In the next two blogs, we will look at the heart of the issue – by analyzing the narrations that suggest that Ahl al Kitab are najis.
1. A hasan (0) narration from Sa’id al-A’raj (1) “I asked Abu Abdallah (AS) about (whether I could eat from) the leftover of Jews and Christians. He said: “No”.”
There is no problem in the chain of narration and it is clear that it is relevant to the Najasah of Ahl al-Kitab.
2. A sahih (0) narration from Muhammad ibn Muslim (2): “I asked Abu Ja’far (AS) about a dish of Ahl al-Dhimma and Zorastrians, and he said: Do not eat from their dishes, and nor from food they have cooked, and nor from the cups in which they have drunk wine.”
This narration, although it has a strong chain of transmission, is not clear in implying that the Ahl al-Kitab are Najis. In fact, it suggests the opposite, because of the usage of “wine”. If they were Najis, then all cups should be avoided, including those in which they have drunk water. In terms of the food, there are two potential options:
1. Ahl al-Kitab eat pork (and other food derived from pig), and so this is likely to be present in their food
2. The dishes may become najis by pork or other najasat (without the required washing afterwards in the prescribed way), as that is not something that is important for them
It could alternatively be for another reason.
3. A hasan (0) narration from al-Kahili, who said (3): “I asked Abu Abdullah (AS) about a group of Muslims who are eating, and a Zorastrian man comes. Should they call him to eat with them? He said: as for me, I do not make a Zorastrian eat with me, but I do not want to make haram on you anything that you are currently doing in your lands.”
It is obvious that this does not show the najasah of the Zorastrian, as he (AS) did not eat with him due to the non-suitability (for the leader of the Muslims) of sharing food with someone who stubbornly refuses the law of Islam, and this is at the level of dislike.
4. A sahih (0) narration from Muhammad ibn Muslim from Abu Ja’far (AS) (4): “There is a man who shook hands with a Zorastrian. So he said: his hand is to be washed but he does not need to do Wudu”. Some may consider the apparent meaning of this to be that the Zorastrian is Najis. However, there are two points to mention:
1. The shaking of the hands would only lead to the transfer of najasa if there was moisture
2. Therefore, washing the hands could be a recommendation, as it could not be an obligation (due to the absoluteness of the command, which would include when it is dry).
There is a narration, which further explains this from al-Qalanasi (5), who said: “I said to Abu Abdullah (AS): A Dhimmi sets off, and he shakes my hand. He said: ‘Wipe it with dust and with the wall’. I asked: and what if it is an enemy of Allah (Nasib)? He replied: ‘wash it’.”
And this might be an indication of disdain for the Ahl al-kitab or a spiritual najasah. However, based on the probability in the fact that when you shake hands, it is rare that there is any moisture, it cannot be inferred from this narration that Ahl al-Kitab are najis (in the legal sense).
In the next blog, we will look at a few more narrations that suggest that Ahl al Kitab are najis, after which we will move onto the narrations that suggest that Ahl al Kitab are tahir.
(0) The attribution of hasan and sahih to the narrations comes from Ayatullah Khui and is based on analyzing the chain of narration. In terms of narrations that are accepted: Sahih is the highest quality, followed by hasan and then muwathaq (which means that there may be a Sunni in the chain of narration but it is still accepted). We can discuss ilm al-rijal if people are interested in later blogs
(1) Wasa`il al-Shi’a 1:229/chapters on leftovers, 3:1; similarly in 3:421/chapters on Najasa 14:8
(2) Wasa`il al-Shi’a 3:518/chapters on Najasat, 72:2, and page 419, 14:1, and 24:210 on the chapters of Haram foods 54:3
(3) Wasa`il al-Shi’a 3:419/chapters on Najasat, 14:2
(4) Wasa`il al-Shi’a 3:419/chapters on Najasat, 14:3
(5) Wasa`il al-Shi’a 3:420/chapters on Najasat, 14:4-5
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