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Hadith of I'tila'

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Hadith of I'tila'
SubjectNegation of non-believers' dominance over Muslims
Issued byProphet (s)
Narratorsal-Shaykh al-Saduq
Shi'a sourcesMan la yahduruh al-faqih
Sunni sourcesSunan al-Daraqutni
Qur'anic supportVerse of Nafy al-Sabil


Ḥadīth of Iʿtilāʾ (Arabic: حَديث الإعتِلاء) is a hadith narrated from the Prophet of Islam (s) that refers to the superiority of Islam over other religions and the principle that non-believers should not have dominance over Muslims.

Some hadith scholars reject the connection between this hadith and the negation of non-believers' dominance over Muslims, arguing that the narration specifically pertains to the superiority of Islam over other religions. However, since Islam consists of a set of rulings and laws when it is said that Islam has superiority, it implies that God has legislated its rulings in such a way that in all aspects, non-believers do not dominate Muslims. To support the meaning of this hadith, scholars have cited the Nafy al-Sabil Verse (the verse negating the authority of non-Muslims over Muslims).

Individuals such as Sayyid Hasan Bujnurdi (d. 1975) have argued that the practical fame and the certainty of the issuance of the Hadith of "I'tila" can compensate for its weak chain of transmission, making it a valid reference.

Brief Introduction and Status

The Hadith of "I'tila" is a narration from the Prophet (as) quoted in Man la yahduruh al-faqih,[1] one of the Four Major hadith Books of Shi'a, as well as in Sunan al-Daraqutni,[2] a major Sunni hadith source, and has received attention from scholars such as al-Shaykh al-Mufid and al-Sayyid al-Murtada.[3] According to Morteza Motahhari (d. 1979), this hadith is among the ambiguous sayings of the Prophet (s), from which each group of scholars has derived their interpretations.[4]

In the Hadith of "I'tila", as narrated by al-Shaykh al-Saduq, it states: "Islam is superior, and nothing is superior to it, and the disbelievers are in like the dead—they neither block inheritance nor do they inherit."[5]

Jurists have considered this hadith evidence for proving the principle of negation of dominance (Nafy al-Sabil).[6] According to Musawi Bujnurdi, this hadith prohibits the dominance of non-believers over Muslims and also refers to Islam's superiority over other religions.[7]  

The Hadith of I'tila is regarded to articulate the rules and laws[8] that negate any form of dominance of non-believers over Muslims in all aspects, such as contracts, unilateral legal acts, guardianship, treaties, and marriage.[9] This narration contains one affirmative sentence and one negative sentence, each signifying the negation of non-believers' dominance over Muslims.[10]

  1. The affirmative sentence ("…Islam is superior, and nothing is superior to it,…") refers to the rules and laws established in Islam, in which the superiority of Muslims in all aspects has been considered.[11]
  2. The negative sentence ("they neither block inheritance nor do they inherit") refers to the negation of non-believers' dominance over Muslims in the Islamic rules and laws.[12]

Authenticity of the Chain of Transmission and Implications

It is said that ambiguities in the Hadith of "I'tila" chain of narrators have caused some to consider its chain of transmission weak.[13] However, to validate the narration and compensate for the weakness in its chain of transmission, scholars have referred to its practical fame and the certainty of its issuance,[14] including its narration by al-Shaykh al-Saduq in Man la yahduruh al-faqih, one of Four Major hadith Books of Shi'a.[15] 'Abd al-A'la Sabziwari (d. 1993), in his commentary on the Qur'an, Mawahib al-Rahman considered the Hadith of "I'tila" to be authentic based on the verse of Nafy al-Sabil ("negation of dominance").[16]

Some have interpreted the Hadith of "I'tila" as identifying Islam as the superior monotheistic religion and have argued that it has no connection to the negation of non-believers' dominance over Muslims.[17] In response, it has been said that Islam is a comprehensive system of laws and regulations. When it is said that Islam has supremacy and superiority, it means that God has legislated its rulings in such a way that all of them, non-believers, cannot have dominance and superiority over Muslims.[18]

Applications of the Hadith

According to Morteza Motahhari, the Hadith of "I'tila" has applications in jurisprudence, theology, and society, including:

  • Jurisprudential application: There is no law in Islam whose result would be the superiority of a non-Muslim over a Muslim.
  • Theological application: In argumentation and reasoning, the logic of Islam has superiority and dominance over any other logic.
  • Social application: Islamic law is more compatible with human needs than any other law.[19]

Connection with the Verse of "Nafy Sabil" (Negation of Dominance)

Main article: Nafy al-Sabil Verse

The content of both the verse of Nafy al-Sabil (negation of dominance) and the Hadith of "I'tila" is about the negation of non-believers' dominance,[20] with the clarification that there is a logical connection between the two,[21] such that the content of the narration indicates the negation of non-believers' dominance over Muslims, and the verse refers to the negation of non-believers' dominance over believers. According to the Qur'anic explanation, the meaning of "mu'min" (believer) is more specific than "Muslim";[22] Therefore, the meaning and concept of the verse "Nafy al-Sabil" is also more specific than that of the narration.[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 4, p. 334.
  2. ↑ Dāraquṭnī, Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, vol. 4, p. 370.
  3. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 352-353.
  4. ↑ Muṭahharī, Ḥamāsa-yi Ḥusaynī, vol. 1, p. 326.
  5. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 4, p. 334.
  6. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 349-358.
  7. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 349-358.
  8. ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 238.
  9. ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 238.
  10. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 190.
  11. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 190.
  12. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 190.
  13. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 352-353.
  14. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 352-353.
  15. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 352-353.
  16. ↑ Sabziwārī, Mawāhib al-Raḥmān, vol. 10, p. 43.
  17. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 355.
  18. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 355.
  19. ↑ Muṭahharī, Ḥamāsa-yi Ḥusaynī, vol. 1, p. 326.
  20. ↑ Ḥājī ʿAlī, Taʾammulī bar āya-yi nafy-i sabīl, p. 151.
  21. ↑ Ḥājī ʿAlī, Taʾammulī bar āya-yi nafy-i sabīl, p. 151.
  22. ↑ Qurʾān 49:14.
  23. ↑ Ḥājī ʿAlī, Taʾammulī bar āya-yi nafy-i sabīl, p. 151.

References

  • Dāraquṭnī, ʿAlī b. ʿUmar. Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Risāla, 1424 AH.
  • Fāḍil Lankarāni, Muḥammad Jawād. Al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya. Qom: Markaz-i Fiqhi Aʾimma Aṭhār (a), 1383 Sh.
  • Ḥājī ʿAlī, Farībā. Taʾammulī bar āya-yi nafy-i sabīl bā taʾkīd bar mafhūm-i wāzhi-yi Sabīl. Journal of Taḥqīqāt ʿUlūm-i Qurʾān wa Ḥadīth. No 2. (1386 Sh).
  • Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. Ḥamāsa-yi Ḥusaynī. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Ṣadrā, 1379 Sh.
  • Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Ḥasan. Al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya. Qom: Al-Hādī, 1377 Sh.
  • Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Muḥammad. Qawāʿid-i fiqhīyya. Tehran: Muʾassisa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khomeini, 1379 Sh.
  • Sabziwārī, Sayyid Abd al-Aʿlā. Mawāhib al-Raḥmān. Beirut: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1409 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Qom: Intishārāt-i Islāmī affiliated to Jāmiʿa-yi Mudarrisīn-i Ḥawza-yi ʿIlmīyya-yi Qom, 1413 AH.
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