Umar’s tafkeer on Abu Hurraira
سَلَمَةَ، حَدَّثَهُ وَكَانَ، بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِهِ خُصُومَةٌ فِي أَرْضٍ وَأَنَّهُ دَخَلَ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لَهَا فَقَالَتْ يَا أَبَا سَلَمَةَ اجْتَنِبِ الأَرْضَ فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَنْ ظَلَمَ قِيدَ شِبْرٍ مِنَ الأَرْضِ طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ " .
Muhammad b. Ibrahim said that Abu Salama reported to him that there was between him and his people dispute over a piece of land, and he came to 'A'isha and mentioned that to her, whereupon she said:
Abu Salama, abstain from getting this land, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: He who usurps even a span of land would be made to wear around his neck seven earths.
Allah (swt) condemns this atrocious act as follows in Surah Baqarah verse 188:
وَلَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا۟ بِهَآ إِلَى ٱلْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا۟ فَرِيقًا مِّنْ أَمْوَٰلِ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly or send it [in bribery] to the rulers in order that [they might aid] you [to] consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know [it is unlawful].
It is therefore amazing that we come across this narrationn Kitaab Al-Amwal. Hadith number 996. Page 605-606:
Humayd narrated to us from Abu Ubayd, and also Ma'az Ibn Ma'az from Ibn Awn, from Ibn Sirin, that he said, "And when Abu Hurayrah returned from Bahrain (during the caliphate of ‘Umar, ‘Umar appointed him as governor of Bahrain), he reprimanded him and said 'O enemy of Allah, the Exalted, O enemy of the book (the Quran), you have stolen from the treasury of Allah (i.e. public treasury).' To which Abu Hurairah replied, 'By God, I am not an enemy of Allah, the Exalted, or his Book. Rather, I am an enemy of their enemy. And I have not stolen from the public treasury.' So Umar said, 'So how did you accumulate this wealth of 10,000 dirhams?' Abu Hurayrah said, 'I had horses which were breading, and the salary that was from the public treasury by which I accumulated this.'‘ Umar usurped his money. Abu Hurayrah said, 'When I prayed the morning prayer, I sought forgiveness for the Commander of the Faithful”.
(Footnote: Ibn Sa‘d has narrated it through several chains from Ibn Awn from Muhammad also, and the chain of Ibn Zanjawaih is authentic)
The majority Sunni opinion is that cursing any Sahaba does not render you a kaafir rather one is a Fasiq, there are some vocal nawasib currently insisting it makes you a kaafir. For them, we present this narration. Umar goes far beyond cursing Abu Hurraira, he labels him and enemy of Allah (swt) and his Qur’an – that thus renders him a kaafir. The implications are huge, after all we read in Sahih Bukhari Volume 8 Book 73 Hadith 125:
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عُمَرَ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِذَا قَالَ الرَّجُلُ لأَخِيهِ يَا كَافِرُ فَقَدْ بَاءَ بِهِ أَحَدُهُمَا ". وَقَالَ عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ عَنْ يَحْيَى، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ، سَمِعَ أَبَا سَلَمَةَ، سَمِعَ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If a man says to his brother, O Kafir (disbeliever)!' Then surely one of them is such (i.e., a Kafir).
