As I understand it, the hadiths are sayings loosely attributable to the prophet Muhammed, as is mentioned by Cecil here.
But exactly what is the story on these? I have heard them being quoted very often but how did they come about? I thought everything that was written down (given by God through his angel) had been put in the Qu’ran? So how sure a thing is it that these sayings are actually things the prophet said?
Also, I have heard about a figure who supposedly will rise in the future and battle evil forces (as I understand it), basically saving the world. His name is Imam Mehdi (spellings may vary though), and I wanted to know about the origin of this, as to my recollection there is no mention of it in the Qu’ran. Where is this from, and is it a widespread belief amongst Muslims?
I can’t shed much light on the Hadith - they are believed by all Muslims to be sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.
Now about the Imams and Caliphs. After the death of Prophet Muhammad, Islam split into two factions - the Sunnis and the Shias. The Sunnis believe that the only guidance left to mankind was the Koran, and that the Prophet essentially had no successor to guide the people spiritually, but, secularly, the Caliphs ruled the Muslim world.
The Shias on the other hand, believed that for mankind to be left without a spiritual guide on Earth would be contrary to what is said in the Koran. The Shia belief is that there are Imams, who are desendants of the Prophet, starting with Imam `Ali, the prophet’s nephew (who, incidentally was married to the Prophet’s daughter), and then his sons, etc, with the Imamat passing through the male line.
Now, this is where things get complicated. As with any religion, there were differences in opinion, who was the next successor, etc etc. Imam Madhi was the 12th (or 11th depending on which history you read) Imam. Due to various political upheavals, the Imams were prime targets to be assassinated, etc. So, round this time, the Imams were in hiding - their identities were known to very few people. Anyway, after the death of Imam Madhi, the Shias split; one group believed that his son had succeeded the role of Imam and guide on the Earth, and followed his son. A second group, which is now the majority of Shia Muslims, believed that Imam Madhi had simply become hidden from the world, and will return when the world needs him - rather like the Second Coming. Its only really a particular sect of Shia Muslims - the Ithna Asharis who believe this.
If you’ll allow me a few possibly clarifications/corrections :)…
Sayings of the Prophet Muhammed or his companions that shed light on the Prophet’s message. There are numerous overlapping accounts and lists of hadith. Nobody accepts them all and even if a given two Muslim accept a particular hadith, they may still differ over interpretation.
There are even a few Muslims ( definitely a very small minority ) that reject them all as uncertain accretions and only follow the Qur’an.
Well, sorta. The title Caliph had and has a religious component as it referred to a “* political and military leader with ultimate responsibility for the temporal, but also spiritual and moral welfare of the community ( umma ).*” It is for that reason that Shi’a ( Imami Shi’a, anyway ) accept only Ali as a legitimate Caliph and even Sunni hagiographers writing in the Abbasid period referred to most of the Umayyad Caliphs ( excluding Umar II, regarded as properly pious by most ) as mere maliks, i.e. secular kings, in contrast to the Abbasids that had restored the necessary level of piety to the office. It is also for that reason that the later Spanish Umayyads and the Fatimids claimed the title - it was a potent symbol of both secular and religious authority.
The eventual difference between Imam and Caliph was not so much a strict spiritual vs. secular, but the notion of special reveletory authority conferred ( somewhat retorspectively ) on the Shi’a Imams. To whit ( from Lapidus ):
By the ninth century Sh’i concepts of of the imam came to include the notion that he was ma’sum, a sinless and infallible guide to religious truth*.
This is slightly confused. The position of the Shi’a Imams was often equivocal in the Sunni world, but most lived openly as “honored guests” at the Abbasid court in particular and were regarded as ( inconvenient ) holy men. Some occasionally were honored guests and were patronized by the Abbasid Caliphs, others were under essentially house arrest or were actually murdered by them like Musa al-Kazim. But none were reallyhidden away from the authorities, until, perhaps, the last. The split you’re referring to ( and there had been another slightly earlier to form the Zaydi branch of Shi’ism ) came with the death/occultation of Ja’far al-Sadiq’s designated heir Isma’il in 760, between those who thought Isma’il had been occultated by God and those that believe had died and been superceded by Ja’far’s next designated heir Musa al-Kazim ( who was also challenged by another of Ja’far’s undesignated sons, Abdullah al-Aftali ). Musa al-Kazim in the majority view was thus the seventh imam and died in 799. He was then followed 'Ali-al-Rida ( d. 818 ), Muhammed al-Taqi/Jawad ( d. 835 ), 'Ali al-Hadi ( d. 868 ), and Hasan al-'Askari ( d. 878 ). It was at this point that it surmised that a younger son ( which the elder son Ja’far vehemently denied ever existed ) became the occultated ( divided into two periods - the lesser of ~ 70 years and the greater since 941 ) 12th imam as Muhammed al-Mahdi.
