The Sahabah's Ultimate Decency - The Political Reverential Authority in Islam 9789642193752

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THE SAHABAH'S ULTIMATE DECENCY THE POLITICAL REFERENTIAL AUTHORITY IH ISLAM

AHMAD HUSAYN YA'QUB TRANSLATOR: BADR SHAHIN

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ANSARIYAN PUBLICATIONS P. O. Box 187 22, Shohada Str. - Qum Islamic Republic of Iran Tel: 0098 25 37741744 & Fax 37742647 Email: [email protected] www.ansariyan.org & www.ansariyan.ir

THE SAHKBAH'S ULTIMATE DECENCY &

THE POLITICAL REFERENTIAL AUTHORITY IN ISLAM

BY

AHMAD HUSAYN YA'QUB

TRANSLATED BY:

BADR. SHAHIN

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The Sahabah’s ultimate decency & the political referential authority in Islam / by Ahmad Husayn Yaqub ; translated by Badr Shahin. Qum : Ansariyan , 2013= 1392. ISBN: 978-964-219-375-2

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THE SAHABAH ’S ULTIMATE DECENCY * • • THE POLITICAL REFERENTIAL AUTHORITY IN ISLAM Author: Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub Translator: Badr Shahin Publisher: Ansariyan Publications First Edition 2013 -1434 - 1392 Bahman Press Quantity: 1000 No. of pages: 400 Size: 162 x 229 mm ISBN: 978-964-219-375-2 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED AND RECORDED FOR THE PUBLISHER

ANSARIYAN PUBLICATIONS P. 0. Box 187 22, Shohada Str. - Quin Islamic Republic of Iran Tel: 0098 25 3774174-1 & Fax 37742647 Email: [email protected] www.ansariyan.org & www.ansariyan.ir

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL-BENEFICENT, THE ALL-MERCIFUL

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CONTENTS Preface.

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PARTONE: THEMEANING OFSAHABAH

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Chapter One: Lexical Meaning of the word Sahabah . Chapter Two: Sunnites and the Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency.......................................................................... Chapter Three: Refutation Of The Conception Of The Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency.................................... Chapter Four: The Conception of the Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency in the Sight of the Shi'ites................. Chapter Five: Seeds of Pondering on the Conception of the Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency........................ Chapter Six: The Right Path to Recognizing the True Decent Sahabah......................................................

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41 73

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PART TWO: HISTORICAL ROOTS OF THE THE SAHABAH’S ULTIMATE DECENCY.......................

97 Chapter One: Tribal Root: Preventing the hashimites from enjoying monopoly over prophethood and 99 succession to prophethood.............................................................................................. Chapter Two: 117 Political Roots of the Conception of the Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency................ Chapter Three: 129 Purposes behind Inventing the Conception of the Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency. Chapter Four: 138 Jurisprudential Roots of the Conception of the Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency.... Chapter Five: 165 The Hopes Pinned on the Conception of the Sahabah’s Ultimate Decency........

PARTTHREE: RELIGIOUS BEFERFNTIAL AUTHORITY

Chapter One: Introduction to the Religious Referential Authority. Chapter Two: Creed Chapter Three: Nomination to the Office of the Referential Authority......................................................... Chapter Four: Muslims’ different Attitudes to the Referential Authority after the Holy Prophet’s

179

181

189 193

Passing Away

200 Chapter Five:

Surrogate Referential Authority.

Chapter Six: The Referential Authority after the Holy Prophet’s passing away PASTFOOS: LFAIMSHIPAMDPOLITICS Chapter One: Standards of the Community’s Progress Chapter Two: Political Leadership Chapter Three: Walt; meaning Chief leader, and imam ............................................................................. Chapter Five: Appointing the Guardian-Leader as the Successor to the Holy Prophet Chapter Six: Appointing Imam 'All as the Guardian-Leader; perfection of the Religion and completion of the Divine favor Chapter Seven: Changeover and Undermining ofLegality Chapter Eight: Seizure of Power and Isolating the Hashimites Chapter Nine: While The HdShimites were Laboring Under Their Misfortune, The Qurayshites Were Planning For Seizing Power ............................................................................... ........... Chapter Ten: Divesting the Hdshimites of all political privileges..

213 231 243

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263 284

296 310

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341 369

PKEFACE O Allah, I praise You with such abundant praise that is as extensive as Your knowledge, as all-embracing as Your mercy, and so pleasing that it fits Your being my one and only God and my being a servant of You alone. In the same amount, I implore for Your forgiveness of all of my sins and wrongdoings as You have ordered me to implore You for so. I also beseech You earnestly to grant me Your forgiveness magnanimously, as You have promised to do. Verily, You, O my Master, never break Your promises. I beseech You by Your Name the Great and All-great, by Your Most High and Majestic Glory, and by Your perfect Words to send blessings and benedictions upon Your messenger Muhammad whom You have sent to convey Islam, and he thus transmitted it distinctively, clarified it unmistakably, and led those who embraced Islam to the most straight path that takes to You after he had paved this path to them perfectly.

O Allah, please send blessings and benedictions upon Muhammad and upon his Household: the pure, the immaculate, the second of the two weighty things (i.e. the Holy Qur'an and the Prophet’s Household), the best examples of piety, the stars that show the true security and true guidance, and the arks of salvation.

Verily, Almighty Allah has given them exclusively preference, favored them to all of the members of the Muslim community, and decided the invocation of His blessings upon them to be one of the obligatory parts of the ritual prayers that He has imposed upon His servants, so that this should be a ceaseless reminder of this special standing of theirs, if only reminding were useful. However, reminding is always useful for the true believers. The Divinely enacted jurisprudential system with which Islam has come, along with all of its aspects, details, and realities, is conclusively a Divine perfect plan that has been prepared scrupulously and expressly for leading all human beings to the best course and for achieving their felicity in this world and the other world. Unlike positive systems that are originally founded on

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THE SAHABAH’S ULTIMATE DECENCY

grounds of conjecture and surmise, the Divine jurisprudential system, in its nature and God-made composition, is based upon conviction, decisiveness, and certitude.

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What supports our absolute confidence in this system is the fact that it was not kept in the form of mere hypothetical rules; rather, it has easily and surely made its way to the practical world and it has shifted from frozen words into practical deeds by means of slow rerun through a perfect promulgation that was led professionally by the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s)(I) himself whose painstaking efforts gave rise to a government directly administrated by him. As a result of putting the Divinely enacted jurisprudential system and its laws into effect, the best community ever known by humanity was raised up and the greatest ever known government was founded; namely, the government of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s). However, while the Holy Prophet(s) was bedridden in his final ailment and just after his passing away to the vicinity of his Lord, a series of political downfalls and collapses took place. Along with these downfalls, procedures of information blackouts, pretensions of honesty, and attempts to cover up these collapses were widely launched, because those who stood behind these downfalls thought that these procedures would grant them the opportunity to stop these collapses so that no one would hear about them and, as a result, no one would rejoice at the misfortunes that befell the religion and its holders and followers. In contrast of their expectations, the collapses did not stop; rather, they reproduced ceaseless misfortunes that covered every single moment in the history of Islam. Consequently, the political system of Islam turned into a bleak frame that had lost all things except the mere name of Islam. With the overthrow of the last Ottoman sultan, the Islamic system of rule received the finishing stroke that made it disappear forever. As they woke up from their inobservance, Muslims discovered that their previously united nation had turned into many weak nations sunk into deep perplexity and loss. Describing the disgraceful disunity of Muslims, 'Abbas Mahmud al-'Aqqad, a famous Muslim man of letters, says in his book entitled Mu 'awiyah ibn Abu-Sufyan fi’l-Mizan,

I

If Muslims even tried to regain their glory that was lost because of their discrepancy, this would be impossible after their united nation had been turned into shredded small communities, the strong state of Islam turned into many states, the sanctuary of Islam turned into a free

is an acronym of peace of Allah be upon him and upon his Household (salla 'llahu 'alayhi wa’alihi), which is usually used after mentioning the name of or referring to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. I

MEANINGS OF THE WORD SAHABAH

9

dining table devoured by all nations, the world around us had been ruled by the jungle law, and materialism thrusts its canines deeply in the essence of the whole world causing it to bleed ceaselessly. Meanwhile, the world is running after a mirage, thinking of it as the curable remedy of its bleeding. Materialism has also been sparing no efforts in pulling mankind as a whole to that mirage, raising the slogan of mercy and forcing the patients to have their illusionary remedy. While drums are beaten for arousing tunes of happiness and merriment, the whole world perceives that the remedy has not been but an illusion. The best example in this respect can be the recent collapse of Communism.

What were the reasons beyond the successive collapses? Why have they turned the political system of Islam into an ineffective ghost free of any form or meaning? Why have these collapses eliminated the Islamic system of rule totally from the real life after they had neutralized this Divinely ordained jurisprudential system and deprived human beings of betaking themselves to it as the most curable remedy?

It is cerebrally impossible that the reason for all these misfortunes and ordeals is the very formulation of the Divinely ordained jurisprudential system, because this system is the handiwork of Allah Who has made every thing thoroughly.

Hereby, we can positively conclude that the reason for all these misfortunes exists either in those who led and directed the political history of Islam, or in the people who partook with them in the process of directing the history, or in both of them. The Arab politico-religious parties that conducted the caravan of blind imitation trafficked in the pains of the people, and shuffled the cards in order to achieve certain personal goals, are exerting all efforts to make people understand that the views of these political parties about Islam is the very Islam, and that there is no difference between their views about Islam and the true Islam. The fact, however, is the opposite. Islam is Allah’s made, while the view of these parties about it is contrived from their own conceptions and conjectures. In due course, they endeavored to delude people that the political history of Islam, beginning with the Holy Prophet’s passing away and up to the fall of the last Ottoman sultan, which was manmade scheme, had been identically the political system of Islam which was formulated by Allah the Almighty for directing the political movement of human communities. By adopting such a concept, the Arab politico­ religious parties had confused the true understanding of the concept with

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THE §AHABAH’S

ultimate decency

their own purpose for making people understand it this very way. They also gave priority to the subordinate over the principal and preferred the branch to the origin. Moreover, they substituted the Divine law with their personal fancy-based conclusions under the shadow of whose influence they were brought up. In addition to their negligence of any attempt to conceive the Divine law, they were too narrow-minded to accept the principles of Islam that contradicted their tribal and fanatical principles, and they used all means possible for suppressing these principles. All the same, .they still claim receptiveness to the global ideologies and promise to grant these ideologies the freedom of exhibiting their thoughts. Meanwhile, they block the way in the face of the anti-Islamic ideologies, preventing their adopters from proclaiming their thoughts. Now, how can the world believe the alleged receptiveness of these parties?

In this very vision, the Arab politico-religious parties have introduced Islam to the modem world. The same Islam that raised the slogan of releasing, comprising and meeting the mankind’s needs and expectations, is now too short to incorporate its people, not to mention the others, of different beliefs. Moreover, this Islam seems to be too narrow to include even those who believe in it! This is the attainment of their shortage of sufficient knowledgeability. They think they are doing well!

■

By this humble study, I have endeavored to prove the fact that there is a big difference between what was revealed by Almighty Allah and what we have understood from these revelations. I have also aimed at proving that the successive collapses of Islam that started immediately after the Holy Prophet’s passing away and uprooted the political system of Islam peremptorily were not the result of a mistake or a shortage in Islam and its law; rather, the actual reason for these collapses was the Muslims themselves who changed the grace of Allah the Almighty into ingratitude and replaced His judgments with their own fancies and personal whims. This is the very root of the misfortune and, at the same time, this is the setting point towards Allah the Almighty.

Aiming at making easy to understand the main topic of this book, I have divided it into four main parts, the first of which is involved in the meaning and significance of the Arabic root: s-h~b. In the second part, I tried to hit upon the historical roots of the conception of the Sahabah’s ultimate decency and untouchability. The third part expounds upon the political referential authority in Islam. Because of the considerable relationship between the referential authority and the political leadership in Islam, I, in the fourth part of the book, discuss the topic of political leadership in Islam in further details. By little deliberation, the reader will discover that these four topics are inseparably correlated. In discussing each of these main topics, I have

MEANINGS OF THE WORD $AHABAH

II

made reference to the opinion of the Sunnite Muslims as quoted from the most reliable reference books, in its capacity as an Islamic opinion whose embracers took the charge of leadership all over the history of Islam. Following this, I presented the opinions adopted by the Shi 'ite Muslims as inferred from their most reliable references books, because their opinions represented an Islamic opinion that took the role of opposition throughout the history of Islam. Finally, I presented the judgment of the Islamic law before the fact-seekers with regard to each and every topic discussed in this book. In this manner, this study has come in a distinctive form, argumentation, and course. As much as I could conceive, for the first time in the modem history, this topic has been discussed so comprehensively, perfectly, subjectively and thoroughly with regard to the amount of information it gives and references to which it refers, by a Sunnite Arab writer.

I do not intend to hide my loyalty to the Household of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (i.e. the Ahl al-Bayt) in particular and to the Hashimites (i.e. the descendants of Hashim, the Holy Prophet’s grandfather) in general, since they are the minor weighty thing after the Holy Qur’an, the major. Guidance to the right path, however, cannot be attained unless both the Holy Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are followed. Likewise, deviation cannot be avoided unless both of them are embraced. This fact has been presented evidently by decisive doctrinal texts issued in the Holy Qur’an and on the Holy Prophet’s tongue. Likewise, the Holy Prophet(s) introduced the members of his Household as the arks of redemption and the stars of safety that guide to illumination and light whenever darkness overcasts. They are the solution to every problem. Since all Muslims agree unanimously upon the Holy Prophet(s), they, in the same degree, agree upon dedicating the leadership of the Muslim nation to his Household and content themselves with allegiance to them, because choosing them as the leaders of this nation contributes greatly to extricating the roots of greed for power from everyone’s inner self. In other words, stability and success cannot be achieved unless competition on power is ripped up from the souls of those who have illegal ambitions to gain it. In this means, it is unavoidable to mention the merits of the Holy Prophet’s Household who guarded and protected the Prophet(s) in such a death-defying manner that they had to experience three whole years of economical, political, and social blockade that was unanimously decided and imposed on them by the other Arab tribes whose only demand was that the Hashimites should surrender or give the Holy Prophet Muhammad up so that the Arabs should kill him. Like many other prophets, the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) would have been killed if the Hashimites had responded to one of the previous demands. The struggle of the Hashimites for the sake of

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THE $AHABAH’S ULTIMATE DECENCY

Islam and in the way of the Lord is undeniable. Their sacrifices are as bright as sunlight... These are only a sparse part of the merits and glories of the Holy Prophet’s near relatives (i.e. the Hashimites), which I regard as adequate excuses for my loyalty to and fondness of them. Who may blame me, then? O my Lord, O my Master! You know my private and public. You do know that my intention has been nothing but seeking Your contentment. If I am right, then this must be by virtue of the grace that You had conferred upon me. You are the best Master and the best Supporter. Yet, if I am wrong, then this must be on account of my shortcoming and blemish. I repeat: O Allah! Please, accept this work to be dedicated exclusively to You and to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s), his Household, and every descendant of Hashim and Abd al-Muttalib, both the past and the present and up to the Judgment Day. Pleas, accept it as alms that may contribute to absolving my sins and faults and to taking me closer to You. The end of our praying is: Praised be Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

the Author

PART ONE

THE MEAI1IHG OF 3 All AB AH

Chapter One

LEXICAL MEANING OF THE WORD SAHABAH In Lexicons

According to Arabic-Arabic dictionaries, the Arabic root s-h-b and its derivatives like ashab, sahabah, sahabl, yashab, sahiba, mean: to associate, to accompany, to sit with, to submit to, and to accede to. Thus, the word sahib means associate, submissive, sitter with, companion, custodian, and keeper of a thing. Additionally, the word sahib (and its plural form: ashab) is said to express those who follow a definite sect. It is thus said: ashab Ja'far to refer to those who follow the jurisprudential school of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, and it is said ashab abi-hanlfah to refer to those who follow the school of Abu-Hanifah, and so on. The verb of this word is used in Arabic to mean to accompany or to submit to something/0 In the Holy Qur'an

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Allah the All-blessed and All-exalted has revealed the Holy Qur'an in Arabic language; therefore, in one of its distinctive features, the Holy Qur'an is the one and only indisputable reference of Arabic language, because it embodies the words of Allah the Almighty Who knows unmistakably the most accurate mysteries and the deepest secrets of this language. By reading the Holy Qur’an, we find that it has comprised some words that are derived from the root s-h-b in such forms like: alssdhib,^ sahibatun^ sahibihim^ sahibihi^ sahibayf® sahibuhu^ tusahibni^ sahibhuma..S9) These forms, and others, were repeated ninety-seven times in the Holy Qur'an.

