Some preachers relate a narration that the Angel of Death excused himself from taking the soul of Imam al-Husayn (a), so Allah the Exalted undertook the taking of his soul. Some scholars have commented on this that it is among the fabrications and has no basis, and that it contradicts established certainties, among them that the angels never disobey Allah the Exalted, and that the one charged with taking souls is the Angel of Death. What is your opinion?
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
And blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and his righteous Family. To proceed:
In answer to this, some extremely important points must be explained, which are not limited to believing in the existence or non-existence of a narration, because of the aspects involved that should be grasped and emphasized. We mention these explanations in points:
First: Concerning the narration referred to, it does not occur in the relied-upon, well-known hadith books that we have at hand. However, Ayatollah Shaykh Habib Allah al-Kashani (1262 AH – 1846 CE), in his famous book Tadhkirat al-Shuhadaʾ, Maqtal al-Imam al-Husayn (a), mentioned a narration whose gist is that the Angel of Death beseeched Allah to excuse him from taking the soul of Imam al-Husayn (a) at his noble killing, and that Allah the Exalted then undertook the taking of the Imam's soul by the hand of His power, after making clear that the request to the Angel of Death was only so that Allah the Exalted might take pride in him before the angels. Shaykh al-Kashani acknowledged its weakness at the beginning of his mention of the narration, saying: “And in some weak hadiths from al-Sadiq (a)…”. He mentioned it in the eleventh majlis, on page 413, under the heading “Allah Undertakes the Taking of the Soul of al-Husayn (a).”
Second: Some scholars do not regard a weak report as having any probative force, so they do not adopt it or attach any effect to it. However, many of the eminent scholars and researchers of the community hold the principle that a weak or mursal report remains within the sphere of the possibility of having been issued [by the Infallible], according to the degrees of the contextual indicators in strength and weakness. A weak report can thus be strengthened according to the contextual indicators adduced to strengthen it; and if there are none, it remains as it is without being branded a fabrication, because fabrication also requires evidence. Rather, it remains within the broad sphere of possibility without any effect being attached to it, even if it is not found in the well-known reliable books, because many books have been lost and destroyed, so some of it may be among what was memorized or among what was transmitted from books that have vanished.
Third: From another angle, one must examine the aspect of the meaning of the narration mentioned: does its import conflict with the doctrinal and legal fundamentals or not?
Here we come to the implications of the narration, in points:
a - Concerning the taking of the soul of Imam al-Husayn (a): the import of another narration, which came in the book Kamil al-Ziyarat (one of our most authentic and most reliable books), in a well-known narration, is that it was Allah the Exalted who undertook the taking of the soul of Imam al-Husayn (a) and the souls of the martyrs by His hand, and it contains a clear indication of this meaning. So, from the angle of meaning, this narration agrees with the narration that he mentioned in the book Tadhkirat al-Shuhadaʾ.
The narration referred to is what Ibn Qulawayh narrated from Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin (a) in his conversation with Zaʾida, one of the visitors of Imam al-Husayn (a), in a long narration. The Imam said: I shall surely tell you a report that was with me among the treasured select [reports]: when there befell us at al-Taff what befell us, and my father (a) was killed, and those of his sons, his brothers and the rest of his family who were with him were killed, and his household and his women were carried on the camel saddles, being taken to Kufa, I began looking at them lying slain and unburied. That weighed heavily on my breast, and my anguish grew intense at what I saw of them, so that my soul was about to depart. My aunt Zaynab the Elder, daughter of ʿAli (a), perceived that in me and said: Why do I see you giving up your soul, O remnant of my grandfather, my father and my brothers? I said: How can I not be anguished and distraught, when I see my master, my brothers, my paternal uncles, my cousins and my family laid low in their blood, cast down in the dust on the bare ground…
Until the Imam mentioned the report of Lady Zaynab (a), relating the hadith of the covenant from the Prophet (s), including: …they will set up in this Taff a landmark for the grave of your father, the Master of the Martyrs, whose trace will not be effaced and whose mark will not be erased with the passing of nights and days; and the leaders of disbelief and the partisans of misguidance will surely strive to erase and obliterate it, yet its trace will only increase in prominence and its standing only in loftiness…
Until she mentioned the words of the Messenger of Allah (s) in the report of the killing of Imam al-Husayn (a) and his companions, where he said: …At that time everything in the heavens and the earths will cry out in cursing whoever wronged your Family and violated your sanctity; and when that band goes forth to their resting places, Allah Almighty will undertake the taking of their souls by His hand, and angels from the seventh heaven will descend to the earth bearing vessels of ruby and emerald filled with the water of life, robes from the robes of Paradise, and perfume from the perfume of Paradise; they will wash their bodies with that water, clothe them in the robes and embalm them with that perfume, and the angels will pray over them row upon row… to the end of the hadith. Kamil al-Ziyarat, p. 264.
