Surat al-Wilaya

This is the chapter which the opponents of Shiism make so much capital of. According to Sheikh M. Khatib (p.5), this chapter has been mentioned on page 180 of Faslul Khitab. He also mentions that one "trustworthy scholar" by the name of Muhammad 'Ali Sa'oodi who was a "chief consultant" to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, examined "an Iranian manuscript copy" owned by one Mr. Brown, an orientalist, and photocopied it.

This is what we have been told by the Sheikh.

What is astonishing, though, is that whoever provides an "evidence" in support of this claim produces the very same copy (of the maswhaf) which Ustadh Muhammad 'Ali Sa'oodi got from Mr. Brown! Why is it so? Does it mean that no other copy of such a maswhaf exists except that of Mr. Brown? How was it possible for Mr. Brown to have laid his hand on it while Sheikh M. al-Khatib and his associates failed to do so? Furthermore, why would Shias conceal that particular chapter (if, that is, they believe that it is an authentic one from the Qur'an) when it is about the sovereignty (wilaya) of Imam 'Ali - which is one of the main pillars of the Shia faith? Why would Shias do so with this particular chapter when they do cite various Qur'anic verses to prove the wilaya of Imam 'Ali? Moreover, how come that when we go through all the translations of the Qur'an written by Shia scholars, and in different languages, we never come across such a chapter? These are pertinent questions which you, the reader, should ask yourself lest you are taken in by such fabrications.

The very fact that such a copy was obtained from someone who is an orientalist should be reason enough to make any sincere Muslim who seriously cares about his or her religion to outrightly reject such a lie, for the simple reason that orientalists are known to be great enemies of Islam. They are the ones, together with the Jews, who introduced in institutions of higher learning this field of study known as Orientalism with the sole objective of weakening and ultimately destroying the unity among Muslims; to pave the way for colonial rule in, and exploitation of, Muslim countries; as well as attack Muslims for having opposed Christianity during the Middle Ages. In order to realize their objectives, they founded a number of colleges, launched several journals, held numerous conferences, and published many books which disparaged the Holy Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w.) in particular, as well as Islam in general; and they did all this in a very subtle way.