact is that it is comparatively more difficult for the misguided people, who have reached this stage after accepting Islam, to rectify themselves.

I have seen Imam Husain (ra) two times. Once, I saw that a person was coming from a distance and these words were uttered by my tongue, ‘Abu Abdullah Husain’. Then I saw him once again.

The Etiquettes of a Gathering

It is my belief, and this indeed is what should be the attitude of the believer, that when one speaks, he should make a comprehensive statement, or he should remain silent. When you see that Allah and His Messenger are being laughed at and ridiculed in some gathering, you should either leave that place so as not be counted among them, or give a manifest, full, and comprehensive reply. There are two options. Either reply or remain silent. This third way of continuing to sit in that gathering and agreeing with the things being stated or expressing your belief in a hushed tongue is the way of hypocrisy.3