With this in mind, who is a kafir here (as per the narration) Umar or Abu Huraira? And who is guilty here? Umar confiscated the money accusing him of theft, if his view is correct then Abu Hurraira is a thief that renders him a major sinner. If Abu Hurraira was innocent, then Umar’s takfir on innocent Abu Hurraira renders him a kafir, and his confiscating the money renders him unjust for treating him in such an unjust manner? So which option to the Ahl’ul Sunnah wish to choose here? Either way, one of these ends up in an unfavourable light. We read any even more severe rebuke and punishment of Umar meted out against Abu Hurarira in another narration:
We read in al Mustadrak al Sahihayn Volume 2 page 378
3327 - أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ الْمُزَكِّي بِمَرْوَ، ثنا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ رَوْحٍ الْمَدَاينِيُّ، ثنا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ، أَنْبَأَ هِشَامُ بْنُ حَسَّانَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ لِي عُمَرُ: يَا عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّ الْإِسْلَامِ خُنْتَ مَالَ اللَّهِ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ: لَسْتُ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ، وَلَا عَدُوَّ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَلَكِنِّي عَدُوُّ مَنْ عَادَاهُمَا، وَلَمْ أَخُنْ مَالَ اللَّهِ، وَلَكِنَّهَا أَثْمَانُ إِبِلِي، وَسِهَامٌ اجْتَمَعَتْ. قَالَ: فَأَعَادَهَا عَلَيَّ وَأَعَدْتُ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا الْكَلَامَ، قَالَ: فَغَرَّمَنِي اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ أَلْفًا، قَالَ: فَقُمْتُ فِي صَلَاةِ الْغَدَاةِ، فَقُلْتُ: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَلَمَّا كَانَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ أَرَادَنِي عَلَى الْعَمَلِ، فَأَبَيْتُ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: وَلِمَ وَقَدْ سَأَلَ يُوسُفُ الْعَمَلَ وَكَانَ خَيْرًا مِنْكَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّ يُوسُفَ نَبِيٌّ، ابْنُ نَبِيٍّ، ابْنِ نَبِيٍّ، ابْنِ نَبِيٍّ، وَأَنَا ابْنُ أُمَيْمَةَ وَأَنَا أَخَافُ ثَلَاثًا وَاثْنَتَيْنِ قَالَ: أَوَلَا تَقُولُ خَمْسًا؟ قُلْتُ: لَا قَالَ: فَمَا هُنَّ؟ قُلْتُ: «أَخَافُ أَنْ أَقُولَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، وَأَنْ أُفْتِيَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، وَأَنْ يُضْرَبَ ظَهْرِي، وَأَنْ يُشْتَمَ عِرْضِي، وَأَنْ يُؤْخَذَ مَالِي بِالضَّرْبِ» هَذَا حَدِيثٌ بِإِسْنَادٍ صَحِيحٍ عَلَى شَرْطِ الشَّيْخَيْنِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجَاهُ "
Muhammad ibn Sireen narrated that Abu Hurayrah, said:
"‘Umar said to me, 'O Enemy of Allah and enemy of Islam! You betrayed (the duty of preserving) the money of Allah (i.e. public money)!' I said, 'I am not an enemy of Allah or an enemy of Islam; rather, I am an enemy to whoever is an enemy to them! I did not betray the money of Allah, but it is only the prices of my (breeding) camels and my salaries added together.' ‘Umar repeated what he had said, and I repeated my answer to him. So he fined me 12,000 (dirhams). When I got up to perform the Fajr prayer, I supplicated, 'O Allah, forgive the Commander of the Believers!' Afterwards, he asked me to hold public office, so I refused. He said, 'Why do you refuse while Yusuf (Prophet Joseph) asked to hold public office and he was better than you?' I said, 'Yusuf was a Prophet, the son of a Prophet (Jacob), the son of a Prophet (Isaac), the son of a Prophet (Abraham). I am the son of Umaymah, and I fear three things and two things.' He said, 'Why do you not say five?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'What are they?' I said, 'I fear that I speak without knowledge, and issue fatwa without knowledge, and that my back gets beaten, my reputation gets tainted, and my wealth gets confiscated."
