A conversation with a Bahai

Well, I had a Bahai friend here in UCLA. He likes to chat about religion a lot and actually I do too. It is always great to challenge your faith and discover why you believe whatever you believe. At the end of the day, I'd say alhamdulellah I am a Muslim.

Anyhow, he kept saying that I have to read "The Book of Certitude" by Baha'ullah or "Iqan" in Arabic. It is a book written by Baha'ullah to answer the questions of Bab's uncle (who was a Muslim) about the Bahai faith and Babism. I read the book one year ago and came with several questions for him (the Bahai friend) to answer. I'm still waiting. If you are reading this, Shervin, you better hurry up.

Here are my questions in case you are interested: (Forgive me if there are any mistakes in the questions as it was not intended to go to public)

Assalamu ala man etabaa al huda (Peace be upon those who follow the guidance)

Hi Shervin,

How r u doing? I hope u r doing OK and mastering ur midterms. I finally finished reading the Iqan and wanted to write you my impressions about it.

To tell you the truth, after reading it, I didn't find it logical enough to prove ur point of view. And I really wish I can grab ur t-shirt and tell u "Isn't it time to follow the truth, Shervin?". Anyhow here are my remarks.

1. General Remarks:

a. I guess we talked b4 about the "esma" of the prophets. That is they don't do mistakes concerning the religion. For example, we as muslims believe that whatever Muhammad (PBUH) says in religion is (Wahy) revelation from Allah.

وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى. إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى.

Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.It is only a Revelation revealed. Quran [53:3,4]

Consequently, I assumed that if Bahaullah is a prophet he would be the same. And since the Iqan is a book of religion, it is supposed to be inspired by revelation from Allah. This is to put aside, the claim that Bahaullah made that all the prophets (especially, the great ones) are tagaly (glory) of Allah. As a result, I looked into the Iqan as it is supposed to be a book of complete truth that is inspired by Allah.

I just wanted to make this clear because again as muslims we believe in the challenge that Allah gave 1400 years ago in the Qur'an which says:

أَفَلاَ يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللّهِ لَوَجَدُواْ فِيهِ اخْتِلاَفًا كَثِيرًا

Do they not then consider the Qur'ân carefully? Had it been from other than Allâh, they would surely have found therein many a contradiction. Qur'an [4:82]

So consequently, I said to myself that if I find a single contradiction in the book it will render it useless to myself and disproves (Esma) for Bahaullah and consequently prophet-hood or messenger-hood.

The basic contradiction that I found the book is full of is that he referred to Muhammad's (PBUH) ahadith several times and used them to prove his point of view (I'll mention some of his referrals later) but finally said that ahadith are not that powerful as a reference (Check pages 169 and 170 in the arabic version which I'll always quote). So it is either to use all of authentic ahadith as references or not to use them at all. But to choose some and reject the others, this is unacceptable to me.

أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ فَمَا جَزَاء مَن يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مِنكُمْ إِلاَّ خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ وَمَا اللّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allâh is not unaware of what you do. Qur’an [2:85]

b. You said before that Bahai faith is the continuity of all the religions. It completes Bhudaism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam …etc. And you said that you accept all of the previous religions. In Islam you said that both the Sunni and Shia beliefs are OK to you.

However, looking into all the ahadith used in the Iqan, very few ahadith are authentic for Sunnis and found in Sunni books of ahadith which again renders all the proofs used in the book useless to Sunnis and makes it easy for them to reject the Bahai faith completely.

In fact, we have one hadith that says that whoever claims that the prophet said something and he knows he didn’t (on purpose he means) he has to wait for his seat in hellfire. So it is either that Bahaullah didn’t know that the Muhammad (PBUH) didn’t say these ahadith, or he knew yet he used them or he prefered Shia references. In the first case it is clear that he is not a prophet. In the second case, he is sure not a prophet and will be doomed in hellfire. And in the third case the Bahai faith is obviously not suitable to Sunnis, besides, we can go into the debate of the authenticity and importance of ahadith to Shias provided that we can really find these ahadith in Shias’ references. As for the hadith, here it is:

بلغوا عني ولو آية وحدثوا عن بني إسرائيل ولا حرج ومن كذب على متعمدا فليتبوأ مقعده من النار
الراوي: عبدالله بن عمرو بن العاص - خلاصة الدرجة: إسناده صحيح - المحدث: أحمد شاكر - المصدر: مسند أحمد - الصفحة أو الرقم: 11\113

It says: “Deliver what you hear from me, even if it is a single verse. You are not blamed if you refer to what the children of Israel say. Whoever lies on my behalf (tells false ahadith) on purpose shall wait for his seat in the hellfire.

The narrator is Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As. It is Saheeh (Authentic). Examined by Ahmed Shaker and found on the book (Mosnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal) Page or number 11/113.

These were my general remarks. As for my specific remarks, here they are.

2. Different topics remarks:

The remarks I took will be mentioned in the order of their appearance in the book. Some might be important and others might not. However, all of them added to the lack of the credibility of the book.

1. Page 9: He mentioned the number of the people who followed Nuh (PBUH). He said they were 40 or 72. Again if he was a prophet inspired by Allah he would never say “or” and rely on what is written in non-authentic books.

2. Page 10: Similar to the previous remark. He should not say that Hud (PBUH) stayed in his people for 700 years “or so”!!

3. Page 18: What is the reference that divorce and Sabbath are the greatest laws of Mousa (PBUH)

4. Page 21: This is one of non-authentic ahadith. إنّي أنا عيسى is not mentioned in any of the ahadith books accepted by Sunnis. It is not even there as a weak hadith or fabricated hadith.

5. Pages 24-26: Read the prophecy in the Bible, in Matthew 24:

In Arabic:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mathew%2024;&version=28;

And in English:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mathew%2024;&version=31;

You will find that it is quite clear that he is talking about his second coming not Muhammad’s coming. Now lets see the events that happened in chronological order and see what Bahaullah claims and see if it is possible or not.