So the split between Isma’ili and Imami ( Ithna’Ashari ) Shi’a occurred over a century before the advent of the 12th imam. The split that created the Zaydi Shi’a occurred another couple of decades earlier yet.
I’m going to have to dispute this - I am Isma’ili, and certain branches of my family are Imami. The history I learnt from my mum’s cousin (who’s Imami) is more or less identical to the history I read in Isma’ili history books up until the 12th Imam.
Then with all due respect, I’m afraid they have their facts slightly off.
From Farhad Daftary’s A Short History of the Ismailis, pg.1:
On the death of the Imam al-Sadiq in 148/765, his Imami Shi’I following split into several groups, including those identified as the earliest Ismailis.
pg.34-35:
Ja’far al-Sadiq, as noted, had originally designated his eldest son Isma’il as his successor. However, as related in the majority of the sources, Isma’il was not present in Medina or Kufa at the time of his death. At any rate, three of the Imam al-Sadiq’s other sons now simultaneously claimed the succession. As a result, the Imami Shi’Is split into six groups, two of which may be identified as the earliest Ismailis…When Abd Allah died a few months later, the bulk of his supporters turned to his half-brother Musa al-Kazim, later counted as the sevent Imam of the Twelvers, who had already received the allegiance of a group of the Imamiyya.
From Bernard Lewis’ The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam, pg. 26:
The decisive split between extremists and moderates occured after the death in 765 of Ja’far al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam after Ali. Ja’far’s eldest son was Isma’il. For reasons which are not quite clear, and probably because of his association with extremist elements, Isma’il was disinherited, and a large part of the Shi’a recognized his younger brother Musa al-Kazim as seventh Imam. The line of Musa continued until the twelfth Imam, who disappeared in about 873, and is still the ‘awaited Imam’ or Mahdi of the great majority of the Shi’a at the present day.
Oh as to the death/disappearance of Isma’il, the date is uncertain - Probably anywhere from 760 to 763. Regardless he seems to have been out of the picture as a direct claimant by 765 ( one of the two Ismaili splinter groups listed above claimed he been hidden away, rather than died in his father’s lifetime - the other followed his son ).
However, it is taken as canon, by modern day Isma’ilis, that Isma’il was the rightful successor, and carried on the Imamate.
The Isma’ili view of the history is that:
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq died, and there was some dispute as to his successor because of the absence of Isma’il. This led to at least two major divisions - those who accepted Isma’il and those who accepted his younger brother.
There was then, on the death of Imam Medhi, who was a desendant of Imam Isma’il, a further split, into those who followed the sucession and those who didn’t.
Now, the modern day Isma’ilis are those who have followed the succession to the modern day. Those that I know as the Twelvers or the Ithna Asharis are those who followed the succession, through Imam Isma’il up to Imam Medhi.
Now, I can see where we’re posting at cross-purposes - we may well be getting our terminology totally mixed up!
Here’s where we’re getting lost, I agree. Man, these dynastic histories can be so complicated. Who are you referring to as Imam Mehdi? I’m referring to Muhammed al-Mahdi, the hidden twelfth Imam in descent from Ja’far al-Sadiq through his son Musa al-Kazim, NOT through Isma’il. The modern Ismailis meanwhile trace descent of the Imamate through the line of Isma’il’s son, Muhammed b. Isma’il al-Maktum/al-Maymun ( who was actually eight years older than his uncle Musa ).
You’ve lost me. Twelvers/Imami/Ithna’Ashari today are those that follow the line ( skipping numerous steps ) from Ali > Ja’far al-Sadiq > Musa al-Kazim > Muhammed al-Mahdi, i.e. the majority Shi’a movement that dominates most of Iran and southern Iraq today.
Meanwhile Seveners/Ismailis today are those that follow the line of Ali > Ja’far al-Sadiq > Isma’il > Muhammed b. Isma’il > Abd-Allah al-Mahdi ( founder of the Fatimid dynasty ). The subsect of the Nizaris would then go Abd-Allah al-Mahdi > al-Mustansir > Abu Mansur Nizar, whereas the Bohras would go al-Mustansir > al-Musta’li.
Gotcha. I’m referring to Abd-Allah al-Madhi - the founder of the Fatimid dynasty. I think we’ve sorted out the confusion.
Yes, I agree with you there - looks like there’s been a confusion in terminology. I do apologise about this - most of this is from memory, as most of my references/texts are at my parents’ house.
Yup. No arguments there.
So, in essence, I’ve just got slightly confused with names/dynasties. That’ll teach me to post from memory!
