Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Chapter 7: Prohibition of Transcribing the Hadith

بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالزُّبُرِ وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(We sent them) with Clear Signs and Scriptures; and We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that you may explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may reflect. (Holy Qur’an, 16:44)

Without a doubt, the art of writing separates the truth from falsehood, maintains agreements, and reminds people of what has passed and many other important things. Even during the pre-Islamic era, writing was a rare but honored skill. According to Ibn Sa’d,“The accomplished among them in the time before Islam were those who wrote Arabic, mastered swimming, and mounted archery.” 140 Various schools in Mecca, Madinah and Taif taught the difficult art of the Arabic script.

When Islam came, its teachings prioritized writing and the advancement of knowledge and imagery of books and writing permeate the verses of the Qur’an. One of the first verses which Allah revealed was,“[He] Who taught by the use of the pen,” 141 thus making the pen as an instrument used for a binding oath, such as inSurah al-Qalam ,“By the pen and by what they write.” 142 Therefore, despite the difficulties of writing at that time, gradually thejahiliyyah (pre-Islamic) society slowly became literate.

After establishing the mosque in Madinah, one of the priorities of the Prophet had was to appoint a teacher, Abdullah Ibn Sa’d al-Aas to teach reading and writing. This skill was so important that the Prophet even allowed some of the captives taken during the Battle of Badr to earn their freedom in exchange for teaching ten Muslims how to read and write.143 Between forty-three and forty-five scribes recorded the revelations of the Qur’an at the Prophet’s request, and in addition, he would constantly urge the people to “write (uktubu )”144 and “document (qayyidu ),”145 and would advise,“Help yourself to memorize by writing.” 146

Most significant, the Prophet commanded that his hadith (sayings and actions) be written down. He instructed the Muslims,“Write everything that comes out of my mouth, for by the One whose Hands my soul is in, nothing comes from it except the truth.” 147 Abu Bakr narrates from the Holy Prophet that, “Whoever writes down a piece of knowledge from me or a hadith will receiveajr (reward) as long as it (the writing) exists.”148

A companion, Abdullah Ibn al-Aas used to put everything the Prophet said in writing to such an extent that some companions of the Prophet ordered him to stop doing so because they felt that the Prophet was just a human being whose utterance should not be recorded. He consulted with the Prophet and the Prophet replied,“Yes, write down everything that I say.” 149 Similarly, on the authority of Rafi Ibn Khadij we read that:

The Prophet of Allah passed by us one day and we were talking. He said,“What are you talking about?” We replied,“What we heard from you.” He said,“So talk about it, but whoever deliberately attributes false statements to me reserves his place in the hell-fire,” and then the people stopped talking.

The Prophet asked why they were not talking anymore, and they replied that they had stopped talking because of his serious words. He said,“I did not say not to talk. I said, ‘speak, but speak the truth.’ I only ask you not to

attribute false statements to me.” They said to him,“O Prophet of God, we hear things from you, should we write them down?” He said,“Yes, by all means, write them down. By thy Lord, everything that comes out of my mouth is the truth.” 150

In addition, the Prophet emphasized the transmission of his teachings through other means. He repeated twice saying,“Therefore, the witness must inform the absent,” 151 regarding those who were not present to hear his words. He also encouraged the Muslims to memorize his sayings in order to transmit them and as a way to verify their authenticity. In this regard, the Prophet would say,“Whoever memorizes and conveys forty hadith from my tradition, I will admit him into my intercession on the Day of Judgment,” 152 and“Whoever from my ummah memorizes forty hadith, Allah will raise him on the Day of Judgment as a scholar.” 153

Despite all this significance and attention given to recording the hadith of the Prophet, during the reign of the first three caliphs, the Muslims were absolutely forbidden from recording any hadith.154 In the words of Lady Aishah:

My father collected the hadith of the Messenger of Allah and they numbered five hundred. He spent the night turning back and forth. He saddened me and I said to him,“Are you turning around because of pain, or because of bad news which you have received?” In the morning, he said to me,“Bring me the hadith of the Prophet which I have left with you.” I brought him all the hadith. At this point, he asked for fire and burned all the hadith in the fire. I said to him,“Why do you burn these hadith?” He said,“I fear that I will die while I have these hadith. I took them from the man I trusted, but maybe some hadith are not his or maybe the sayings are not authentic.” 155

The excuse proffered in the above quote is that the hadith might not have been authentic. However, Abu Bakr could hardly have had reason to doubt traditions that he heard with his own ears and from other companions whom he himself says he trusted.

This position becomes even more difficult to accept when coupled with the idea subsequently introduced by scholars, such as Ibn Hajar that Allah did not allow the companions to lie or make mistakes!

In later times, in order to support Abu Bakr’s action, a false saying was cited on the authority of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri stating,“Whoever took from me other than the Qur’an and wrote it down, let him erase it.” 156 Aside from the fact that this hadith contradicts previous hadith in which the Prophet ordered the Muslims to write down his traditions and the spirit of the Holy Qur’an which encourages writing, if this hadith was authentic then Abu Bakr would certainly have been aware of it and would never have narrated any hadith.

To placate the people, Abu Bakr said,“Between us and you is the book of Allah, so follow the lawful in it and refrain from the prohibited.” Across the board, both Shi’a and Sunni scholars believe that the Qur’an alone does not suffice for a comprehensive explanation of Islam and it is in need of the Prophet’s explanation as a supplement.

Even more, the verses of the Qur’an fall into many categories, such as mujmal (having equal possibilities) and mubayan (clearly recognized); muhkam (fundamental or basic) and mutashabih (vague); aam (general) and khass (specific); and naasikh (abrogating) and mansukh (abrogated). It is for this reason that Allah did not leave the Muslims without a guide to the proper interpretation thereof. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an,

“Whoever obeys the Prophet has obeyed Allah,” 157

and

“Your Companion (Muhammad) errs not, nor is he led astray, nor does he speaks of his own inclination.” 158

Similarly, the Prophet said,“By Allah, I have commanded and admonished and prohibited things, and just like the Qur’an, you have to follow what I say,” 159 and“Verily, I have been given the Qur’an and something equivalent to it [the hadith].” 160 One of his final injunctions to the Muslims was,“I am leaving among you the Book of Allah and my family (itrati);” “itrati,” also refers to the hadith of the Prophet and his family.

In a hadith narrated in the Sunni books, the Messenger of Allah prophesized:

It is imminent that a man will narrate from me while leaning on his couch and then he will say, ‘Between us and between you is the Book of Allah. When we find something permissible in it, we will follow it, and when we find something impermissible in it, we will refrain from it.’161

‘Umar continued the hadith precedent of Abu Bakr during his caliphate. However, at one point, he consulted the companions of the Prophet about recording hadith and they encouraged him to do so. After considering the matter for a month, ‘Umar then declared:

My intention was to record hadith but then I realized that some people (nations) before you kept writing down the sayings of their prophets, and kept reading them; as a result, they forgot the book of Allah (their scriptures). I fear that the same will happen if I order you to document the sayings of the Prophet, or if I do it myself. I do not want to make the Book of Allah a victim here because of the hadith; nothing has precedence over the Book of Allah.162

He then wrote to the Ansar,“Whoever has anything should erase it.” 163 Even afterwards ‘Umar decreed,“These (the hadith of the Prophet) are just like the Jewish scripts (mushnat), and they must be burnt.” 164 He then gathered all of the hadith written on leather, tablets, and pieces of wood and ordered them to be burnt.165

However, it is important to note that the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) did not neglect their scriptures (Holy Revelations) in favor of the sayings of their prophets [hadith]. Their problem was not that they were overly fastidious in transcribing the sayings of their prophets. Instead, they neglected almost all of the traditions of their prophets, as well as the commands of their Divinely sent books (i.e. the Tawrah). They also refused to follow the successors that their prophets named, such as Asif Ibn Barkhiyah, the successor of Prophet Sulayman, and Yushaa, the successor of Prophet Musa.

As agreed by both schools of thought, the Messenger of Allah forewarned that the Muslims would follow the pattern of previous generations when he said,“You will follow the footsteps and tradition of the nations before you step by step.” 166 Since the first three caliphs enforced the policy of not recording the sayings, fabricators such as Ka’ab al-Ahbar167 and Tamim Ibn Aus al-Dari168 flourished and spread thousands of false hadith, forever affecting Islam.

Furthermore, fearing that they would spread the sayings of the Prophet outside Madinah, the second caliph summoned many of the prominent companions, such as Abdullah Ibn Hudaafah, Ibn Masud,169 Abu Dardah,170 Abu Dharr al-Ghifari,171 and Uqbaah Ibn Aamir to Madinah and rebuked them saying,“What is it that you have done! You spread the hadith of the Prophet in other places. You have to stay here (in Madinah) and you will not depart or separate from me as long as I live.” Thus, they were confined to Madinah until ‘Umar was assassinated.172

Al-Shibi says that the Muhajireen from the Quraysh despised ‘Umar for confining them to Madinah, so that they would not spread the hadith elsewhere. The situation reached to a point that some of the men would ask permission to accompany the ghazw (military dispatch) and ‘Umar would tell them,“No, you had your share with the Prophet, and you had enough reward for that, so today it is better for you that you do not see the world and for the world not to see you either.” 173

In contrast, others who were not known for their honesty in conveying the hadith of the Prophet, such as al-Waleed Ibn Uqbah, Hanbal Ibn Abu Sufyan, and Abdullah Ibn Abi Sarh were permitted to travel wherever they wanted, even to the conquered lands of Iraq and Persia. However, those who were known for their integrity in transmitting the hadith of the Prophet were forced to remain behind.

Unlike Abu Bakr who expressed fear that the hadith he possessed were not authentic, ‘Umar argued that the hadith should be destroyed because the people might follow them instead of the Qur’an or that they might confuse them with the Qur’an. However, the true hadith hardly led people away from the Qur’an. In fact, the hadith contain an explanation of the Qur’an itself and the more people know about the hadith, the more one would heed to the Qur’an. Allah assigned the Prophet to“make clear to humankind what has been sent down to them,” 174 hence the hadith are extremely vital to understanding the Qur’an.

Similarly, the fear that people might mix up the Qur’an and the hadith is also difficult to understand, since even the average modern reader can readily distinguish between the text of the Qur’an and that of a hadith. The style of the Qur’an is inimitable among human beings and the Qur’an itself says that it is a miracle, and challenges human beings to produce one verse like it - a challenge that the Prophet never issued for his hadith. Such a fear, were it genuine, would imply a severe lack of confidence in the reasoning abilities of the sahabahs (companions) who had the additional advantage of hearing the Prophet himself speak.

Muslim analysts believe that the real reason why there was a calculated ploy to prevent the hadith from being recorded was that there were

innumerable hadith about the virtues of the household of the Prophet and their right to the leadership after the Holy Prophet’s death. Had these sayings circulated in written form amongst the predominant sahih books then they would have undermined the political legitimacy of the first three caliphs.

As a result, the sad reality developed that, although, the hadith are second only to the Qur’an in Islamic legislation, many authentic sayings of Prophet Muhammad were lost, while many others were forged.

The situation degenerated to the level where Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan ordered Kab al-Ahbar to sit in the mosque and invent hadith to read to the people, and no one could disprove what he said because no written sources existed among those masses. It was not until the time of the Umayyah caliph, ‘Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz (99 ah) that Muslims were allowed, for a short but unsuccessful period, to record the hadith.175

Anyone who tried to compile the hadith of the Prophet faced severe punishment and this state of affair lasted for more than a century - spanning from the periods of the first four176 caliphs thru to the Bani Umayyah dynasty and until the time of Abu Ja’far al-Mansur of the Abbasid dynasty. Ironically, Mu’awiyah told the people,“Narrate less from the Prophet, and if you want to mention a hadith from him, say what used to be said about him during the time of ‘Umar.” 177

In reality, the policy of not writing hadith took form right before the death of the Prophet when ‘Umar prevented the Prophet from writing his will while the Messenger was on his deathbed, as recorded in prominent Sunni sources, ‘Umar proclaimed that,“The Book of Allah is enough for us.” 178

Chapter 8: Legacy of the Quraysh on the Hadith

وَقُلْ جَاء الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

Truth has arrived, and falsehood has perished; verily falsehood by its nature perishes. (Holy Qur’an, 17:81)

The critical influence of the Quraysh group was not confined to the temporary prohibition of the compilation of hadith. This group and the Bani Umayyah came and went, however the results of their propaganda tactics survive until today in the invented practices that have found their way into the books of hadith.

Under the employment of the Bani Umayyah, individuals such as Abu Huraira al-Dusi and al-Mugheerah Ibn Shu’bah composed stories ridiculing the household of the Prophet and exaggerating other companions. They even attributed some false hadith to Imam ‘Ali. As a result, the sources of Islamicshariah (legal law) and legislation became tainted which lead to many people within the ummah becoming misinformed.

Some Muslims believe that if one rejects any hadith narrated in the six books of hadith called theSahih as-Sittah (the six authentic books of hadith), then they are actually rejecting their faith. Few people realize that belief in the validity of these sixsahih hadith books is not a prerequisite for faith and that another option does exist.

Where did all of these fabricated hadith come from? A major source is the man whom ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab accused of stealing the wealth of the Muslims and called him“the enemy of Allah and the enemy of the Book of Allah” 179 and that man was Abu Huraira, who is known to have narrated over 5,700 hadith. In fact, in regards to him, ‘Umar said,“Most likely because of the abundance of the hadith you have delivered, you are lying about the Prophet.” 180

Abu Huraira used to tell stories in which the Prophet would say absurd things and when the Muslims stared at him dumbfounded, he would affirm,“I believe in this hadith, and so do Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.” By his own statement, he was implying that no one else had faith to believe in his narrations!181

Abu Huraira was not the only person who composed his own hadith and attributed the sayings to Prophet Muhammad. Another prominent storyteller was ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas.182 For example, ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas narrates that when Lady Aishah was asked who was the closest person to the heart of the Prophet, she said,“My father.” When asked who else, she said,“‘Umar,” and then after him, she named other people.183 However, Lady Aishah had always maintained that amongst men, the closest person to the Prophet was ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, and that amongst the women it was his daughter, Lady Fatima al-Zahra.184

Sunni scholars who carefully examine thesahih books would automatically question the authenticity of some of the problematic hadith. Of course, had the Bani Umayyah not begun the practice of forging their own hadith, then the entire science of hadith classification may never have developed. Nevertheless, since they did, the science of hadith classification was developed.

One of the primary principles, which both Sunni and Shi’a scholars use in the science of hadith, is that if one narrator in a chain of narrators is unreliable then all of his hadiths are meaningless.185 In this case, why did the fables of Abu Huraira, and those that insulted the Prophet, remain in thesahih books? By their own inclusion of a few shortsighted narrators, these false and fabricated hadiths affected Muslim thought forever.

Hadith of the “Ten People Guaranteed Paradise”

One of the most infamous hadith a fabrication is referred to as, “Ten People Guaranteed Paradise (al-Asharah Mubashsharah bil-Jannah ).”

According to this hadith the“ten people guaranteed Paradise” are: (1) Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Qahafah (2) ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (3) ‘Uthman Ibn al-Affan (4) Talha Ibn Ubaydillah (5) Zubayr Ibn al-Awam (6) Abd al-Rahman Ibn Auf (7) Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas (8) Abdullah Ibn Masoud (9) Abu Obaydah Ibn al-Jarrah and (10) ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Collectively granting them all paradise puts us in a great dilemma because many of these individuals are known for their questionable character.

To begin with, only al-Tirmidhi includes this hadith, whereas al-Bukhari, al-Muslim, and al-Dhahabi all reject it.186 It behooves us to ask why the other prominent hadith recorders did not mention this hadith, since being guaranteed Paradise assures that their course of life was traveled correctly. Then who narrated this“hadith?” Near the top of the chain of narrators lies Sa’ed Ibn Zayd, the son-in-law of the second caliph - a man who refused to pay allegiance to Imam ‘Ali during his caliphate.

Another point to consider is that those guaranteed Paradise should include those who sacrificed their lives and properties in the path of Allah, so why were not the hundreds of martyrs and companions included in this hadith? For example, the“Leader of the Martyrs (Sayyid al-Shuhada),” Hamzah, the uncle of the Holy Prophet is not included in this hadith, nor are any of the Ansar whom the Holy Prophet constantly praised.

Above that, to guarantee Paradise to Talha, Zubayr, Abd al-Rahman Ibn Auf, and ‘Uthman Ibn al-Affan would bring about a problem for several reasons. First, Talha, Zubayr, and Abd al-Rahman Ibn Auf used to call ‘Uthman a “fasiq ” (indecent), and they eventually revolted against him during his caliphate. In addition, Talha and Zubayr pressed for a civil war by supporting and joining Lady Aishah in the Battle of the Camel, in which both of them were killed in the battle. Secondly, ‘Uthman and Abd al-Rahman Ibn Auf (whom ‘Umar nicknamed“the Pharaoh of this nation” 187 ), after a falling out, did not speak to one another until death.

Furthermore, after ‘Uthman’s assassination, the Muslims were so angry with ‘Uthman that they did not allow for his body to be buried in al-Baqi cemetery; hence, his remains were buried in the Jewish cemetery of Kokab.188 He remained buried there until Mu’awiyah came to power and included him in the common cemetery of al-Baqi, in Madinah. To add, Sa’d Ibn Abi al-Waqqas refused to pay allegiance to Imam ‘Ali even when the rest of the ummah accepted him as their fourth caliph. Nevertheless, many Muslim leaders still cite this fabricated hadith, and many Muslims embrace it unquestioningly.

‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab

Many of the fabricated hadith were introduced to provide religious legitimacy for the government of the caliphs. In fact, that could be seen as the primary motive for inventing hadith. For this reason, many posthumous narrations are recorded in praise of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab; some of which are attributed to the Prophet having said them, others to Imam ‘Ali, and some are attributed to various companions.

However, almost all of these hadith are flawed as either they contradict the Qur’an, the sunnah or other established facts, or one or more of their narrators are known to be unreliable, according to the standards of recognizing the hadith in the Sunni tradition.

Virtually all of the fabricated sayings in praise of ‘Umar appeared during the time of Bani Umayyah, particularly during the rule of Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan, for obvious reasons, since the Bani Umayyah was attempting to consolidate their rule. In contrast, most of the reliable hadith about ‘Umar that appeared during his lifetime and have been included in the Sunni books are not overly favorable for him.

‘Umar is recorded to have said about himself,“All people are more knowledgeable than ‘Umar, even the housewives.” 189 He asks,“Doesn’t it surprise you that your leader erred and a lady in his audience corrected him?” 190 He also spoke about himself saying,“All the people are more knowledgeable than you, ‘Umar.” 191 In regards to the claims of ‘Ali supposedly praising ‘Umar’s knowledge, Sunni and Shi’a agree that ‘Umar said,“If it were not for ‘Ali, ‘Umar would have perished.” 192

From the viewpoint of other companions,“‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab took twelve years to learn Surah al-Baqarah, and when he learned it, he sacrificed a cow.” 193 One of the transcribers of the Qur’an, Ubay Ibn Ka’ab said to ‘Umar,“The reason for your lack of knowledge about the Qur’an is that the Qur’an was keeping me busy (with it), while you were busy in the marketplace.” 194 Al-Bayhaqi says,“Since the house of ‘Umar was far from the Mosque of the Prophet in the area of al-Awali, he used to go to the Mosque of the Prophet once every two days.” 195

Conversely, many unreliable hadith grossly exaggerate ‘Umar’s position and knowledge. One says,“If all of the knowledge of humanity was put on one side of a scale, and the knowledge of ‘Umar was put on the other, then the knowledge of ‘Umar would outweigh the knowledge belonging to all of humanity.” 196

If this hadith was true, then what would be the need for the Prophet if ‘Umar had all of this knowledge? Another“hadith” says,“One day an earthquake hit Madinah, and ‘Umar hit the ground with his stick and said, ‘Be calm, by the permission of Allah,’ and the earthquake ceased because ‘Umar told it to.” 197 Moreover, another“hadith” claims that the Prophet said,“If I had never been sent to you as a prophet, ‘Umar would have been sent by Allah as a prophet.” 198 One hadith goes as far as to state,“In the nations before us, there were some people whom the angels would talk to, and if there is one person in our ummah that one is ‘Umar.” 199

Although ‘Umar looked to ‘Ali for guidance during his caliphate, still ‘Ali is purported to have said,“We used to say there is an angel speaking

through the tongue of ‘Umar.” 200 While hadith pointing to the realistic good qualities of the second caliph would not be out of the ordinary; nonetheless, these traditions go beyond the bounds of credibility and suggest that ‘Umar himself was higher than the Prophet was, and this is definitely an unacceptable belief.

Not all hadith regarding the second caliph came out of nowhere. Some hadith were specifically introduced to either counterbalance or share a similar tone in praising Ahlul Bayt or the immediate household of the Prophet. For example, Sunni and Shi’a both agree that the Prophet said about his daughter,“Fatima is part of me. Whoever angers her angers me, and whoever angers me angers Allah.” 201 Therefore, the appearance of a similar hadith about ‘Umar is not surprising - it reads,“Avoid angering ‘Umar, for if he becomes angry, Allah will become angry.” 202 Regarding one of the narrators of this hadith, Abu Luqman Ibn Asakir says,“He narrates false narrations and attributes them to people who are honest and trustworthy.” 203

Fortunately, many authentic hadith passed the test of time; nevertheless, numerous unfounded hadith remain. Moreover, such hadith continue to cause friction among the schools of thought. As an example, one fabrication that al-Dhahabi dismisses, in fact, he says,“This is a clear fabrication,” is the hadith that reports:

The first thing that Allah will embrace on the Day of Judgment is ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, and the first thing that Allah will shake hands with is ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, and the first who Allah will take his hand and go with him to Paradise is ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab.204

Another instance of a clearly erroneous hadith in the established books comes to us by Ibn al-Atheer who relates from Muhammad Ibn Khaleel, who al-Atheer himself said that he, Khaleel fabricates hadith205 states:

The Prophet climbed Mount Uhud with Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman. The mountain was shaking, so the Prophet kicked the mountain and said,“Stop it Uhud, climbing you are only a prophet, a siddiq (truthful person), and two shaheeds (martyrs).” 206

InSahih al-Muslim , Ibn Abbas says:

When ‘Umar died and was lying on his bed, people were coming and praying for him. I felt a man holding my shoulders from my back. I saw that the man was ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib. He (‘Ali) began seeking forgiveness for ‘Umar and said,“I wish I could meet Allah with the same deeds that ‘Umar is meeting him with.” Then he continued to say,“I hope that Allah will gather you (‘Umar) with your two companions (the Prophet and Abu Bakr) because I always heard the Prophet say, “I came with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar; I left with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.” 207

Since ‘Ali grew up side by side with the Prophet and spent virtually every moment with him, it is unlikely that the Prophet named others as being closer to him, especially since ‘Umar himself narrated that the Prophet said, “‘Ali is the guardian (mawla ) of every male and female believer.”208

Attempting to prove that ‘Umar was more insightful than the Prophet was someone related the following story:

One day, ‘Umar saw the Prophet ordering the Muslims to destroy the palm trees of Khaybar, so ‘Umar asked the Prophet to stop doing that. The Prophet listened to ‘Umar and asked the people not to cut down the palm trees of Khaybar.208

Unfortunately, this particular narration has been used to lower the status of the Prophet, whereas in fact, it is extremely unlikely that Allah would send His final Messenger, perfect him in every way, and then leave him in need of basic guidance.

In another peculiar myth:

When Egypt was conquered during the time of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, the people of Egypt came to the first governor, ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas. They told him,“We have a tradition regarding the Nile River. On the eleventh of this month, we find a virgin woman and after seeking her parents’ permission and satisfying them, we put the best clothing and ornaments on her, and then we throw her into the Nile. If we do not do this, then the river will not run.” ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas said,“No, this is against Islam, for this is injustice,” and he banned them from this act.

Since they did not throw a virgin woman into the Nile that year, it did not run and they had a drought so severe that they had to move (locations) due to a lack of water. When ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas saw this, he wrote to ‘Umar and asked him what to do. ‘Umar wrote a letter to the river and asked his governor to throw the letter into the river.

He wrote in the letter that he told the river,“If you are running by your own permission, then it is better that you do not run, but if you are running by the permission of Allah, then I ask that Allah make you run.” They threw the letter into the river, and suddenly the river began running.210

While many fabrications focus on ‘Umar, numerous others exist exaggerating the status of Abu Bakr and ‘Uthman and sadly belittling the Holy Prophet. For example, inSahih al-Muslim :

The Prophet’s thighs and legs were uncovered. Abu Bakr came, but the Prophet did not cover himself. ‘Umar came, but he also did not cover himself. But when ‘Uthman came, the Prophet sat and covered himself. When Lady Aishah asked him why he did that, the Prophet said,“Should I not be modest in front of a man that the angels are shy in front of?” 211

This narration is not in concordance with the high moral character of the Prophet. Seeing as the Prophet described Islam as a religion of modesty; it is difficult to imagine that he himself would be violating his own description of the path that he taught.

Similarly, inSahih al-Muslim it says:

One day, Lady Aishah was sitting next to the Prophet. Abu Bakr sought permission to enter while the Prophet was lying on his bed and Lady Aishah was sitting there. He came and the Prophet attended to Abu Bakr, and then Abu Bakr left. Then ‘Umar came and the Prophet attended to him. Then ‘Uthman came. When ‘Uthman came, the Prophet told Lady Aishah,“Cover yourself.” So she covered herself and the Prophet attended to ‘Uthman.

Then the Prophet turned to Lady Aishah and asked her,“Why were you not afraid when ‘Umar and Abu Bakr came like you were when ‘Uthman came?” She said, “Due to the fact that ‘Uthman is a man with shame

(rajulun hayy ), and if I had remained (uncovered), then he would not have come and asked for what he needed, and I did not want to deprive him of obtaining what he required.”212

Another story narrates that Allah sent the Angel Gabriel to ask Abu Bakr,“Are you happy with Allah? You are poor, do you accept this poverty?” Abu Bakr replied,“Should I be angry with Allah? No, I am happy with my God’s decision. I am happy with my God’s decision. I am happy with my God’s decision.” Al-Suyuti says regarding this hadith,“It is strange and the chain of narrators is weak.” 213

In another hadith it says,“Allah ordered the angels to penetrate the skies just like Abu Bakr is penetrating the earth.” Regarding this claim, Ibn Kathir says,“This hadith is wrong and evil (munkaran jiddan).”

Al-Bukhari and Ahmad Ibn al-Hanbal relate that Lady Aishah said,“The Prophet was affected by magic by someone from Bani Zareeq named Lubayd Ibn al-Asal; and because of this spell, the Prophet would imagine that he had done something, but in fact he had not done it.” 214

Despite the poor performance of certain companions during the military excursions, fabrications about their bravery became abundant. When asked who was the bravest of the companions, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib is said to have replied,“Abu Bakr - because on the day of Badr, we set up a tent for the Prophet, and we asked someone to stand next to him, so the mushrikeen (non-believers) would not attack him, none came forward except Abu Bakr. He raised his sword and stood there, thus he is the bravest person.”

However, the Sunni historian, al-Tabari alludes to the unwillingness of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar to fight, in addition to their frequent fleeing away from battles, such as in the Battle of Uhud and Hunain. Thus, the narrations that speak about their bravery are unjustifiable.215

Since Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and Lady Aishah were the center of focus of such narrations, thus it may point to an element of untruth in them, since innumerable devoted companions, more than 100,000, aided the Prophet. Other books, such as Kitab al-Maghazi by al-Waqidi illustrates the same bias, mentioning ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab in 166 pages, and Abu Bakr in 143 pages, while he mentions only a few times other great companions such as Ammar Ibn Yasir, Musab Ibn Umair, Abdullah Ibn Masud, Khuzaymah Ibn Thabit, and Zayd Ibn al-Khattab (the brother of ‘Umar).

Fabrications Involving the Qur’an

Some of the Umayyah clan went so far as to claim that some of the Qur’anic verses descended because of ‘Umar’s wishes, actions, and suggestions. For instance, al-Suyuti says:

When ‘Umar gave his opinion about something, the Qur’an would come with a verse supporting his opinion. Whenever there was a disagreement between the people and ‘Umar, the Qur’an came and supported what ‘Umar said... Allah supported ‘Umar and confirmed his views in 21 places in the Qur’an.216

Such narrations claim that because ‘Umar had instructed the Prophet not to seek forgiveness for the hypocrites that Allah revealed the following verse,

“Whether you seek forgiveness for them or not, Allah will never forgive them.” (9:80)

They also say that ‘Umar suggested to the Muslims to prepare themselves for the Battle of Badr, and the Qur’an came in support of ‘Umar’s idea. However, these reports ironically neglect the fact that ‘Umar is recorded to have been against the military engagement for the Battle of Badr.

In addition, it is alleged that Allah revealed,“And whoever is the enemy of Allah and His angels and His Messengers and Gabriel and Michael, Lo! Allah is an enemy to those who reject faith,” (c. 2:98) because ‘Umar was defending the Angel Gabriel against a Jewish man who called the angel their enemy. Moreover, they maintain that the verse requiring people to seek permission before entering a person’s chamber also came at the request of ‘Umar.217 These are all blatant tales trying to raise the status of ‘Umar.

Imam al-Nawawi attributes many verses to ‘Umar and says,“The Qur’an descended in conformance with ‘Umar in many places, such as the prisoners of Badr, the verse of hijab, the station of Ibrahim, and the prohibition of wine.” 218 However, the latter statement is extremely doubtful, since historians agree that ‘Umar gradually ceased drinking.219 In fact, the final verse prohibiting alcohol was revealed after ‘Umar became drunk and injured the head of Abd al-Rahman Ibn Auf.

Hadith of the Twelve Successors

In addition to the fabrication of hadith, the ruling powers also took the trouble to change well-known traditions. One in particular reinforces their legitimacy and is a well-known hadith transmitted amongst both the Sunni and the Shi’a schools of thought.

Al-Bukhari, al-Muslim, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, al-Tabarani, and Ibn Hajar all narrate the famous hadith which says,“The successors after me will be twelve, and all of them will be from Bani Hashim,” 220 except that in the sahih books,“Bani Hashim” has been changed to read“Quraysh.”

How did the change in the hadith happen? According to al-Muslim, the narrator Jabir Ibn S’Amrah reports:

I went with my father to see the Prophet and I heard him say that after him there would be twelve successors. Then he said something that I could not hear very well. I turned to my father and asked him,“What did the Prophet say?” My father said,“The Prophet said, ‘All of them will be from Quraysh.’” 221

Al-Bukhari relates the story somewhat differently, using the word“amir” (commander) instead of“khalifah” :

I heard the Prophet say that there will be twelve amirs, but then said something I could not hear. I asked the person sitting next to me what the Prophet said and he replied,“All of them are from Quraysh.” 222

Abu Dawud says:

When the Prophet said,“There will be twelve successors after me,” all the people began to do takbir (uttering“Allahu akbar” ) and raised their voices while the Prophet was speaking. Therefore, I could not hear the Prophet because all of the people were saying takbir. So I asked my father,

“What did the Prophet say after that?” He said,“All of them will be from Quraysh.” 223

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal simply relates that Jabir Ibn S’Amrah says,“I heard the Prophet saying, ‘This nation will have twelve successors,’ 224 and ‘all of them will be from Quraysh.’” 225 Al-Tabarani includes the same hadith, only using the word“qayyim” (guardian) instead of“khalifah.” 226

However, Ibn Hajar points to the root of the matter and explains that Jabir Ibn S’Amrah was sitting and could not hear the Prophet clearly. He turned to the two people next to him; one of them was his father and the other was ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab.

