The Ibn Saba-Shia link: Ali in the Clouds, Thunder His Voice

The Twelver Shia attribute cosmic events that are beyond human control to their Imams. So, everything that happens in this universe, such as thunder, lightning, and so on, is attributed to their Imams’ authority.

The Twelver Shia have long associated extremist beliefs with the Ahl al-Bayt, particularly sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). Their arguments often rely on flawed analogies, attempting to justify various heresies. They frequently use the reasoning that if angels have specific roles in the cosmos, why can’t our Imams have similar roles? This illogical approach seems to stem from their excessiveness (Ghuluw), which appears to cloud their judgment and hinder rational thinking. They fail to recognise that adding the caveat ‘with the permission of Allah’ to their heretical beliefs doesn’t make those beliefs any less heretical. More importantly, the Ahl al-Bayt themselves never attributed the divine attributes and alleged roles in the management of the cosmos and authority over it that the Twelver Shia (and other Rafidah groups) falsely assign to them. In fact, the Ahl al-Bayt rejected the Ghuluw beliefs attributed to them, cursed those who made such attributions, and referred to them as polytheists.

Be that as it may, the bitter truth is that the Rafidah (Twelver Shia and other extremist Shia sects, such as the Ismailis), are undoubtedly the spiritual heirs of the Sabaites, i.e., the followers of Ibn Saba the Jew. This is to be substantiated here not only with evidence from the writings of the Shia but also with statements from contemporary Shia scholars who unabashedly propagate Sabaite beliefs in the name of the ‘school of the Ahl al-Bayt’ amongst the credulous Shia masses (may Allah guide them).

Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sharif al-Jurjani (died 816 AH), a Persian Sunni scholar from the Sunni era in Persia, mentions the following intriguing and disturbing fact about the Saba’ites (followers of Ibn Saba al-Yahoodi), the spiritual forefathers of the Rafidah. He states in his work ‘al-Ta’rifat:

السبئية: هم أصحاب عبد الله بن سبأ، قال لعلي رضي الله عنه: أنت الإله حقًا، فنفاه علي إلى المدائن، وقال ابن سبأ: لم يمت علي ولم يُقتَل، وإنما قتل ابن ملجم شيطانًا تصور بصورة علي رضي الله عنه، وعلي في السحاب، والرعد صوته، والبرق سوطه، وأنه ينزل بعد هذا إلى الأرض ويملؤها عدلًا، وهؤلاء يقولون عند سماع الرعد: عليك السلام يا أمير المؤمنين

التعريفات لـ الجرجاني، الشريف الجزء : 1 صفحة : 117

Another scholar, the Egyptian historian Ahmad ibn Ali al-Maqrizi al-Shafi’i (died 845 AH), a direct student of Ibn Khaldun who lived during the Mamluk era, is recognized for his significant contributions. al-Maqrizi’s expertise lay in his deep focus on the Fatimid era, his extensive knowledge of early Egyptian history, and his profound understanding of early Islamic history. He is widely acknowledged as the most influential historian of premodern Egypt. In regard to Ibn Saba’ and the Saba’ites, the spiritual forefathers of the Rafidah Shia, al-Maqrizi mentions the following in one of his works:

وقال المقريزي (845 ه‍) في ذكر الروافض من خططه
والفرقة الخامسة السبائية أتباع عبد الله بن سبأ الذي قال شفاها لعلي بن أبي طالب: أنت الاله… وزعم أن عليا لم يقتل، وأنه حي لم يمت، وأنه في السحاب وأن الرعد صوته والبرق سوطه وأنه ينزل بعد حين، قبحه الله

“The fifth group, known as the Saba’iyyah, are the followers of Abdullah bin Saba’, who claimed, may Allah curse him, that Ali ibn Abi Talib was divine, that he was not killed, that he is alive and did not die, that he is in the clouds, and that thunder is his voice and lightning is his whip, and that he will descend at a later time.

 قال (الصادق): ما كان من سحاب فيه رعد وصاعقة أو برق، فصاحبكم (1) يركبه، أما إنه سيركب السحاب ويرقى في الأسباب أسباب السماوات السبع والأرضين السبع: خمس عوامر، واثنتان خرابان

بحار الأنوار لـ المجلسي – ج ١٢ – الصفحة ١٨٣

He (al-Sadiq) said: “Whenever there is a cloud with thunder, lightning, or a flash of lightning, your companion rides it. He will ride the clouds and ascend through the stories of the seven heavens and the seven earths: five intact, and two in ruins.” (Bihar al-Anwar by Al-Majlisi, vol 12, p. 183)