Before we address the narration in question, we feel it important that we highlight some key points by way of background. To suggest that a people reneged on their leader is not an unusual thing to accept. History is replete with examples of past nations abandoning the religion of Allah (swt), and there was no guarantee that this nation / Ummah was protected from such a risk, on the contrary, we read in Sahih Muslim 2669a:
حَدَّثَنِي سُوَيْدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ مَيْسَرَةَ، حَدَّثَنِي زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ، بْنِ يَسَارٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لَتَتَّبِعُنَّ سَنَنَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ شِبْرًا بِشِبْرٍ وَذِرَاعًا بِذِرَاعٍ حَتَّى لَوْ دَخَلُوا فِي جُحْرِ ضَبٍّ لاَتَّبَعْتُمُوهُمْ " . قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ آلْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى قَالَ " فَمَنْ " .
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah's Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words)" those before you"? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)?
This means that if past peoples had fallen to deviancy and apostacy, then the Ummah of Rasulullah (s) would fall down the same trap. We read in Surah Yunus, verse 102:
فَهَلْ يَنتَظِرُونَ إِلَّا مِثْلَ أَيَّامِ ٱلَّذِينَ خَلَوْا۟ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ قُلْ فَٱنتَظِرُوٓا۟ إِنِّى مَعَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْمُنتَظِرِينَ
Do they then expect (any thing) but (what happened in) the days of the men who passed away before them? Say: "Wait ye then: for I, too, will wait with you."
We read in Surah Al Baqara verse 213:
كَانَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَٰحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ فِيمَا ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَا ٱخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَٰتُ بَغْيًۢا بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ فَهَدَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لِمَا ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
Mankind were one community, and Allah sent (unto them) prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and revealed therewith the Scripture with the truth that it might judge between mankind concerning that wherein they differed. And only those unto whom (the Scripture) was given differed concerning it, after clear proofs had come unto them, through hatred one of another. And Allah by His Will guided those who believe unto the truth of that concerning which they differed. Allah guideth whom He will unto a straight path.
We read in Surah Ankabut verses 2 and 3:
أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوٓا۟ أَن يَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ
Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested?
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ
We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false.
We can see the deviance that past Ummahs fell victim to, as they were tested from Allah (swt). The Sahaba were not immune from being tested in the same way, and after all, why shouldn’t they have? Islam is not a free ride wherein the Sahaba by merely reciting the Shahada had been granted a free entry ticket to Paradise without their faith being tested like past peoples were tested. This is clear from the fact that Allah (swt) says in Surah Ankabut verse 2:
أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوٓا۟ أَن يَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried?
The late Sunni scholar Sayed Abu'l Ala Maudoodi in his commentary of this verse commented:
"A question may be asked: "When Allah already knows the truth of the truthful and the untruth of the liar, why should He put the people to the test for the sake of these?" The answer is: Until a person has manifested his potential and capability to do a thing in practical terms, justice requires that he neither deserves any rewards nor any punishment. One man, for example, is capable of being trustworthy and another man of being untrustworthy. Unless both are tried and one manifests trustworthiness and the other the lack of it practically, it will not be justice on the part of Allah that He should reward one for trustworthiness and punish the other for the lack of it only on the basis of His knowledge of the unseen. Therefore the knowledge Allah already possesses about the capabilities of the people and about their conduct in the future is not enough to satisfy the requirements of justice until the people have manifested their potentialities in practical ways. Justice with Allah is not based on the knowledge that a person possesses a tendency to steal and will commit a theft, but on the knowledge that he has actually committed a theft. Likewise, Allah does not bestow favours and rewards on the basis of the knowledge that a person has the potential and capability to become a great believer and fighter in His way, but on the basis of the knowledge that the person concerned has practically proved by deed and action that he is a sincere believer and a brave fighter in His way"
(Source: Tafhim al Quran by Sayed Abu'l Ala Maudood, commentary of Surah Ankabut verses 1-2)
Past Prophetic nations were subjected to tests just like the Ummah that benefited from the company of Rasulullah (s). The tests the Sahaba were subjected to were however not just limited to those they had endured during the lifetime of Rasulullah (s), rather they were to continue after him (s). Rasulullah (s) warned them that they would follow the path of past nations, alas they did just that they became embroiled in division, disputes, transgression and even raised swords against each other in the battlefield, causing the deaths of thousands. This is in spite of the fact that the Qur'an warns readers of the dire consequences of killing another human being.
