Peshawar Nights: Shia Islam in Sunni Traditions

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Aaron (a.s.) was one of those prophets who was not permanent, or, independent. He was subordinate to the ‘shari'a’ (religious code) of his brother, Moses. ‘Ali (a.s.) reached the rank of prophethood but was not elevated to the rank of prophet per se since he was subordinate to the ‘shari'a’ of Muhammad. This rank is the highest in the sphere of possibility, which the sages call the First Wisdom, and which is the First Effect or the First Consequence. There is no rank higher than this in the realm of existence. This position is occupied by the last of the prophets, who is second to none except the First Cause. When the Prophet was raised to this highest stage, prophethood was concluded. Well-Wisher: Of course this verse is true in its proper context. That is, so far as achieving the aim of prophethood is concerned (which means teaching the people about existence of Allah, the Day of Judgement, and the training of their minds), all the prophets from Adam to the last of the prophets, are equal. But they differ in their qualities, achievements, and rank. Differences in the rank of the prophets Well-Wisher: This claim is not confined to me and the Shi’as ulama’. Your own ulama’ have held the same view. One of your great ulama’ is Mulla ‘Ali Ibn Sultan Muhammad Harawi Qari. In his ‘Mirqat al-Sharh bar Mishkat’, he says, commenting on the hadith of Manzila, "There is an indication in this hadith that if there were any prophet of Allah after the last of the prophets, it would have been ‘Ali." Another of your prominent ulama’ who has interpreted this hadith the same way is the well known scholar, Jalalu'd-Din Suyuti. Well-Wisher: In providing information regarding the genuineness of this hadith, I will refer to your books. It is not a single narration. It has been authenticated by your own distinguished ulama’, like Suyuti, Hakim Nishapuri, and others, who have proved its reliability with unanimous sources. Some of them are the following:

Well-Wisher: Ibn Hajar Asqalani has written in ‘Lisanu'l-Mizan’: "Saif Amadi Mutakallim ‘Ali Ibn Abi ‘Ali, the author, was banished from Damascus because of his irreligious views, and it is true that he did not offer prayers." Well-Wisher: These statements are not exaggerations. They are facts. The Prophet's successor should, according to common sense, be the model of the Prophet. Even your own great ulama’ have expressed similar beliefs. Imam Tha'labi, in his commentary, confirmed this point. Read 'Peshawar Nights' online in - English, Persian, Urdu (part-1), Urdu (part-2), Arabic, French, Azeri, Spanish. Apart from English, the book has been translated into several other languages from original Persian. It is available in:Hafiz: This means, according to your reasoning, that ‘Ali's position was superior to that of the last Prophet. This is what the Ghalis believed, as you have yourself admitted. General and special prophethood

Well-Wisher: Obviously, it is not possible for two persons to form a real unity. When I said that the Commander of the Faithful had a unity of 'self' or 'soul' with the Holy Prophet, you should not take it as actual unity, because no one has ever claimed that, and if anyone believed it they would be absolutely wrong. The unity I referred to is only assumed, not actual, and intends to indicate that both of them have the same excellence of soul and merits, not the same body.And the great Sunni scholar, Alim Fazil Sayyid Ahmad Shahabu'd-Din, in his ‘Tauzihu'd-Dala'il’, has referred to this point as follows: "It is not a secret that the Commander of the Faithful resembled the Prophet of Allah in most good qualities, selfless actions, habits, prayers to Allah, and all other exalted ways of life. Well-Wisher: Please let me know which of your questions was left unanswered, since I do not recall the incident to which you refer. Well-Wisher: I do not mean what you have concluded. As you know, there is a great difference between general prophethood, and special prophethood. The rank of the Imamate is higher than the rank of general prophethood, but lower than special prophethood. The last Prophet is the highest stage of special prophethood. Hafiz: The authenticity of this hadith has not been proven. Even if it were proven to be true, it would be a single narration and therefore unacceptable. Authenticity of hadith of manzila from the usual sources