The most noteworthy point in this respect is that the forms sahabah and suhbah cannot be found in the Holy Qur'an. Investigating the Qur'anlc verses for supporting the Lexical meaning of the word sahabah

By conjuring up the derivatives of the word sahabah, we find out that they form a perfect coverage of the entire lexical meaning that has been

SUNNITES AND $AHABAH

15

previously referred to. This idiom may take a single face or aspect, or various faces and aspects. It may bear an ideal aspect representing all items of decency and, at the same time, it may bear a meaning so ugly that it represents all items of indecency. Lexical aspects of the words safrabah and $ufrbah

The Arabic noun suhbah may hint at a relationship between two believers/10* It may also hint at a relationship between a man and his parents who disagree with him on his faith/11* or a relationship between two companions in a journey/12* or a relationship between a master and his slave/13* or a relationship between a believer and a disbeliever/14* or a general relationship between a disbeliever and a group of disbelievers/15* or a relationship between a prophet and his disbelieving people who attempt to drag him to evil while he attempts to lead them to goodness/16* Sometimes, one may have to accompany another one against his will/17* Some companions are influenced by their friends so badly that they imitate them in their crooked behavior and pattern after them/18* Companionship may also take the form of submission to a Divine creed and limitless loyalty to political leaders who represent this creed, such as the submission of the Holy Prophet’s Household to the Divine creed of Islam and their limitless loyalty to and gross sacrifices for the leadership of the Holy Prophet(s).

Another example is the submission and loyalty of the faithful elite companions of the Holy Prophet(s) to him. In conclusion, the basis of suhbah (companionship of the Holy Prophet) is so comprehensive that it may be founded on belief, fellowship, supreme goals, and high idealities; and the leader and his companions work towards achieving these goals and idealities and making them prevail on a certain community/19* Terminological meaning of $afoabah

Defining sahabi, Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, a master scholar of the Shafi'iyah School of Law, says, “The term sahabl is applied to any person who met the Prophet, believing in him, and died as Muslim.”(20) Explanation

According to Ibn Hajar’s definition of sahabi, the following categories of people must be regarded as Sahabah because they must have seen and met the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s):

1. Any person who sat with the Holy Prophet, no matter how long this session took.

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THE SAHABAH’S ULTIMATE DECENCY

2. Any person who reported something or did not report anything from the Holy Prophet.

3. Any person who participated or did not participate with the Holy Prophet in any military campaign led by him. 4. Any person who saw the Holy Prophet, even if he did not have the opportunity to sit with him. 5. Any person who could not see the Holy Prophet for such an accident as blindness.

According to the second condition; that is, believing in the Holy Prophet, the following categories of people must be excluded from the term Sahabah’. 1. Any person who met the Holy Prophet while he believed in another creed than his, such as the believing Christians and Jews who met the Prophet before he was decided as an apostle of Allah. 2. It is still questionable whether the Christians and Jews who had met the Holy Prophet and believed that he would very soon be sent as an apostle of Allah—such as Bahira the priest—should or should not be regarded as Sahabah.

According to the third condition; that is, believing in him, all human and jinn duty-bound beings must be regarded as Sahabah. It is worth mentioning that Ibn al-Athir objected to Abu-Musa, because the latter excluded some names of jinn beings from the list of the Sahabah. In fact, this objection is fair.

In this regard, Ibn Hazm says, Whoever claims that all the jinn have believed in the Holy Prophet has in fact lied to the community. In fact, Allah has informed us that only a group of the jinn had believed and listened to the Qur’an from the Prophet. They must then be decided as Sahabah.

To regard the angels as Sahabah is problematic. In his book of Asrar alTanzil, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi states the all scholars have unanimously decided that the Holy Prophet Muhammad(§) was not sent to the angels. Yet, some scholars disputed with al-Razi on this opinion. Providing a number of points of evidence, Shaykh Taqi al-Din al-Subki argued that the Holy Prophet was sent to the angels, too.

According to the third condition; that is, to die as Muslim, those who met the Holy Prophet and believed in him, but they then renounced their faith in Islam and died as apostates are excluded from the title Sahabah. Examples of such persons are 'Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh—the ex-husband of Ummu-Habibah

SUNNITES AND $AHABAH

17

(one of the Holy Prophet’s wives) who had embraced Islam with his wife, but when he emigrated to Abyssinia, he converted to Christianity and died as Christian—and 'Abdullah ibn Khatal who was killed while he was hanging to the curtains that covered the walls of the Holy Ka 'bah.

However, those who had apostatized Islam but they regretted their apostasy and re-embraced Islam before their passing away must be included with the list of Sahabah, whether they met the Holy Prophet again (i.e. after their return to Islam) or not. Although this opinion is unanimously agreed upon by all scholars, especially the first half of it, some of them raised some objections against the second half of it (i.e. meeting the Prophet after returning to Islam). However, these objections are refutable, because all master scholars of hadlth (i.e. Prophetic traditions) have unanimously agreed that Ibn Qays—who had apostatized Islam but re-embraced it during the reign of Abu-Bakr—was one of the Sahabah and his reports were mentioned in the major reference books of hadlth (i.e. sihah). Estimating Ibn Hajar's definition

Ibn Hajar’s previously mentioned definition of Sahabah is the most reliable by the majority of master scholars, such as al-Bukhari, his mentor Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and their students. There are, however, many other opinions concerning defining the Sahabah, but these opinions are unacceptable. For instance, it is said that the title sahabl must be dedicated to those who enjoy one of the following four characters: (1) those who spent a considerable period of companionship with the Holy Prophet, (2) those whose reports from the Holy Prophet are familiarly retained, (3) those who were seen participating in one of the Holy Prophet’s military campaigns, and (4) those who were martyred in defense of the Holy Prophet.

Other scholars have specified maturity and sitting with the Holy Prophet as conditions of being Sahabah, However, some scholars have generally declared that whoever saw the Holy Prophet should be regarded as sahabl. Yet, this generality does not include the undiscerning infants; rather, it is dedicated to the adults who saw the Holy Prophet with discernment, claiming that the condition of seeing the Holy Prophet cannot be applied to the undisceming infants, because they are unable to discern what they see. Yet, such undisceming infants are still Sahabah or Tabi'un (followers of the Prophet’s companions; the second generation after the Sahabah) because the Holy Prophet saw them.

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THE $AH/\BAH’S ULTIMATE DECENCY

It is questionable whether the dead persons whose dead bodies were seen by the Holy Prophet, such as the dead body of Abu-Dhu'ayb al-Hudhali the poet, should or should not be regarded as Sahabah. In fact, it most likely seems that such persons are excluded from the list of Sahabah. Conditions of recognizing the Sahabah

In order to recognize a person as sahabi, the first condition is to prove that he/she was a companion of the Holy Prophet through an uninterrupted, common, and well-known way of narration respectively. The second condition is to prove that a famous sahabi or a tabi'l is reported to have introduced that person as sahabi, because scholars have decided the recommendation of one person to another as acceptable. The third condition is that the person himself introduces himself as sahabi, provided that he/she is accepted as decent. In fact, the condition of decency has been decided by al-Amudi and other master scholars, because one’s claim to have been sahabi before one’s decency is proved necessitates accepting his claim of decency as true, because all of the Sahabah are decent. Thus, to claim being sahabi is as same as claiming decency. The other condition of accepting the claim of being sahabi is contemporariness to the Holy Prophet. Hence, the claims that must be accepted as true must be restricted to those which were issued one hundred and ten years after the emmigration of the Holy Prophet(s) at maximum. As a result, master scholars did not accept as true the claims that exceeded this period. In fact, a group of people did claim companionship of the Holy Prophet after that period, but their claims were refuted, because they seemed false. Finally, as al-Amudi’s words reveal, those who are not known from any other reference than their own autobiography cannot be proven as true Sahabah when they claim so. The entire community are Sahabah ■

It goes without saying that the Holy Prophet’s promulgation for Islam succeeded in establishing the Islamic State that was ruled by the Holy Prophet himself for about ten years. During these years, he founded the principles of the political system of Islam and made clear and known to everybody the beliefs of the creed. This procedure was carried out through means of transforming the Divine texts from theory into practice at all levels and by means of highlighting the general spirit of the religion. As is agreed upon by all constitutions of the world, the components of any government are three: a people, a province in which the people live, and an authority that manages the affairs of the people. If we once again take Ibn Hajar alAsqalani’s definition of Sahabah into consideration, we conclude that the foundations due to which a person is honored with the title of companionship

SUNNITES AND $AljABAH

19

of the Holy Prophet and is regarded as sahabi are two only: meeting the Holy Prophet and believing in him. Let us now study these two points with further details:

(1) By meeting the Holy Prophet(s), it is meant that whoever met, sat with, talked to, or even saw the Holy Prophet(s) must be decided as sahabi. Moreover, any person who saw or was seen by the Holy Prophet(s) is sahabi too, even if he was a suckling baby, because in such cases, seeing is not ascribed to the person, but to the Holy Prophet(s). (2) By believing in the Holy Prophet(s), it is meant that every person who believed in Muhammad(s) as the prophet and messenger of Allah must be regarded as sahabi when he meets the previously mentioned condition.

In fact, the question of belief or disbelief is beyond human faculties. If we adopt Ibn Hajar’s opinion, then we will have to investigate everybody’s faith in order to discover whether it is real or fake. Thus, Ibn Hajar should have presented this condition in this form: “...believing or pretending to believe in the Holy Prophet.” 'Abdullah ibn Abi-Salul, the head of the hypocrites (i.e. false believers) is decided by all scholars as sahabi. When a companion of the Holy Prophet suggested that he would kill this 'Abdullah, the Holy Prophet(s) objected and said, “We must treat him according to proper companionship as long as he is living amongst us.”(21)

'Abdullah ibn Abi-Sarh is also decided as sahabi whether all people like it or not! Although this man had worked as one of the clerks of the Holy Prophet(s), he started forging lies against Allah the Almighty; therefore, the Holy Prophet declared any person who would shed the blood of this man, even if he would be found hanging to the curtains of the Holy Ka 'bah, to be exempted from punishment. However, when the Holy Prophet(s) and the Muslims conquered Makkah (Mecca), 'Uthman ibn 'Affan mediated for this wicked man and the Holy Prophet(s) had to accept his mediation. So, 'Abdullah converted to Islam in order that his life would be spared.(22)

Al-Hakam ibn al-'As is another example of the SahabahX This man was banished by the Holy Prophet(s) who prevented him from entering the city of al-Madinah (Medina) forever, but when the Holy Prophet(s) passed away, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan asked Abu-Bakr to cancel the Prophet’s decision of banishment and allow al-Hakam to al-Madinah. Yet, Abu-Bakr refused. When Abu-Bakr passed away, 'Uthman once more asked 'Umar ibn alKhattab the same, but Umar refused. When 'Umar passed away and

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THE §AHABAH’S ULTIMATE DECENCY

TJthman became the caliph (i.e. ruler), the first thing he did was that he allowed al-Hakam to al-Madinah and received him with full respect and reverence. Moreover, he gave al-Hakam one hundred thousand dirhams (i.e. silver coins), because he was one of the Sahabah^ To cut a long story short, in order to decide a person as sahabl, it is not conditional that he/she believed in the Holy Prophet(s) in reality; rather, it is acceptably enough that that person pretended to have believed in the Holy Prophet(s) and to die carrying this belief or this pretension, because the Holy Prophet does not care about the intrinsic natures of men; rather, he refers this matter to Allah.

Accordingly, we have to say that owing to the Holy Prophet’s promulgation for Islam, the government he established, the military campaigns he led, the homage that all people paid to him, the seasons of Hajj and 'Umrah pilgrimages in general and the last pilgrimage, known as the Farewell Pilgrimage, in particular, and the full dominance of the Holy Prophet’s authority over the Arabian Peninsula—owing to all of these factors besides many others, no person who was present in Makkah or al-Ta'if in the tenth year after the Holy Prophet’s emigration to al-Madinah (i.e. 10 AH) could escape meeting or seeing the Holy Prophet(s), because all these persons accepted Islam and witnessed the Holy Prophet(s) performing his last Hajj pilgrimage. Supporting this fact, it is said that all the individuals of the two tribes of al-Aws and al-Khazraj embraced Islam during the last year of the Holy Prophet’s lifetime, and none of them died as nonbeliever,(24) including the children who must be thus decided as Sahabah because the Holy Prophet(s) must have seen them, since he used to urge his companions to bring with them their children and babies so that he(?) would give them names and bless them. Supporting this fact, many traditions hold that the small boys were brought to the Holy Prophet(s) so that he would bless them. Other reports confirm this matter so firmly, saying, “Whenever a newborn was bom, he/she would be first brought to the Holy Prophet. ”(25)

Taking into consideration the fact that all class differences were removed between the ruler and the subjects during the Holy Prophet’s reign, and that any person could easily see, talk to, and sit with the Holy Prophet(s), this must mean that all of the people whom the Holy Prophet(s) ruled must be decided as Sahabah\ The other Muslim sects hold the same lexical and terminological meanings of Sahabah that the Sunnites hold, but they disagree with them about the concept of decency (’adalah). Whereas Sunnites believe that all the Sahabah are unexceptionally decent, some other Muslim sects argue that decency has

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certain requirements that have been identified by Islam and has other logic­ based qualifications. Hence, a sahabi who met these requirements and qualifications can be decided as decent, but one who failed to meet any of these requirements and qualifications is not decent. Supporting their argument, these Muslim sects provide many points of evidence from the Holy Qur'an, the Prophetic traditions, and logic.

