Siddiq
Siddiq (Arabic word meaning "truthful") is an Islamic term and is given as an Honorific title to certain individuals. Feminine gender for Siddiq is Siddiqah. The word is sometimes used as a title given specific by Muhammad, according to Islamic sources. Otherwise, it is used to denote that the person is totally trustworthy.
In Hebrew the word/name "Tzadik" (צדיק), has a similar meaning. The title of Voltaire's satirical novel Zadig also stems from from this root.
Sunni usage
Sunni use Siddiq as a nickname for Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam and the closest friend of Muhammad, while Siddiqa is used for his daughter and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's wife Aisha.
Sufi term
In Sufism, Siddiq is a rank that comes after prophet. Generally given to a person who verified the claim of prophethood in its early stage. Sufis believe the following four ranks are free of time and space and therefore life and death becomes meaningless.
- Nabi - Prophet, someone who learned of the unseen from God directly
- Siddiq - Early day muslim who learned the unseen from Muhammad
- Shaheed - Martyr, someone who gave his life for the will of God and has thus become beyond mortality
- Salih - Righteous, someone who spends every bit of his life per the will of God and thus achieved the status of "Baqaa" thru Fanaa. Also referred to as Wali.
Shia usage
Shi'a use Siddiqah as a title for his Muhammed's daughter Fatima. In Then I was Guided, the Shi'a author asks its Sunni audience how it is possible for both Abu Bakr and Fatimah to be "Siddiq", when contemplating their intense and deep conflicts, implying that logic demands one to be a lier, and arguing it can't be Muhammed's daughter [1]. Sunni view that their conflict was a pure misunderstanding, not blemishing their trustworthiness.
Sunni Response to Shi'a
Sunnis respond that Abubakr is superior of all Sahaba interms Taqwa and his contribution to Islam. It is tqwa which makes a person near to Allah not his race or kinship, as Shi'as do always say Ahlul Beyt. Had that been the case, Abu Lahab wouldn't go to hell fire as he was an uncle of the Prophet. This was proved by many evidences of in The Qur'an and Hadith. Sunnis also argue that Shi'a and Shi'iesm itself is based on no evidence but on fabricated stories which have no ground in Qur'an and Sunnah. Shi'iesm is a political movement and not religious doctrine, aimed at fulfilling the interest of certain groups, according to Scholars and traditions. Had Shi'a been the right path, it wouldn't have so few followers, because Allah has promised to make his religion above all, in terms of the number of the followers and the strength of the believers. (In reference to the prophecies in Sura Al Hashr and Al Tawba). Imam Shafi'i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal were two well known refuters of Shi'a.