Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyyah passing away

There are a few more narrations about Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyyah (uncle of the 4th Imam) passing away. Members of the Kaysaniyyah sect believed that Muhammad Ibn Al-Hanafiyyah was still in occultation until the time of the sixth Imam (Jaffar as-Sadiq, may peace be upon him).

One of them is narrated from Muhammad bin Isaam from Muhammad bin Yaqoob Kulaini from Qasim bin Alaa from Ismail bin Ali Quzooni from Ali bin Ismail from Hammad bin Isa from Husain bin Mukhtar: One day Hayyan Siraj came to Imam Ja’far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq.

Imam (a.s.) said: “O Hayyan! What do your companions say about Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah?

He replied: They say that he is alive and receiving his sustenance.

Imam (as) said: My father had told me that he is among those who visited him while he was ill, closed his eyes when he passed away, laid him to rest in the grave, married off his widows and distributed his wealth among his heirs.

This is one of the core beliefs of the Kaysaniyyah sect (emphasis mine)

He said: O Aba Abdillah! Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah is like Isa bin Maryam (a.s.) to this community for people have started having doubts about him.

Imam said: Are his enemies having doubts or the friends?

He replied: His enemies.

Imam said: Do you think that Abu Ja’far bin Ali al-Baqir was the enemy of his Uncle Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah?

He replied in negative.

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) said: O Hayyan! You people have turned away from the signs of Allah and the Almighty Allah says:

سَنَجْزِي الَّذِينَ يَصْدِفُونَ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَصْدِفُونَ

We will reward those who turn away from Our communications with an evil chastisement because they turned away.

Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said: Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah did not die before confessing to the Imamate of Ali bin al-Husain. He passed away in 84 A.H.

This is the second narrations

It is narrated from my father from Ahmad bin Idrees from Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Yahya from Ibrahim bin Hashim from Abdus Samad bin Muhammad from Hannan bin Sudair from Abu Ja’far Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) that he said:

“When I came to Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah, he had lost the ability to speak. I asked him to make a will but he couldn’t speak. I ordered a copper vessel used to wash hands to be brought. It was brought near him after putting dust in it. I ordered him to inscribe his will on the utensil. He inscribed his will on that dust and I copied it on a paper.

The confession of a follower of the Kaysaniyya sect

The following confession in the book Kamal al-din wa tamam al-ni'mah (the perfection of the religion and the end of the blessings) by Shaykh Saduq

Sayyid bin Muhammad Himyari was an ex-Member of the Kaysaniyya sect. He repented and reverted to the school of Ahlul Bayt after meeting Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (may peace be upon him).

The narrations are quite lengthy...

The following is a self-confession by Sayyid bin Muhammad Himyari

Muhammad Qutaibah Nishapuri from Hamadan bin Sulaiman from Muhammad bin Ismail bin Bazya from Hayyan al-Siraj from Sayyid bin Muhammad Himyari that he said:

“In the beginning I used to harbor extremist beliefs and had faith in the occultation of Muhammad bin Ali Ibne Hanafiyyah and a long period of time passed in this way in deviation and misguidance.

After that the Almighty Allah favored me through Ja’far bin Muhammad Sadiq (a.s.) and saved me from the fire of Hell and guided me to the Right Path.

Thus I asked the Holy Imam (a.s.) one day:

"I found in you those signs and qualities by which it was proved for me and all the people of your time that you are the Divine Proof and that only you are that Imam whose obedience has been compulsory by Allah and made following you incumbent on all. O son of Allah’s Messenger, traditions have been recorded from your purified ancestors about occultation, stating that it is certain to happen, so please tell us with whom it would occur. "

Imam as-Sadiq (as) replied, "Indeed this occultation shall happen with my sixth descendant and the twelfth of the guiding Imams after the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.), the first of whom is Amirul Momineen Ali (a.s.) and the last is Qaim bil Haqq (one who will rise with the truth). He shall be the remnant of Allah on His earth and the Master of the Age. By Allah, even if his occultation becomes as long as the age of Nuh (a.s.) he will not depart from the world without reappearing and filling up the earth with justice and equity in the same way as it would be fraught with injustice and oppression."

