DID PROPHET YUNUS ع DENY THE WILAYAH OF IMAM ALI ع?

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Answer: In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad and his pure and immaculate family, and may Allah's curse be upon all their enemies.

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

Upon reviewing the matter with the Shaykh [Yasir Al-Habib]:

لا قوة للرواية؛ لا سندا إذ لم تُعرف رواية محمد بن ثابت - وهو ابن أبي حمزة الثمالي - عن السجاد عليه السلام بل لم يُعرف أنه أدركه حتى يجلس في مجلسه ويصف ما وصف، ناهيك عن الإرسال والجهالة في السند. ولا متنا إذ هي تنافر روايات معتبرة متضافرة نطقت بأنه ما نُبِّئ نبي قط إلا بمعرفة ولاية أهل البيت الطاهرين (عليهم السلام)، ولازمها أن يونس (عليه السلام) ما نُبِّئ أصلا إلا بعدما عرفهم وأقرّ بولايتهم، فكيف تُعرض عليه تالياً ويرفضها وقد عُرِضت عليه بالأصل وقبلها؟!

The narration holds no strength—neither in its chain of transmission nor its content.

- As for the chain, there is no known narration of Muhammad ibn Thabit—who is the son of Abu Hamza al-Thumali—from Imam al-Sajjad (peace be upon him). Furthermore, it is not established that he even lived during the time of Imam al-Sajjad to attend his gatherings and describe what he claims. This is in addition to the presence of gaps and anonymity in the chain of transmission.

- As for the content, it contradicts numerous reliable and mutually corroborative narrations that state no prophet was ever appointed without prior recognition of the authority [wilayah] of the Ahlul Bayt [peace be upon them). This implies that Prophet Yunus [peace be upon him] was only appointed as a prophet after recognizing and affirming their authority [Wilayah]. How, then, could the authority be presented to him later, only for him to reject it, when it was presented to him initially, and he had already accepted it?

May Allah grant you success in seeking His pleasure.

The Office of Sheikh Al-Habib in London

References

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, Allamah Al-Majlisi, Volume 62, Page 218

The original text in arabic can be found here

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Question: Some time ago, I came across a narration in Bihar al-Anwar that caught my attention and left me puzzled. I have come to you now, hoping for your assistance in assessing the strength of its chain of transmission and its content.

The narration states:

عن دلائل الحميري عن أخيه عن احمد بن علي المعروف بابن البغدادي قال: وجدت في كتاب المعضلات رواية أبي طالب محمد بن الحسين بن زيد عن ابيه عن ابن رباح يرفعه عن رجاله عن محمد بن ثابت قال : كنت جالساً في مجلس سيدنا ابي الحسن علي بن الحسين زين العابدين(ع) اذ وقف به عبد الله بن عمر بن الخطاب فقال له: يا علي بن الحسين بلغني انك تدّعي ان يونس بن متى عرض عليه ولاية ابيك فلم يقبله، فحبس في بطن الحوت؟ قال له علي بن الحسين: يا عبد الله بن عمر وما انكرت من ذلك؟ قال: اني لا اقبله، فقال اتريد ان يصح لك ذلك؟ قال: نعم، قال له: اجلس، ثم دعا غلامه فقال له: جئنا بعصابتين، وقال لي: يا محمد شد عين عبد الله باحدى العصابتين واشدد عينك بالاخرى، فشددنا اعيننا، فتكلم بكلام ثم قال: حلّوا اعينكم، فحللناها فوجدنا انفسنا على بساط ونحن على ساحل البحر، فتكلم بكلام فاستجاب له حيتان البحر، اذ ظهرت حوتة عظيمة فقال لها: ما اسمك؟ فقالت: اسمي نون، فقال لها: لم حبس يونس في بطنك؟ فقالت له: عرض عليه ولاية ابيك فانكرها فحبس في بطني ، فلما اقرّ بها واذعن امرت فقذفته، وكذلك من انكر ولايتكم اهل البيت يخلد في نار الجحيم، فقال له: يا عبد الله اسمعت وشهدت؟ فقال له: نعم، فقال شدوا أعينكم، فشددناها فتكلم بكلام ثم قال: حلوها، فحللناها فاذا نحن على البساط في مجلسه، فودعه عبد الله وانصرف فقلت له: يا سيدي لقد رايت في يومي عجباً وآمنت به، فترى عبد الله بن عمر يؤمن بما آمنت به؟ فقال لي: ألا تحب ان تعرف ذلك؟ فقلت: نعم، قال: قم فاتبعه وماشه واسمع ما يقول لك، فتبعته في الطريق ومشيت معه فقال لي: انك لو عرفت سحر بني عبد المطلب لما كان هذا بشيء في نفسك، وهؤلاء قوم يتوارثون السحر كابراً عن كابر فعند ذلك علمتُ ان الامام لا يقول الا حقاً

From Dalāʾil al-Ḥimyari, from his brother, from Ahmad bin Ali known as Ibn al-Baghdadi, who said: I found in the book Al-Muʿdhilat a narration of Abu Talib Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Zayd from his father from Ibn Rabah, raising it to his sources from Muhammad ibn Thabit, who said:

I was sitting in the gathering of our master, Abu al-Hasan Ali bin al-Husayn Zayn Al-Abidin, peace be upon him, when Abdullah bin Umar ibn al-Khattab approached him and said:

"O Ali bin al-Husayn, I have heard that you claim Jonah son of Amittai [Yunus bin Matta] was presented the Wilayah [leadership] of your father but rejected it, so he was confined in the belly of the whale."

Ali bin al-Husayn replied:

"O Abdullah bin Umar, and what do you find strange about this?"

He said: "I cannot accept it."

The Imam said: "Do you wish to have it proven to you?"

He replied: "Yes."

The Imam said to him: "Sit down," then called for his servant and instructed him: "Bring us two blindfolds." He then said to me: "O Muhammad, tie Abdullah’s eyes with one of the blindfolds and tie your own eyes with the other."

We tied our eyes as instructed. The Imam spoke some words, then said: "Remove the blindfolds." When we removed them, we found ourselves seated on a mat by the shore of the sea. The Imam spoke some words, and the whales of the sea responded to him. A great whale appeared, and he said to it: "What is your name?"

It replied: "My name is Nūn."

He asked: "Why was Jonah confined in your belly?"

The whale responded: "He was presented the Wilayah [authority] of your father but denied it, so he was confined in my belly. When he acknowledged and submitted to it, I was commanded to release him, and so I did.

Likewise, whoever denies your authority, O People of the House [Ahl al-Bayt], will dwell eternally in the fire of Hell."

The Imam then asked Abdullah: "Have you heard and witnessed this?"

He replied: "Yes."

The Imam said: "Blindfold yourselves again." We did so, and he spoke some words. Then he said: "Remove them." When we did, we found ourselves seated once again on the mat in his gathering.

Abdullah took his leave and departed. I then said to the Imam: "O my master, I have witnessed a marvel today, and I have believed in it. But do you think Abdullah bin Umar will believe as I have?"

He replied: "Do you not wish to know?"

I said: "Yes."

He said: "Follow him, walk with him, and listen to what he says."

So I followed him and walked with him. Along the way, he said to me: "If you knew the sorcery of the descendants of Abdul Muttalib, this would not seem like much to you. These are a people who inherit sorcery generation after generation."

At that moment, I realized that the Imam speaks nothing but the truth.

[Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 62, p. 218] [1]

And peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

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