In this narration there is an affirmation that “Allah Almighty undertook the taking of their souls by His hand,” that is, the souls of all the martyrs.
b - Regarding what is reported of the Angel of Death excusing himself from taking the soul of Imam al-Husayn (a), while he is among the angels “who do not disobey whatever Allah commands them” (Qurʾan 66:6)—how can that be?
We say: the apparent sense of the narration mentioned is that the Angel of Death implored Allah to permit him not to take the Imam's soul because of the immensity of the calamity he saw, and that his excusing himself means his putting forward excuses that Allah the Exalted might accept; the Angel of Death was not, by that, disobedient or refusing. Indeed, the narration referred to mentions that Allah the Exalted's request to the Angel of Death was not a real request, but rather was for bringing truths to light, so that Allah might take pride in al-Husayn (a) before the angels, as in its source: “Hush! I did not command you to do that so that you would undertake the taking of his soul; rather, I wanted to take pride in him before the angels. I am Allah, there is no god except Me; I undertake the taking of his soul by the hand of My power.” Then the call came from the depths of the Throne: “O soul at peace! Return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing!” (Qurʾan 89:27–28) (Tadhkirat al-Shuhadaʾ, p. 413).
It is no secret that the dialogue of the angels with Allah the Exalted concerning what they do not know and what they are not capable of is not something strange; but in the end they obey and carry out the command after Allah the Exalted teaches them. This is analogous to what is reported in the Noble Qurʾan of the angels' inquiry about making Adam vicegerent, in His saying, Exalted is He: “When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed I am going to set a viceroy on the earth,’ they said, ‘Will You set in it someone who will cause corruption in it and shed blood, while we celebrate Your praise and proclaim Your sanctity?’ He said, ‘Indeed I know what you do not know.’” (Qurʾan 2:30).
c- The narrations have indicated that Allah the Exalted entrusted the Angel of Death with taking all souls at their death; so does this conflict with Allah the Exalted undertaking the taking of a soul by a way other than the Angel of Death?
We say: it is true that the Angel of Death is the one charged with taking souls, but not exclusively; rather, this is a general rule that can be particularized and admits of exception. We are before the act of Allah the Exalted and His absolute power; He is the One able to do whatever He wills however He wills, and He is the One who says to a thing “Be,” and it is. Were we to confine the taking of souls to the hand of the Angel of Death without the possibility of change, we would be limiting the power of Allah and making Him in need of His creatures, and this contradicts the fundamentals of faith in Allah Almighty.
d – The Angel of Death took the soul of the Prophet (s), who is of higher standing than Imam al-Husayn (a); so how can that be accepted?
In this regard we say: the matter of Allah the Exalted taking the soul of Imam al-Husayn (a) is indicated by the narration referred to in the book Kamil al-Ziyarat; therefore we should understand it as being among the “special distinctions” (khasaʾis) of Imam al-Husayn (a). This is a broad and important chapter among the chapters of religious knowledge, but its summary is that every Infallible has special distinctions, and has a general degree of merit. Imam al-Husayn (a) said: “My brother is better than me” (meaning Imam al-Hasan (a)), yet Allah the Exalted placed the Imams among the descendants of Imam al-Husayn (a); this is a special distinction, and it does not contradict the principle of superiority that Imam al-Husayn (a) mentioned. That does not mean that Imam al-Hasan has no special distinctions; rather, if you search, you will find many. It is the same with the Prophet (s): it is true that the Angel of Death undertook the taking of the Prophet's (s) soul, but the Prophet has countless special distinctions, among them that the Angel of Death asked permission to enter upon him, and he had not asked permission of anyone before him, nor will he ask permission of anyone after him; and among them that Allah commanded the Angel of Death to obey the Prophet (s) as to whether to take him or not to take him, so Allah left the matter of the Prophet's death in the hand of the Prophet himself. There are many special distinctions, and special distinctions, in general, are doors of mercy for the servants and aspects of reward for the Infallible.
In conclusion, it is possible not to accept the narration mentioned from the angle of the criteria for [establishing] its issuance; but as for the import of the narration and its implications, it agrees with the other narrations and contains no content contrary to the religion, according to what we have explained. And Allah knows best.
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi