Is the Phrase “for he calls to the Truth and to a Straight Path” Proof of the Yamani’s Infallibility (Ismah)?
توسط: Dar al-Hidayah | The claimant Yamani sect, relying on narrations that praise the Yamani and describe him as a guide, attempts to prove his infallibility and establishes such a necessary correlation. In this article, we intend to examine and analyze this alleged correlation that has been inferred from a single narration.
The Narration Used to Claim the Yamani’s Infallibility
عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: … وَ لَيْسَ فِي اَلرَّايَاتِ رَايَةٌ أَهْدَى مِنْ رَايَةِ اَلْيَمَانِيِّ هِيَ رَايَةُ هُدًى لِأَنَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى صَاحِبِكُمْ فَإِذَا خَرَجَ اَلْيَمَانِيُّ حَرَّمَ بَيْعَ اَلسِّلاَحِ عَلَى اَلنَّاسِ وَ كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ وَ إِذَا خَرَجَ اَلْيَمَانِيُّ فَانْهَضْ إِلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ رَايَتَهُ رَايَةُ هُدًى وَ لاَ يَحِلُّ لِمُسْلِمٍ أَنْ يَلْتَوِيَ عَلَيْهِ فَمَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ اَلنَّارِ لِأَنَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى اَلْحَقِّ وَ إِلىٰ طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ…
“From Abu Basir, from Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn ‘Ali, peace be upon him, that he said: … And among the banners there is no banner more guided than the banner of the Yamani. It is a banner of guidance, because he calls to your Master. When the Yamani rises, the sale of weapons is forbidden to the people and to every Muslim. When the Yamani rises, hasten toward him, for his banner is a banner of guidance. It is not lawful for any Muslim to turn away from him, and whoever does so is among the people of the Fire, because he calls to the truth and to a straight path…”
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him):
“… And among the banners there is no banner more guided than the banner of the Yamani. That banner is a banner of guidance, because he calls toward your Master. When the Yamani rises, the buying and selling of weapons is forbidden for the people and for every Muslim. When the Yamani rises, hasten toward him, for indeed his banner is a banner of guidance. It is not permissible for any Muslim to oppose that banner; whoever does so is among the people of the Fire, because the Yamani calls to the truth and the straight path…”
Al-Ghaybah (al-Nu‘mani), vol. 1, p. 253
The Claim of the Yamani Claimant
After arguing from the phrase “يَدْعُو إِلَى اَلْحَقِّ وَ إِلىٰ طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ” to establish the Yamani’s infallibility, Ahmad al-Basri states:
«فایدۀ این قید یا حد، فقط جهت معیّنکردن عصمت یمانی است و اگر هر برداشتی غیر از عصمت صورت بگیرد، در این صورت صدور این کلام از ناحیۀ اهلبیت(ع)، بیفایده خواهد بود و آنگاه، این کلام، نه قید و نه حدّ برای شخصیّت یمانی حساب میشود؛ در حالی که چنین نسبتی به اهلبیت(ع) بهدور است.»
“The benefit of this qualifier or limit is solely to determine the infallibility of the Yamani. If any interpretation other than infallibility is adopted, then the issuance of this statement from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) would be futile, and this statement would neither be a qualifier nor a defining limit for the personality of the Yamani—whereas such an attribution to the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) is far-fetched.”
Mutashabihat, vol. 3, p. 44
Response to the Claim of the Yamani’s Infallibility
In response, it is stated that the phrase “يَدْعُو إِلَى اَلْحَقِّ وَ إِلىٰ طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ” concerning the Yamani is neither a qualifier nor a defining limit. This is because a qualifier is used only for common nouns, such as restricting a slave to a believing slave in the verse:
«وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ أَنْ يَقْتُلَ مُؤْمِنًا إِلَّا خَطَأً وَمَنْ قَتَلَ مُؤْمِنًا خَطَأً فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ»
“It is not for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake. And whoever kills a believer by mistake must free a believing slave.”
[Al-Nisa’: 92]
Proper nouns and specific identifiers—such as Zayd, the Yamani, and the like—are not subject to qualification, and this is among the self-evident principles of Arabic grammar. Likewise, a hadd (definition), which is a type of conceptual definition, cannot be applied to proper names such as the Yamani. Had this been otherwise, the scholars of the community would have explicitly stated so.
As for Ahmad al-Basri’s statement regarding the phrase “يَدْعُو إِلَى اَلْحَقِّ وَ إِلىٰ طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ”, in which he claims that if this phrase indicates infallibility, then it defines the Yamani and thus renders the Imam’s words meaningful, whereas any interpretation other than infallibility would render the Imam’s words useless—this claim is itself false.
This phrase does not define the personality of the Yamani; rather, it indicates that the Yamani is the bearer of a call to Imam al-Zaman (peace be upon him), and this constitutes an important benefit of the Imam’s statement. The usefulness of the Imam’s words is in no way contingent upon their indicating the Yamani’s infallibility.
Examining the Scope of “al-Haqq”
Regarding the definite article “al-” in the phrase “يَدْعُو إِلَى اَلْحَقِّ”, four possibilities may be considered:
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If “al-” in al-haqq is taken as alif-lam of covenant (ʿahd), then the meaning of this part of the narration is that the Yamani calls to a specific instance of the truth. That instance is explicitly identified in the narration as Imam al-Zaman (peace be upon him):
“لِأَنَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى صَاحِبِكُمْ.”
“Because he calls to your Master.” -
If “al-” is taken as alif-lam of genus, then the narration indicates that the Yamani calls to the genus of truth. According to this view, by realizing even one instance of truth, the genus of truth is realized. In this case, the status of the Yamani would be similar to those who call to other instances of truth, such as monotheism and the like.
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If “al-” is taken as istighraq of individuals, then the narration would indicate that the Yamani calls to all individual instances of truth.
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If “al-” is taken as istighraq of attributes, then the meaning would be that the Yamani calls to instances of truth that encompass all attributes of truth.
Among these possibilities, the first is correct, because within the narration itself there is a clear contextual indicator confirming the covenantal nature of “al-”. Therefore, the claim of the followers of Ahmad al-Basri that the Yamani calls to all instances of truth in an absolute and general sense is unfounded and unsupported.
Moreover, Ahmad al-Basri himself writes in the introduction to the book Shara’i‘ al-Islam:
«اماممهدی(عج) مرا امر فرمودند تا علومی را که اهلش موجود باشند و زمانش رسیده است، بیان کنم و آنچه را وقتش نرسیده، به وقتش موکول کنم و هرکس با این احکام مخالفت کند، با اماممهدی مخالفت کرده است.»
“Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance) commanded me to convey the sciences whose recipients exist and whose time has arrived, and to defer that whose time has not yet arrived until its proper time. Whoever مخالفت (opposes) these rulings has opposed Imam al-Mahdi.”
Shara’i‘ al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 5
From this statement it becomes entirely clear that Ahmad al-Basri has not conveyed all of the truth to the people. How, then, could he have called his followers to all instances of truth in an absolute sense?
Examining the Claim of Calling to All Dimensions of Truth in Detail
Ahmad al-Basri states in this regard:
«جملۀ “یدعوا الی الحق” بهمعنای دعوتکردن بهتمام ابعاد حق، بهصورت تفصیلی است؛ پس اگر یمانی در جایی دعوت به حق بکند و در جایی دیگر دعوت به حق نکند، هیچگاه امام معصوم دربارۀ او نمیگوید: “وَ لاَ يَحِلُّ لِمُسْلِمٍ أَنْ يَلْتَوِيَ عَلَيْهِ فَمَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ اَلنَّارِ لِأَنَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى اَلْحَقِّ وَ إِلىٰ طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ” و مردم را به تبعیت از او امر کند! و قاعدهای که در حوزههای علمیۀ قم و نجف تدریس میشود، به این شرح که تبعیت از غیر معصوم جایز نیست؛ زیرا مستلزم اطاعت از گناهکار و خطاکار است، مطابق آنچه گفتیم خواهد بود.»
“The phrase ‘he calls to the truth’ means calling to all dimensions of truth in a detailed manner. Therefore, if the Yamani were to call to the truth in one place and not call to the truth in another, a Ma‘sum Imam would never say about him: ‘It is not lawful for a Muslim to turn away from him… because he calls to the truth and to a straight path,’ nor command people to follow him. The principle taught in the seminaries of Qom and Najaf—that following a non-infallible person is impermissible because it entails obedience to a sinner and an erring person—accords with what we have stated.”
Nasihah ila Talabat al-Hawzat al-‘Ilmiyyah wa ila Kull Man Yatlub al-Haqq
Response
Within the narration itself, it is explicitly stated that the meaning of “يَدْعُو إِلَى اَلْحَقِّ” is that the Yamani calls to Imam al-Mahdi (peace be upon him). There is no indication whatsoever that he calls to all of the truth. The phrase “لاَ يَحِلُّ لِمُسْلِمٍ أَنْ يَلْتَوِيَ عَلَيْهِ” merely indicates the prohibition of opposing and fighting against the Yamani, and it does not indicate an obligation of absolute obedience or following him.
Even if, for the sake of argument, we accept that we are commanded to support the Yamani, infallibility cannot be inferred from this. There is no evidence establishing the absolute obligation of following the Yamani in all matters. Nevertheless, the followers of Ahmad al-Basri have applied this part of the narration to matters that it does not indicate in any way.
