Indian Antiquary Vol 49

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 191

HISTORY OF THE NIZAM SHAHI KINGS OF AHMADNAGAR
XXXI-AN ACCOUNT OF THE CONTROVERSY OF SHAH TAHIR WITH THE SUNNI DOCTORS, AND OF HIS VICTORY OVER THEM.
By the king's command an assembly, which the king graced with his presence, was convoked, and before that assembly Shah Tahir conducted a controversy with the following Sunni doctors :
Oct., 1920]
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(1) Maulana Pir Muḥammad, (2) Shaikh Ja'far, (3) Maulana Abdul Awwal, (4) Qazi Muhammad Nayata entitled Afzal Khân, (5) Qâzi Zain-ul-'Abidin, camp Qarf, (6) Sayyid Ishaq, the librarian, (7) Qazi Wilayat Ambar (Abtar).
Shah Tahir began by quoting the Ahadith to the effect that of the seventy-three sects of Islam, one was in the way of salvation and the rest in the way of damnation. He then twitted the Sunnis successfully with the differences between their four sects and continued his arguments at great length, basing all his arguments on Ahadith accepted by the Sunnis or passages from Sunni books, observing that it was useless to cite authorities not accepted by both parties. He concluded this portion of his argument by challenging his opponents to shew that he had misquoted anything or misplaced any quotation, calling for the books, the chief of which was the Sahih-i-Bukhart, from the royal library, and promising to desist for ever from upholding the Shi'ah faith if it could be shewn that the passages quoted by him were not in the books. Qazi Zain-ul-'Abidin, however, forbade Sayyid Ishaq, the librarian, to produce the books. It so happened that the king had brought with him a copy of the most important, the Sahth-i-Bukhari, which was produced, and the passages quoted by Shah Tahir were found therein, to the shame of the Sunnt doctors, who then shifted their ground. The argument continued; and Shah Tahir having followed the Sunnis over their change of ground, continued his argument and again beat his opponents on their own ground. They were confuted and, as they could not meet his arguments, had recourse to abuse. Shah Tahir then appealed to the king to say whether he had not utterly confuted his opponents, and whether their taking refuge in abuse were not an admission of defeat. The king replied that the confutation of the Sunnis was as clear to' him as the sun in the heavens and that all who had ever contended that 'Alf was not the rightful immediate successor of the prophet were worthy of being cursed, and furthermore that the Imams after 'All were the infallible and only guides to the truth.
When the king announced his acceptance of the Shi'ah religion, the Sunn! doctors cried out with one accord that it was unworthy of his royal dignity that he should, on the unfounded statements of anybody, abandon the faith of his fathers and the religion which was accepted by so many famous kings, and should accept the arguments of any unauthoritative stranger. When the king heard what they had said, his wrath burst into flame, and he said,
The Bath-ul-Bukhart is the great collection of addith, the sayings or 'traditions of Muḥammad, accepted as authentic by the Sunnis. The four sects of the Sunnis here mentioned are the Hanafis, the Hanbalis, the Shafts, and the Malikis, the followers of the four great doctors of the law, whom the Sunnis call the four Imams, Abd Hanifah, Ibn Hanbal, ash-Shaft, and Malik. The differences between these sects are unimportant and each regards all the others as orthodox.