As the Prophet was speaking, the people were listening quietly. Suddenly, when he approached the subject of who was to succeed him, clamor broke out (described in the other reports as takbir). Few could hear the Prophet clearly. However, according to Ibn Hajar, a person was ready to relate what the Prophet had said, and that was ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab - who as a key member of the Quraysh group had a strong interest in ensuring that the caliphate was not limited to the members of Bani Hashim.227

In addition, Sunni scholars have had difficulty interpreting this hadith, since their number of successors to the Prophet never reached twelve. Shi’a scholars on the other hand, maintain that this hadith relates to the twelve Imams whom they say the Prophet designated to succeed him, one after another, beginning with Imam ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib and ending with Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi.

Where Did the Hadith Fictions Come From?

The fabrication of hadith flourished due to the initial ban on the transcription of the hadith that lasted for one century. Had Abu Bakr and ‘Umar allowed the Muslims to write down the hadith, the Bani Umayyah would never have been able to attribute such lies to the Holy Prophet and his companions. Instead, the Bani Umayyah had free reign to encourage fabricators in their favor,228 and in the words of Abu Jafar al-Iskafi:

Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan encouraged and paid some of thesahabah and the tabieen (the second generation of thesahabah ) to fabricate evil hadith against ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib in order to slander, defame, vilify, and denounce him. He (Mu’awiyah) allocated an amount of money for them and they started inventing and creating these hadiths for him, which truly satisfied him. Among the fabricators were Abu Huraira, ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas, al-Mugheerah Ibn Shu’bah, and Urwah Ibn Zubayr.229

A prominent Sunni historian adds:

Mu’awiyah ordered all of his governors not to accept any testimony from the Shi’a of ‘Ali (followers of ‘Ali and the Ahlul Bayt). However, those who were the Shi’a of ‘Uthman (the followers of ‘Uthman and Bani Umayyah), were brought close, honored, paid, and their stories were documented until the virtues of ‘Uthman were plenty and widespread. Then Mu’awiyah realized that there were too many hadith in favor of ‘Uthman, so he said, “Go and from now on, say hadith in favor of the rest of thesahabah and the rest of the khalifah (Abu Bakr and ‘Umar), and whenever you find a hadith narrated by the Prophet in favor of ‘Ali, invent an identical one in favor of thesahabah . Remove from the public registry (diwan , list of

salaries) whoever loves ‘Ali and his family, and do not pay him his salary and destroy his house.”230

As is apparent, the Bani Umayyah were ready and willing to contradict the Qur’an, known hadith, and even exaggerate the qualities and stature of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman for the sake of political gain. Regrettably, they undermined the credibility of the hadith by fabricating a new Islam and turning its history inside out.

Chapter 3: The Saqifah Union

وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلاَّ رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ أَفَإِنْ مَّاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ إِنْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ وَمَنْ يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللهَ َشَيْئًا وَسَيَجْزِي اللهُ الشَّاكِرِين

Muhammad is no more than an apostle: many were the apostle that passed away before him. If he died or was slain, will you then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah. But Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly reward those who (serve Him) with gratitude. (Holy Qur’an, 3:144)

Having faced hostile aggression, economic boycott and expulsion, an invitation was extended to the Prophet and his followers to uproot themselves from their homeland and migrate to the desert oasis of Yathrib (which was later renamed Madinah). The invitation came from the Ansar (Helpers) who were the inhabitants of Madinah.26 In the year 622 CE, the Prophet and the Muhajireen27 arrived in Madinah and along with the Ansar, they established the first official Muslim state.

Chronicles of Saqifah

On the 28th of Safar, 632 CE (11 ah), four days after the“Calamity of Thursday” occurred, Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Messengers passed away. The believing men, women, and children wandered in shock as if one of their own family members had died. At the same time, a select few were anxious to gain power. They knew that they could not simply declare themselves as the new guardians of the ummah because the Prophet had already explicitly declared ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib as his successor. Had they done so, even though the Muslims were still in a state of grief, they would have rejected them and their authority. Thus, they took a much more subtle approach.

As the Prophet’s body lay in wait, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib and the immediate family of the Bani Hashim were busy preparing the Prophet’s body for burial. With the family of the Prophet being preoccupied, several members of the Ansar tribe arranged for a private meeting far away from the Prophet’s mosque at a place called Saqifah Bani Sa’idah. They had grown concerned about the leadership (khalifah) of the ummah and wanted to ensure a smooth transition of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib’s office post.

Despite having welcomed the Muhajireen into their town, the Ansar had all along been fearful and cautious of their domination in Madinah; even more, they were fearful of the power their relatives maintained in Mecca. Concerned that the Muhajireen might make the initial move to secure leadership of the ummah, the Ansar took a pre-emptive measure to discuss and uphold their support of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib. This was their initial plan; however, the meeting took a turn. Some members of the Ansar sensed that the leadership was going to slip away from ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, hence they began to discuss the seizing of leadership for themselves.

Large in numbers and a formidable tribe to contend with, some of them felt that the Ansar had rights for leadership since they were the ones who had fully participated in the battles of Badr, Uhud, Khaybar, and Hunayn, as well as the two“Bayahs of Ridhwan.” 28 In addition, the Holy Prophet had

stated the following about the Ansar,“Only a believer loves the Ansar, and only a hypocrite dislikes them.” 29 Moreover, they were quite familiar with the old rivalry of the Quraysh tribe.

Envy and blood feud, although dormant, was deeply felt amongst the Quraysh tribe. In particular, their jealousy was directed against ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib for numerous reasons - including the fact that he stood as a stark reminder about the lives of the members of the Quraysh that he took away in defending Islam in the various battles.

In one battle alone, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib took the lives of seventy elite members of the Quraysh. This was ingrained too deep into the memory of those Quraysh families to ignore and no matter how much they embraced Islam, the loss of their family members was far greater for some or too fresh in their memories to forget. The Ansar were quite familiar with this, but on the other hand, they did not have to contend with such animosity and rivalry - they had no loss of relatives that could be traced back to ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib’s valor and they had no township quarrels with the Quraysh tribe.

The shaded area of Saqifah belonged to Bani Sa’idah Ibn Ka’ab Ibn al-Khazraj from the tribe of Khazraj (from the Ansar of Madinah). The meeting location was not accidental, for it was there that the Khazraj, led by Sa’d Ibn Ibadah used to gather underneath the shaded canopy to legislate and resolve town matters.

That day, both tribes of the Ansar - the Khazraj and Aws were present at the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, the following were in attendance: Sa’d Ibn Ibadah, Ibn al-Aas, Anas Ibn Malik, al-Mugheerah Ibn Shu’bah, Khalid Ibn al-Waleed, Abd al-Rahman Ibn Auf, Basheer Ibn Sa’d, Ma’adh Ibn Jabal, and Usayd Ibn Hudayr.30 Other individuals from the Muhajireen who found out about the meeting came later, such as Abu Bakr, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, and Abu Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarrah.

At the meeting, the Ansar initially recruited Sa’d Ibn Ibadah for the leadership of the Muslim community, however on that day he was extremely ill to the point that he could barely speak or move.31 He was the only man other than ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib that the Quraysh group feared during the time of the Holy Prophet. Sa’d Ibn Ibadah was also popular amongst the Muslims - both the Muhajireen and the Ansar, due to the fact that during the battles he used to carry the flag of Islam until combat started, at which point he would pass it over to ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib.32

However, not everyone at the meeting agreed to his nomination. Some of those present began to bicker, hence the old rivalry between the two tribes surfaced. When they realized that a mutual consensus would not be reached, they resounded to the following statement,“We will never pay allegiance (to anyone) except to ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib.” 33

As the tension grew at the meeting, two members from the Aws tribe, Awaim Ibn Sa’ad and Maen Ibn Obed left the meeting unnoticed. Fearing that the leadership of the Muslim community would fall into the hands of their former rivals, the Khazraj, they sought to inform ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab about what was taking place.34

After the two men informed ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab about the private meeting, ‘Umar grew anxiously impatient. As it so happened, ‘Umar had

intended for Abu Bakr to be present when the death of the Holy Prophet would occur, but Abu Bakr was away in an outlying area of Madinah called al-Samh.