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Notes (1) For further details about the meanings of this word, it is recommended to refer to the following reference books: - Ibn Manzur, Jamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Mukrim. Lisan al-Arab 1:915. - Al-Jawhari, Isma'il ibn Hammad. Taj al-Lughah, pages 161-2. - Al-Zubaydi, Muhammad Murtada al-Husayni. Taj al-'Arils 3:186. - Mustafa, Ibrahim. al-Mu'jam al-Wasit 1:509-10. - Al-Fayruz'abadi, Majdi ibn Muhammad Ya'qub. Al-Qamus al-Muhit. - Al-Razi, Abu-Bakr. Mukhtarat al-Sihah, page 356. (2) uwa alssahibi bil-janb (...and the alien neighbor... 4/36)” (3) “wa lam takun lahu sahibatun (He has no consort. 6/101)” (4) “ma bisahibihim min jinnatin (Their companion has not unsoundness in mind. 7/184)” (5) “idh yaqulu lisahibihi Id tahzan (When he said to his companion: Grieve not. 9/40)” (6) “ya sahibayi alssijni (O my two mates of the prison! 12/39)” “qala lahu sahibuhu... (His companion said to him... 18/37)” (8) sa'altuka 'an shay'in ba'daha fala tusahibni (If I ask you about anything after this, keep me not in your company. 18/76)” “wa sahibhuma Ji alddunya ma'rufan (And keep company with them in this world kindly. 31/15)” (10) The Holy Qur'an 18/26. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 3:92-3. (11) The Holy Qur'an 31/15. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 3:444. (12) The Holy Qur'an 4/36. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 1:494. (13) The Holy Qur'an 9/40. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 2:358. (14) The Holy Qur'an 18/34&37. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 3:83. (15) The Holy Qur'an 54/29. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 4:265. (16) The Holy Qur'an 53/2, 34/41. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 3:543, 4:246. (,7) Ibid. (18>The Holy Qur'an 51/59. See also Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 2:i38. (19) See my articles published in al-Liwa Newspaper, 1992-3. l20)Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, al-Isabah fl Taniyiz al-Sahabah, page 10. (21) Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-Kubrd 2:56; Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub, al-Nizam al-Siyasi fi'l-Islam, page 103. (22) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Ma'arif pages 131 & 141. (23) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Ma'arif pages 54 & 131; Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub, al-Nizam alSiyasi fiT-Islamy page 103. (24) Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub, al-Nizam al-Siyasifi'l-Islamy page 132. (25) Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, al-Isabah fl Tamyiz al-Sahabahy page 7.

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Chapter Two

SUNNITES AND THE SAHABAH’S ULTIMATE DECENCY There is an assent among Sunnite scholars upon the decency of all of the Prophet’s companions to whom the term Sahabah is applicable. According to Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, no one disagrees to this view except for some heretic factions'. Moreover, it is obligatory to believe in the perfect honesty of all of the Sahabah, because it has been proved for everybody that none of the Sahabah should be in Hellfire, since they all shall be allowed to Paradise/0 What is meant by Sahabah in this regard is all of the Holy Prophet’s companions according to the definition of Ibn Hajar. Sunnites' arguments

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, a Sunnite master scholar who died in AH 463, argues that the ultimate decency of all of the Sahabah is indisputably proven as true, because it was Allah Who decided them as honest, informed us about their immaculacy, and chose for them this ultimate decency. He, the Almighty, thus says in the Holy Qur'an:

“You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men...” (3/110) “And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation...” (2/143) “Certainly, Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility on them...” (48/18) “And (as for) the foremost, the first of the Muhajirun and the Ansar, and those who followed them in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him...” (9/100)

“O Prophet! Allah is sufficient for you and (for) such of the believers as follow you.” (8/64)

“(It is) for the poor who fled their homes and their possessions, seeking grace of Allah and His pleasure, and assisting Allah and His Messenger: these it is that are the truthful. And those who made their abode in the city and in the faith before them love those who have fled to them, and do not find in their hearts a need of what they are given, and prefer them before themselves though poverty may afflict them, and whoever is preserved from the niggardliness of his soul, these it is that are the successful ones. And those who come after them say: Our Lord! Forgive us and those of our brethren who had precedence of us in faith, and do not allow any spite to remain in our hearts towards

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those who believe, our Lord! Surely Thou art Kind, Merciful.” (59/810)

Besides, there are many other Qur'anic and Prophetic texts that support this meaning. Sense of the Safoabah's ultimate decency in Sunnites' view

According to Sunnites, the Sahabah’s ultimate decency means, among many other things, that it is impossible for any person who was contemporary of the Holy Prophet(s) or was bom during his lifetime to tell untruths or forge a lie. Besides, it is definitely forbidden to criticize such a person, even if he killed thousands of people and committed all kinds of flaws and forbidden acts. Accordingly, all of the members of the Umayyad family who were contemporary of the Holy Prophet(s) must be regarded as too decent to be criticized or blamed for their crimes, such as Abu-Sufyan and his sons. Included with this rule are Marwan ibn al-Hakam, al-Hakam ibn al-'As— whom the Holy Prophet(s) exiled from the holy city of al-Madinah—and his family members as well as Amr ibn al- 'As and his son 'Abdullah. Although Abdullah was only ten years old when the Holy Prophet(s) passed away, Sunnites ascribe to him a big set of Prophetic traditions that he, they claim, had written in a book they entitled al-Sahifah al-Sadiqah, or the unblemished document.

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Hence, all of the reports of such people must be authentic, even if they comprised swearwords about Imam AH ibn Abi-Talib(’a)(2) and the other members of the Holy Prophet’s Household, and even if they comprised sanctification and extolment of Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljim, the murderer of Imam All ibn Abi-Talib! According to the Sunnite’s opinion, all such narrations must be approved of and must never be refuted, because their reporters are decent people. Of course, a decent person never tells a lie purposefully! Likewise, all those who followed and appeased Mu'awiyah during his thirtyyear reign must be on the true guidance and must be truthful, including those who poisoned Imam al-Hasan ibn Ali(’a) to death, those who massacred Imam al-Husayn('a) and his followers, and those who committed all kinds of disgraceful crimes in al-Kufah as well as many other Muslim districts. All such people must have been truly guided and must have followed the truth, for no other reason than that the Holy Prophet(s), as the Sunnites claim, had said, “Afy companions (sahabah) are like stars; if you follow any of them, you will be guided to the truth!”™ although this Prophetic tradition! has been decided by master scholars of hadith as too weak to be accepted. Therefore, it must be devoid of any binding evidence. Moreover, Ibn Taymiyah contested the authenticity of this hadith.

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Punishment of disbelieving In the Sahabah's ultimate decency

On the word of the most moderate Sunnite scholars, “If you notice a man criticizing any one of the Holy Prophet’s companions, then you must come to know that this man is unquestionably a miscreant one! Those who find fault with any of the Sahabah without exception are miscreants whom should be out of the circle of trustworthiness.(5) Whoever carps at any of the Sahabah, you all must avoid eating or drinking with him. Moreover, you must not offer the ritual Deceased Prayer on his dead body.”(6) The secret behind strictness and extremism of the Sunnites concerning the issue of the Sahabah

On the word of Ibn Hajar, Sunnites believe that the Messenger of Allah(s) is true, the Qur'an is true, and whatever is mentioned by these two is true, and it was exclusively the Sahabah who was conveyed to us all that we know about about the Messenger of Allah(s) and the Holy Qur'an. As a result, whoever tries to find fault with any of these Sahabah must intend for nothing but proving the indecency of these testifiers to the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah(’a) and the Holy Qur'an and, consequently, want to refute the Book and the Sunnah (i.e. Prophetic traditions). Therefore, such people must be the ones whom should be criticized, because they must be miscreants.(7) Let us not forget that by Sahabah, Sunnites comply with Ibn Hajar’s previously cited definition completely; therefore, Sahabah are all those who saw or were seen by the Holy Prophet(s), beginning with Khadijah, 'All, Zayd ibn Harithah, and Abu-Bakr, and ending with the last child who saw or was seen by the Holy Prophet(s). An attempt of lessening strictness!

In his book Sharh al-Burhdn, al-Maziri says,

“By deciding the ultimate decency of the Sahabah, we do not include those whom the Holy Prophet(s) saw for a second or visited accidentally or met for a certain purpose and left soon; rather, we only mean those who adhered to him, supported him, patronized him, and followed the Light that was revealed to him. These people only are the successful ones.”*® Denial of and secreting this attempt

A good number of Sunnite master scholars disagreed and even objected to the previously cited words of al-Maziri. In this regard, Shaykh Salah al'Allanl says,

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“Al-Maziri’s statement is unfamiliarly strange! If it is taken into consideration, this means that a very big number of people whom are famously known as Sahabah and well known for their reporting the Prophetic traditions must no longer be decided as decent, such as Wa'il ibn Hajar, Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, Uthman ibn al-'As, and many others who had visited the Holy Prophet(s) and resided with him for a short period before they returned home. The same is applicable to those who reported one Prophetic tradition only and those whose period of residence with the Holy Prophet(s) is unknown, such as the nomads of the Arab tribes who lived away from al-Madinah and Makkah. Refuting al-Maziri’s statement, master scholars generalize the concept of Sahabah so widely that it should include all people who saw or were seen by the Holy Prophet(s) unconditionally. This is the very approvable opinion of our scholars”(9) Consequences of generalization

This generalization (of the concept of Sahabah so that it should include all people who saw or were seen by the Holy Prophet unconditionally) creates random equality of all Muslims. According to the Sunnite’s opinion, all of the Sahabah are equal in decency.

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Hence, those who sat at home and refrained to strive in Allah’s way are equal to those who fought in the way of Allah;

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the knowledgeable are equal to the ignorant;

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those who converted to Islam with full certitude and conviction are equal to those who declared being Muslims in order to save themselves from being killed;

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the foremost to join Islam are equal to those who joined it after its triumph;

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those who spent their fortunes in support of the religion are equal to those who acted niggardly;

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the disobedient are equal to the obedient;

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the infants are equal to the adults; those who led all battles against Islam, such as Abu-Sufyan and his son Mu awiyah, are equal to those who fought for maintaining it, such as Ali ibn Abi-Talib;

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Hamzah the chief of martyrs is equal to his killer Wahshi;

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'Uthman ibn 'Affan, who is claimed to have been given the glad tidings of being allowed to Paradise, is equal to his uncle al-Hakam ibn al- 'As, the father of the Umayyad rulers and the one whom was

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exiled by the Holy Prophet(s) who also cursed his son(I0) and him and also exiled his two friends; 'Abdullah ibn Ab-Sarah who had forged lies against Allah and apostatized Islam and, consequently, the Holy Prophet(s) declared any person who would shed the blood of this man, even if he would be found hanging to the curtains of the Holy Ka l>ah, to be exempted from punishment00 is equal to Abu-Bakr; and 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the head of hypocrisy, is equal to 'Ammar ibn Yasir... etc.

According to the opinion of Sunnites, this is so because all these people are Sahabah, equally decent, dwellers of Paradise, and none of them will be ever forced to Hellfire! Inquiry and argumentation

Is it reasonable to believe that the knowledgeable is equal to the ignorant?

Is it reasonable to believe that those who refrained from participating in any military compagn with the Holy Prophet(s) are equal to those spent their whole life fighting for the sake of Allah? Is it reasonable to believe that those who embraced Islam with full conviction are equal to those who had to embrace it for fear of being killed?

Is it reasonable to believe that the killer is equal to his victim? Is it reasonable to believe that the foremost to Islam are equal to those who joined it at final stages of its prevalence? Is it reasonable to believe that those who spent their fortunes in the way of Allah are equal to those who abstained from giving anything of their property for the sake of Islam?

Is it reasonable to believe that the disobedient are equal to the obedient? Is it reasonable to believe that the faithful believers are equal to those who pretended faith?

Is it reasonable to believe that Mu 'awiyah is equal to 'Ali?

Neither religion, nor reason, nor can logic ever agree to such unfair equality. This is definitely unforgivable injustice and unbearable confusion that is renounced by reason and disdained by the nazve nature of humanity.(l2)

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Critique of the Sunnites9 Opinion Agreement and disagreement

In the light of the previously mentioned lexical and terminological meanings of the word sahabah, all Muslim sects have no alternative but to agree that the term sahabah includes all those who embraced Islam faithfully or unfaithfully and heard from, sat with, or saw the Holy Prophet(s) even for a moment.

However, disagreement lies in the generalization of this concept. To explain, Sunnites believe that according to the implication of this term, all of the Holy Prophet’s companions (i.e. Sahabah) must be decent, while the other Muslim sects neither acknowledge nor agree with Sunnites on this generalization. An attempt of compromise

If the all-inclusive meaning of the word sahabah is taken for granted, then the entire people of the Holy Prophet’s State must have been too decent to be criticized. In other words, the Muslim community that lived in the shadow of the Holy Prophet’s State are Sahabah. Thus, they should be the foremost addressees in the verses of the Holy Qur'an. Whoever declared Islam and professed that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger was considered to be Muslim and citizen of the Holy Prophet’s State, because it is Allah only Who knows the reality of people, it is He alone Who “knows the stealthy looks and that which the breasts conceal” and it is He alone Who will reward people for embracing Islam.

On the basis of this notion, the Holy Prophet(s) was satisfied with appearances and left the realities to Allah. Naturally, each man is evaluated according to his future acts, to the mercy of Allah, to the influence that the Muslim society leaves on him, and to his attitude to the battles of faith against disbelief under the commandership of the Holy Prophet(s) personally or the commandership of those whom he appoints as commanders. Besides, the Holy Prophet(s) never faced a hypocrite with his reality; rather, he always prayed Allah the Almighty to conceal the defects of His creatures, to set them aright, and to guide them to the straight path. On the other hand, the Holy Qur'an is full of texts that resolutely rebuke the hypocrites who spread through al-Madinah and the neighboring quarters. These Qur'anic verses revealed the hypocrites’ secrets, exposed their ill-wills, discussed their real affairs, and described and diagnosed individual states of certain persons whom are considered to be companions of the Holy Prophet(s). Moreover, penal laws were executed to many of these persons.

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The Islamic Law has defined the objective features of charity and piety and also of evildoings; therefore, whoever was characterized by certain features was included with this or that group, according to his personal conduct. Besides, putting these features into practice was left to each person’s behavior. Throughout the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(s), clashes with disbelief did not stop, because it is natural that each man’s behavior always reflects the reality of his/her belief sooner or later. When the Holy Prophet(s) departed this life and joined the Supreme Lord, each Muslim who was a citizen of the Islamic State knew the reality of his position; either in the pond of piety or in the pit of wickedness. All people were fully acquainted with each other’s real position although the Muslim community in general and the community of al-Madinah, the capital of the Islamic State, was a community of Sahabah and each individual was sahabi in both lexical and terminological meaning of this word.

