Faruq

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Fārūq (Arabic: الفاروق) is among the titles of Imam Ali (a) meaning "divider of the truth from the falsehood". According to Shi'a sources, the Prophet (s) called Imam Ali (a) "Faruq". Sunnis consider Umar b. al-Khattab as having this title, but they disagree on whether the Prophet (a) called him so, or the People of the Book.

Meaning

Arabic language experts have mentioned different meanings for "faruq". One of these meanings is "divider of the truth from the falsehood".

Title of Imam Ali (a)

There are different hadiths, according to which, the Prophet (s) used the title "faruq" for Imam Ali (a).[1]

Shi'a Hadiths

Some Shi'a hadiths mention that the Prophet (s) introduced Imam Ali (a) as "faruq":

He (Ali (a)) is the Faruq who divides the truth from the falsehood.[2]
O Ali (a), you are al-Faruq al-A'zam (the great Faruq) and al-Siddiq al-Akbar (the greater truthful).[3]

Sunni Hadiths

Sunni sources too have mentioned hadiths, in which Imam Ali (a) is called "Faruq":

The Prophet (s) addressed Imam Ali (a): "you are the first person who believed in me… You are al-Siddiq al-Akbar (the greater truthful) and the Faruq who divides the truth from the falsehood". The Prophet (s) said, "After me, there will be a turmoil. Follow Ali b. Abi Talib (a) then,…he is the greater truthful and the Faruq of this community…".[4] However, some Sunni sources doubted the transmitters of these hadiths and did not accept them.[5]

Title of Umar b. al-Khattab

Sunnis introduce Umar b. al-Khattab as having the title of "faruq"; but, there are disagreements among them about the source of this description. Some sources believe that the Prophet (s) described Umar b. al-Khattab as "faruq",[6] and some other sources believe that the People of the Book titled him as "faruq"; and then, Muslims followed them and used that title, and, the Prophet (s) did not call Umar so.[7]

Notes

  1. Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, p. 148.
  2. Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 26.
  3. Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 2, p. 6.
  4. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb, vol. 4, p. 1744.
  5. Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq, vol. 42, p. 42; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb, vol. 4, p. 1744.
  6. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-ṭabarī, vol. 4, p. 195.
  7. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-ṭabarī, vol. 4, p. 196.

References

  • Ibn ʿAsākir, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan. Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1415 AH.
  • Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad b. Mukarram. Lisān al-ʿArab. 3rd edition. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1414 AH.
  • Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jail, 1412 AH.
  • Muṣṭafawī, Ḥasan. Al-Tahqīq fī kalimāt al-Qur'ān al-karīm. Tehran: Bungāh tarjuma wa nashr-i kitāb, 1360 SH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Amālī. 5th edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī, 1400 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā. Edited by Mahdī Lājiwardī. 1st edition. Tehran: Nashr-i Jahān, 1378 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Amālī. Edited by Muʾassisat al-Biʿtha. Qom: Dār al-Thiqāfa li-ṭibaʿat wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzīʿ, 1414 AH.
  • Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-.Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. 2nd edition. Beirut: Dar al-Turāth, 1387 AH.