The First Group of Traditions

These are the traditions which mention taf:trif explicitly. This group consists of some twenty traditions, of which we shall mention some examples and leave out the ones which have the same content. They are as follows.

١. A tradition [was] reported on the authority of Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi, whose chain of transmission goes back to Abu Dharr, who said:

When the verse "On that day some faces will brighten and some others will darken" was revealed, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: "My community will return to me on the Day of Resurrection under five banners." Then he [AbU Dharr] added that the Messenger of God will ask the groups about the way they treated the thaqalayn (the two objects of high estimation). The first group will say: "As for the greater one, we altered it and tossed it away behind our backs; as for the smaller one, we became its enemies, hated it, and wronged it." The second group will say: "As for the greater one, we burned it, tore it into pieces, and opposed it; as for the smaller one, we became its enemies and fought it. ...."

٢. A tradition was reported on the authority of Ibn Tawils and al-Sayyid al-Mul).addith al-Jazari, their chain of transmission going back to al-I:Iasan b. al-I:Iasan al-SamarraI, who related, in a long tradition, that one of the things that the Prophet told I:Iudhayfa, about the person who violates the Sacred House, is that he will "lead the people astray from the Path of God, make alterations in His Book, and change my sunna (precedent)."

٣. A tradition was reported on the authority of Sad b. AbdAllah al-Qummi, whose chain of transmission goes back to Jabir al-Jufi, and, through him, to the Imam al‌ Baqir (peace be upon). Jabir said:

The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) prayed in Mina. Then he said: "٠ people, I leave among you al-thaqalayn. If you hold on to them, you shall never be misguided. [These are] the Book of God and my family, and the Kaba is the Sacred House [which you should respect all the time]!" Then Abu Jafar [al-Baqir] added: "As for the Book of God, they have altered it; the Kaba, they have destroyed; and the family, they have slain. All these trusts of God they have abandoned and from them they have rid themselves."

٤. A tradition was reported by Ibn Babawayh al- aduq
his chain of transmission going back to Jabir, who related it on the authority of the
Prophet, who said:

Three on the Day of Resurrection will come complaining: The Book, the mosque, and the Family. The Book will say, "٠ Lord, they have altered me and rented me." The mosque will say, "٠ Lord, they abandoned and wasted me." The Family will say, "٠
Lord, they killed, rejected, and dispersed us."

٥. A tradition was related by al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh al- adaq,
of transmission going back to Ali b. Suwayd, who said: "I wrote a letter to Aba al‌ I:Iasan Masa [al-Ka im]
the Imams response, in which he said, "They altered it and changed it."