First Eissa (PBUH) came around 30 AD. Then Muhammad (PBUH) came around 610 AD. Bahaullah came around 1852 AD. Looking into pages 148 – 151, we’ll find that Bahaullah claims that all the prophets have two positions (مقامين). In the first they are all the same person as the glory of Allah. And in the second they are different with different ranks and different personalities and different laws appearing as servants of Allah. And by this claim, we should say that if Eissa (PBUH) was talking about Heavenly or Godly position of the coming prophet in his prophecy, then this prophet can be any coming prophet. And if he is giving the prophet humanly characteristics in his prophecy, then he must be talking about a certain one of them. This is, of course, provided that Bahaullah’s claim is true.

Following this claim, we’ll find that in the prophecy, Eissa (PBUH) said that the one who is coming is (ابْنِ الإِنْسَانِ) or the son of man. This is obviously is a humanly characteristics and thus he is talking about a specific prophet not just any prophet or glory of Allah as Bahaullah claims. So he is talking about Muhammad (PBUH), Bahaullah (if proved he is a prophet) or himself in his second coming and can’t be any. Remember that when Bahaullah was talking about the second position (مقام), he said that the prophets will say in this position: نحن عباد الله and إنّي عبد الله، وما أنا إلاّ بشر مثلكم meaning that in this position they will just remember their humanly nature (Son of Man).

Now looking through all the prophecy in Mathew 24, we will find that many of the signs he mentioned has not happened yet. This favors the fact that Eissa (PBUH) was talking about his second coming not Muhammad (PBUH) and not Bahaullah.

You can then say that all these signs are just metaphors and this is what Bahaullah usually claims. So now we have to go back to his second claim which he made in page 25 that Eissa (PBUH) was talking about Muhammad (PBUH). If this is true and his claim of the prophets’ two positions system is true as well, then you can’t use this prophecy together with Daniel 9 to determine the year of the coming of Bahaullah as you did with me. Because simply Bahaullah claimed that Eissa (PBUH) was talking about Muhammad (PBUH) in humanly nature and thus can’t be talking about Bahaullah at the same time.

To make it even more clear for you that Eissa (PBUH) was talking about his second coming, let’s see how he used to talk about Muhammad (PBUH). Read John 14.

In Arabic:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014;&version=28;

And in English:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014;&version=31;

We believe that the counselor he is talking about in John 14:16 is Muhammad (PBUH) ad not the Holy Spirit as Christians claim because simply in John 14:26 Eissa (PBUH) says that the counselor will teach them and remind them of everything Eissa (PBUH) said and that was not done by the Holy Spirit in any time but was done by Muhammad (PBUH). Note also the distinction Eissa (PBUH) made between the coming of the counselor and his second coming (John 14:28). This is simply because they are two different prophets and there is nothing that is called the glory of Allah in his prophets and that they are one in a certain position (مقام). Bahaullah said (in page 150) that in this position any prophet can claim he is Allah (أنّي أنا الله) and it would be correct. Then why can’t we find this in any of the revelations. Why isn’t it there in the Bible or the Qur’an. This is because this is not true. In fact it is shirk (polytheism).

Now that the claims of Bahaullah about this prophecy are contradicting please read Matthew 24:24.

6. Page 36: الصّوم ضياء والصّلاة نور is another non-authentic hadith that is not in any of the ahadith books known to Sunnis.
7. Page 37: Might look trivial buut to follow the same logic that Bahaullah used, then Salah and Seyam can never be observed together similar to the sun and moon. This is absolutely not true as we pray and fast at the same time in Ramadan for example.

8. Page 43: Let’s read the verses from the Qur’an.

وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالْأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّماوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ (67) وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَاء اللَّهُ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَى فَإِذَا هُم قِيَامٌ يَنظُرُونَ (68) وَأَشْرَقَتِ الْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ وَالشُّهَدَاء وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُم بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ (69) وَوُفِّيَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ (70) وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاؤُوهَا فُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّنكُمْ يَتْلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِ رَبِّكُمْ وَيُنذِرُونَكُمْ لِقَاء يَوْمِكُمْ هَذَا قَالُوا بَلَى وَلَكِنْ حَقَّتْ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ (71) قِيلَ ادْخُلُوا أَبْوَابَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا فَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ (72) وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاؤُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ (73) وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهُ وَأَوْرَثَنَا الْأَرْضَ نَتَبَوَّأُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَاء فَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ (74) وَتَرَى الْمَلَائِكَةَ حَافِّينَ مِنْ حَوْلِ الْعَرْشِ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُم بِالْحَقِّ وَقِيلَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (75)

[67] They made not a just estimate of Allâh such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified is He, and High is He above all that they associate as partners with Him!

[68] And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allâh wills. Then it will blown a second time, and behold they will be standing, looking on (waiting).

[69] And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord (Allâh, when He will come to judge among men): and the Book will be placed (open); and the Prophets and the witnesses will be brought forward; and it will be judged between them with truth, and they will not be wronged.

[70] And each person will be paid in full of what he did; and He is Best Aware of what they do.

[71] And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups till, when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened (suddenly like a prison at the arrival of the prisoners). And its keepers will say, "Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves, reciting to you the Verses of your Lord, and warning you of the Meeting of this Day of yours?" They will say: "Yes, but the Word of torment has been justified against the disbelievers!"

[72] It will be said (to them): "Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein. And (indeed) what an evil abode of the arrogant!"

[73] And those who kept their duty to their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups, till, when they reach it, and its gates will be opened (before their arrival for their reception) and its keepers will say: Salâmun 'Alaikum (peace be upon you)! You have done well, so enter here to abide therein."

[74] And they will say: "All the praises and thanks are to Allâh Who has fulfilled His Promise to us and has made us inherit (this) land. We can dwell in Paradise where we will; how excellent a reward for the (pious good) workers!"

[75] And you will see the angels surrounding the Throne (of Allâh) from all round, glorifying the praises of their Lord (Allâh). And they (all the creatures) will be judged with truth. And it will be said, "All the praises and thanks are to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists)."