The Sayyid (ibn Muhammad Himyari) says: "When I heard this from my master Ja’far bin Muhammad as-Sadiq (a.s.), I repented to Allah in his presence and composed a poem (Note: The poem is not copied here)

The Kaysāniyya sect

The Kaysanite sect is classified in the Ghulat group. After the martyrdom of Imam Hussayn (may peace be upon him), a group of people followed the Imamah of Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyyah.

For the Shias, the fourth Imam from the progeny of Fatima is Imam Ali ibn Hussayn Zayn al-Abidin (may peace be upon him)

From wikipedia

One Kaysanite sub-sect was led by the Abbasids, who successfully revolted against the Umayyad Caliphate and then established the Abbasid Caliphate. However, following the establishment of the Abbasids as Caliphs and their disavowal of their Kaysanite origins, the majority of the Kaysanites responded by abandoning the Kaysanite Shi'a sect and instead switched their allegiances to other Shi'a sects. Thereafter, the Kaysanite Shi'a sect became extinct despite its once dominant position among the Shi'a.

Some of the Kaysanite sects believe that after the death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, he was the promised Mahdi who is in concealment. One of the Ghulat beliefs of the Kaysaniyya sect is believing in the transmigration of souls (tanaukh al-arwah i.e. the return in a different body while having the same spirit).

The Waqifites' and Their Doctrines

I just found out that the cause/reason behind appearance of Waqifites had to do with usurping of the Khums.

Imam Musa al-Kadhim (as) appointed a few agents to manage khums. After a while and unknowingly, these agents started using the community wealth for personal use. When Imam Musa (as) died, his successor, our eight Imam ar-Redha (as) requested the khums to be sent to him. These agents declined by claiming that Imam Musa al-Kadhim (as) did not die in the prison.

The Waqifities maintained that Imam Musa b. Ja‘far, peace be on him, was alive, did not die, and would never die, that he was raised to the heaven just as al-Masïh b. Maryam was raised, and that he was the awaited one who would undertake (the office of the Imamate, al-qa’im) and fill the world with justice and fairness as it was filled with oppression and tyranny. They claimed that the one who was in the prison of al-Sindi was not Imam Musa, peace be on him, rather the people imagined that he was in prison.

Taken from ImamReza.net

Islamic Sect: The Waqifa

Al-Shahrastani in his book al-Milal wa al-Nihal describe Waqifa as:
Waqifa sect believed in the Imamah of Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (as), his father Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (as) and Imam Zayn al-Abiden (as). Some of the Waqifa do not believe in the Imamah of any Imams that descend from Imam Jaffar (as).

A number of sects are defined under waqifa by the author.

• Nawusiya: These are either followers of a man called Nawus or reside in a village called Nawus. They believed that Imam as-Sadiq is still alive and that he will not die until his re-appearance where he (Imam) will be successful.
• Aftahiya: The Aftahiya believe in the transmission of the Imamamh from Imam as-Sadiq to his son Abdullah al-Aftah. Abdullah only lived for 70 days after his father and died leaving no male issue. Please see the following link.
• Shumaitiya: The Shumaitiya are followers of Yahya b. Shumait. The description about this sect is very ambiguous.
• Ismailiyya are al-Waqifa. They believe in the Imamah of Ismail b. Imam Jaffar Sadiq(as) (his father's successor). Some of Waqifas rejected that Ismail has died while other believes that he did. References about the death of Ismail.
• Musawiyyas believe in the Imamah of Imam Musa al-Kadhim but not his descendent.

What is so interesting about Kharijites?

The Khawarij/Khariji sect (although not as old as the Shia sect) appeared earlier than all the other Muslim sects (i.e., all the Sunni madhabs, Zaydis, all the Ismaili sects, the Ghulats and the new age Muslim sects like Wahhabiyya/Salafiyya, Ahmadiyya ..etc).

One of the most common misconceptions about the Kharijite is that all the sects formally known as Kharijites are extinct now. Not true! At least we know that one of the Kharijite group, the Ibadiya, still exist quietly in the Muslim world. In fact, I think they (Ibadi) are the only surviving group among the Kharijite. I remember reading a hadith from Imam Ali (may peace be upon him) after the battle of Nahrawan that foretell (prophecy) of a single surviving group among the kharijite. Need to look this up.

I think it would be interesting to look into some of the Kharijite sects.

Quick notes about Kharijite/Khawarij

1. They were members of a group that seceded from Imam Ali's (may peace be upon him) party after the arbitration at the Siffin.
2. The earliest Kharijites were also known as Haruris (from the name of the place "Harura").
3. Their main slogan was lā hukma illā li-llāh or No judgement but God's. They were the hypocrites who forced Imam Ali (as) to accept the arbitration with Muawiyah and later came out against the arbitration when their own candidate (Abu Musa Ashari) was deceived by Muawiyah’s negotiator.
4. Their core belief is that whoever committed a grave sin is an apostate and is damned to hell.
5. Some of the major Kharijite's sects are Azariqa, Bayhasiyya, Najadat, Ajarida, Fuddakiya, Sufriyya, Ibadi and others.
6. Kharijites do not believe in the intercession (unlike the Sunni and the Shia sects)

To be continued...

Are Ibadi/Ibadiyyah Kharijite?

Yes, according to the sects classification done by

• Al-Shahrastani in his book al-milal wa al-nihal
• Abd al-Qahir Ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi in his book Muslim Schisms and Sects

Ibadi/Ibaddiyah belief about Imam Ali (may peace be upon him) agrees with the core Kharijite principle

Ibadis agree with Sunnis in approving of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab, whom they regard as the two rightly-guided Caliphs. They regard Uthman ibn Affan as having introduced bid'ah "innovations" into Islam, and approve of the revolt which overthrew him. They also approve of the first part of Ali's caliphate, and, like Shi'as, disapprove of Aisha's rebellion against him and also disapprove of Muawiya's revolt. However, they regard Ali's acceptance of arbitration at the Battle of Siffin against Muawiya's rebels as un-Islamic and as rendering him unfit for the Imamate, and they condemn Ali for killing the Muslims of an-Nahr in the Battle of Nahrawan.

Kharijites were the brain dead folks at Siffin

Definition
"Whoever rebelled against the legitimate imam accepted by the people, whether this rebellion took place at the time of the companions against the rightly guided Imams or against their worthy successors or against the Imams at any time" (Al-Shahrastani, al-milal wa al-nihal page 98).

History
At Siffin the Kharijites compelled Ali to accept the arbitration. Then when Ali wanted to appoint abdullah b. Abbas as his arbitrator, the Kharijite objected, saying "He is a relative of yours".

They (Kharijite) forced him (Ali) to send instead Abu Musa Al-Ashari to judge according to the book of God. The arbitration went against Ali and when Ali did not accept it, they rebelled against him.

"Why did you appoint men as judges?", they asked. "Judgments belong to God alone". These were the rebels who afterward assembled at Nahrawan. (Al-Shahrastani, al-milal wa al-nihal page 99).

Haruriyya

Haruriyya
Haruriyya is one of the early sects (it predates all the Sunni school of thoughts/sects). The Haruriya sect is a branch of the Kharajite ("Rejectors") sect/movement. Kharajite rejects Imam ‘Alī's (may peace be upon him) right to the Caliphate.

Ibn Muljam (may Allah damn him to hell for eternity), the killer of Imam Ali, was a member of this sect.

Murjiyyah

Murjiyyah
Murjiyyah is theological school that was opposed to the Kharijites. Murjite doctrine held that only God has the authority to judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and that Muslims should consider all other Muslims as part of the community.

They declared that no Muslim would enter the hellfire, no matter what his sins. This contradicts the traditional Sunni belief which states that some Muslims will enter the fire of hell temporarily. Therefore the Murjites are classified as "Ahlul Bid'ah" or "People of Innovation" by traditional Sunni Muslims