The following is a response to RevisitingtheSalaf.org’s article “Rewards Gained by Visiting Ma’sumah Qum”. The article was published on the 7th of September, 2013, and can be found here.
The article starts off with a brief biography about the life of Fatima the daughter of Musa bin Ja’afar. We would like to start off by challenging the information brought forward in her biography, for we have found specific information to lack any real evidence. RTS said:
– She was a noble lady who dedicated her life to Islam and Allah (swt).
– She was highly gifted, and due to the training of her father and brother, she has achieved a high reputation in history for her knowledge and piety.
– In the year 201 A.H, she decided to leave Madinah and travel to Khorasan to be at the side of her brother, intending to help him in his mission to preach Islam.
– The caravan that she was travelling with, was ambushed at Saweh, where she had to witness the brutal killing of her close family members
– Due to her blessed presence and patronage, the city has grown into a centre of Shi’a learning; a destination for thousands of Muslim students from over 80 countries.
We challenge RTS to verify any of this information and provide evidence that these things happened. In reality, we find that Fatima the daughter of Musa barely had a biography. Not much is known about her life and all we can find about her that is attributed to the tongue of the Imams is the single hadith that is attributed to Ali Al-Redha.
RTS continue by quoting the hadith:
67-1 My father and Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Al-Motawakkil – may God be pleased with them – quoted on the authority of Alee ibn Ibraheem ibn Hashem, on the authority of his father from Sa’d ibn Sa’d who said, “I asked Abal Hassan Al-Rida (a.s) about visiting the shrine of Faatima the daughter of Imam Musa ibn Ja’far. Imam Al-Reza (as) said, “The reward of whomever visits her shrine is Heaven.”
Sources:
Ayoon Akhbar-e-Raza. Vol. 2, Pg. # 299.
Sheikh Hadi Al-Najafi: Its chain is Saheeh (Authentic).
Mawsu’atu Ahadeeth Ahlulbayt (a.s). Vol. 9, Pg. # 195.
Sheikh Abbas Al-Qummi: It has grade of Saheeh (Authentic).
We say: The narration is weak due to the anonymity of Ibrahim bin Hashim Al-Qummi who has not received any praise that proves his trustworthiness by the early Shia hadithists.
RTS then quote the narration again through a different source, but through the path of Ibrahim bin Hashim again.
Second of all, what kind of religion is this? How can one get heaven as reward for visiting the grave of someone else? Might as well drop all obligatory duties and just pack up your bags and go to her grave and that’s the end of that. Truly the religion of the Shia is based on Ghulu(extremism) and Shirk(polytheism).
Then, once more through another chain:
Narrated to me my father and my brother and a group of people from Ahmad ibn Idrees and others from Al-Imraki ibn Alee Al-Bufaki from someone he named from son of Imam Al-Rida (a.s), Imam Muhammad Taqi Al-Jawad (a.s) who has said: “Whoever visits my aunt [Lady Faatima Ma’sumah (s.a)] in Qum, they will enter Paradise.”
Sheikh Abbas Al-Qummi: It is Mu’tabar (Reliable).
We ask the objective reader: How can such a chain be referred to as “reliable” when Al-Amraki refers to his shaikh as “someone”?!
In conclusion, there are no authentic narrations that support this innovation of visiting the grave of “Fatima the Infallible”. Moreover, there are no narrations that suggest that she was an infallible, nor are there any narrations about her domestic and political life.
…and alhamdulillahi rab al-alameen.
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