If the question is raised as to how it is that those that sacrificed their possessions, wealth and lives for Rasulullah (s) could fall into error and renege from the faith, we have the following responses:
1) History testifies to many people who were fully aware of Hellfire and still went astray as they succumbed to worldly desires
2) There is a marked distinction between knowing the true path and adhering to the true path as people gave preference to their personal feelings over their religious obligations.
Allah (swt) says in Surah Ale Imran verse 19:
إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْإِسْلَٰمُ ۗ وَمَا ٱخْتَلَفَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ إِلَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ ٱلْعِلْمُ بَغْيًۢا بَيْنَهُمْ ۗ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ
The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account.
As per these verses, the act of بَغۡيَۢا (envy / jealousy)) towards each other was a cause for past people to turn away from the religion of Allah (swt). This same envy existed amongst the Sahaba and it was directed against Imam Ali (as). Ibn Taymiyyah acknowledges this in Minhaj al Sunnah, Vol. 7, pg. 137 - 138:
و لم يكن كذلك علي فان كثيرا من الصحابة و التابعين كانوا يبغضونه و يسبونه و يقاتلونه
“Verily, plenty of Sahaba and Tabi’in used to hate, abuse and fight against Ali.”
We read in Surah Baqarah verse 213:
كَانَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَٰحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ فِيمَا ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَا ٱخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَٰتُ بَغْيًۢا بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ فَهَدَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لِمَا ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
Mankind was [of] one religion [before their deviation]; then Allah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it - after the clear proofs came to them - out of jealous animosity among themselves. And Allah guided those who believed to the truth concerning that over which they had differed, by His permission. And Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path.
We further learn that these people became fragmented and fought one another. We read in Surah Baqarah verse 253:
تِلْكَ ٱلرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۘ مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَٰتٍ ۚ وَءَاتَيْنَا عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ وَأَيَّدْنَٰهُ بِرُوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ ۗ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقْتَتَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَٰتُ وَلَٰكِنِ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ ءَامَنَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن كَفَرَ ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقْتَتَلُوا۟ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ
Those messengers - some of them We caused to exceed others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree. And We gave Jesus, the Son of Mary, clear proofs, and We supported him with the Pure Spirit. If Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other, but Allah does what He intends.
Not every individual has the ability to maintain patience in the face of untold suffering or oppression. From a historical perspective, no people suffered like the Bani Israel, however they maintained patience and retained their faith in the face of oppression from Pharoah, Rameses II and his predecessors. The brutal monarchs subjected them to torture, murder and enslavement (that lasted over 400 years), and yet the Bani Israil remained steadfast and patient, even when Rameses II oversaw the infanticide of their first born sons. Allah (swt) delivered them from their bondage via Prophet Musa (as) and they witnessed him performing untold miracles, including the fam parting of the Red Sea. Despite this, when Musa (as) departed to Mount Tur to communicate directly with Allah (swt), his people, who had thus far ascribed to the faith of their ancestors and its cornerstone, the Oneness of Allah (swt) turned apostate and began worshipping a Golden Calf.
The level of faith a man can reach is irrelevant, as he is not infallible and can therefore fall into deviation and misguidance. This is further evidenced from the example of Bal'am Ibn Ba'ura about whom Allah (swt) says in Surah Araaf verse 175:
وَٱتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ٱلَّذِىٓ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُ ءَايَٰتِنَا فَٱنسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ فَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَاوِينَ
And recite to them, [O Muhammad], the news of him to whom we gave [knowledge of] Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators.