I just want you to be fair while reading the verses. You’ll find that Bahaullah explanation of the verses doesn’t agree with the flow of the verses. He talked about the end of a religion and the start of another one and claimed that this is what Allah meant by saying that the earth will be grasped by Allah’s hand and the heavens will be rolled in his right hand. If this is true, can you tell me where he got the meaning that there will be another heavens and earth for another religion? Can you tell me what Allah meant by the trumpet then? What is meant by opening the book? What is meant by bringing the prophets and witnesses? And what is meant by judging between them? What is meant by hell and what is meant by people taken to heaven or hell in groups (to indicate large numbers)? I guess any new religion started with just few people. What is meant by the gate keepers of the heaven?

Following Bahaullah explanation will not enable us to find answers to all these questions. But following the explanations of Muslim Scholars makes it simple to understand what is meant by all this which is the true meaning of the words. There is no metaphor here.

9. Page 44: The story mentioned is not true and is not there in the books of seerah (Prophet’s history) known to Sunnis. If it is can you give me the reference? Here is what happened as from authentic sources.

لما قدم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم المدينة ، صلى نحو بيت المقدس ستة عشر ، أو سبعة عشر شهرا ، وكان يحب أن يوجه إلى الكعبة ، فأنزل الله تعالى : (قد نرى تقلب وجهك في السماء فلنولينك قبلة ترضاها) فوجه نحو الكعبة ، وصلى معه رجل العصر ، ثم خرج ، فمر على قوم من الأنصار ، فقال : هو يشهد أنه صلى مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وأنه قد وجه إلى الكعبة فانحرفوا وهم ركوع في صلاة العصر .
الراوي: البراء بن عازب - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: البخاري - المصدر: الجامع الصحيح - الصفحة أو الرقم: 7252

When prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came to Medina, he prayed towards Jerusalem for about 16 or 17 months while wishing that Allah will direct him towards Ka’ba. Then Allah revealed the verse (Verily! We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad's (peace be upon him)) face towards the heaven. Surely, we shall turn you to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you). So he started praying towards the Ka’ba and a man prayed Asr prayer with him. Then he left and passed by people from Al Ansar (Medina people) and said that he testifies that he prayed with prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and that he was directed towards the Ka’ba. So, they changed their direction while bowing in Asr prayer.

The narrator is Albaraa ibn Azeb. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). Examined by Al-Bukhary. Found in the book (Algamea Alsaheeh) page or number 7252.

I do not know where Bahaullah got his story. It is clear that the Ansar followed the new Qibla directly without questioning (as they were praying) when they heard that it was changed. You can even visit the mosque where this story took place. It is called masjid Al-Qiblatayn.

10. Page 59: I want an example for each of the meanings he claimed for the word Samaa or heaven. To tell you the truth the paragraph talking about the different meanings of the word sounds really ridiculous in Arabic. I don’t know how it sounds in Persian though. Besides, the two examples he gave do not prove his point. In the first Allah used the samaa because this is where rains come from and this is the source of rizk (provision). And in the second "الأسماء تنزل من السّماء" is not a verse so I don not need to criticize it.

11. Pages 73-75: First let us state the authentic hadith. Here it is:

جاءت اليهود برجل وامرأة منهم زنيا قال : ائتوني بأعلم رجلين منكم . فأتوه بابني صوريا . فنشدهما كيف تجدان أمر هذين في التوراة ؟ قالا : نجد في التوراة إذا شهد أربعة : أنهم رأوا ذكره في فرجها مثل الميل في المكحلة رجما ، قال : فما يمنعكما أن ترجموهما ؟ قالا : ذهب سلطاننا ، فكرهنا القتل . فدعا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالشهود ، فجاؤوا بأربعة فشهدوا أنهم رأوا ذكره في فرجها مثل الميل في المكحلة ، فأمر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم برجمهما

الراوي: جابر بن عبدالله - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: الألباني - المصدر: صحيح أبي داود - الصفحة أو الرقم: 4452

The Jews came to prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with a man and a woman who have committed adultery. So he asked them to bring the two most knowledgeable men among tem. They brought the two sons of Soreya. So he asked them how they find the situation of the man and woman in the Torah. They said that if four witnessed that they saw his genital in hers like the applicator in the eyeliner jar, they should be stoned to death. Then the prophet asked them what prevents them from stoning them. They replied that their reign has gone and so they hated to killing as a punishment. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) then called for the witnesses. They brought four witnesses who witnessed that they have seen his genitals in hers as the applicator in the eyeliner jar. Thus prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ordered the stoning of the man and the woman.

The narrator is Jabir ibn Abdellah. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). Examined by Al-Albany and found in the book (Saheeh Aby Dawoud) page or number 4452.

So it was not a good example to use by Bahaullah to prove his point. The law is there in the Torah even in its current version. Check [Leviticus 20:10]. And the authentic hadith did not say that the Jews said that it is not there. They just said that we stopped it in fear that we lose more Jews when we are not in power. So this is not an example of fabrication in the Torah or Injil, it is rather an example of the Jews not following their own laws. In fact it is also one of the examples that show that there are laws that have not been cancelled or changed from Judaism to Christianity to Islam and only cancelled in Bahai faith!!

Now let’s try to see if there is fabrication in the Bible or not. Remember that Christians call it Bible not Injil or Torah and they call their books according to human authors (Matthew, Luke …etc) and not as God’s words. Also contradicting to what Bahaullah said in page 74 that nobody will change in a book he believes that it is from Allah, I would like you to read these verses from the Qur’an.

أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَن يُؤْمِنُواْ لَكُمْ وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلاَمَ اللّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِن بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

Do you (faithful believers) covet that they will believe in your religion in spite of the fact that a party of them (Jewish rabbis) used to hear the Word of Allâh (the Taurât (Torah)) then they used to change it knowingly after they understood it?

Qur’an [2:75]

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَذَا مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ لِيَشْتَرُواْ بِهِ ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say, "This is from Allâh," to purchase with it a little price! Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for that they earn thereby.