Besides, none can feel secure against the plan of Allah. One of the unchangeable principles of the religion is that all affairs must be decided according to the last attitude. Accordingly, it is necessary to classify the Sahabah into two groups, as follows:

The first group comprises the virtuous Sahabah who contributed greatly to the establishment of the Islamic State, endured the harm and mockery of the disbelieving majority until the Affair of Allah prevailed, supported the Holy Prophet(s) and supported whomsoever supported him, and moved to the vicinity of their Lord while they were holding fast to the Rope of Allah. No Muslim individual or Muslim sect disagrees that such Sahabah are decent. The second group comprises the other so-called Sahabah who are different in standings and attitudes. Allah knows them best. Some of them were children and others hypocrites. Unanimously, the hypocrites are the evilest of all. For this reason, Allah the Almighty has decided to place them in the lowest degree of Hellfire although they pretended that they were Muslims and they are described as Sahabah with all objective criteria that are believed by Sunnites. The purpose of classification

It is imperatively important to recognize the virtuous Sahabah and to distinguish them from the others, because it is they who swear special allegiance to the Imam (i.e. true leader of the Muslim community), they are an essential pillar of the people of shura (consultation), they are the only ones who carry out the commands of Islam, they are the actual government of the Imam, they undertake the mission of preparing the community for receiving the instructions of the Holy Qur'an and for putting into practice the Islamic laws, they guide the ordinary people to the general allegiance to the

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Imam, and the pleasure of the ordinary people is conditional upon their pleasure and, similarly, the displeasure of the ordinary people is conditional upon their displeasure. When all of these goals are achieved, they as well as the Muslim community will survive perdition and ruin. On the contrary, when these goals cannot be achieved, neither they nor can the Muslim community experience any success and prosperity and, as a result, the leadership will be the share of the most powerful, be he just or unjust. In the current study, the classification of the Sahabah leads us to an objective survey of the past so as to make out the secret behind the discrepancy of Muslims, the disunity of their word, and the collapse of their state. Of course, this can pave the way for a better future and firmer steps towards accomplishments and keep Muslims act within the frame of the Islamic Law, which is the one and only way to reunite them and reestablish their state that should be based on the foundations determined by the religion of Islam. Once this happens, the Muslim state will perpetuate forever and will never be exposed to any collapse.

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Additionally, telling apart the Sahabah is imperative for recognizing the most virtuous amongst them and the worthiest of fulfilling the general demands of Muslims. Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an,

“Verily, Allah does command you to render back your trusts to their owners. (4/58)”

Explaining this holy Qur'anic verse, al-Tabari states that it stands for referring leadership to the worthiest of undertaking its responsibilities.

Of course, it is impossible to render back the trusts without restoring to recognition of the worthiest of it. Of course, the first to have heard this verse were the Sahabah and none save them is intended to carry out this religious duty.

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Defining the best is a Divine standard

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To distinguish the best from the others is a standard that is founded by Allah the Almighty. It is also one of the courses of life and one of the incentives of attaining sublimity in this world, because it is required by the nature of life, by the unquestionable dissimilarity of the creatures’ power, strength, and understanding, and by the establishment of political and the management of justice, which stands for putting the right person in the right place—a principle that results in materializing the purposes of the Islamic Law. The one and only means of accomplishing all these achievements is the system of religion-based superiority in Islam, because preferring one to another is a prize and an incentive decided by Allah the Almighty, unless such

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preference is prohibited by the Islamic Law, such as in the case of equality in the distribution of donations. Proof of defining the best as extracted from the Islamic Law

The issue of defining the best and telling apart the good from the bad is widely used in the Islamic Law and found in its general spirit. In this regard, the Holy Qur'an reads,

“God shows preference to those who strive with their property and persons through higher rank than with those who just sit around. (4/95)” “These apostles, We have exalted some of them above the others. (2/253)” Giving preference is also applicable to peoples and families. The Holy Qur'an, addressing the Children of Israel, reads,

“O Children of Israel! Call to mind the (special) favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all other (for My Message). (2/47)”

With regard to preference, the Holy Qur'an declares: “Yet, God shows preference to strivers with a better wage over those who stay at home. (4/95)” “We have made some prophets excel over others. (17/55)” “Behold how We caused some of them excel the others; and surely the hereafter is much greater in respect of degrees and greater still in respect of excellence. (17/21)” “Those among you who have spent and fought before the victory are not equal: those stand higher in rank than the ones who spent and fought later on. (57/10)”

Deciding the most preferred is necessary for recognizing the best and the worthiest of fulfilling the general functions, as is required by the Holy Prophet(s) who is reported to have said, “Whoever inducts a man into an office of leadership of a group of people, but he has already found another man who is more accepted by Allah to occupy this office than that man was, has in fact betrayed Allah, His Apostle, and the believers.”(13)

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Classes of the Sahabah It is required by the Islamic Law, reason, and actual facts that the Sahabah cannot be at the same level and of the same rank. In fact, some of them are truthful, yet in different degrees of truthfulness. Others are powerful, yet in different degrees of power. Others are weak, yet in different degrees of weakness. Others are hypocrites, yet in different degrees of hypocrisy. Answering those who suggested to him that he should issue a decree of killing ’Abdullah ibn Ubayy the head of hypocrisy, the Holy Prophet(s) said,

“No! We should treat his companionship (suhbah) of us fairly as long as he lives amongst us.”(14) According to this Prophetic tradition, the head of hypocrisy was sahabi as is maintained by all criteria of sahabah that is decisively agreed upon by Sunnites. However, if we act in agreement with Sunnites with regard to their literal understanding of companionship with the Holy Prophet(s), life and intelligence will surely be completely frozen.

Although Sunnites have unanimously agreed upon and put into circulation that all of the Sahabah are indisputably decent, they implicitly confess that this generalization is neither real nor logic, since it is in violation of the Islamic Law and concepts. The best evidence in this regard is the Sunnites’ classification of the Sahabah into different classes, each class of which delineates the role played by this or that sahabi in political affairs and rights, because the Islamic Law, represented by the Holy Qur'an and the Prophetic Traditions (sunnah), has identified the features of each class.(l5) On the basis of this fact, Ibn Sa'd elaborately discusses this issue and classifies the Sahabah into five classes,(16) while al-Hakim al-Nayshaburi, in al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, classifies them into twelve classes,(17) as follows:

The first class includes the Sahabah who had embraced Islam in Makkah before emmigration to Yathrib, such as the four orthodox caliphs.w The second class includes the Sahabah who were members of the Consultation House (i.e. dar al-nidwah).

The third class includes the Sahabah who migrated to Abyssinia.

The fourth class includes the Sahabah who swore allegiance to the Holy Prophet(s) in the First 'Aqabah Homage. The fifth class includes the Sahabah who swore allegiance to the Holy Prophet(s) in the Second 'Aqabah Homage.

The sixth class includes the foremost migrants who arrived at al-Madinah

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immediately after the Holy Prophet’s Emmigration. The seventh class includes the warriors of the Battle of Badr.

The eighth class includes the Sahabah who joined the Holy Prophet(s) in alMadinah in the period between the Battle of Badr and the al-Hudaybiyah Truce. The ninth class includes the Sahabah who swore allegiance to the Holy Prophet(s) under the tree, which is known as the Ridwan {pleasure} Homage. The tenth class includes the Sahabah who emmigrated to al-Madinah in the period between the al-Hudaybiyah Truce and the Conquest of Makkah, such as Khalid ibn al-Walid and 'Amr ibn al- 'As. The eleventh class includes the Sahabah who declared that they converted to Islam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah after the Holy Prophet(s) had captured and then released them. For this reason, they are called tulaqa'\ i.e. the Released Ones, such as Abu-Sufyan and Mu 'awiyah. The twelfth class includes some boys and children who saw the Holy Prophet(s) on the day of the Conquest of Makkah.

Accordingly, the first to have embraced Islam were Lady Khadijah and Imam 'All ibn Abi-Talib(’a). In this regard, it is reported that the Apostle of Allah(s) was sent as prophet on Monday. On Tuesday, 'All embraced Islam, followed by Zayd ibn Harithah and Abu-Bakr respectively/1^ The process of classifying the Sahabah into different classes is in fact an introduction to giving preference to some of them over others. It is illogic to consider those who converted to Islam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah to be as decent as the foremost Muslims.

Understanding this fact, Umar ibn Khattab took this point in consideration when he decided to distribute the donations amongst Muslims. He thus distributed these donations according to the classes of Muslims and he did not treat equally the foremost to Islam and the last to convert to it. He also did not equalize between those who fought against Islam using all means possible until they were besieged in the circle of polytheism and those who fought for the sake of Islam, missing no single battle, until Allah gave victory to His religion. During the meeting under the hall (saqifah) of Banu-Sa 'idah, the Muhajirun (the emigrants; people of Makkah who had converted to Islam and then migrated to Yathrib with the Holy Prophet) advanced as an argument against the Ansar (the helpers; people of Yathrib who received and supported the Holy Prophet and his fellows) that they were the first to serve Allah on His lands (i.e. the first to embrace Islam, which is termed as priority to faith);

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and that they were the loyalists and the clan of the Holy Prophet(s); and that they were the worthiest of all other people to assume his office of leadership after him; and that none should dispute with them on this right except unjust people; and that the Arabs would never accept the leadership of the Ansar while their Prophet(s) belonged to another clan; rather, the Arabs would not give the office of leadership that was assumed by the Holy Prophet(s) to any other clan except those amongst whom the Holy Prophet(s) appeared!

Declaring this argument, 'Umar, during that meeting, announced, “Who can dispute with us on the authority and heritage of Muhammad while we are his folks and clan?”(20) Thus did Abu-Bakr and 'Umar speak during the Saqifah meeting. It goes without saying that their words were accurate practice of the reason-based notion of preference as is maintained by the Islamic Law. As a result, their words blew up the baseless statement that all of the Sahabah are unexceptionally and equally decent. These overwhelming arguments of the Muhajirun muted the Ansar who had to submit to these facts. Yet, they declared, “According to your argument, we should not accept as leader anyone except 'All ibn Abl-Talib and we should not pay homage to anyone except him.”(21)

After Muslims had sworn allegiance to Abu-Bakr and accepted him as their new leader, Imam 'Ali(’a) advanced his irrefutable arguments, declaring his priority to assume the office of leadership. Yet, Bashir ibn Sa'd, who had broken the unanimity of the Ansar and had been the first to pay homage to Abu-Bakr, justified the Ansar’s conduct by saying, “’All! Had the Ansar heard these words from you before they paid homage to Abu-Bakr, no two of them would ever have disputed about you!”(22) It might have been impossible to reach such convictions if the system of defining the superior had not been used as a means of preferring the most knowledgeable, the best, and the most suitable over all others for running the affairs needed by the Muslim community.

Naturally, the system of identifying the best is in full violation of the notion of the ultimate decency of the Sahabah, because if this notion were accurate, there would be no reason for the existence of the system of identifying the best and for putting this system in practice, since all people are equal in decency.

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System of Identifying the Best in Islam For achieving such purposes like avoiding discrepancy and divergence, eliminating the roles of tempers and fancies, and stunting any overbearing reality that might be imposed on the Muslim community, Islam, through decisive texts that are neither deniable nor interpretable, has founded the bases of the system of identifying the best. These foundations are restricted to five pillars so that they should be intakes to virtue and decency and courses that take to the abodes of righteousness. Moreover, these pillars identify the actual position of each Muslim individual, demonstrate his/her role, and confine the size of his/her eminence. Altogether, these pillars give the most appropriate answer to any question that is related to ranks and virtues of people from the viewpoint of the Islamic Law. In brief, these five pillars are the one and only way for recognizing the most knowledgeable, the best, and the most suitable for running the affairs of the Muslim community. Hence, if all of the Sahabah were unexceptionally equal in decency and if there were no difference between any two of them, then what was the reason for establishing the system of identifying the best in Islam? And what was the purpose for identifying the sentences for each felony and making laws for each issue?

Pillars of Identifying the best and the intakes to true decency By an induction from the laws of the Divine doctrine of Islam, it is noticeable that the system of identifying the best is founded on five pillars that stand for Islamic Law-based criteria that define the actual standing of each Muslim and demonstrate his/her rank.

The first and most important pillar of superiority in Islam is blood relationship with the Holy Prophets). The immaculate family members of the Holy Prophet(s) are the political and spiritual leaders of the Muslim community—a fact that is proved by innumerable clear-cut traditions of the Holy Prophet(s). However, it may be asked why these people were chosen over all others. To answer, this is the favor that Allah the Almighty gives to whomever He wishes. It is just like asking why the Divine Revelation was sent down to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) and why this man and none else was chosen as the Almighty’s messenger to humanity. In brief, the choice of prophets and apostles is an affair that is related to Allah the Almighty alone, and none has any say in this regard. As is maintained by numerous Divine texts and Prophetic traditions, the immaculate relatives of the Holy Prophet(s) are the center of the circle/ Sahih al-Bukhariy Book: The Sick (kitab al-mardd)y Chapter: The Sick Say, “Leave Me!” (qawl al-marid qumu 'anni\ vol. 7, page 9; Sahih Muslim, Book: Will (kitab al-wasiyyah), vol. 5, page 75; al-Nawawi, Commentary on Sahih Muslim 11:95; Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 4:356, H. 2992; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj alBalaghah 6:51.

Sahih al-Bukhari 4:31; Sahih Muslim 3:16; Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 1:222 and 3:286. (3) Sahih Muslim 2:16; al-Nawawi, Commentary on Sahih Muslim 11:94-5; Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 1:355; Tarikh al-Tabari 2:193; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi’lTarikh, page 320. Sahih al-Bukhari 1:37. Sahih al-Bukhari 5:137; Tarikh al-Tabari 3:192-3. Sahih al-Bukhari 2:132 and 4:65-6. Sahih al-Bukhari 8:161. (8) Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, Tadhkirat al-Khawass, page 62; Abu-Hamid al-Ghazzali, Sirr al-'Alamayn fiT-Darayn, page 21. (9) Ibn AbiT-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah 3:113.

(10) All reference books of Prophetic traditions have unanimously agreed that it was ’Umar ibn al-Khattab who said, “Sufficient for us is the Book of Allah.” (11) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah wa‘l-Siyasah, page 5 and on. (12) See, for instance, Sayyid Ja’far Murtada, Khalfiyyat Ma’sat al-Zahra’. (13) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah waT-Siyasah, page 13. (14) Ibn Abi’l-Hadld, Sharh Nahj al-Baldghah 1:306-7.

