A common accusation that is spread amongst the opponents of the Shi’a, specifically the Imammiyah, is that they originate from ‘Abdullah Ibn Saba’, a worshiper of Imam Ali (as) who was later burned alive for his refusal to stop. Other theories claim that Shi’ism is a concept that arose from Persian Zoroastrianism. The number of theories on this matter are endless, and the list continues, with each contradicting the other more as it goes.
Amongst these silly theories, is the accusation that the ‘Rafida’ began as a cowardly group that allowed the death of Zayd b. ‘Ali ash-Shaheed (as) to concur by abandoning him. This is because the word ‘Rafidi’ literally means ‘a rejector’, as rafdh (رفض) means to reject, and so those who rejected and abandoned Zayd were called Rafidis in the sense they were ‘The rejectors of Zayd’.
This was one of the arguments made by Ibn Taymiyyah in his Minhaj as-Sunnah al-Umawiyyah, where he provides no evidence as is common through-out this entire book; Minhaj al-Sunnah, Vol. 2 pg. 96:
وإنما سموا رافضة وصاروا رافضة لما خرج زيد بن علي بن الحسين بالكوفة في خلافة هشام فسألته الشيعة عن أبي بكر وعمر فترحم عليهما فرفضه قوم فقال رفضتموني رفضتموني فسموا رافضة
They are called Rafidah and become Rafidah when Zayd b. Ali b. al-Hussain marched in Kufa during the Caliphate of Hisham. So the Shia asked him about Abu Bakr and Umar, he (Zayd) invoked mercy upon them. Therefore a group rejected him, and he (Zayd) said: ‘You rejected me, you rejected me’ therefore they have been named Rafidah.
Other arguments have also been brought forth, such as the word ‘rafidi’ existing in Sunni books of hadith with negative connotations, as a prophecy made by Rasulullah (saw), we will respond to those hadiths inshallah ta’ala.
Rafidis existed before Zayd’s rebellion
Firstly, the Rafida existed as a group way before Zayd’s uprising and this is well-known to any researcher & historian. In fact, this should’ve been clear to Ibn Taymiyyah himself as he conceded that there were Tabi’een who used this word long before.
For example, earlier in his book he says in Minhaj al-Sunnah Vol. 1, pg. 23:
قال لي الشعبي أحذركم هذه الأهواء المضلة وشرها الرافضة
Al-Sha’bi said: ‘I warn you of misguided groups, the worst of them being the Rafida’.
However, al-Sha’bi died in the year 105 Hijri at the latest according to all lexicographers, such as al-Dhahabi who mentioned in his al-Kashif Vol. 1, pg. 522 that he died either year 104 or 105.
Al-Mizzi also says he died in the year 103 or 104 in his Tahdib al-kamal, Vol. 14, pg. 39 and al-Zarkali says he died in the year 103 in his al-’Alaam, Vol. 3, pg. 251.
Zayd ash-Shaheed's rebellion did not occur until nearly 20 years later in the year 122 Hijri! This was affirmed by Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani in Taqrib al-Tahdhib pg. 355 where he says he revolted (خرج) in the year 122!
Subhan’Allah, the incompetence of the so-called destroyer of Shi’ism is laughable at the least, where he goes to contradict himself and refute himself in his supposed ‘refutation’ against the Shi’a. Al-Sha'abi died 20 years before Zayd's rebellion, yet still talked about the rafida. Thus, they predated his rebellion.
As for a more documented example, we’ll quote the Uthmani (i.e. nasibi) Talha Ibn Masref, who also died before Zayd’s rebellion in the year 112 Hijri according to all the same scholars quoted above in al-Kashif, Vol. 1, pg. 514, al-’Alaam, Vol. 3, pg. 230 and Tahdib al-Kamal, Vol. 13, pg. 433 - 437.
Yet, we read in the following report recorded by Ibn Battah in his Kitab al-Sharh wal-Ibanah, pg. 177 & in his al-Ibana, pg. 557:
عن طلحة بن مصرف قال : الرافضة لا تنكح نساؤهم ولا تؤكل ذبائحهم لأنهم أهل ردة
Talha b. Masref said: ‘Neither is it permissible to marry from the Rafidah’s women, nor can one eat from their food, because they are murtad (infidels)’.
Another example is that Sufyan Ibn ‘Uyanna talked about the Rafida during the lifetime of Jabir Ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (ra) who died 74 Hijri, which shows how early this group really came about in the Muqaddimah of Sahih Muslim 58:
Jābir said: ‘An interpretation has not come to me about these [verses]’. Sufyān said: ‘He lied’. We said to Sufyān: ‘What did he mean by this?’ [Sufyān] said: ‘Indeed the Rāfiḍah say, ‘Alī is in the clouds and we will not emerge along with he who will emerge from his children...