Qur’an [2:79]

I would like to emphasize that Allah said in the first verse that they changed the verses knowingly after they understood it. I guess that Allah knows much better than Bahaullah who claims the opposite. And I can not see any metaphors in the verses. If you can find some please advise me.

Now let’s go back to the Christians and Jews point of view. You can find easily that the original scripture in the original language is not available. Besides you can see several versions of the Bible with noticeable differences between them. I will give you examples next. Also check this website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls which talks about recently found Dead Sea scrolls. In the significance section you’ll find that they found some differences than the Biblical manuscripts and they also found some texts that were previously unknown.

As for the examples of fabrication in the Bible:

See [1 John 5:7-8] in King James Version

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%205:7-8;&version=9;

Then see them in the New International Version

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%205:7-8;&version=31;

And read the footnotes to discover the fabrication used to prove the trinity.

See [John 3:16] in King James Version

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%203:16;&version=9;

Then see it in the New International Version

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%203:16;&version=31;

The footnote said that you can use the begotten word as well. But in fact if you get the New Revised Standard Version you’ll find that the word begotten has been removed since it is highly questionable.

See [Matthew 17:21] in King James Version

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2017:21;&version=9;

Then in the New International Version, you will not find it as it was removed being a fabrication.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2017:21;&version=31;

Fore more examples about this you can check this website:

http://yourmediatube.com/sake5.htm

12. Page 90: "ما أوذِي نبيٌّ بمثل ما أوذيت" is another one of these non-authentic ahadith.

13. Pages 106-107: Now for the point of Bab being in power. Bahaullah might be right that the power can come after the death of the person. However this is not what the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told us about the coming of the Mahdi and the second coming of Eissa (PBUH). Read these ahadith and tell me which of them applies to Bab or Bahaullah.

المهدي من عترتي من ولد فاطمة

الراوي: أم سلمة - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: ابن تيمية - المصدر: منهاج السنة - الصفحة أو الرقم: 8/255

Al-Mahdi is from my family from the descent of Fatima.

Narrator: Om Salama. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). It is examined by Ibn-Taymeya and found in the book (Menhag Al-Sunna) page or number 8/255.

المهدي منا أهل البيت يصلحه الله في ليلة

الراوي: علي بن أبي طالب - خلاصة الدرجة: إسناده صحيح - المحدث: أحمد شاكر - المصدر: مسند أحمد - الصفحة أو الرقم: 2/58

Al-Mahdi is from among Ahlu-Albayt (Family of Muhammad). Allah is going to guide (prepare him for Caliphate) in one night.

Narrator: Ali Ibn-Aby-Talib. The route of the hadith is saheeh (authentic). It was examined by Ahmed Sahkir. It is found in the book (Musnad Ahmad) page or number 5/82.

لو لم يبق من الدنيا إلا يوم ، لطول الله ذلك اليوم حتى يبعث فيه رجلا من أهل بيتي ، يواطيء اسمه اسمي ، و اسم أبيه اسم أبي ، يملأ الأرض قسطا و عدلا كما ملئت ظلما و جورا

الراوي: عبدالله بن مسعود - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: الألباني - المصدر: صحيح الجامع - الصفحة أو الرقم: 5304

If there is just one day left in this life. Allah will make this day longer till he sends a man from my family, whose name is the same as mine and his father’s name is the same as my father’s. He will fill the world with justice after it was filled with injustice.

Narrator: Abdullah Ibn-Massoud. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). It was examined by Al-Albany. It is found in the book (Saheeh Al-Jamia) page or number 5304.

لا تزال طائفة من أمتي يقاتلون على الحق ، ظاهرين إلى يوم القيامة ، فينزل عيسى ابن مريم ، فيقول أميرهم : تعال صل لنا ، فيقول : لا ، إن بعضكم على بعض أمير ، تكرمة الله لهذه الأمة

الراوي: جابر بن عبدالله - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: الألباني - المصدر: صحيح الجامع - الصفحة أو الرقم: 7293

There will still be a group of people among my Ummah fighting for the truth and winning till the Day of Judgment when Eissa Ibn Maryam will come to earth. The Emir of the group (Al-Mahdi) will say to him: Come and be our Imam in the prayer. Eissa will say: “No, your Emir should be from among you as an honor given by Allah to this Ummah.”

Narrator: Jabir Ibn-Abdullah. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). It was examined by Al-Albany. It is found in the book (Saheeh Al-Jamia) page or number 7293.

عبث رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في منامه . فقلنا : يا رسول الله ! صنعت شيئا في منامك لم تكن تفعله . فقال " العجب إن ناسا من أمتي يؤمون بالبيت برجل من قريش . قد لجأ بالبيت . حتى إذا كانوا بالبيداء خسف بهم " فقلنا : يا رسول الله ! إن الطريق قد يجمع الناس . قال " نعم . فيهم المستبصر والمجبور وابن السبيل . يهلكون مهلكا واحدا . ويصدرون مصادر شتى . يبعثهم الله على نياتهم " .

الراوي: عائشة - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: مسلم - المصدر: المسند الصحيح - الصفحة أو الرقم: 2884

Allah's Prophet (PBUH) was startled in the state of sleep. We said: “Allah's Prophet, you have done something in the state of your sleep which you never did before.” Thereupon he said: “Strange it is that some, people of my Ummah would attack the House (Ka'ba) (for killing) a person who would belong to the tribe of the Quraish (Al-Mahdi) and he would try to seek protection in the House. And when they would reach the plain ground they would be sunk.” We said: “Allah's Prophet, all sorts of people throng the path.” Thereupon he said: “Yes, there would be amongst them people who would come with definite designs and those who would come under duress and there would be travelers also, but they would all be destroyed through one (stroke) of destruction, though they would be raised in different states (on the Day of Resurrection). Allah would, however, raise them according to their intention.”

Narrator: A’esha. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). It was examined by Muslim and found in the book (Al-Musnad Al-Saheeh) page or number 2884.