(15) Tarikh al-Tabari 3:209-10; al-Qasimi, Tarikh al-Hukm, page 152. (,6) Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi’l-Tarikh 3:24; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj alBalaghah 3:107. (17) Tarikh al-Tabari 3:429; al-Qasimi, Nizam al-Hukm, page 176; Ibn al-Jawzi, Sirat "Umar, page 37; Ibn Khaldun, Tarikh 2:85; Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub, al-Nizam al-Siydsi fi’l-Islam, page 120. (18) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah wa’l-Siyasah, pages 21-2; Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub, alNizam al-Siydsifi’l-Islam, pages 120-121. (19) Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra 2:193.

(20) Al-Qasimi, Nizam al-Hukm, pages 344-5; Ahmad Husayn Ya’qub, al-Nizam alSiydsi fi’l-Islam, page 153. (21) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah wa ‘l-Siyasah, page 12. (22) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah wa 'l-Siyasah 1:12. (23) The Arabic word ghadir means brook. (24) Shaykh al-Saduq, al-Khisal, page 173.

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(25) Ibn Qutaybah, al-lmamah wa l-Siyasah 1:15-6. (26) Hereinafter, I will mention only some reference books of history of Islam that mentioned ’Umar’s attempt to set Lady Fatimah’s house on fire along with all those who were therein: Tarikh al-Tabari 3:198; Ibn Abd-Rabbih al-Andalusi, al-'Iqd al-Farid 5:12; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah 1:124; Al-Shahristani, al-Milal wa’l-Nihal 1:56; Umar Rida Kahhalah, A ’lam al-Nisa' 4:114; Al-Mas udi, Ithbat al-Wasiyyah, pp. 123. (27) Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi’l-Tarikh 3:24, Events of AH 23; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah\ Ahmad Husayn Ya’qub, al-Nizam al-Siyasifi'l-Islam, pages 149 and on. (28) Al-Mas’udi, Muruj al-Dhahab 2:353.

(29) Ibn ’Asakir, Tarikh Madinat Dimashq ’Abbas Mahmud al-’Aqqad, Mu'awiyah fi'l-Mizan, page 16; Mahmud Abu-Rayyah, Shaykh al-Madirah, page 180.

Chapter Six THE REFERENTIAL AUTHORITY AFTER THE HOLY PROPHETS PASSING AWAY Need for referential authority

The Shi 'ah believe that the Holy Prophet(s) did not leave his community before he had nominated and left for them a guardian and a referential authority to whom they should refer in all of their worldly and religious affairs and to whom they should pay homage as their leader, although they did pay homage to him during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(s); therefore, the claim that he(s) departed this life without appointing a successor is definitely wrong, because guardianship and referential authority are two essential issues with which no community in any age can dispense. Moreover, to claim that the Holy Prophets) departed this life without nominating any person to the next leadership is in clear-cut violation of the perfection of the religion, the completion of the Divine favor and the Qur’an being explanation of all things and issues, which Allah the Almighty had already declared in the Holy Qur'an. In other words, if the Holy Qur'an had contained clarification of all items as it declared, then it must have referred to the issue of the next leader and guardian who should succeed the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s). Similarly, Allah the Almighty declared that He perfected the religion and completed His grace and favor for His servants. This declaration cannot be active unless the essential issue of appointing the coming leader is posed and solved during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(s). While such trivial issues like the correct ways of urination and defecation are explained by the Holy Prophet(s) so that the Qur'an being an explanation of all things should be put into practice, how is it possible to believe that he neglected one of the most important issues that directly influence the religious, political and social lives of Muslims?

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In conclusion, it is absolutely nonsense to claim that the Holy Prophet(s) left the Muslim community and departed this life without discussing the issue of the next leadership. Moreover, if we controversially claim that the Holy Prophet(s) did not say anything about the future of the Muslims and the coming leadership after his passing away, this should be in violation of his having been mercy and compassion on the Muslim community and his very much care for their future, which were declared by the Holy Qur'an and proven through the deeds of the Holy Prophet(s). In fact, Allah the Almighty cast very massive mercy, love, and sympathy in the heart of the Holy Prophet(s). If the Holy Prophet(s) did not say anything about the next leadership, then who should carry out his religious and worldly missions after him? Who should explain the Qur'an? Who should discriminate the legal from the illegal? Who should act as the ship of salvation for the masses? Who should lead the people to the true guidance?

If fact, all these missions are specialties and technical qualifications just like medicine and engineering, since none can realize the religious affairs with certainty and decisiveness except the most acquainted with the religious creed and the best and most preferred for occupying the position of the religious referential authority. Thus, the qualifications and qualities of such a person cannot be realized precisely and decisively except by Allah the Almighty. It is therefore impracticable by all criteria of good sense and religious laws for the Almighty to leave these missions for the whims and personal views of people. The clearest evidence on the inevitable necessity of nomination to the next leadership is that those who denied the Holy Prophet’s nomination to the next leadership and his appointing Imam 'All ibn Abi-Talib(’a) as his successor and as the religious and political referential authority of Muslims had to create a positive referential authority that they decided for any one who should come to power by any means, even if he killed hundreds of thousands of people. The Divine statement of designating to the next referential authority

It was Allah the All-blessed and All-exalted Who revealed the Holy Qur’an to serve as a Divine message to the human race and as a Divine creed that should host an undoubted depiction of the movements of all things, organize their religious and worldly affairs, bring to light the basic features of their lives in the Next World and link their lives in this world and the next one with a well-knit organic link.

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Allah the Almighty revealed the Qur’an to His servant Muhammad(s) so that he should explain it for people theoretically and practically at the levels of promulgation for it and establishment of a government and a state whose laws are derived from its laws. Thus, the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) led the promulgation for the Qur'an by himself and led the Islamic State that he had established on the laws of the Qur’an by himself, too. During the different stages of promulgation for Islam and leadership of the Islamic State, the Holy Prophet(s) explained the features of the Islamic creed completely and without any blemish. Carrying out this mission, he acted as the referential authority to whom all people should refer in all of their creedal affairs, because he was the most acquainted with it, the most aware of its laws, the best of its followers, and the most suitable for leading the followers and applying the laws of the creed to them. Thus, none in this world could take the place of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) with regard to carrying out these missions and none could serve as substitute for him during his blessed lifetime. It was Allah the Almighty Who alone had the specialty of commissioning the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) with this mission, because none could recognize certainly and without doubt the most suitable for this mission, the most versed in the details of the Islamic creed, the most experienced with its laws, the best of its followers and the most qualified for leading the followers and applying the laws of the creed to them except Allah the Almighty. For this reason, the Almighty dedicated the right to choosing the referential authority and the guardian to Himself. He then introduced the one who should occupy the position of the referential authority to the people, confirmed that this person was the most knowledgeable, the most erudite, the best and the most qualified for this office and commissioned him with the authority of teaching and explaining the Islamic creed for the people and with the authority of acting as their referential authority to whom they should refer in all of their worldly and religious affairs because he should judge between them according to the laws of the religion. If the masses approve of the referential authority whom Allah the Almighty had chosen for them and swear allegiance to him, then the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) should be their referential authority and guardian.

Because the promulgation for Islam should not cease up to the end of time, the faithful state was always supposed to support the promulgation for having faith in the religion of Islam, the ultimate purpose is that the entire humanity should be guided to this final religion, the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) was a mortal and one day he should pass away and Allah the Almighty alone knows certainly and absolutely which one of the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) was the most experienced, the most erudite in the Islamic creed and the most qualified for leading the followers of

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Islam—because of all these reasons, Allah the Almighty took upon Himself the task of introducing and naming the referential authority and the guardian who should be followed by Muslims after the passing away of the Holy Prophet(s). Thus, if the followers swear allegiance to and accept the person whom the Lord has chosen for them as their leader, then they will definitely be guided to the straight path, but if they do not swear allegiance to him, a process of disintegration between guardianship and the office of referential authority will have effect, causing that the ruler will be someone while the referential authority will be someone else. Finally, the ruler will hold a sway over the two offices.

For instance, indisputable religious texts and decrees have introduced alHusayn ibn rAli ibn Abi-Talib('a) as the leader, guardian, referential authority, and example of Muslims during his age, but Muslims, either fearing the ruling authorities or desiring for their prizes, paid homage to Yazid ibn Mu awiyah who, accordingly, became the ruler. Hence, the office of guardianship of Muslims was separated from the office of referential authority. Because the office of referential authority always followed the office of guardianship, the ruler knew that he would not find rest unless he should divest the real referential authority of his authorities so that both the offices should be under the control of the ruler. Thus, Yazid had no other way to divest Imam al-Husayn(’a) of his office as the religious referential authority of Muslims than slaying him; so, he did. When all is said and done, it is Allah the Almighty alone Who has the right to appoint the leader, guardian and referential authority of the Muslims, because it is He alone Who recognizes on bases of certainty and conviction the most acquainted with the laws of the Islamic creed, the most erudite of them, the best and the most qualified for leading the Muslims according to the laws of Islam. Thus, before the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) passed away and moved to the vicinity of the Lord, Allah the Almighty had chosen the guardian and referential authority of the Muslim nation. He thus ordered His Prophet(s) to declare His choice; so, the Holy Prophet(s), in the presence of one hundred thousand Muslims during the Farewell Pilgrimage, declared the Divine command of appointing 'All ibn Abi-Talib(’a) as the successor to the Holy Prophet(s) and the next political and religious leader of Muslims; and Muslims should listen to and obey him. Moreover, the Holy Prophet(s) re­ declared this Divine statement ten times on different occasions. Nevertheless, Muslims paid homage to another man as their guardian and referential authority, causing disintegration to occur to the two offices of guardianship and referential authority. Then, the rulers, in all ages, moved to divest the Divinely chosen referential authority of this office and held a sway over the two offices by means of force and prevalence.

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The Divinely appointed guardian and referential authority

Shi 'ites believe that Imam 'AH ibn Abi-Talib(’a) was the one whom Allah the Almighty chose and appointed as the guardian and referential authority of the Muslims after the passing away of the Holy Prophet(s). To proclaim His choice, Allah the Almighty commissioned His Prophet with the mission of declaring this statement to people. Carrying out the Lord’s command, the Holy Prophet(s) declared this Divine statement in the presence of one hundred thousand Muslims during the Farewell Pilgrimage. That was not all, the Holy Prophet(s) also named the persons who should succeed Imam 'AH(’a) to the offices of guardianship (i.e. political leadership) and referential authority (i.e. religious leadership); namely, al-Hasan ibn 'All, followed by his brother al-Husayn ibn 'AH, followed by his son 'All... etc. Thus, the Holy Prophet(s) arranged the whole matter of the next leadership in such a way that each Imam should nominate the next Imam. Thus, the Imams were twelve in number, the twelfth of them is Imam al-Mahdi, the awaited, who is the actual legal ruler of the present time, while the just rulers are only representatives of the Twelfth Imam until Allah the Almighty allows him to reappear and fill the earth with justice and impartiality after it has been filled with injustice and persecution. The reason for Sunnite's animosity towards the Shi'ah

If Shi 'ites say the truth, then why did Sunnites incur the hostility of them? To answer, this is so because what the Shi'ah say pulls the rug out from under the rulers who came to power after the passing away of the Holy Prophet(s), cancels out any justification for their authorities and creates many reasons for their enemies to take power from them, because these rulers took hold of the imports of the state and used them as they wished, they had a great army under their command and it was they who paid for them and finally all mass media were under their control.

Besides, because the Shi 'ah have all over ages been the opposition to the ruling authorities, the rulers always punished, persecuted and chased them, introducing them to the masses as devils, rebels and outlaws who opposed the unanimity of the Muslim community. As a result, the overwhelming majority of people had no other alternative than flattering the rulers. Because the Shi 'ah did not have any opportunity to express their viewpoints and stances freely, the rulers forged lies and fabrications against them and introduced them to the public in such a distorted form that made people, one generation after the other, keep themselves aloof from them. Unfortunately, the fabrications of the rulers against the Shi 'ah established themselves in the mentalities of ordinary people like facts, because these rulers and their mouthpieces kept on conveying such distorted data about the Shi 'ah persistently.

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Religious proof of the Divine nomination to the next referential authority

To prove their claim, the Shi'ah provide many religious texts from the Holy Qur'an and the Holy Prophet’s traditions. Some of these proofs are as follows: 7. Ferse 55 of Surah al-Mafidah\ Known as Verse of Guardianship (ayat al-wilayah), this Qur'anic verse reads,

“Verily, Verily, your guardian is none else but Allah and His Apostle (Muhammad) and those who believe, those who establish prayer and pay the poor-rate, while they be even bowing down in prayer. Whoever takes as his guardian Allah and His Apostle and those who believe, verily, (he has joined) Allah’s battalion; they are those that shall (always) be triumphant. (5/55-6)”

This couple of Qur'anic verses was revealed in praise of 'All ibn AbiTalib('a) when he gave his ring in charity while he was bowing down in prayer.(1) When the Holy Prophet(s) saw 'Ali(’a) doing this, he immediately prayed to the Lord with the same supplicatory words that Prophet Moses said: “0 My Lord! Expand for me my breast; and make easy for me my task; and loosen the knot of my tongue; that they may understand my speech; and appoint for me an aider from my family... strengthen my back by him.” By Allah, Abu-Dharr said, no sooner had the Apostle of Allah(s) completed his supplicatory statement than the Archangel Gabriel came down to him carrying with him the verse of guardianship (i.e. the Qur'anic verses at issue), in which the Almighty commands the Holy Prophet(s) to declare 'All ibn Ab-Talib('a) as his successor to the leadership of the Islamic State and to the office of the religious referential authority/2)

Carrying out this command, the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) appointed Ali(’a) as the next referential authority and as his successor to the leadership in the presence of a crowd that included one hundred thousand Muslims near a stream, or brook, called Ghadir Khumm. That was after the Archangel Gabriel, at the hottest hour of that day, came down to the Holy Prophet(s) and said, “Muhammad! Your Lord conveys to you His greetings and says: ‘0 Our Apostle (Muhammad!) Deliver thou what hath been sent down unto thee from thy Lord; and if thou dost it not, then it will be as if thou hast not delivered His message at all; and surely will God protect thee from (the mischief) of men. (5/67)’”(3) Once the Holy Prophet(s) accomplished the mission completely and appointed 'All ibn Abi-Talib(’a) as the next leader, guardian and referential

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authority of all Muslims whom he ordered to pay homage to him at that very place and to greet him as their leader, the Archangel Gabriel came down again from the Lord carrying with him this Qur'anic verse that declared the completion of the Holy Prophet’s mission: “This day have I perfected for you your religion, and have completed My favor on you, and chosen for you ISLAM (to be) the Religion. (5:3)”(4)

Umar ibn al-Khattab moved towards Imam 'Ali('a) and said, “Felicitations, 0 son of Abu-Talib! You have become my master and the master of all believing men and women!”(5)

The event of the Holy Prophet’s nomination of Imam 'Ali(*a) to the next leadership and appointing him as his successor was reported through an uninterrupted chains of authority by Sunnite scholars who also wrote different books on the authenticity of the narrations that reported this event, such as Ibn Hajar al-Tabari’s Kitab al-Wilayah, Abu’l-'Abbas ibn Ahmad ibn Dqdah’s Kitab al-Wilayah (died in AH 333) and Abu-Bakr al-Jassani’s Man Rawa Hadith al-Ghadir (died in AH 355). Besides, al-Daraqutni, who died in AH 385, has also written down a one volume book on the chains of authority and ways of reporting the Ghadir Narration (i.e. the event of the Holy Prophet’s declaring Imam 'All as the next leader near a stream called Ghadir Khumm). Abu-Sa'd al-Sajistani, who died in AH 477, has also written a book on this subject, entitled Kitab al-Dirayah ft Hadith al-Wilayah. Finally, Abu’lQasim Dbaydullah al-Hanafi, who died in AH 490, has written a book which he entitled Du 'at al-Hudah ila Ada'i Haqq al-Muwalah.

