MISUNDERSTANDING
Al-Risala (English), November 1987, p. 9
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
MISUNDERSTANDING
1987 11 November 9 MISUNDERSTANDING (373) Misunderstandings arise very easily, but repairing the damage they do can be a long and difficult process.
The distinguished Muslim scholar, Ibn Jarir At-Tabari (839-923 AH), was born in Iran, but settled in Baghdad, after increasing his knowledge in various other countries. Two of his books are especially famous --- commentary of the Quran, entitled, Jami al Bayan and his History, entitled, Tarikh al-Umam Wa al Muluk. A Samanid prince, by the name of Mansur ibn Nuh had Tabari’s Tarikh translated into Persian in 936 AH, some forty years after Tabari’s death.
There is no doubting the fact that Ibn Jarir Tabari was a great Islamic scholar. Khatib Baghdadi wrote that no one had ever written anything to compare with Tabari’s Tarikh, or his Commentary of the Quran. But when he passed away in Baghdad on the 28th of Shawwal, 310 AH, the Hambali scholars of that place prevented his burial in the public cemetery of the Muslims, because they were so up in arms against him.
Why was it that Imam Mohammad ibn Jarir Tabari met with such a fate? It seems that certain allegations has been made against him and suspicion had been allowed to grow around him, without the truth of these accusations ever having been looked into. The truth of the matter was that one of Imam Tabari’s contemporaries was called Mohammad ibn Jarir Ibn Rustam Abu Jaafar AI-Tabari. The latter was a scholar of the Shia sect, and, in accordance with shiite dogma, did not consider it the duty of the faithful actually to wash their feet when at ablutions, but thought that only wiping them was quite sufficient. The Similarity in the two men’s names was enough to cause people to attribute this belief to the wrong man.
On account of this trivial misunderstanding, certain fanatical theologians, such as Abu Bakr Mohammad ibn Daud Zahiri, labelled Imam Tabari a Rafidhi, whereas, in fact, Imam Tabari had nothing to do either with this heretical sect or with Shiism.
Misunderstandings arise very easily, but repairing the damage they do can be a long and difficult process.
1. The term is applied to a heretical sect of Shiahs. This is also used by Sunni Muslims for any sect of Shiahs.
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