ذكر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الدجال ذات غداة . فخفض فيه ورفع . حتى ظنناه في طائفة النخل . فلما رحنا إليه عرف ذلك فينا . فقال " ما شأنكم ؟ " قلنا : يا رسول الله ! ذكرت الدجال غداة . فخفضت فيه ورفعت . حتى ظنناه في طائفة النخل . فقال " غير الدجال أخوفني عليكم . إن يخرج ، وأنا فيكم ، فأنا حجيجه دونكم . وإن يخرج ، ولست فيكم ، فامرؤ حجيج نفسه . والله خليفتي على كل مسلم . إنه شاب قطط . عينه طافئة . كأني أشبهه بعبدالعزى بن قطن . فمن أدركه منكم فليقرأ عليه فواتح سورة الكهف . إنه خارج خلة بين الشام والعراق . فعاث يمينا وعاث شمالا . يا عباد الله ! فاثبتوا " قلنا : يا رسول الله ! وما لبثه في الأرض ؟ قال " أربعون يوما . يوم كسنة . ويوم كشهر . ويوم كجمعة . وسائر أيامه كأيامكم " قلنا : يا رسول الله ! فذلك اليوم الذي كسنة ، أتكفينا فيه صلاة يوم ؟ قال " لا . اقدروا له قدره " قلنا : يا رسول الله ! وما إسراعه في الأرض ؟ قال " كالغيث استدبرته الريح . فيأتي على القوم فيدعوهم ، فيؤمنون به ويستجيبون له . فيأمر السماء فتمطر . والأرض فتنبت . فتروح عليهم سارحتهم ، أطول ما كانت ذرا ، وأسبغه ضروعا ، وأمده خواصر . ثم يأتي القوم . فيدعوهم فيردون عليه قوله . فينصرف عنهم . فيصبحون ممحلين ليس بأيديهم شيء من أموالهم . ويمر بالخربة فيقول لها : أخرجي كنوزك . فتتبعه كنوزها كيعاسيب النحل . ثم يدعو رجلا ممتلئا شبابا . فيضربه بالسيف فيقطعه جزلتين رمية الغرض ثم يدعوه فيقبل ويتهلل وجهه . يضحك . فبينما هو كذلك إذ بعث الله المسيح ابن مريم . فينزل عند المنارة البيضاء شرقي دمشق . بين مهرودتين . واضعا كفيه على أجنحة ملكين . إذا طأطأ رأسه قطر . وإذا رفعه تحدر منه جمان كاللؤلؤ . فلا يحل لكافر يجد ريح نفسه إلا مات . ونفسه ينتهي حيث ينتهي طرفه . فيطلبه حتى يدركه بباب لد . فيقتله . ثم يأتي عيسى ابن مريم قوم قد عصمهم الله منه . فيمسح عن وجوههم ويحدثهم بدرجاتهم في الجنة . فبينما هو كذلك إذ أوحى الله إلى عيسى : إني قد أخرجت عبادا لي ، لا يدان لأحد بقتالهم . فحرز عبادي إلى الطور . ويبعث الله يأجوج ومأجوج . وهم من كل حدب ينسلون . فيمر أوائلهم على بحيرة طبرية . فيشربون ما فيها . ويمر آخرهم فيقولون : لقد كان بهذه ، مرة ، ماء . ويحصر نبي الله عيسى وأصحابه . حتى يكون رأس الثور لأحدهم خيرا من مائة دينار لأحدكم اليوم . فيرغب نبي الله عيسى وأصحابه . فيرسل الله عليهم النغف في رقابهم . فيصبحون فرسى كموت نفس واحدة . ثم يهبط نبي الله عيسى وأصحابه إلى الأرض . فلا يجدون في الأرض موضع شبر إلا ملأه زهمهم ونتنهم . فيرغب نبي الله عيسى وأصحابه إلى الله . فيرسل الله طيرا كأعناق البخت . فتحملهم فتطرحهم حيث شاء الله . ثم يرسل الله مطرا لا يكن منه بيت مدر ولا وبر . فيغسل الأرض حتى يتركها كالزلفة . ثم يقال للأرض : أنبتي ثمرك ، وردي بركتك . فيومئذ تأكل العصابة من الرمانة . ويستظلون بقحفها . ويبارك في الرسل . حتى أن اللقحة من الإبل لتكفي الفئام من الناس . واللقحة من البقر لتكفي القبيلة من الناس . واللقحة من الغنم لتكفي الفخذ من الناس . فبينما هم كذلك إذ بعث الله ريحا طيبة . فتأخذهم تحت آباطهم . فتقبض روح كل مؤمن وكل مسلم . ويبقى شرار الناس ، يتهارجون فيها تهارج الحمر ، فعليهم تقوم الساعة "

الراوي: النواس بن سمعان الكلابي - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: مسلم - المصدر: المسند الصحيح - الصفحة أو الرقم: 2937