The Ghadir Narration is reported by one hundred and sixteen companions of the Holy Prophet (i.e. Sahabah) and eighty four people of the next generation (i.e. Tabi'un). From the second to the fourteenth century, all Sunnite scholars, despite their different schools and classes, have mentioned and referred to this narration in their books. 'Allamah al-Amini has listed the names of three hundred and sixty scholars who referred to the Ghadir Narration in his encyclopedic book, al-Ghadir Encyclopedia. Paragraphs of the Holy Prophet's statement on the GhadTr Day

In al-Mujam al-Kabir, al-Tabarani writes down that Hudhayfah ibn Usayd al-Ghifari, a prominent companion of the Holy Prophet(s), said:

When the Apostle of Allah(s) was on his way back from Makkah after accomplishing the rituals of the Farewell Pilgrimage, he guided his followers to few bushes close to one another in the middle ot the desert and ordered them to reside therein. He then asked some people

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to sweep the area under these bushes and pluck their thorns. He then stood under these bushes and offered a prayer. When he finished his prayer, he stood up and said, “O people! Verily, the All-gentle and All-aware Allah informed me that no prophet lived except the half of the age of the one who came before him. As for me, I am sure that I shall be very soon called (to join the vicinity of the Lord) and I must then respond. I am answerable and you are answerable, too. What will your answer be?” The people replied, “We bear witness that you have conveyed (the Lord’s message), exerted all your efforts (in this regard) and acted so sincerely. May Allah award you with prosperity for it!” The Holy Prophet(s) asked them, “Do you not bear witness that there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is Allah’s servant and apostle, Allah’s Paradise is true, Allah’s hellfire is true, death is true, resurrection after death is true, the hour of resurrection shall be undoubtedly coming and Allah does resurrect those who are in graves?” “Yes, we bear witness to all that,” they answered. The Holy Prophet(s) said, “O Allah, be the witness.” He then added, “O people! Verily, Allah is my Guardian and I am the guardian of the believers. I have a greater authority over you than that you have over yourselves. So, as for any one who has regarded me as his master, this one (referring to All) must now be his master. O Allah, be the guardian of whomsoever takes 'All as his guardian. ”(6) The Holy Prophet(s) then continued, “O people! I shall be the first of all of you to join the Divine Pond and you shall be supposed to join me there—a pond the width of which is as expansive as the distance from Sana’a (Yemen) to Busra (Syria) and its cups are as many as stars and its water is whiter than silver. I shall most certainly ask you, when you join me there, about the two weighty things. Now, think how you should regard me in the two weighty things. The major weighty thing is the Book of Allah the Almighty and All-majestic; one of its edges is in the Hand of Allah while the other edge is in your hands. So, hold fast to it and do not mislead others or change your faiths. The second weighty thing is my household; the members of my family. The All­ gentle and All-aware Lord has informed me that these two should never come to an end and should never separate from one another until they join me on the Divine Pond.”(7)

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Confirmation of Imam 'All's leadership and guardianship

The Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) is reported to have said to Imam 'AH(’a):

“You are my next-in-line in this world and in the Hereafter.”(8) “As for any one whose master was I, 'All must now be his master.” “'All’s share is more than that bondmaid whom he took for himself. He is your guardian-leader after me.”

“You, 'All, are the guardian-leader of each and every Muslim after me.” !

“As for any one whose guardian was I, 'AH must now be his guardian.” “Verily, you, 'AH, are the guardian-leader of the believers after me.”(9) “Your position to me is the same position of (Prophet) Aaron to (Prophet) Moses except that no prophet shall come after me.” In fact, this Prophetic tradition is one of the most authentic traditions. It is reported by almost all scholars and compilers of Prophetic traditions in their reference books.(10)

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Notes (1)The details of this story can be referred to in Tafsir al-Tha'labl, for instance, as well as many other reference books of Qur’anic exegesis and history of Islam.

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Addressing the Ansar, the Holy Prophet(s) said, “0 group of the Helpers! May I lead you to the one whom if you hold fast to, you shall never go astray after me?”

“Yes, you may, Allah’s Apostle!” they answered. He said,

“It is this one; All. You should love him on account of my love for him and honor him on account of my honor to him. Verily, it was (the Archangel) Gabriel who ordered me to say what I have just said to you on behalf of Allah the Almighty and All-majestic. ”(6) On another day, the Holy Prophet(s) ordered those who were with him, saying, “Call the chief of the Arabs for me; I mean AH.”

A’ishah asked, “Are you not the chief of the Arabs?” He(s) answered, “I am the chief of the descendants of Adam, and All is the chief of the Arabs.” When AH(’a) came, the Holy Prophet(s) sent for the Ansar and said to them... (the same aforesaid words').™

In the presence of a group of his companions, the Holy Prophet(s) said to Imam All(’a), “O AH! Looking at your face is sort of worship. You are chief in this world and chief in the Hereafter. Whoever loves you has loved me and whoever loves me is loved by Allah; but your enemy is my enemy, and my enemy is the enemy of Allah. Woe betide him who hates you!”(8) The most distinguished cclentiflc qualifications of the guardian-leader to succeed the Holy Prophet

Informing his companions of the most knowledgeability of 'All ibn AbiTalib(’a) and his broad knowledge, the Holy Prophet(s) said, “I am the city of knowledge; and All is the door to it. So, whoever intends to gain knowledge, should come to the door first.”(9)

On another occasion, the Holy Prophet(s) said to them, “I am the house of wisdom, and All is the door to it. ”(10)

On a third occasion, he(s) said to them, “I am the city of wisdom, and AH is the door to it.”(11)

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On a fourth occasion, he(s) said, “ 'Ali is the door to my knowledge and the one who will explain to my people that with which I was sent. To love him is faith, while to hate him is hypocrisy.”(12) In front of his companions, the Holy Prophet(s) said to Imam Ali,

“You will explain to my people all that about which they may disagree.”(13) He(s) also used to say,

“My hand and 'AH’s hand are equal in fair distribution (i.e. justice).”(14) Imam 'Ali(’a) used to say,

“By Allah, no Qur'anic verse was revealed but that I know for sure why it was revealed, where it was revealed, and on which occasion it was revealed. Indeed, my Lord has endued me with an intelligent heart (i.e. mind) and a truthful and articulate tongue.”(15)

“Ask me whatever you want to know about the Book of Allah. By Allah, no verse of the Book of Allah that was revealed at night, in daylight, during a journey, or in a residence place but that Allah’s Messenger recited it before me and taught me its interpretation.”(16) Ahmad ibn Hanbal is reported to have said,

“None of the other companions of Allah’s Apostle has ever had the like of the virtues that are reported about Ali.”(l7) Abdullah ibn 'Abbas is reported to have said,

“The like of the [number of] Qur'anic verses that were revealed in praise of 'All has not been revealed in praise of any other person.” “Three hundred Qur'anic verses were revealed in praise of All.” “Whenever [the Qur'anic statement] ‘O you who believe" was revealed, 'Ali was always the chief and the most honored by it.”(18) Finally, let us conclude this bundle of narrations with the following Prophetic tradition: “Ali is with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is with Ali. They never separate from one another until they both join me on the Divine Pond.”(19)

The Divinely commissioned leadership of Imam Ali(’a) and his succession to the Holy Prophet(s) is a religious and faith-based issue from all aspects. In

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this connection, the Holy Prophet(s) is reported to have said to his companions, "'All ibn Abi-Talib is the door to forgiveness; whoever enters from this door is truly faithful, but whoever leaves, is infidel.”(20)

Pay much regard to this clear-cut and decisive Prophetic text:

“ All is part of me and I am part of him. None should convey my messages except me or Ali.”(21) In the presence of the Companions, the Holy Prophet(s), addressing Imam Ali(’a), said,

“O AH, whoever turns away from me has turned away from Allah; and whoever turns away from you has turned away from me.”(22)

On another occasion, the Holy Prophet(s) said to Imam Ali(s), “I am the wamer and you are the guide. Through you, AH, those guided to the truth will find their way to true guidance after me.”(23)

On a third occasion, the Holy Prophet(s) said to his companions,

“I and this one—AH—shall be arguments against the people of my community on the Resurrection Day.”(24)

He(s) also said, “On the gate of Paradise, this inscription is engraved: There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the apostle of Allah. All is the brother of Allah’s Apostle.”(25) “On the leg of the Divine Throne, this inscription is engraved: There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is Allah’s apostle. I support him with AH and I grant him victory through AH.”(26)

Finally, the Holy Prophet said to the Ansar: “It was the Archangel Gabriel who conveyed to me the command of Allah the Almighty and All-majestic that I should say what I have said to you about AH.”(27)

The Divinely commissioned leader and the successor to the Holy Prophet Is the same hero of Islam During the combats between infidelity, led by the polytheists of Quraysh, and true faith, led by the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s), the star of Imam Ali('a) glittered and he became the one and only hero of Islam, since he proved that he had no match in heroism; neither from the past generations nor from the coming ones.

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Just before the breakout of the Battle of the Camel, Imam 'Ali('a), within his discourse with Talhah and al-Zubayr so that he should submit them to the clear-cut and overwhelming evidence, said, “I adjure you both by Allah to convey my questions to 'A'ishah and I adjure her by Allah to answer them truthfully: Does she ever know any other person of Quraysh to have been closer to the Apostle of Allah(s) than I was? Does she know that I accepted Islam before all other persons did? Does she know that I, through my sword and my spear, defended the Apostle of Allah(s) and protected him against the Arab atheists?”(28) The first banner of war raised in Islam was Hamzah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib’s. Thus, in all of the military battles led by the Holy Prophet(s), the banner was raised by either Imam 'All ibn Abi-Talib(’a) or Hamzah ibn 'Abd alMuttalib.(29) Likewise, the first to fight a duel against the polytheists and to proceed to the battlefront in the Battle of Badr were Hamzah, Imam 'Ali(’a), and TJbaydullah. As Imam All ibn Abl-Talib(’a) was the number one hero after the Holy Prophet(s) in all fights and combats, the Holy Prophet(s), before the conquest of Khaybar, said,

“Tomorrow, I shall give the Standard to a person who loves Allah and His Prophet and who is loved by Allah and His Prophet. He will not come back before Allah will grant him victory !”(30)

After this announcement by the Prophet(s), the matter was on everyone’s tongue. There was an element of expectancy in the atmosphere. Every Companion wished that he would be the lucky person tomorrow to hold the standard in his hand. No one thought that 'All’s name would come up, because 'Ali(’a) was suffering from inflammation of the eyes.

With the first sparks of morning, the Holy Prophet(s) asked about 'Ali(’a). When he was told that 'AlI(’a) was complaining about eye inflammation, he Al-Qasimi, Nizam al-Hukm, pages 344-5; Ahmad Husayn Ya’qub, al-Nizam alSiyasi jil-Islam, page 153. (7) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah wal-Siyasah, page 12. (8) Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah wa’l-Siyasah 1:12. (9) The Arabic word ghadir means brook. (10) Shaykh al-Saduq, al-Khisal, page 173. (!1)Ibn Qutaybah, al-Imamah wal-Siyasah 1:15-6. (12) Hereinafter, I will mention only some reference books of history of Islam that mentioned ’Umar’s attempt to set Lady Fatimah’s house on fire along with all those who were therein: Tarikh al-Tabari 3:198; Ibn 'Abd-Rabbih al-Andalusi, al-'Iqd al-Farid 5:12; Ibn AbiT-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah 1:124; Al-Shahristani, al-Milal wal-Nihal 1:56; TJmar Rida Kahhalah, A lam al-Nisa’ 4:114; Al-Mas 'udi, Ithbat al-Wasiyyah, pp. 123. (13) Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fil-Tarikh 3:24, Events of AH 23; Ibn AbiT-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah\ Ahmad Husayn Ya’qub, al-Nizam al-Siyasi fil-Islam, pages 149 and on. (14) Al-Mas’udi, Muruj al-Dhahab 2:353.

Chapter Nine

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WHILE THE HASHIMITES WERE LABORING UNDER. THEIR. MISFORTUNE, THE QURAYSHITES WERE PLANNING FOR. SEIZING POWER The people of Quraysh realized that the Holy Prophet(s) would never survive the ailment he was suffering, because it was he who foretold them of that, and he had never told a lie.

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They also knew for sure that if affairs were to be left unchanged, 'Ali(’a) would most surely win succession to the Prophets) and leadership of the Muslim community, a matter that they would never allow to pass, because this would make the Hashimites enjoy monopoly over prophethood and succession to prophethood. Therefore, the people of Quraysh had no other choice than moving stealthily towards preventing this.

At these hours, the Hashimites in general and Imam 'Ali(’a) in particular were preoccupied by their misfortune, since the Holy Prophet(s) was suffering from agonies of death and he would very soon depart this life. Of course, the Hashimites considered the pains of the Holy Prophet(s) to be their pains, because he was not only the Prophet of the community but also the chief of their clan while they were his sincere and loyal fellows of him. Besides, the Holy Prophet(s) was their brother, relative, cousin, and most beloved one. No brother could ever be like him, no relative could ever be match of him, no cousin could ever be characterized by his distinctive features, and no beloved one could ever be similar to him.

For these reasons, all of the Hashimites devoted all of their actions and affairs to him and occupied themselves to him, neglecting all other issues and concerns, believing that the other Muslims must have been like them. Well-knit planning

How did Umar knew for sure that the Prophet(s) was planning to ma e is last will on that very day; so, he presented himself there?

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Who told him of that? How did all the members of the party of Umar present themselves with the Holy Prophet(s), and as soon as he said, “Bring me a paper so that I should write down for you a document after which you shall never lose your way,” Umar rejected, prevented the will of the Holy Prophet(s) to be recorded in a written form, and, addressing the attendants, said, “The Prophet is overcome by his ailment. You have the Qur'an. Sufficient for us is the Book of Allah!” Immediately, the party of Umar repeated the words of their master, saying, “What Umar has just said is the truth that should be carried out.”

Moreover, they added, “Yes, the Apostle of Allah is hallucinating! Check out whether he is hallucinating or not!”

