Atwaq al-Hamama fi Haml al-Sahaba ala al-Salama
- Author died
- 745 AH
- Editions
- Muṣṭafá al-Baghdādī
Atwaq al-Hamama fi Haml al-Sahaba ala al-Salama (The Collars of the Dove on Imputing Integrity to the Companions) is a theological treatise by the Zaydi imam and scholar al-Muayyad al-Alawi (Yahya ibn Hamza, 669–745 AH / 1270–1344 CE) defending the soundness of the Prophet's Companions against accusations of disbelief (kufr) and moral corruption (fisq) .
Purpose and Scope
The treatise investigates the theological status of the Companions, with particular focus on Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab, arguing that their standing is free from disbelief and grave transgression . The author aims to establish that Ali ibn Abi Talib and the eminent authorities of the Prophet's household (Ahl al-Bayt) never pronounced kufr or fisq upon the early Companions, and to provide scholars with firm grounding against rashly declaring Muslims to be outside the faith or morally corrupt without proof .
Structure and Method
The author organizes his primary evidence into three hierarchical tiers:
- Evidence from the Prophet ﷺ: Five traditions praising Abu Bakr and Umar, testifying to their religious soundess, and giving them tidings of Paradise .
- Evidence from Ali ibn Abi Talib: Both general and specific proofs . In general, Ali assisted Abu Bakr during the wars against apostasy, offered counsel to Umar, accepted his share of war revenues, and treated them with affection and loyalty rather than as apostates or corrupt . Specific reports include Ali's praise of them as the best of the community after the Prophet and his prayer for guidance through them . The author observes that although Ali experienced inner estrangement because they assumed an office to which he was more entitled by kinship, this never prevented him from maintaining loyalty and speaking well of them .
- Evidence from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt: Nine transmission lines illustrating positive regard and the rejection of disavowal (tabarru'):
- al-Hasan ibn Ali and al-Husayn ibn Ali, who showed loyalty and received large allocations from Umar's registry (diwan) .
- Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, who refuted claims that his father disavowed the two caliphs .
- Zayd ibn Ali, who refused to disavow them when pressured by the Kufans—prompting their defection, on account of which they were termed Rawafid—and emphasized their status as the Prophet's in-laws and viziers .
- Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan and his sons Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, Ibrahim, and Yahya, whose leadership was acknowledged by prominent Mu'tazilites like Amr ibn Ubayd and al-Jahiz who held the Companions in high esteem .
- Ja'far al-Sadiq, who noted his maternal descent from Abu Bakr through both grandmothers and prayed for mercy upon him .
- al-Qasim ibn Ibrahim al-Rassi, who forbade slandering them .
- al-Nasir li-l-Haqq al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Utrush, who explicitly affirmed his love and respect for Abu Bakr's precedence in Islam in his Kitab al-Imama .
- al-Mu'ayyad bi-Llah Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Haruni, who stated that disagreement regarding the imamate does not entail disbelief or corruption .
- al-Muwaffaq bi-Llah al-Husayn ibn Isma'il al-Jurjani, who concluded that those who diverged from texts favoring Ali were mistaken through interpretation (ta'wil) rather than corrupt or disbelievers .
In documenting these reports, the author draws on works such as Kashf al-Ghalatat by Ahmad ibn [Abi] al-Hasan al-Kanni and writings by Abu al-Qasim al-Busti .
Reconciliation and Conclusion
The treatise reconciles seemingly critical statements found in early Zaydi literature:
- Statements by al-Hadi Yahya ibn al-Husayn in Kitab al-Ahkam are interpreted as directed only against those who deny the occurrence of the Prophet's explicit statements regarding Ali, not as declaring the early Companions apostates, especially since al-Ahkam itself relies extensively on their judicial precedents .
- Reports transmitted by Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Hasani in al-Masabih are classified as solitary narrations (ahad) that cannot establish kufr or fisq by consensus .
- Dictations from Abu Talib Yahya ibn al-Husayn regarding rebels being transgressors are contextualized, noting that Abu Bakr and Umar did not rebel against Ali; rather, they assumed duties that Ali refrained from exercising due to an excuse, and Abu Talib's own Sharh al-Tahrir frequently cites both caliphs .
In his closing notice (tanbih), Yahya ibn Hamza divides the scholars of Ahl al-Bayt into two groups: those who explicitly invoke God's pleasure and mercy upon the Companions (taraddi and tarahhum)—which is the author's preferred creed—and those who suspend judgment (tawaqquf) on the error without declaring them corrupt or disbelievers . He concludes that accusations of disbelief or grave sin against the Companions were never held by the prominent figures of Ahl al-Bayt .
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