Allah's Prophet (PBUH) made a mention of the Dajjal one day in the morning. He sometimes described him to be insignificant and sometimes described (his turmoil) as very significant and we felt as if he were in the cluster of the date-palm trees. When we went to him (to the Holy Prophet) in the evening and he read (the signs of fear) in our faces, he said: “What is the matter with you?” We said: “Allah's Prophet, you made a mention of the Dajjal in the morning (sometimes describing him) to be insignificant and sometimes very important, until we began to think as if he were present in some (near) part of the cluster of the date-palm trees.” Thereupon he said: I harbor fear in regard to you in so many other things besides the Dajjal. If he comes forth while I am among on, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth while I am not amongst you, a man must contend on his own behalf and Allah would take care of every Muslim on my behalf (and safeguard him against his evil). He (Dajjal) would be a young man with twisted, contracted hair, and a blind eye. I compare him to 'Abd-ul-'Uzza b. Qatan. He who amongst you would survive to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Sura Kahf. He would appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and would spread mischief right and left. O servants of Allah! Stand fast (to the path of Truth).” We said: “Allah's Prophet, how long would he stay on the earth?” He said: “For forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month and one day like a week and the rest of the days would be like your days.” We said: “Allah's Prophet, would one day's prayer suffice for the prayers of day equal to one year?” Thereupon he said: “No, but you must make an estimate of time (and then observe prayer).” We said: “Allah's Prophet, how quickly would he walk upon the earth?” Thereupon he said: “Like cloud driven by the wind. He would come to the people and invite them (to a wrong religion) and they would affirm their faith in him and respond to him. He would then give command to the sky and there would be rainfall upon the earth and it would grow crops. Then in the evening, their posturing animals would come to them with their humps very high and their udders full of milk and their flanks stretched. He would then come to another people and invite them. But they would reject him and he would go away from them and there would be drought for them and nothing would be left with them in the form of wealth. He would then walk through the waste, land and say to it: Bring forth your treasures, and the treasures would come out and collect (themselves) before him like the swarm of bees. He would then call a person brimming with youth and strike him with the sword and cut him into two pieces and (make these pieces lie at a distance which is generally) between the archer and his target. He would then call (that young man) and he will come forward laughing with his face gleaming (with happiness) and it would at this very time that Allah would send Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damscus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls would scatter from it. Every non-believer who would smell the odor of his self would die and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see. He would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him. Then a people whom Allah had protected would come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that Allah would reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from amongst my servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur, and then Allah would send Gog and Magog and they would swarm down from every slope. The first of them would pass the lake of Tibering and drink out of it. And when the last of them would pass, he would say: There was once water there. Jesus and his companions would then be besieged here (at Tur, and they would be so much hard pressed) that the head of the ox would be dearer to them than one hundred dinars to you and Allah's Messenger, Eissa, and his companions would supplicate Allah, who would send to them insects (which would attack Gog and Magog necks) and in the morning they would perish like one single person. Allah's Messenger, Eissa, and his companions would then come down to the earth and they would not find in the earth as much space as a single span which is not filled with their putrefaction and stench. Allah's Messenger, Eissa, and his companions would then again beseech Allah, who would send birds whose necks would be like those of Bactrian camels and they would carry them and throw them where Allah would will. Then Allah would send rain which no house of clay or (the tent of) camels' hairs would keep out and it would wash away the earth until it could appear to be a mirror. Then the earth would be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessing and, as a result thereof, there would grow (such a big) pomegranate that a group of persons would be able to eat that, and seek shelter under its skin and milch cow would give so much milk that a whole party would be able to drink it. And the milch camel would give such (a large quantity of) milk that the whole tribe would be able to drink out of that and the milch sheep would give so much milk that the whole family would be able to drink out of that and at that time Allah would send a pleasant wind which would soothe (people) even under their armpits, and would take the life of every Muslim and only the wicked would survive who would commit adultery like asses and the Last Hour would come to them.

Narrator: Annawas Ibn Sam’an. The hadith is saheeh (authentic) It was examined by Muslim and found in the book (Al-Musnad Al-Saheeh) page or number 2937.

So in brief, Al-Mahdi’s name must be Muhammad Ibn Abdullah and he should be from the descent of Fatima. He should seek refuge in Ka’ba and his sign is that the army who is seeking his death will be sunk to ground. Eissa (PBUH) will come down in Damascus and will let Al-Mahdi lead the prayers. He will kill the false Messiah coming from between Syria and Iraq. Gog and Magog will come in his days also and after their death prosperity in Earth will be visible. So these signs are given by Muhammad (PBUH) to let us know Al-Mahdi and Eissa (PBUH0 when they come and it is clear that neither Bab nor Bahaullah showed any.

14. Page 120: إذا قام القائم قامت القيامة" "is a strange saying and I don’t understand what a famous story means. Also his explanation of the verse هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلآئِكَةُ وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ وَإِلَى اللّهِ تُرْجَعُ الامُورُ is not as he claimed that it means the coming of the ka’em. I wonder which scholars he is quoting when he says أئمة الهدى والأنوار الّتي لا تطفى. This explanation is not in any of the books of tafsir of Sunni Scholars and I guess Shia scholars as well. This is not the explanation or tafsir in the famous tafsir boos of El-Tabary, Al-Qortoby, Ibn Kathir, Al-Jalalayn and even Al-Safy.

15. Page 122: When he talks about the scholars who got defamed and disappeared is just an example of general speech that has no proof of whatsoever. It would have been nice if he had given some examples of these scholars.

16. Pages 122-127: The example he is giving here has flawed logic. Let us first see the explanation or tafsir of the verse from the book tafsir Al-Jalalayn.

The verse:

وَلَمَّا جَاءهُمْ كِتَابٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَلَمَّا جَاءهُم مَّا عَرَفُواْ كَفَرُواْ بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّه عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ

And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (this Qur'ân) from Allâh confirming what is with them (the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)) although aforetime they had invoked Allâh (for coming of Muhammad (peace be upon him)) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, then when there came to them that which they had recognized, they disbelieved in it. So let the Curse of Allâh be on the disbelievers.

And here is the tafsir:

وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ كِتَاب مِنْ عِنْد اللَّه مُصَدِّق لِمَا مَعَهُمْ" مِنْ التَّوْرَاة : هُوَ الْقُرْآن "وَكَانُوا مِنْ قَبْل" قَبْل مَجِيئِهِ "يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ" يَسْتَنْصِرُونَ "عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا" يَقُولُونَ اللَّهُمَّ اُنْصُرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بِالنَّبِيِّ الْمَبْعُوث آخِر الزَّمَان "فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ مَا عَرَفُوا" مِنْ الْحَقّ وَهُوَ بَعْثَة النَّبِيّ "كَفَرُوا بِهِ" حَسَدًا وَخَوْفًا عَلَى الرِّيَاسَة وَجَوَاب لَمَّا الْأُولَى دَلَّ عَلَيْهِ جَوَاب الثَّانِيَة "فلعنة الله على الكافرين "

And in fact the tafsir is so similar to the English translation of the verse. It says that when there came a book to them from Allah confirming what is with them from the Torah: which is the Qur’an, and they were used to pray for Allah to gain victory over the disbelievers in the name of the messenger who is going to be sent at the end of days, then when there came to them that which they had recognized as the truth (sending the messenger), they disbelieved in it. This is out of envy and fear of losing the sovereignty. And thus the curse of Allah will fall on those who disbelieve.