It is impossible to imagine that the Holy Prophet’s request could create such simultaneous repugnance and such simultaneous reply from Umar who, declaring his famous words, said, “The Prophet is overcome by his ailment. You have the Qur'an. Sufficient for us is the Book of Allah!” In fact, such simultaneous persuasion is impossible to be ad lib. To explain, logic and reason prove that the surprising reaction under such circumstances that led the companions of the Holy Prophet(s) to be engaged in quarrel, dispute, and disagreement, must have been founded on an earlier awareness of what the Holy Prophet(s) was determined to dictate and put in a written form and there must have been at least a sort of an earlier agreement among the members of Umar’s party on preventing the Holy Prophet(s) from writing down his last will, even if that would result in objecting to the Holy Prophet(s) himself and accusing him of such improper things like hallucination. Furthermore, it is most likely that there must have been a nexus or a union that would guarantee the agreement of Umar’s team in the face of the Holy Prophet(s), although it might be inaccurate to decide whether this agreement was unprompted or the fruit of an earlier planning. It is Allah alone Who knows the reality of affairs. Nonetheless, what we know for sure that the backbone of legality was broken into unmendable pieces due to that encounter. The first fruit of Umar's conspiratorial plan

Umar and his team succeeded to prevent the Holy Prophet(s) from recording his will in a writing form; so, Umar showed himself as the most powerful member and the captain of this team, because it was he who addressed the attendants with these words, “The Prophet is overcome by his ailment. You have the Qur'an. Sufficient for us is the Book of Allah!” meaning that we, the Muslims, do not need the book of the Prophet as long as we have the

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Book of Allah. Therefore, whatever is more than necessity must be worthless! By these words, the other members of TJmar’s team had the audacity to say openly, “Yes, the Apostle of Allah is hallucinating! Check out whether he is hallucinating or not!” Far be it from Allah’s Apostle(s) to say a single meaningless word. In brief, the first fruit of TJmar’s planning was his success in preventing the Holy Prophet(s) from recording his will.

Assuming that the Holy Prophet(s) had insisted on his request and declared that AH ibn Abi-Talib('a) would be his successor and the next leader of the Muslims, TJmar and his team would most surely have accused him of hallucination, causing the most threatening danger to the religion of Islam, and it would have been impossible to decide the Holy Prophet’s decisive words from his baseless ones.

For this reason, the Holy Prophet(s) preferred not to demand any further with writing down his last will so as to guarantee maintenance of the religion, which is definitely the most important goal, even if this would be at the expense of the important issue of the leadership of Imam All ibn AbiTalib(’a). Thus, he(s) said to them, “Leave me! What I am suffering from is better than what you are pulling me to do.” This is because ‘what they were pulling him to do’ formed a demolishing strike for the religion. Eventually, TJmar and his team went out delighted, because they believed that they had achieved victory, harvested the first fruit, and succeeded in removing the biggest obstacle that had always hindered them from attaining their most important goal; that is, preventing the Hashimites from coming to power and from having monopoly over prophethood and succession to prophethood. More plans for defeating the Hashimites

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The people of Quraysh had already realized that even there might be equal opportunities for gaining the leading positions after the Holy Prophet(s) between the Hashimites and them, the Hashimites would most surely beat them and what the Hashimites decide would be preferred to what is decided by the other clans of Quraysh, because the Hashimites were always the best, the worthiest of all excellences, and the most sagacious in all affairs. So, with the equality of opportunities, the Hashimites would provide the most overwhelming points of evidence, while the pretexts of the other Qurayshite clans would be too weak to be accepted. In other words, Imam All ibn AblTalib(’a) had such devastating proofs for assuming the leadership of Muslims that no one else had not only the like of them in provability and number but also one tenth of them. This is so because Imam Ali(’a) was presented by the Holy Prophet(s) as being with the Qur'an and the Qur'an being inseparably with him and as being with the truth and the truth being inseparably with

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him. Consequently, if there would be a fair competition, 'Ali('a) would be the winner, because he would be granted victory by Allah the Almighty.

The only means by which the other clans of Quraysh could beat the Hashimites were the immoral, illegitimate, and wicked means, such as conspiracy, conniving schemes at the darkest hour of night, and daring to commit any act of disobedience to the Lord for the sake of beating the Hashimites.

To prove it, historic events have proven that in every encounter that took place between the Hashimites and the other clans of Quraysh, the Hashimites were the winners while the others were losers. For instance, the Qurayshite clans laid siege on the Hashimites for three years, but their siege failed to achieve its goals and the Hashimites were the victorious. The Qurayshite clans conspired to assassinate the Holy Prophet(s) and chose a man from each clan to participate in this assassination so that the Hashimites would not be able to demand with the bloodshed of him, but their conspiracy failed, the Holy Prophet(s) survived their plots, and the Hashimites were victorious again.

The Qurayshite clans then mobilized huge troops and waged wars against the Holy Prophet(s) and the Hashimites, but the victorious was the Holy Prophet(s), and the Hashimites were accordingly victorious again. Finally, the Qurayshite clans were defeated and surrounded; so, they had to surrender to the Holy Prophet(s) and confess of his prophethood, realizing that this was unavoidable fate. Since that day, the Qurayshite clans decided to condescend to the Hashimites and confess of the prophethood being from them along without the participation of any other clan, but, in return of that, they decided to seize the succession to prophethood from the Hashimites and transfer it amongst them, although they also agreed that leadership, which was the same succession to prophethood, would be assumed by people from other tribes than the Quraysh, yet temporarily, provided that no leading office should be held by any man from the Hashimites, because, they believed, if leadership was to be assumed by the Hashimites, it would never leave them and this would mean that the Hashimites had monopoly over prophethood and leadership. The most perfect plan and the power that would defeat the true successor of the Prophet

The clans of Quraysh realized that the secret behind the successive victories of the Hashimites and their superiority and preeminence over the other Qurayshite clans lied in the existence of a preponderance-giving factor that

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contributed greatly to the victories of the Hashimites; namely, the Ansar. Thus, the Qurayshite clans found the decisive factor; so, if they could guarantee the loyalty of the Ansar to them, they would achieve the conclusive victory in their most important goal, which is to prevent the Hashimites from enjoying monopoly over prophethood and leadership and to prevent the Prophet’s successor; that is, 'All ibn Abi-Talib(’a), from assuming the leadership of the Muslim community after the passing away of the Prophet(s), because if he assumed this position, he would be succeeded by his son al-Hasan, because his grandfather, the Holy Prophet(s), nominated him to this office, followed by his brother al-Husayn... etc. and this would mean that leadership would be kept in the Hashimites forever. On the other hand, if the Ansar stood with 'Ali(’a), as is expected, the other clans of Quraysh would be once more defeated, but if the opposite would take place, the Qurayshite clans would defeat the Hashimites. Besides, when the Ansar are persuaded to pay homage to another man than the one appointed by the Prophet(s), or at least persuaded not to intrude in this issue, this would mean absence of equality of opportunities, because when the true Prophet’s successor had the same opportunity of the one from the other clans of Quraysh, or from any other tribe, he would most surely defeat any other person due to the unbeatable pretexts and proofs he had with him and he would be able to establish irrefutable proofs against not only the people of Quraysh but also the entire humanity with regard to succession to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s). Such being the case, the most important issue is that the one selected from the other Qurayshite clans should not speak to the true successor to the Holy Prophet(s) in a personal capacity; rather, he should speak to him on behalf and as a representative of all of the other Qurayshite clans and all of the people of Quraysh, including the ones who emigrated with the Holy Prophet(s). If he did so, it would be probable to defeat the true successor of the Holy Prophet(s) according to the criteria of the Qurayshite clans. Finally, this plan should be implemented as swiftly as possible and the issue of appointing another man than Imam Ali(’a) as the leader of the Muslim community should be accomplished promptly and without delay during the period of the Hashimites being preoccupied by preparing for the funeral ceremonies of the Holy Prophet(s). In this way, it would be guaranteed that none of the Hashimites would be present there while the conspiracy of appointing a leader is put into practice. Thus, when the matter was accomplished peacefully, the Hashimites would be shocked as they see the matter turn into a fait accompli. Only then, the Hashimites would not have any reason to object; rather, they would be accused of seeking sedition and chaos and standing in the face of a fait accompli that has its own supporters and followers.

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The Saqifah conspiratorial meeting

The Holy Prophet(s) passed away. Thus, the luminous moon whose light had shone the entire existence was no longer existent among his people. As soon as the news of his passing away was circulated, the citizens of the capital of the Islamic State hurried to gather around his house, weeping for losing their prophet, guardian-master, and great leader. Meanwhile, the Holy Prophet’s family members, headed by the Prophet’s successor, were totally preoccupied by this astounding bereavement that no other misfortune would be as shocking as it was. So, they were engaged in preparing the funeral ceremonies so as to bury the dead body of the Holy Prophet(s) in that holy shrine.

At this very time, a conspiratorial meeting was being held in the Saqifah (hall) of Banu-Sa'idah! Unanswered questions

Why was the Saqifah meeting held at that very time? Who called for holding it?

How could it be possible for such a meeting to be held at that very time? When did preparations for this meeting actually start? Which personalities of the Ansar were present in that meeting?

In fact, the hall was too small to contain all of the Ansar, the majority of whom must have been in the house of the Holy Prophet or around it, as is decided by logic, because it is impossible to believe that all the Ansar failed to present themselves with the Holy Prophet’s family at the first hours of his passing away.

Who started preparing for the Saqifah meeting? How long did it take him to prepare for it?

Why did any one of the Muhajirun not know about the holding of this meeting except Umar? Who told Umar that a meeting was being held in the hall of Banu-Sa 'idah? Umar was neither inside the house of the Holy Prophet(s) nor with those who gathered around it; rather, he was at a certain place while he knew that Abu-Bakr must necessarily have been in the Holy Prophet’s house. He therefore came and sent someone to call Abu-Bakr out of the house. But Abu-Bakr refused, saying, “I am now too busy to come out.”

Insisting, Umar sent someone to say to Abu-Bakr, “Something happened and you have to be present there.”

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So, when Abu-Bakr came out of the house and met Umar, the latter said to him, “You should know that the Ansar held a meeting in the hall of BanuSa'idah, intending to appoint Sa'd ibn Ubadah as the next leader. Yet, the least thing they said about us was that they said a leader should be from them, the Ansar, and another leader should be from the Quraysh.”

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So, the two met Abu- TJbaydah ibn al-Jarrah and walked to the Ansar/1* Who carried the news of the holding of the SaqTfah meeting?

In Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk, al-Tabari states that the first person who heard about the meeting of the Ansar in Saqifat Bani-Sa 'idah was Umar.(2) )

According to another narration, it was Abu-Bakr who informed Umar of that news.

According to a third narration stated by Ibn Hisham, someone brought that news to Abu-Bakr and TJmar/3*

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However, that someone is not known by anyone, because his name was lost!

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The narration continues: The three persons; i.e. Abu-Bakr, Umar, and AbuUbaydah, walked towards the hall where the meeting was being held, and found TJwaym ibn Sa 'idah and Ma 'an ibn 'Adi, two people of the Ansar/4*

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According to another narration reported in Tarikh al-Tabari, 'Asim ibn 'Adi and TJwaym ibn Sa 'idah, two veterans of the Battle of Badr, met Abu-Bakr, Umar, and Abu- TJbaydah.

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According to another narration, these two people said to the three ones coming to the hall of Banu-Sa'idah, “Go back and decide for yourselves.” According to another narration, they said to them, “Go back, because you will never gain what you desire for.”

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However, although these two people were from the Ansar and were veterans of the Battle of Badr, they were not present in the meeting of the Ansar and were not on their ways to the hall where the meeting was held although they had known about it; rather, they were directing in an opposite course taken by the three persons. Thus, they talked with them and each group took their way. There is no indication in any narration that the five persons were on their way to the hall where the Ansar were holding a meeting.

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Another point is that there are two different narrations concerning the words the two persons of the Ansar said to the three persons of the Muhajirun. According to one narration, the two persons said, “Go back and decide for yourselves.” This means that the Ansar have nothing to do with the issue of leadership.

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According to another narration, they said, “Go back, because you will never gain what you desire for.” This means that the Ansar will never accept you as rulers over them. Now, which one of the two narrations should we believe? Objective analysis and denial of chance

Sunnite historians and biographers have unanimously stated that the first to have heard about the meeting of the Ansar was Umar ibn al-Khattab,(5) although another narration maintains that it was Abu-Bakr who told him of this news, which does not contradict the fact that Umar was the first to have known about that meeting.(6) However, according to Ibn Hisham, “Someone came to Abu-Bakr and Umar and said... etc.”(7) So, nobody knew the name of that someone so far! It was not by chance that the name of the talebearer is unknown although he must have been a prominent personality because he had information about what was being planned behind curtains and he came and told Abu-Bakr and Umar directly. Besides, if he had not been a prominent personality, AbuBakr and Umar would not have listened, talked to, and believed him.

It is therefore unlikely that the name of such a prominent personality is lost. These facts cast shadows of doubt on the whole story. Hence, we conclude that such a person did not exist and the whole matter is a farce.

Besides, the Ansar formed the greatest majority of the people of al-Madinah. How can we believe that their meeting was hidden from everybody except Umar?

Moreover, what for did Umar call on Abu-Bakr alone from amongst the Muhajirun, while all of the Muhajirun must have been there to take the farewell look at their prophet and to participate in the bereavement of the Prophet’s household? Of course, this can by no means be by chance, too. Umar is claimed to have fallen to the ground when he heard of the news of the passing away of the Holy Prophet(s) out of shock and wandered in the lands, threatening with death and with amputation every one who should say that the Prophet did pass away. If so, where was Umar when he received the news of the holding of a meeting in the hall of Banu-Sa 'idah? So, when Umar was sure that the Holy Prophet(s) did pass away, he was supposed to go to his house so as to have a final look at him and to participate with the Muslims in their bereavement. If Umar did so and went to the Holy Prophet’s house, then how did he receive the news of the Saqifah meeting? Who carried this news to him? How could that person find Umar in the middle of thousands of people who

THE HASH1MITES VS. THE QURAYSHJTES 349

were in or around the house of the Holy Prophet(s)? This could not be by chance either. In conclusion, the whole claim of the meeting of the Ansar was fallacious, too.

It is totally impossible for the Ansar to hold a meeting that was not attended by the most virtuous people of them; that is, the veterans of the Battle of Badr, such as the two persons who met Abu-Bakr, Umar, and AbuUbaydah who were on their way to the hall of Banu-Sa’idah. Logic imposes that if there had been a meeting held by the Ansar, such persons like the two ones who met the three Muhajirun must have attended it. The Holy Prophet(s) departed this life and his body was kept in his house. So, it was impossible for the Ansar to leave his dead body alone and not to go to, at least, bid him farewell while his family members were ready to bury him in his holy tomb. This is something that cannot be believed at all unless blind imitation is followed.