Hence, as the news of the Prophet’s death began to spread quickly and the shock and sadness amongst the Muslims grew, ‘Umar needed to react in order to buy some time to join the meeting - and there were two reasons for this. First, ‘Umar needed Abu Bakr to return so that both of them could attend the private meeting at Saqifah; and the other reason was to act as if the Prophet was not dead in order to delay the official appointment of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

Thus, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab came out of the Prophet’s mosque and into the streets shouting and negating the news that the Prophet had died and even threatened to dismember anyone who said otherwise! ‘Umar cried out,“Verily, the Messenger of Allah - by Allah - has not died, and will never die.” 35 Although the Holy Prophet’s body lay in wait, ‘Umar continued to say that his soul had gone to Heaven like the soul of Prophet Isa36 and promised a resurrection by saying,“The Prophet will come back.” 37

Upon Abu Bakr’s return, ‘Umar informed him about the undisclosed meeting at Saqifah and both of them headed out, along with Abu Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarrah, to the meeting.

The Saqifah meeting played out like a well-rehearsed theatrical production. Having been given some details about the meeting, ‘Umar and Abu Bakr entered and found the Ansar locked in a bitter dispute. Sensing that the leadership was about to fall into the hands of Sa’d Ibn Ibadah from the Tribe of Khazraj, Abu Bakr immediately began to play on the emotions of the Tribe of Aws to provoke them so that they would not pay allegiance to their opponent, however his ultimate intention was to put forward his own proposal.

After sympathizing with the Aws, Abu Bakr then turned the tables and said that they (the Quraysh) were better suited for leadership than any other group. Abu Bakr said,“We, the Muhajireen were the first to accept Islam; we possess the most notable pedigree; our abode is the most central; we have the best leaders; and we are nearest of kin to the Prophet of Allah.” Abu Bakr then appeased both tribes by saying that they too were worthy for some form of leadership of the ummah but that ultimate authority must reside with the Muhajireen. Abu Bakr continued his argument by quoting the words of the Prophet,“My successors are twelve…,” but instead of saying,“…and all of them are from Bani Hashim,” 38 he changed it and said,“…and all of them are from Quraysh.” 39 To which ‘Umar seconded his statement.

However, a member of the Ansar, al-Habbab Ibn al-Mandhar, saw through Abu Bakr’s facade. He realized the ploy being undertaken and quickly discredited their claim to leadership. Al-Habbab claimed that since the Ansar were the ones who approached the Prophet and supported him throughout his entire mission, that they had the first right for leadership.

After his statement, the tone of the meeting rapidly intensified as fiery words were exchanged between him and ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, which eventually led to ‘Umar physically assaulting him and breaking his nose.

Abu Bakr immediately pacified the firestorm and proposed two candidates from the Quraysh for the position of caliph, Abu Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarrah and ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab. Abu Bakr declared,“I advise you to choose one of those two men, so pay allegiance to whomsoever you like.”

By offering the caliphate to others, Abu Bakr absolved himself of any accusations that he might be seeking the caliphate for himself. However, Abu Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarrah immediately declined the offer, and ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab promptly interrupted Abu Bakr by taking up the Arab custom of respecting the elderly and stated,“God forbid that we do that, while you are alive amongst us,” to Abu Bakr.

Then ‘Umar, as if on cue, abruptly held out his hand towards Abu Bakr and said,“Stretch out your hand, and I will pay allegiance to you.” Some of the Ansar agreed, namely: Ma’adh Ibn Jabal, Usayd Ibn Hudayr, Basheer Ibn Sa’d, and Zayd Ibn Thabit. They stood up and declared (on the grounds that the Prophet was from the Muhajireen, hence his successor should also be from the Muhajireen),“As we supported the Prophet, we will support his successor.” 40

Upon seeing the members of the Ansar offer allegiance to Abu Bakr, ‘Umar related,“My heart was strengthened and others followed them.” 41 Hence, that ended the nomination process by confirming Abu Bakr as the khalifah of the ummah.42 Abu Bakr accepted gracefully saying,“May Allah reward you with goodness, O people of the Ansar.” 43 Afterwards, in his own words, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab stated,“The Quraysh examined [the situation] and chose a leader for themselves, and they were successful in their choice.” 44

However, it can be seen that the caliphate was predetermined and confined to three people: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, and Abu Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarrah - hence, their conversation was not spontaneous.

As mentioned earlier, the members of the Quraysh, in particular: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, Abu Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarrah, al-Mugheerah Ibn Shu’bah, Abd al-Rahman Ibn Auf, Khalid Ibn al-Waleed, Muhammad Ibn Muslim, Ma’adh Ibn Jabal, Basheer Ibn Sa’d, and Usayd Ibn Hudayr had already agreed to this sequence of events long before the Saqifah meeting occurred, just like they had agreed that Abu Bakr would take control on behalf of the Tribe of Taym first.

Most of the others present followed ‘Umar in giving their allegiance to Abu Bakr,45 but the core of the Ansar who supported ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib refused, maintaining,“We will not pay allegiance to anyone except ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib.” 46 The only leader of the Ansar who remained steadfast and refused to pay allegiance to Abu Bakr was Sa’d Ibn Ibadah, who was ill and unable to move.

He told ‘Umar,“By Allah, if I was able to stand, you would have heard from me a roaring which would have filled the streets and alleyways of Madinah and would have been painful to you and your companions.” 47 He then turned to Abu Bakr and said,“I will never pay allegiance to you! Even if ‘Ali pays allegiance, I still will not do so.” In return, despite his illness, ‘Umar assaulted him just as he had accosted al-Habbab Ibn al-Mandhar.48

Later on ‘Umar recounted,“We attacked Sa’d Ibn Ibadah, and he was then trampled and the people said, ‘Sa’d has been killed.’” Therefore, ‘Umar said,“May Allah kill Sa’d.” Perceiving him as a threat, ‘Umar accused Sa’d Ibn Ibadah of hypocrisy and wanting the leadership for himself and hence wanted to kill him, but Abu Bakr restrained him.49

If Sa’d Ibn Ibadah had really sought leadership, he could have obtained it easily since the Saqifah (shaded area) was his home territory and he was favored among the Muslims. Most likely, he would have obtained the caliphate much easier than Abu Bakr, but like ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib later said, Sa’d Ibn Ibadah was upset when he saw the people giving allegiance to Abu Bakr, not because he wanted the leadership for himself, but because he wanted the leadership to go to ‘Ali, as the Prophet had dictated. Thereafter, Sa’d Ibn Ibadah rode to Huran in Syria, where after the death of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar determined his fate by sending Muhammad Ibn Muslim to kill him.50 &51

The events of Saqifah did not end on that day. ‘Umar’s primary concern was not to channel the political leadership towards Abu Bakr, but rather to keep it away from ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib. ‘Umar sought to prevent ‘Ali and the Bani Hashim from reaching the khalifah by any means possible. Thus after he became khalifah, ‘Umar ensured that ‘Uthman would succeed him, despite knowing that he would bring his tribesmen from the Bani Umayyah to power.

‘Umar later said to ‘Uthman, “‘Uthman, what keeps me from appointing you is your bigotry (asabiyah ), and the preference that you give to your family and clan over other Muslims.”52 Still, ‘Umar handed the rein of khalifah to ‘Uthman, who as ‘Umar had predicted, ruled by nepotism and favoritism until a defiant faction of the Muslims murdered him.