In brief, it is not what Bahaullah said that the verse meant that the Jews recognized Muhammad (PBUH) as Mousa (PBUH) or Eissa (PBUH). It is rather that a new prophet is coming and he is Muhammad (PBUH).

Also his logic in the about the speech between the Jews and Muhammad (PBUH) is flawed. The Jews in the Medina usually claimed that they are the children of Israel similar to we Muslims claiming that we are Ummat Muhammad (PBUH). When you feel you continuity of certain group of people, you talk as if you are the same group of people and talk on their behalf and like to be addressed as if they are them. For example when we (as Muslims) say that we entered Persia in the seventh century AD, does this mean that we lived in this century or does it just mean that we believe we are the followers of the same group who did so?

17. Page 128: It is really disappointing how someone who claims to be a prophet or even a scholar to use a verse in such a way that he uses part of it without even finishing the sentence. The verse وَمَا أَمْرُنَا إِلَّا وَاحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَر means that Allah when he needs something to be done, he gives just one order and the speed of processing the order is so quick like the twinkling of the eye. It is really strange how Bahaullah twisted the meaning of the verse for his own benefit. Besides Can you tell me again who are these (أئمة الدّين، وسرج اليقين في الدّين الإسلاميّ)

18. Page 145: We are always encouraged to understand the meanings of the verses of the Qur’an. This is true. However, as opposing to what Bahaullah said, our Prophet (PBUH) has a hadith that states that we are rewarded for just reading the verses. So is Bahaullah accusing Muhammad (PBUH) of ignorance or lying? Here is the hadith:

من قرأ حرفا من كتاب الله فله به حسنة ، و الحسنة بعشر أمثالها ، لا أقول { الم } حرف و لكن : الف حرف ، و لام حرف ، و ميم حرف

الراوي: عبدالله بن مسعود - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: الألباني - المصدر: صحيح الجامع - الصفحة أو الرقم: 6469

Whoever reads a letter from the book of Allah (The Qur’an) will be rewarded a hassana (a good point or mark). The hassana is multiplied by ten. I don’t say that “Alef Lam Meem” (The beginning of some of the Qur’an chapters) is a letter but rather Alef is a letter, Lam is a letter and Meem is another letter.

The narrator is Abdullah Ibn Massoud. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). Examined by Al-Albani and found in the book (Saheeh Al-Jamia) page or number 6469.

19. Page 151: “The seal of the prophets” issue is also not logical. He based his theory again on the (the two positions (مقامين) systems of the prophets) which we proved before that it is not true. He claims that if any of the prophets say that he is the last prophet, it is correct. So can you tell me why no other prophet but Muhammad (PBUH) said so? Why did all the prophets talked about the coming Christ and the coming prophet (Muhammad) and Muhammad is the only one who never talked about this?

20. Page 155: العلم نقطة كثّرها الجاهلون and العلم نور يقذفه الله في قلب من يشاء are non-authentic ahadith.

21. Page 156: العلم تمام المعلوم، والقدرة والعزّة تمام الخلق and لولاك لما خلقت الأفلاك are non-authentic ahadith.

22. Page 170: Bahaullah said in this page that Muhammad (PBUH) asked his followers to follow the book and his family only and mentioned nothing about the Sunnah or the ahadith. But this is not true as we have an authentic hadith stating the opposite of this. So either Bahaullah is lying or is ignorant of what Muhammad (PBUH) said.

إن الشيطان قد يئس أن يعبد بأرضكم ، و لكن رضي أن يطاع فيما سوى ذلك مما تحاقرون من أعمالكم ، فاحذروا ، إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن اعتصمتم به فلن تضلوا أبدا ، كتاب الله ، و سنة نبيه
الراوي: عبدالله بن عباس - خلاصة الدرجة: صحيح - المحدث: الألباني - المصدر: صحيح الترغيب - الصفحة أو الرقم: 40

Satan has gave up being worshiped on earth but he is satisfied by you obeying him in whatever small and bad deeds you do. So take care of him. I have left with you what if you stick to will never be misguided. These are the book of Allah (The Qur’an) and the Sunah of his prophet.

Narrator: Abdullah Ibn Abbas. The hadith is saheeh (authentic). Examined by Al-Albany and found in the book (Saheeh Al-Targheeb) page or number 40.

23. Pages 188-189: Isn’t it kofr (disbelieving) to say that it is because one human being, however great he was, that Allah has sit on the throne of his mercy?

24. Pages 187-190: Mentioning all the names of the scholars (Mullal) might be important for Shias and not for Sunnis. But what is interesting here is how Bahaullah wanted to use the fact that some scholars followed Bab and followed him as a proof that is different than what happened with the previous prophets. His reasoning contradicts with the fact that Allah doesn’t change his “sunnan” (ways or methods). So if Bahaullah believes that all previous prophets were backed up by the mob only and not by the scholars, then having Bab and Bahaullah backed up by scholars will prove that he is not a prophet.

سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا

That has been the Way of Allâh already with those who passed away before. And you will not find any change in the Way of Allâh.

Qur’an [48:23]

In fact this is the same exact verse that I told you about before. And it is the verse that proves that no prophet can ever come without showing some miracles to his people as this is the way of Allah.

Now going back to Bahaullah’s statement that all the previous prophets were backed up by the mob only, we will find that this is not true. For example, Abu-Bakr Al-Sedeek, Othman Ibn Affan, Ali Ibn-Aby-Talib, Khadiga Bent Khwayled and Abdelrahman Ibn-Awf were among the earliest followers of Muhammad (PBUH) and were all considered from the cream of the crop of the society at that time. Also Abdullah Ibn-Salam was a Jewish scholar who followed Muhammad (PBUH) after he entered the Medina. As for Eissa (PBUH) one of the apostles is Andrew who used to be a disciple of Yahya (Jon the Baptist PBUH). Many of the messengers to the children of Israel were also backed up by their scholars. So it is either that Bahaullah did not know that or he just chose to hide the truth to prove his point which is not an attitude of a prophet.