Once more, it was impossible for the Ansar to forget the laws of the religion, especially the Holy Prophet’s instruction that the Imams, or leaders, should be from the Quraysh tribe, especially after the Ansar had witnessed him appointing Imam 'Ali(’a) as his successor and next leader of the Muslim community on that day at Ghadir Khumm. On that day too, the Holy Prophet(s), addressing the Ansar, said, “0 groups of Ansar! May I guide to someone who will save you from deviation forever if you only hold fast to him?” “Yes, please,” they answered.

So, he(s) declared, “This is 'AIL You should love him on account of your love for me and should honor him on account of the honor that you pay to me. Behold! This is a decree issued by Allah the Almighty and All-majestic and conveyed to me by the archangel Gabriel.”(8) This is in fact something that cannot be forgotten by the Ansar.

The Ansar had nothing to do with the Qurayshite slogan of preventing the Hashimites from enjoying monopoly over prophethood and leadership, because the Ansar did not belong to the Quraysh tribe and it was not for their interest to eliminate the family members of the Holy Prophet(s) from the position of leadership, not to forget the fact that the Ansar knew for sure that Imam 'Ali(*a) was the Divinely appointed successor to the Holy Prophet(s)—a fact the best evidence of which is that when the Ansar realized that the issue of leadership was about to slip away from their hands, they all declared, “We pay homage to no one except 'Ali,”(9) although Imam 'Ali(’a) was absent from the scene.

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Once more, when the Ansar were defeated in the competition for leadership and Lady Fatimah al-Zahra’(’a) referred to them demanding with her husband’s right to leadership and asking them for support, they apologized, saying, “O daughter of Allah’s Apostle! We have earlier paid homage to the man. If you husband and cousin had asked us to pay homage to him before Abu-Bakr did, we would never have preferred anyone else to him.” Declaring his situation, Imam 'Ali(‘a) answered them, “Was it correct for me to leave the dead body of Allah’s Apostle in his house unburied and come out to quarrel with these people about his authority?”

Confirming the words of her husband, Lady Fatimah('a) said, “Abu’l-Hasan did nothing but what he ought to do. They did what Allah shall certainly punish them for it.”(10)

Bashir ibn Sa'd, who had broken the unanimity of the Ansar and had been the first to pay homage to Abu-Bakr, justified the Ansar’s conduct by saying, “ 'Ali! Had the Ansar heard these words from you before they paid homage to Abu-Bakr, no two of them would have ever disputed about you!”(11) As for Sa'd ibn Ubadah the chief of the Ansar, he was too sick to go to the Holy Prophet’s house and see him for the last time. Saqifat Bani-Sa'idah was a hall built next to Sa'd ibn Ubadah’s house where he used to receive people; so, during his ailment, Sa'd was bedridden inside that hall and people visited him there. That was a good opportunity for Umar and the other conspirers to declare Abu-Bakr as the next ruler so that this process would be in the presence of Sa'd and would be seen as a fait accompli. The three Qurayshltes in SaqTfah

Abu-Bakr, Umar, and Abu- Ubaydah entered the hall (saqifah) where there were a few men of the Ansar, because, as is stated by sound reason and necessity, the majority of them must have been at that time in or around the house of the Holy Prophet(s), even the two good men whom the three Qurayshite men met on the way; namely, 'Asim ibn 'Adi and Uwaym ibn Sa'idah, according to the narration of al-Tabari, or Uwaym ibn Sa'idah and Ma an ibn 'Adi, according to another narration, did not join the three Qurayshite men to the hall. In fact, if there had actually been any meeting held by the Ansar, these two men would most surely have joined it. One more question: Who was the person who started discussing the issue of the next leadership in that hall? In fact, this man is as ambiguous as the one who carried to Umar the news of the Ansar’s meeting at the hall! In other words, this is another fabricated

THE HASH1MITES VS. THE QURAYSH1TES 351

character that never existed, although those who played minor roles than the role of this man are known and their names have been mentioned in the books of history. All these are clear-cut indications that prove the fact that many sections of the truth about this incident and many paragraphs of this narration have been deliberately censored. As a matter of fact, the event of the Saqifah was refashioned under the supervision of the fans of Abu-Bakr and Umar, and the story was retold in such a form that the reader or hearer would see Abu-Bakr, Umar, and Abu- Ubaydah as the stars of an important chronicle. This fact can be easily figured out by the multiplicity of the narrations that reported this event and the contradiction of these reports in some details, such as the words of the two men from the Ansar who met the three Qurayshite people on their way to the hall. Furthermore, some narrations depict Sa'd ibn Ubadah to have demanded with leadership and to have acted stubbornly against the three Qurayshite persons to the degree that they were about to kill him. In this connection, Umar is reported to have said, “Kill Sa'd! May Allah kill him!”(12) According to another narration, Sa'd was defeated by Umar who imposed overwhelming points of evidence on him; so, he was finally persuaded by Umar’s words and kept silent and paid homage to Abu-Bakr!(13) Again, no narration has ever mentioned the name of the man who started discussing the issue of next leadership after the three Qurayshite men entered the hall. In fact, no one on this globe knows this man, but Umar imagined that the Ansar intended to cut off them from their origins and usurp the position that was their rightful privilege/14* The one and only purpose behind the three Qurayshite people’s going to Sa'd’s house was to appoint a ruler in the absence of the Holy Prophet’s family members in general and Imam 'Ali(’a) in particular, because if he had been present, all matters would have changed and he would most surely have been able to convince the Ansar of his entitlement to the position of leadership and succession to the Holy Prophet(s) and provide arguments against them. Therefore, the most important point was to keep 'Ali('a) absent from the scene so that no trouble should disturb the planning of the three Qurayshite persons and consequently they would be able to accomplish the scheme of appointing one of them as the next ruler, would gain the accord of some people, even if they would be few in number, and would face the Holy Prophet’s Household with an authority that was paid homage by the Ansar. As a result, the encounter would not be between Imam 'Ali(’a) from one side and Abu-Bakr, Umar, and Abu- Ubaydah in person from the other; rather, it would be between a ruling authority and one of his subjects, or, at least, between a wcQ-caliph and an ordinary citizen. Of course, the results of such an encounter can be easily predicted.

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As for the Qurayshite clans, they were present in that encounter, since they were represented by these three persons or, more precisely, by Umar ibn alKhattab who had led a revolution against the Holy Prophet(s) for the sake of putting into practice the slogan of the Qurayshite clans that the Hashimites must not enjoy monopoly over both prophethood and leadership. Moreover, the time chosen by the three Qurayshite people was the best time for achieving their goal. If fact, they carried out their plan one hour, or even less than that, after the passing away of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s), which is considered a perfect time for appointing a new leader in the absence of the Holy Prophet’s Household in general and in the absence of their chief AH ibn Abi-Talib(’a) in particular, since the Holy Prophet’s household members were, at that time, preoccupied by their misfortune and could not even pay attention to their slightest personal affairs. In fact, Muslims entirely were in stupor at that time. For this reason, that was the best time for appointing a leader in the same form desired by the Qurayshite clans.

To understand the accuracy of choosing this very time for declaring AbuBakr as the next ruler and the supposed successor to the Holy Prophet(s), let us cite this assumption: If the entire members of the Qurayshite clans had paid homage to Abu-Bakr as their leader, but the Ansar had refrained from that, the homage of the Qurayshite clans would have been actually worthless and the true successor to the Holy Prophet(s), supported by the Ansar, would have been able to subjugate the Qurayshite people through irrefutable arguments. For this reason, it was meaningless for the other Qurayshite people to present themselves in that conspiratorial meeting, since the three persons; namely, Abu-Bakr, Umar, and Abu- Ubaydah, represented them perfectly and made the Qurayshite people’s dream come true. This is the secret behind Umar’s plan of making all people pay homage to Abu-Bakr as their new leader immediately after leaving the hall where their conspiratorial meeting was held.

Narrations read: Immediately after the Ansar had paid homage to Abu-Bakr as the new leader, Abu-Bakr, Umar, and Abu-Ubaydah came to the Mosque. Umar spoke to the people who gathered there, “Why are you forming different circles. Stand up and pay homage to Abu-Bakr, because the Ansar and I have just paid homage to him as the new leader.” So, Uthman, accompanied by other members of the Banu-Umayyah clan, hurried to pay homage to Abu-Bakr and so did Sa'd, Abd al-Rahman, and the other members of the Banu-Zuhrah clan. Yet, All ibn Abi-Talib(’a) and the other members of the Banu-Hashim clan, accompanied by al-Zubayr ibn al- Awwam, left to their houses (without paying homage to Abu-Bakr). So,

THE HASH1MITES VS. THE QURAYSHITES 353

'Umar, leading a bunch of people, went to them and ordered, “Hurry now and pay homage to Abu-Bakr!” Yet, they refused... etc.

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i

Such was Umar’s manner of speaking in making people pay homage to Abu-Bakr. The pretexts of the parties of the SaqTfah meeting

I

In the long run, historiographers and researchers will find out that the meeting of a group of the Ansar with their chief Sa'd ibn Ubadah was an ordinary meeting from all aspects and it did not hold any political feature. Yet, even if they discussed a political affair during their meeting, that was a normal conversation, which was no more than an ordinary exchange of views of some people who gathered for paying a visit to an ailed person.

However, what gave that meeting a political and foundational aspect was the coming of the three Qurayshite persons who changed the meeting into a political conference that revolved around appointing a new leader after the passing away of the previous one; namely, the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s), in the very form they desired.

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I I !

The Ansar who were present there did not bear in their mind any tendency towards appointing a new leader, as some narrations pleased to highlight, because all of the Ansar had already known that the position of succession to the Holy Prophet(s) would not be assumed by one of them. In fact, the arguments and pretext that are ascribed to the Ansar are not free of fabrication and an attempt of compromise. Besides, these arguments were fabricated by some people as was required by the context and direction of the story, the crowning of its stars, and the justification of their deeds. Gradually, the story, in this fabricated form, was transferred from one to another and was directed by the official mass media so as to neglect the reality of things and the contradiction easily noticed in the context of the story. Unfortunately, the next generations adopted this fabricated story as an officially and popularly well-established fact, denying all the chapters that showed its defects, considering these chapters to be in violation of the socalled consensus of the community. Now, let us see the arguments and pretexts provided by the three Qurayshite persons and whether they were actually legal and acceptable or not.

In fact, the one and only argument that the three Qurayshite people provided against the Ansar was their family relationship with the Holy Prophets) and that the near relatives of a person must have the greatest claim to his authority. i

So, the remote family relationship of Abu-Bakr and Umar to the Holy Prophet(s) was the legal basis and criterion on which the system of caliphate

III

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was founded, while the near family relationship to the Holy Prophet(s), represented by the Ahl al-Bayt(’a), was in fact the very reason for which the other clans of Quraysh deprived Imam 'Ali(’a) and the Hashimites of their natural and Divinely decided entitlement to the next leadership. In brief, the Qurayshite clans decided that the Hashimites must be prevented from enjoying succession to the Holy Prophet(s) after one of their members had enjoyed prophethood, because this would lead to depriving the other Qurayshite clans of gaining any share in the positions of leadership, which must be the share of the Qurayshite clans.

As for Abu-Bakr, he, providing argument against the Ansar, spoke, “We, the Emigrants, were the first to accept Islam and all people should be followers of us. We are also the family of Allah’s Apostle and the best of all Arabs in lineage, since all other Arab tribes must have a kind of relationship with Quraysh.”

As for Umar, he said, “Two swords cannot be gathered in one sheath. By Allah, the Arabs would not please to choose you as their leaders while the Prophet is from another tribe than yours. However, the Arabs should not allow this position to be held except by those amongst whom prophethood emerged. Thus, this is our clear-cut argument and overwhelming evidence against any Arab tribes that would disagree with us. Who can contend with us at the authority, power, and inheritance of Muhammad while we are his friends and tribe except one who intends for the wrong, inclines willfully to sinning, or involved in self-perdition?” Replying them, the Ansar, or part of them at least, said, “If it is so, then we will pay homage to none except 'Ali.” However, 'Ali was absent from that meeting. In greater reason, if 'AIi('a) had been present in that meeting, he would most surely have gained the homage of the Ansar. If the three Qurayshite persons had agreed to the leadership of Imam 'Ali('a), no problem would have ever happened and the political system of Islam would have proceeded unsurprisingly. Unfortunately, these three persons were haunted by the slogan of preventing the Hashimites from enjoying both prophethood and succession to prophethood (i.e. leadership); they therefore discarded the Ansar’s words. Abu-Bakr thus declared, “As for me, I faithfully advise you to pay homage to one of these two persons; Umar ibn al-Khattab or Abu- Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah. Now, you may choose any one of them as the new leader.”

'Umar said, “God forbid! This shall never come to pass as long as you are amongst us... Stretch your hand so that I will pay homage to you.”

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THE HASHIMITES VS. THE QURAYSHITES 355

Hoping for a gift, Bashir ibn Sa'd, who was from the Khazraj tribe that competed with Sa'd ibn Ubadah on the chiefship of the Ansar, intruded, “Muhammad, the Apostle of Allah, was a man from the tribe of Quraysh. So, his folks are the worthiest of taking his inheritance and assuming his authority.” So, Bashir jumped and was the first to pay homage to AbuBakr.(15)

It is worth mentioning that Bashir was one of only two persons of the Ansar who supported Mu'awiyah against Imam ’Ali('a). Due to this treacherous situation, Bashir became one of the closest consultants of Abu-Bakr and his two representatives. It was Bashir who suggested to Abu-Bakr and 'Umar that they should not assassin Sa'd ibn Ubadah.

The second man of the Ansar to pay homage to Abu-Bakr was Usayd ibn Hudayr from the Aws tribe. Later on, this man was. appointed as the commander of the internal security forces, in a manner of speaking. It was Usayd who led the brigade that, following Umar, went for subjugating the Hashimites and al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam who, having refrained from paying homage to Abu-Bakr, met inside the house of Imam 'Ali and Lady Fatimah('a). Thus, Usayd, assisted by Salamah ibn Aslam, was the leader of those who took the Hashimites out of Imam 'All’s house by force.(16) This is the truth about Saqifat Bani-Sa'idah and the events and conspiratorial meeting that took place and was held there. Astounding of the Companions at the Saqifah conspiracy

The ground shook under the feet of the true faithful believers since the Holy Prophet(s) was still at deathbed. This was because of the happening of a huge series of successive collapses. Of course, a collapse must be followed by another, and the unavoidable consequence is the happening of a final devastating collapse, although no one knows the very time of the final collapse except Allah the All-knowing.

The series of these collapses started when those people prevented the Holy Prophet(s) from making his last will and dictating his final decree. So, as soon as he passed away, and even before his dead body was buried, those who had prevented him from writing down his final decree concluded their conspiracy and seized power in the absence of the Holy Prophet’s household members, the absence of their chief Imam 'All ibn Abi-Talib(’a), and the absence of the overwhelming majority of Muslims. Finally, the conspirators of made everybody see the matter as a fait accompli that was given an attire