Overall, as Ibn Abil Hadid says,53 “It was ‘Umar who stood strongly behind Abu Bakr and paved the way for him to assume the leadership. If he had not backed him, it would have been impossible for Abu Bakr to reach where he reached [thekhalifah ].” Nonetheless, the fate of the ummah was sealed on that day, a day which ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab himself later called, “One of the errors of pre-Islamic times (Faltah 54 minfalataat al-jahiliyyah ).”55 Even more he said, “Whoever goes back to it [the same method used to select Abu Bakr as thekhalifah ], then kill him.”56 ‘Umar also admitted his mistake by saying,“God protected the Muslims from the dangers and risks of this immense error [meaning having elected Abu Bakr].” 57

Nonetheless, the effects of Saqifah are felt even today. Had the Saqifah not happened and had the Muslims followed the Prophet’s command, then most likely, there would be no Sunni or Shi’a Muslim. The Muslims would have been united under the banner of obedience to Allah and the leadership that Allah Himself ordained. Instead, once others obtained power, they held it firmly and did not allow anyone else outside their circle to share in it. As a result, they held absolute control over the ummah until the fall of the Bani Umayyah.

It can be argued that the issue of political leadership is solely a political issue and something to be left, buried in the past. Nevertheless, the influence

of the ruling group extended beyond politics because for nearly 100 years they banned the transcription of the Prophet’s sayings for fear that the narrations referring to the right and merits of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib to the caliphate spread among the masses.

As a result of not recording the hadith until centuries later, scholars had to argue over which statements of the Holy Prophet were authentic and which were fabrications and this led to the need to develop the Science of Hadith. Perhaps the most damaging of all was that the ummah was deprived from a valuable source of Divinely inspired guidance.

Given the severe calamity that the shift in leadership brought, one might ask: Why did ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib not fight for his right to lead the ummah? The answer is best given in his own words:

O Allah! I beseech Thee to take revenge on the Quraysh and those who are assisting them, for they have cut asunder my kinship and overturned my cup and have collaborated to contest a right to which I was entitled more than anyone else. They said to me, ‘If you get your right, that will be just, but if you are denied the right that too will be just.

Endure it with sadness or kill yourself in grief.’ I looked around but found no one to shield me, protect me, or help me except the members of my family. I refrained from flinging them into death and therefore closed my eyes despite the dust; kept swallowing saliva despite the suffocation of grief; and endured pangs of anger although it was bitterer than colocynth and more grievous than the bite of knives.58

Although ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib knew that the ummah would suffer without his leadership, he also knew that it would destroy itself if he attempted to take the leadership by force; and thus he abstained from the caliphate until the murder of ‘Uthman. Even then, he was still hesitant, but at that moment in time, Islam was on the brink of annihilation and there was no one else to save it except for him. However, the extent of the damage done by the group, unfortunately, had already severely crippled the Muslim ummah.

Chapter 4: Political Policies of Quraysh

وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلاَةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورىٰ بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for sustenance. (Holy Qur’an, 42:38)

Political Practices of the Quraysh Group

After securing the caliphate, the Quraysh group turned its attention to seizing authority of the various regions. Thus, whoever posed a threat or was uncooperative with the new powers was quickly removed from their positions. This meant the removal of competent and experienced people, including members of their own families, such as the removal of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab’s two sons, Zayd Ibn al-Khattab and Ubaydallah Ibn al-Khattab, as well as the removal of Abu Bakr’s son, Abdul Rahman Ibn Abu Bakr.

In their place, ‘Umar appointed more conforming men, such as Sa’d Ibn Abi al-Waqqas to govern Kufa, Abu Musa al-Ashari to govern Basra, and Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan to govern Shaam (Syria). By including non-Quraysh members into the administration, the party reflected an illusionary bi-partisan government.

Before assuming the role of the third caliph, ‘Uthman Ibn al-Affan had agreed to follow all of the policies of his predecessors, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab; however, after becoming caliph, he reverted to the pre-Islamic Arab custom of nepotism.

Fully aware of ‘Uthman’s tendencies to backslide and knowing that the masses despised favoritism, ‘Umar warned him that the Quraysh would lose their power if he did not refrain from nepotism,59 however ‘Uthman did not heed his warning. Unlike Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, ‘Uthman filled the official positions with his own tribesmen - people who were undeniably incompetent individuals, such as Abu Sufyan, Marwan Ibn al-Hakam, Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan, Al-Waleed Ibn Uqbah, Abdullah Ibn Abi Sarh, and Sa’ed Ibn al-Aas.

In doing so, he incensed many companions of the Prophet - even those who had previously sided with the Quraysh such as Lady Aishah, the wife of the Prophet. Particularly upset were those who lost power - not because of their incompetence, but rather, due to ‘Uthman’s nepotism - people such as ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas, who lost Egypt; al-Mugheerah Ibn Shu’bah, who lost Kufa; and Abu Musa al-Ashari, who lost Basra. To replace them, ‘Uthman appointed other inept and corrupt individuals from the Bani Umayyah.

As a result, some of those townships revolted, and in Kufa for example, the people ousted ‘Uthman’s choice and reinstated Abu Musa al-Ashari.60 It appears that ‘Uthman was not interested in restoring order and credibility to the government, but rather, to fill the offices with his own family members, even though they had no qualification, experience, or integrity.

‘Uthman’s nepotism eventually led to his assassination and the awaited succession of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib to the caliphate in 35 ah. After the Khawarij murdered ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib during his caliphate, the power base once again shifted to the Quraysh group under the rule of Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan.

Learning from ‘Uthman’s errors, Mu’awiyah balanced political office by incorporating tribal groups and making use of ‘Umar’s practice of appointing allies from outside his tribe to official positions. Hence, ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas, al-Mugheerah Ibn al-Shu’bah, Abu Huraira, al-Numan Ibn Basheer, and Abdul Rahman Ibn Khalid all found places in the new administration of Mu’awiyah. He went as far as learning how to appease Lady Aishah, a woman who was known to voice her opposition against those whom she deemed as a roadblock in the way of her own objectives, such as ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib and ‘Uthman Ibn al-Affan.

Selection of the First Six Caliphs

Somewhere along the line of Muslim history, a misconception arose that the caliphate was first instituted by shura (free and popular election). Although, this misconception concurs very well with contemporary democratic theories and promotes Islam as being a conventional and democratic religion, the truth of the matter is that the office of“caliphate” was not brought into being by a popular vote, nor was it supposed to be. The office of the caliph, like the governance of prophethood, is not one to be determined by consultation, but rather by Divine ordination.

In Islam, governance encompasses all facets of life - social, religious, political, economical, judicial, etc. and thus, it is based on Allah’s laws and instructions. Hence, the notion that a democratic process (an assembly of men“chosen” by the people) occurred in the appointment of Abu Bakr’s leadership is not accurate.

As mentioned earlier, the first caliph was decided by two people: ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab and Abu Ubayd Ibn al-Jarrah who both declined their bid for election and instead nominated Abu Bakr and coaxed the others to follow suit at Saqifah.

After Saqifah, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib said to ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab,“Today you are consolidating and supporting Abu Bakr so that tomorrow he will support you and bring you as his successor.” 61 His words rang true since two and a half years later, ‘Umar reaped the benefits of his stance when Abu Bakr appointed him as his successor before his death. Their pact did not escape going unnoticed by others because even Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan concluded,“They agreed upon that and there was harmony between them.” 62

The selection of the third caliph, ‘Uthman Ibn al-Affan also tends to be a subject of some misconception. As the death of the second caliph ‘Umar neared, he called on a council of six people to determine the next leader. On the surface, this may seem like a semi-electoral body; however, ‘Umar instructed his son Abdullah,“If they appoint ‘Uthman as their leader, they will get the most out of it.” 63

Earlier, when Hudayfah, a scribe of the Qur’an asked ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab who would succeed him, ‘Umar said,“‘Uthman Ibn al-Affan.” 64 As in the previous accord of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, ‘Uthman Ibn al-Affan allied with his cousin, Abdul Rahman Ibn Auf to mutually support each other for the position of the caliphate during the six council“election” meeting.

As ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib narrates,“There was a council of six, and the Muslims were supposed to choose one out of those six, but Abdul Rahman

Ibn Auf favored ‘Uthman, so that tomorrow ‘Uthman would favor him and make him his successor.” 65

After the appointment of ‘Uthman, and later into his office, Abdul Rahman incited the people to revolt against ‘Uthman, and thus ‘Uthman excluded him from ever being appointed as caliph, which severed their relationship to the point where they never spoke to one another throughout the remainder of their lives.66

Due to the subtleties of this arrangement, the appointment of ‘Uthman to the caliphate continues until today to be seen as a form of election by some. History is clear that when Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan came into power, he reserved the caliphate exclusively for his own son and began the first dynasty in the history of Islam.

What history reports less of is that he also maintained the same political ties as the Quraysh group who had diverted the flow of political power to their advantage. To that end, he made pacts with ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas, Talha Ibn Ubaydillah,67 Zubayr Ibn al-Awam,68 and Abu Musa al-Ashari, all of whom disfavored ‘Ali, by offering them governorships in exchange for service.

When he asked ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas to fight against ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib for him, ‘Amr Ibn al-Aas replied,“I will not sell my faith to you unless you give me something in this world here.” Hence, Mu’awiyah appointed him as the governor of Egypt.69

Similarly, Mu’awiyah enlisted Talha and Zubayr in the fight against Imam ‘Ali in return for rule over some of the other states.70 Mu’awiyah also promised Abu Musa al-Ashari,“If you pay allegiance to me and support my position, I will utilize your two sons; one of them will be the governor of Kufa, and the other will be the governor of Basra.” 71 In this way, Mu’awiyah continued the work that his predecessors had begun in channeling the political authority and wealth of the Muslims into a pre-determined and selected group of hands.

Although the caliphate was the main prize, the Quraysh group did not limit their efforts to it. After installing Abu Bakr as the first caliph, they slowly began acquiring governorships of the outlying provinces. As is the case in the modus operandi of the Quraysh, they appointed their political allies to the governorships. The main objective of their appointments was to enlist individuals that did not oppose them and any inclination of strife towards their leadership would be met with expulsion, even at the expense of their own relatives.

As noted earlier, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab’s two sons, Zayd Ibn al-Khattab and Ubaydallah Ibn al-Khattab were both ostracized, as was Abdul Rahman Ibn Abu Bakr, the son of Abu Bakr. Instead, ‘Umar appointed Sa’d Ibn Abi al-Waqqas to govern Kufa, Abu Musa al-Ashari to govern Basra, and Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan to govern Syria. Their true intention was to maintain control of the rapidly expanding Muslim empire among themselves. The issue was not one of election or selection; it was one of maintaining political hegemony within a select group of people.

Harmony or otherwise, the important fact to note is that ‘Umar was appointed by Abu Bakr, not elected to the caliphate, unlike the case with Abu Bakr.

Despite the sheer number of hadith in both Sunni and Shi’a sources, which declared ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib to be the rightful political successor to the Prophet, still many opponents of the Ahlul Bayt in modern times object to the concept of an appointed successor on the basis that it is nepotistic and undemocratic. If so, then how do they explain and accept the fact that none of the first three caliphs arrived at the caliphate through a“democratic” election?

Muslim history has noted that the Saqifah meeting in itself turned into an ad-hoc assembly, and that the explicit appointment of the three caliphs was a premeditated maneuver by a group to bypass the leadership of ‘Ali. Yet still, they argued against the Prophet appointing ‘Ali.

Furthermore, if nepotism is cited (because ‘Ali was a relative of the Prophet) then the same argument can be posed when ‘Uthman’s relatives, such as Mu’awiyah, Yazid, and others were chosen as caliphs. Hence, it would be unfounded to claim that the caliphate was first instituted by shura (consultation).

Dialogue between Abdullah Ibn al-Abbas and ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab

Abdullah Ibn al-Abbas (who is from the tribe of Bani Hashim and was the first cousin of ‘Ali and the Prophet) and ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab held many discussions. On one occasion, during the caliphate of ‘Umar they debated whether the Bani Hashim should hold the caliphate. This dialogue is of particular interest, since it highlights the issues at hand.71

‘Umar,“Do you know why the people did not elect you [the family of the Prophet] to the caliphate?”

Ibn Abbas,“No, I do not know.”

‘Umar,“I know what the reason was.”

Ibn Abbas,“What was it?”

‘Umar,“The Quraysh hated to see the prophethood and caliphate vested in one house. If that would have happened, you would have wronged the people!”

Ibn Abbas,“Can Amir al-Mumineen (‘Umar) control his anger if I want to say something?”

‘Umar,“Feel free to say whatever you want to say.”

Ibn Abbas, “If you say that Quraysh hated to see this [prophethood and caliphate vested in one family] then (know that) in the Qur’an, Allah has said about some of the companions [who had lived during the time of the Prophet],

“That is because they hate the revelation of Allah, so He has made their deeds fruitless.” 73

And if you say that we [Bani Hashim] will do injustice if both the prophethood and caliphate are vested in our family, then if we are supposed to do mischief, we will do mischief even without being caliphs or successors, simply because we are the family of the Prophet and the closest people to him. However, we will not do that because our stance, morality, and attitude mirror the attitude of the Prophet, about whom Allah says,

“Verily, you stand on an exalted standard of character.” 74

Also Allah said, “Lower your wing to the believers who follow you.” 75

We will not depart from him (the Prophet), so why are you worried that if we become caliphs we will do mischief? If you say,“The Quraysh chose Abu Bakr and ‘Umar,” then Allah answers,

“Your Lord creates and chooses as He pleases. No choices have they in the matter.” 76

Plus you know ‘Umar, that Allah has chosen certain people from among His creatures to lead humanity. If the Quraysh had joined their vision with the plan of Allah, then the community would have been prosperous and successful.”

‘Umar,“Calm down Ibn Abbas. You members of the Bani Hashim, your heart only wanted to deceive the Quraysh permanently, and you hold perpetual hatred and animosity towards the Quraysh.”

Ibn Abbas, “Calm down ‘Umar, do not say that the hearts of Bani Hashim are deceitful. Their hearts are part of the heart of the Messenger of Allah. It is the same heart of the Messenger of Allah that Allah has cleansed and purified, and they are the family of the Prophet whom Allah describes as,

“Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, O members of the family of the Prophet, and to make you pure and immaculate.” 77

If you speak about animosity and grudges in our hearts, this would be natural given that our right has been usurped from us and it is in the hands of a transgressor.”

‘Umar,“What are you saying Ibn Abbas? I have heard some bad things about you, and if I mention them to you, I would lose respect for you in my eyes.”

Ibn Abbas,“What have you heard about me? Tell me. If it is false, I will defend myself. If it is true, I will never lose respect for you in my eyes.”

‘Umar,“I have heard you telling people that this issue [the khalifah] was taken from the family of the Prophet out of jealousy and by way of injustice.”

Ibn Abbas,“Regarding jealousy, yes it is true because Iblis (Satan) was jealous of Adam and forced him out of Paradise. We are the children of Adam, and there is always jealousy among us. If you say “transgression,” you know better who has the right in this matter [the khalifah], and you ‘Umar are the best person to answer this question.

Did you not say that the Arabs are closer to the non-Arabs to the Prophet, and did you not say that the Quraysh are closer than the other tribes are to the Prophet? If you have said that and if you come to the Quraysh, then who among them is closest to the Prophet? Of course, they are the Bani Hashim. I am using the same analogy that you used. We have more right to the caliphate than anyone from the Quraysh.”

‘Umar,“Stand up and go home.”

Ibn Abbas stood up and as he was leaving ‘Umar said,“You who are leaving, come back! Despite what has happened between us, you are still respected in my eyes.”

Ibn Abbas answered,“You who are the caliph now, we also have to preserve your right.”

After Ibn Abbas left, ‘Umar turned to the people around him and said,“I never saw Ibn Abbas discuss something with anyone and not defeat him.”