Panjtan (Five People)

Written by: Allama Syed Ahmed Saeed Kazmi (رحمۃ اللہ علیہ)
Translated by: Mumtaz Al-Qadiri

لی خمسۃ اطفیٰ بہا حرالوبا الحاطمہ
المصطفیٰ والمرتضیٰ وابنا ھما الفاطم

There are “five” personalities for me through whose mediation I can extinguish the burning difficulties. Those are “Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Fatimah and Hasan and Husain”
The Glorious Qur’an says: انما یرید اﷲ لیذ ھب عنکم الرجس اھل البیت ویطھرکم تطھیرا
Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye members of the Family, and to make you pure and spotless. (Surah Ahzaab, verse 44)
Allama Abi Ja’far Muhammad bin Jareer Tabri (Allah’s mercy be upon him) (died in 310 Hijri) quotes a Hadith:

محمد بن المثنی قال ثنابکر بن یحییٰ بن زبان العنزی قال ثنا مندل عن الاعمش عن عطیۃ عن ابی سعید الخدری قال قال رسول اﷲ ﷺ نزلت ھذہ الاٰیۃ فی خمسۃ فیّ وفی علی رضی اﷲ عنہ وحسن رضی اﷲ عنہ وحسین رضی اﷲ عنہ وفاطمہ رضی اﷲ عنہا انما یرید اﷲ لیذھب عنکم الرجس اھل البیت ویطہرکم تطھیرا

that the The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said “This verse is revealed about the ‘Panjtan’. For me and Ali and Hasan and Hussain and Hazrat Fatimah (May Allah be pleased with them all), Verily Almighty Allah wants, O family of Prophet, that (He) keeps the impurity away from you and makes you pure and further very pure” (Jama al-Bayaan Fee Tafseer-ul-Qur’an, Volume 22, page 5, Published in Beirut in 1398 Hijri/1978)
The meaning of the word “Panjtan” is “five people”, and those are meant to be Hazrat Muhammad-ur-Rasoolullah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Hasnain Kareemain, Saiyidah Fatimah Zahrah and Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with them all). And the verse of purification (of Qur’an) was revealed about these sacred personality in which the “purify and further purify” is present. Meaning Almighty Allah purifies you, purifying (‘paak’) which is very clear proof that the ‘Panjtan’ is really ‘Paak’.
When The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) have said the word “Khamsah (five)” from his holy tongue and to clear that (the meaning of) this is about him, he has given detail and said it clearly that “Tat-heer” (Purify) is revealed about these five personalities who are called as purified by Almight Allah; then only a vicious heart can say that, it is not permissible to say ‘Panjtan’ to be ‘Paak’ and say “Tat-heer” (Purification) is not for them. God forbid! If it not the opposition to the Holy Prophet and not disrespect of Allah’s Prophet then what it is? God forbid!
This does certainly not mean that we belief that only ‘Panjtan’ are pure, rest are not. According to us, the holy wives (Azwaj-e-Mutahhirat) of Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) are also included in the verse of “Tat-heer”. That’s why we necessarily use the word “Mutahhirat” with (their names); and apart from them, countless beloved holy men and women of Allah are surely ‘Paak’ and we believe on their purity. But, the reason for saying ‘Panjtan Paak’ is that in the above mentioned Hadith, the holy word ‘Khamsa’ was said from Holy Prophet’s sacred tongue, then further elaboration is done by the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself and told the verse of ‘Tat-heer’ is about them (Mahanama Al-Saeed, Multan, Shumara October 1962, page 22-23).
This is not too far that the Ignorant of Wahabi-ism and Deobandi-ism put Fatwa of being Shi’a on even the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on saying ‘Panjtan’ and mentioning the names of them. These people should tell who are ‘Panjtan’? In ‘Panjtan’, one is Holy Prophet, 3 Companions and one Sahabiya (female companion); when Ahle Sunnat takes names of them then (they are) Shi’a but when Deobandi Wahabi mutter the Wazeefa of “Sahabah Sahabah”, shout the slogan of names of Sahabah in their assemblies, make organizations with the names of Sahabah, then Deobandi Wahabis will not become Shia? Why? Is this not the opposition against Ahle Bait?
Sometimes (they) say “the nation of Prophet Nooh (blessings on him) used to believe the five noble personalities as “Daata” and these were their “Panjtan Paak”, our Qabar-parast (the devotees to shrines of Auliya) Muslims’ belief is the remembrance of this ancient belief. [Kitab "Daata kon", writer: Mufti Abdur Rahman Ghair-Muqallid (Fazil-e-Deoband), published by Madarsa Dadrees-ul-Qur'an wal-Hadees, Sunnat-Nagar, Lahore]
Lahaulawala Quwata illah billah! (لاحول ولا قوۃ الاباﷲ) In the Tafaseer (books of Quranic exegesis) and Sharah (explanation) of Prophetic Traditions about Surah Nooh, verse 23 that there were five noble personalities in between the era from Hazrat Aadam (blessings on him) to Hazrat Nooh’s (blessings on him); Wudd, Sawaa’, Yaghoos, Ya’ooq and Nasr. Before Hazrat Nooh, people made idols of those personalities and believed those idols to be their god and worshiped, those people used to worship them. Non of the Muslims believe Ahle Bait or any other Wali-ullah to be ‘ilaah’ (god) and worshiped person, and and neither (Muslims) worship them. There no remedy for false accusation.