As for Shias, we were already well-aware that this term was coined far before Zayd’s rebellion, as we have hadiths narrated by Imam al-Baqir (as) where he calls himself a Rafidi and he died before Zayd’s rebellion in 114 AH. For example, in one of the early Shi’a books of hadith by al-Shaykh al-Barqi (d. 280 Hijri), he records in Kitab al-Mahasin, pg. 157:
عن أبي الجارود قال: أصم الله أذنيه كما أعمى عينيه ان لم يكن سمع أبا جعفر عليه السلام يقول: ان فلانا سمانا باسم، قال: وما ذاك الاسم؟ - قال: سمانا الرافضة، فقال أبو جعفر عليه السلام بيده إلى صدره: " وأنا من الرافضة وهو منى " قالها ثلاثا
From Abu al-Jarud who said: May Allah make his ears deaf as he blinded his eyes if he did not hear Imam al-Baqir (as) saying: “Indeed, so-and-so called us by a name.” He said: “And what is that name?”. He said: “He called us the Rafidis.” So Imam al-Baqir (as) said with his hand to his chest: “And I am from the Rafidis, and he is from me.” He said it three times.
This serves as evidence that the Rafida group existed prior to Zayd’s rebellion, hence it could not have rooted from this incident. This therefore shows the reports that say that Zayd was the first to call his rejectors rawafid, as being fabrications as they contradict clear proofs that this title did not root with Zayd Ibn ‘Ali (as).
Rafidis in prophetic hadiths
In a relatively famous hadith narrated by Sunnis, it is recorded that the Prophet (saw) supposedly warn the ummah of the upcoming Rawafidh, and that they’re obligatory to kill if seen. This report is undoubtedly fabricated as Sunni scholars themselves have agreed, yet Sunnis for some reason love boasting about this hadith. The signs of fabrications are all over this hadith, as we saw above, there was clear hatred towards the rawafid early on, making sense as to why Sunnis wanted to fabricate reports against them to such a degree. If it was true however, how come none of the companions ever mentioned this when the Rafida started becoming a known group?
It is transmitted in two ways via two chains in Kashf al-Astar, vol. 3, pg. 293:
حَدَّثَنَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ مُوسَى، ثنا مِهْرَانُ بْنُ أَبِي عُمَرَ، ثنا يَحْيَى بْنُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ، ثنا كَثِيرٌ النَّوَّاءُ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «يَكُونُ قَوْمٌ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ، يُسَمَّوْنَ الرَّافِضَةَ، يَرْفُضُونَ الإِسْلامَ» .
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَعْمَرٍ، ثنا أَبُو هِشَامٍ الْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، ثنا عِمْرَانُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنِ الْحَجَّاجِ بْنِ تَمِيمٍ، عَنْ مَيْمُونِ بْنِ مِهْرَانَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ قَوْمٌ، يُسَمَّوْنَ الرَّافِضَةَ، يَرْفُضُونَ الإِسْلامَ وَيَلْفُظُونَهُ، فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ»
From Ali (as): The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Towards the end of time, there will appear a people who will be called the Rafidah; they will reject Islam."
From Ibn Abbas: The Prophet (saw) said: "There will be people in the latter times who will be called the Rafidah (rejecters). They will reject Islam and recant it. Therefore, kill them."
Both chains are problematic as al-Haythami says, one is clearly weak while the other he says is disputed. The Muhaqiq of Musnad Abu Ya’la , vol. 4, pg. 294 and pg. 295 also agrees saying:
٢٥٨٦ - منكر: أخرجه… وغيرهم، من طرق عن عمران بن زيد عن الحجاج بن تميم عن ميمون بن مهران عن ابن عباس به. قلتُ: وهذا إسناد منكر، وفيه علتان: الأولى: عمران بن زيد هو التغلبى … والثانية: الحجاج بن تميم لم يوثقه أحد إلا ابن حبان أيضًا
وللحديث طريق آخر عن ابن عباس به نحوه مع زيادة في متنه عند ابن عدى في "الكامل" [٥/ ١٥٢]، وسنده موضوع باطل. وللحديث شواهد عن جماعة من الصحابة بأسانيد منكرة مظلمة.
2586 - Munkar: It was narrated by... and others, from routes on the authority of Imran ibn Zaid, from Al-Hajjaj ibn Tamim, from Maymun ibn Mihran, on the authority of Ibn Abbas. I say: This chain is munkar, and it has two defects: firstly, (due to) Imran ibn Zaid is Al-Tughlabi... And secondly, (due to) Al-Hajjaj ibn Tamim (who) was only authenticated by Ibn Hibban."
There is another route for the hadith on the authority of Ibn Abbas with a similar content but with an addition in its text according to Ibn Adi in "Al-Kamil" [5/152], and its chain is fabricated. There is evidence for this hadith from a group of companions with weak and obscure chains.
Shu’ayb al-Arn’aut also weakens the report narrated by Imam Ali (as) in Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Vol. 2, pg. 186 - 187, quoting al-Bayhaqi where he weakens both reports and says all transmissions to these reports are weak in his Dala’il al-Nabuwa, Vol. 6, pg. 547 - 548.
Ibn al-Jawzi goes further and refutes each individual transmission in which this report has reached us and declares this to be unauthentically attributed to the Holy Prophet (saw) in his ‘Ilal al-Matanahiyya, Vol. 1, pg. 163 - 168.
Conclusion
The Rafida most certainly did not begin with Zayd's rebellion, but according to the Ahl al-Bayt (as) was a divinely bestowed upon term by Allah (swt) to his noble servants, and predated even the Prophet (saw) as the believers of Qawm Musa (as) also named themselves 'Rafidis' in their own langauage; refer to Kitab al-Mahasin, pg. 157:
عنه، عن علي بن أسباط، عن عيينة بياع القصب، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: والله لنعم الاسم الذي منحكم الله ما دمتم تأخذون بقولنا ولا تكذبون علينا قال: و قال لي أبو عبد الله عليه السلام هذا القول اني كنت خبرته ان رجلا قال لي: إياك أن تكون رافضيا.
عنه، عن يعقوب بن يزيد، عن الحسن بن محبوب، عن محمد بن سليمان الديلمي، عن رجلين، عن أبي بصير، قال: قلت لأبي جعفر عليه السلام: جعلت فداك اسم سمينا به استحلت به الولادة دماءنا وأموالنا وعذابنا، قال: وما هو؟ - قال: الرافضة، فقال أبو جعفر عليه السلام: ان سبعين رجلا من عسكر فرعون رفضوا فرعون فأتوا موسى عليه السلام فلم يكن في قوم موسى عليه السلام أحد أشد اجتهادا ولا أشد حبا لهارون منهم فسماهم قوم موسى الرافضة، فأوحى الله إلى موسى: أن ثبت لهم هذا الاسم في التوراة فانى قد نحلتهم وذلك اسم قد نحلكموه الله.
From him, from Ali ibn Asbat, from Ayyunah the seller of reeds, from Imam al-Sadiq (as) who said: "By Allah, what an excellent name Allah has bestowed upon you as long as you adhere to our word and do not lie to us." He said: "He (as) said to me, 'Indeed, I was informed that a man said to me: Beware of being a Rafidi.'"
From him, from Ya'qub ibn Yazid, from al-Hasan ibn Mahbub, from Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Dailami, from two men, from Abu Basir who said: "I said to Imam al-Baqir (as): 'May I be your ransom! We have been named with a name by which our blood, wealth, and punishment have been made lawful.'" He said: "And what is it?" He said: "The Rafidis." So he (as) said: "Seventy men from the army of Pharaoh refused Pharaoh and came to Musa (as), and there was no one among the people of Musa (as) who exerted more effort or loved Harun (as) more than them, so the people of Musa called them the Rafidis. Then Allah revealed to Musa: 'Establish this name for them in the Torah, for indeed I have made them lawful, and that is a name that Allah has made lawful for you.'"
As for what really occurred with Zayd ash-Shaheed (as), it’s that it was the other way around, and that the people wanted Zayd to praise Abu Bakr & Umar while he cursed them, and hence since they refused he called them Batriyya not Rawafid; refer to Ikhtiyar Ma'rafit al-Rijal, Vol. 3, pg. 120 - 121 by al-Kashi:
دخلت على أبي جعفر عليه السلام ومعي سلمة بن كهيل وأبو المقدام ثابت الحداد وسالم بن أبي حفصة وكثير النوا وجماعة معهم، وعند أبي جعفر عليه السلام أخوه زيد بن علي عليه السلام، فقالوا لأبي جعفر عليه السلام: نتولى عليا وحسنا وحسينا ونتبرأ من أعدائهم، قال: نعم، قالوا: نتولى أبا بكر وعمر ونتبرأ من أعدائهم، قال: فالتفت إليهم زيد بن علي وقال لهم: أتتبرؤن من فاطمة؟ بترتم أمرنا بتركم الله، فيومئذ سموا البترية
I entered upon Abu Ja'far (al-Baqir) (as) and with him was [a group of people], and with Abu Ja'far was his brother Zayd Ibn Ali (s). So they said to Abu Ja'far: "Do you befriend the allies of Ali, Hasan and Husayn and dissaociate from their enemies?". He said: "Yes". So they said: "We befriend Abu Bakr and Umar and dissociate from their enemies." Zayd turned to them and said: "Do you disassociate from Fatima (as)? By disassociating from her, you have disassociated from us. May Allah disassociate from those who disassociate from us." On that day, they were called Al-Batriyyah.
Earlier on pg. 113, al-Kashi explains that al-Batriyya were a sect who accepted and endorsed the imamate of Abu Bakr & Umar.
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