We read in Sahih Muslim, the Book of Iman, Book 1 Hadith Number 118:
It is reported on the authority of Abu Dharr that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) saying:
وَحَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الصَّمَدِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَارِثِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا حُسَيْنٌ الْمُعَلِّمُ، عَنِ ابْنِ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ يَعْمَرَ، أَنَّ أَبَا الأَسْوَدِ، حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " لَيْسَ مِنْ رَجُلٍ ادَّعَى لِغَيْرِ أَبِيهِ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُهُ إِلاَّ كَفَرَ وَمَنِ ادَّعَى مَا لَيْسَ لَهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا وَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَنْ دَعَا رَجُلاً بِالْكُفْرِ أَوْ قَالَ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ . وَلَيْسَ كَذَلِكَ إِلاَّ حَارَ عَلَيْهِ "
No person who claimed knowingly anyone else as his father besides (his own) committed nothing but infidelity, and he who made a claim of anything, which (in fact) did not belong to him, is not amongst us; he should make his abode in Fire, and he who labelled anyone with unbelief or called him the enemy of Allah, and he was in fact not so, it rebounded on him
We appeal to justice was Umar correct when he deemed Abu Hurraira a kafir and an enemy of Allah? If he was wrong then these accusation fall back on Umar? He didn’t accept the defence of Why did he then seek to re-appoint the same individual? If cursing the Sahaba makes you a kafir zindeeq, then what about when someone calls the Sahabi Abu Huraira a kafir and enemy of Islam? If anyone that highlights and fault of the Sahaba is a Zindeeq, does this not apply to Umar too?
Umar’s kufr Fatwa on Zubair and mockery of Talha
Abu Ja'far Al-Tahawi records as follows:
Narrated to us by Ibraheem bin Abi Dawood, who said: Narrated to us by Ahmad bin Shu'aib bin Sa'eed, who said: Narrated to us by my father, from Yunus bin Yazeed, from ibn Sahaab, who said: Abd Al-Malik bin Marwan used to narrate from Abi Bahriyyah that Umar went to a gathering wherein Uthman, Ali, Talha, Al-Zubair and Abd Al-Rahman bin Awf were present. So Umar said to them: "All of you ascribe the leadership to yourselves after me!" So they remained silent. So Umar said to them: "Do all of you ascribe the leadership to yourselves after me?" So Al-Zubair said: "Yes." And he viewed it to be a good thing to him. He said: "Shall I not tell you about yourselves?" So Al-Zubair said: "Tell us, and if we remain silent keep on telling us." He (Umar) said: "As for you O Zubair! You are a believer when satisfied, a disbeliever when angry, one day you're a devil, and one day a human being. So have you witnessed (yourself) one day being a devil? To whom will be the leadership that day? As for you O Talha! Wallahi, the Prophet (saw) died while he was displeased with you. As for you O Ali! You joke too much. As for you O Abd Al-Rahman! Wallahi, you are worthy of it because of what Allah Almighty has given you. And among you is a man (i.e. Uthman), if his belief were to be divided among a soldier of the soldiers, he would encompass them.
Al-Zubaydi narrated this Hadeeth from Al-Zuhri. And Umro bin Al-Harith Al-Fahmi entered in the chain of narrators between Al-Zuhri and Abd Al-Malik. Narrated so and so from Umro bin Al-Harith Al-Fahmi that Abd Al-Malik bin Marwan used to narrate from Abi Bahriyyah Al-Kindi that he told him that Umar went to a gathering wherein Uthman bin Affan and Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s) were present. He mentioned the Hadeeth, and he added at its end that Uthman bin Affan is the one that would encompass them.
(Source: Sharih Mashakil Al-Athar. Vol. 12, page numbers 477 - 478)
This is a chilling indictment of Zubair, accusing his of falling in an out of apostacy due to anger. As for his comemnts about Talha that leaves casts serious aspersions about him, the fact Rasulullah (s) died angry with him carries serious implications for him in the next world, afterall, Allah (swt) says in Surah Ahzab verse 57:
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ لَعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا
The Ahl'ul Sunnah are very defensive of Talha and Zubair deeming them two of those that Rasulullah (s) guaranteed Paradise, if a Shia criticizes the duo for their rebellion against Imam Ali (as) in Jamal, they take huge offence and lash out. We would invite them to ponder over the manner on which Umar testifies against both men, one is accused of constantly flirting with Kufr the other of incurring the displeasure of Rasulullah (s).