Also having the scholars to follow somebody doesn’t prove he is a prophet. A famous example is found in the Ahmadi movement in India. Gulam Ahmad Qadiyani claimed that he is the Mahdi and the Messiah similar to Bab and Bahaullah and it was around the same time also. Having scholars following him like Hafiz Hakeem Noor-ud-Din does not prove he was a prophet as he claimed.

25. Pages 194-195: Bahaullah is claiming here that because Bab was young and because he came with something not common to all the people without fearing anybody, then he must have done this by an order from Allah. Is this convincing to you? Haven’t you seen many people who have claimed they are prophets throughout the history? What about Musaylama Al-Kazab? What about Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani? What about Wallace Fard Muhammad? Are all these real prophets because they came with what is not common without fearing anybody or are they just examples of false prophets? By the way, these are just examples that came from within Muslims same like Bab and Bahaullah and who had followers as well. The last too also claimed that they are the Mahdi and the Messiah, can they be true? Of course not.

26. Page 197: شيّبتني الآيتان is another non-authentic hadith.

27. Pages 198-200: Bahaullah used the fact that Bab had followers after his appearance in many countries and that those followers were tortured but never complained as an example of the truth of his message. Again this is not a proof. History gives us many examples of groups of people who fought and stood fast for false ideas. I gave Musaylema Al-Kazab as an example of a false prophet who appeared at the time of the prophet (PBUH) and had followers. They believed in him to the point that at the time of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, the Muslim army fought them in a great battle called Al-Yamama.

Another group is the Khawareg (The Kharijites). I guess we agree that their beliefs are not correct. However, they did not reject their beliefs even after being fought by the Caliph Ali Ibn-Aby-Talib in the Nahrawand battle. Through history, they have been fought and never rejected their beliefs. Does this prove they are right?

And take this last example of people who have false beliefs and die for them.

قيل لعلي إن هنا قوما على باب المسجد يدعون أنك ربهم فدعاهم فقال لهم ويلكم ما تقولون ؟ قالوا أنت ربنا وخالقنا ورازقنا فقال ويلكم إنما أنا عبد مثلكم آكل الطعام كما تأكلون وأشرب كما تشربون إن أطعت الله أثابني إن شاء وإن عصيته خشيت أن يعذبني فاتقوا الله وارجعوا فأبوا فلما كان الغد غدوا عليه فجاء قنبر فقال قد والله رجعوا يقولون ذلك الكلام فقال أدخلهم فقالوا كذلك فلما كان الثالث قال لئن قلتم ذلك لأقتلنكم بأخبث قتلة فأبوا إلا ذلك فقال يا قنبر ائتني بفعلة معهم مرورهم فخد لهم أخدودا بين باب المسجد والقصر وقال احفروا فأبعدوا في الأرض وجاء بالحطب فطرحه بالنار في الأخدود وقال إني طارحكم فيها أو تراجعوا فأبوا أن يرجعوا فقذف بهم فيها حتى إذا احترقوا قال إني إذا رأيت أمرا منكرا أوقدت ناري ودعوت قنبرا

الراوي: شريك العامري - خلاصة الدرجة: إسناده حسن - المحدث: ابن حجر العسقلاني - المصدر: فتح الباري لابن حجر - الصفحة أو الرقم:12/282

Ali was told that there are people at the door of the mosque claiming that he is their God. He called them and told them: “Shame on you! What are you saying?” They said: “You are our God, our creator and our provider.” He said: “Shame on you! I am just a servant like you who eats like you eat and drink like you drink. If I obey Allah, he’ll reward me and if I disobeyed him, I’ll be afraid, he’ll torture me. So fear Allah and leave what you believe.” They refused. In the next day, they came back. So Kanbar (Ali’s servant) told Ali that they came back and they are saying the same thing. So Ali asked him to let them in. They repeated what they said the day before. On the third day, Ali told them that he will kill them in the worst way if they say it again. They refused. So Ali asked Kanbar and his men to dig a deep hole between the door of the mosques and palace. He then started a big fire in the hole and told the people he’ll throw them in it or they should stop what they say. They refused. So he threw them in the fire till they burnt. Then he said in poetry that if he sees a rejected thing, he’ll start a fire and call Kanbar.

Narrator: Shorayk Al-Amery. The route of the hadith is Hassan (good). It is examined by Ibn-Haggar Al-Askalany. Found in the book (Fath Al-Bary for Ibn Haggar) page or number 12/282.

So you see how they stood fast for a false belief and even accepted death for it. So does this prove they were right and Ali Ibn-Aby-Talib was wrong?

28. Page 201: إذا ظهرت راية الحقّ لعنها أهل الشّرق والغرب is another non-authentic hadith.

29. Page 207: Finally, Bahaullah gave the reference of the hadith he is using. But unfortunately, the reference was (Al-Kafy) which is a book for ahadith accepted by the Shia. But according to Sunnis, this hadith is not there and is not thus authentic.

Finall, Shervin, these were my remarks about the book of certitude (Iqan), I have tried my best to be convincing using the way you are thinking and putting myself in your shoes. Any Sunni will find any of the remarks enough for him to believe that the author of the book is nothing more than a regular human being who just happens to claim falsely that he is a prophet. His logic, his references and his words do not serve his goal of proving his prophet-hood; they rather collapsed his theory and proved the fallacy of his claims.

I would like to remind you again of what you said before that we will remember all our conversations in the Day of Judgment when there is no coming back. With this email I have tried my best to show you what appears to be the truth so that you won’t blame me on the Day of Judgment. I wish you the best of luck and that Allah will guide you to the truth and turn you away from Satan and the stubbornness of your mind.

And salam,

Your friend,

Sameh