Ibn Kathir in his commentary of this verse in Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 6, page 726 - 727 states:
وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْناهُ آياتِنا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْها فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطانُ فَكانَ مِنَ الْغاوِينَ (١٧٥)
قال عبد الرزاق: عن سفيان الثوري عن الأعمش ومنصور عن أبي الضحى عن مسروق عن عبد الله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه في قوله تعالى: واتل عليهم نبأ الذي آتيناه آياتنا فانسلخ منها الآية قال: هو رجل من بني إسرائيل يقال له بلعم بن باعوراء وكذا رواه شعبة وغير واحد عن منصور به.
وقال سعيد بن أبي عروبة عن قتادة عن ابن عباس: هو صيفي بن الراهب قال قتادة وقال كعب: كان رجلا من أهل البلقاء وكان يعلم الاسم الأكبر وكان مقيما ببيت المقدس مع الجبارين وقال العوفي عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنه: هو رجل من أهل اليمن يقال له بلعم آتاه الله آياته فتركها، وقال مالك بن دينار: كان من علماء بني إسرائيل وكان مجاب الدعوة يقدمونه في الشدائد بعثه نبي الله موسى عليه السلام إلى ملك مدين يدعوه إلى الله فأقطعه وأعطاه فتبع دينه وترك دين موسى عليه السلام.
"It is about Bal`am bin Ba`ura' a man from the Children of Israel.'' Shu`bah and several other narrators narrated this statement from Mansur who got it from Ibn Mas`ud. Sa`id bin Abi `Arubah narrated that Qatadah said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Sayfi, son of Ar-Rahib.'' Qatadah commented that Ka`b said, "He was a man from Al-Balqla' (a province of Jordan) who knew Allah's Greatest Name. He used to live in Bayt Al-Maqdis with the tyrants.'' Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Bal`am bin Ba`ura', a man from Yemen whom Allah had given the knowledge of His Ayat, but he abandoned them.'' Malik bin Dinar said, "He was one of the scholars of the Children of Israel whose supplication was acceptable. They used to seek his lead in supplication in times of difficulty. Allah's Prophet Musa sent him to the King of Madyan to call him to Allah. That king appeased him and gave him land and gifts, and he reverted from the religion of Musa and followed the king's religion.''
Two things can be gauged from this verse. Bal`am bin Ba`ura' was:
from amongst the Sahaba of a Prophet;
a scholar from the Tribe of Israel whose faith had reached such an elevated state that he knew Allah's Greatest Name, who Allah (swt) had granted him His knowledge
Despite this, he eventually became an apostate. If this previously esteemed sahaba of a Prophet could fall prey to deviation and apostasy, why is it outside of the realms of possibility to believe that the Sahaba of Rasulullah (s) could? After all, are they not fallible beings that are prone to falling into deviancy?
It would not be easy to erase / cleanse people of their past beliefs so that they enter the Deen with complete untainted faith that would render the likelihood of them returning to their past beliefs to be highly unlikely. There existed people from the time of Rasulullah (s) who insisted that they came to him with complete faith (Iman), but they had brought Islam- faith had not penetrated their hearts. Allah (swt) says in Surah Hujuraat verse 14:
۞ قَالَتِ ٱلْأَعْرَابُ ءَامَنَّا ۖ قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَلَـٰكِن قُولُوٓا۟ أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ ٱلْإِيمَـٰنُ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ ۖ وَإِن تُطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ لَا يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَـٰلِكُمْ شَيْـًٔا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ ١٤
The bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts. And if you obey Allāh and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful."
The verse evidences that bringing Islam and bringing Iman are two distinct things. The Bedouins had brought Islam but their Iman was yet to penetrate into their hearts.
In his commentary of this verse in Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 4 page 379 Ibn Kathir states:
This honourable Ayah provides proof that Faith is a higher grade than Islam, according to the scholars of the Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. This is also demonstrated in the Hadith of Jibril, peace be upon him, when he questioned the Prophet about Islam, then Iman then Ihsan. Thus moving the general matter to one more specific, then even more specific. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Amir bin Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas said, "The Messenger of Allah gave (something to) some men and did not give one of them. Sa`d said, `O Allah's Messenger, you gave to so-and-so and so-and-so. However, you gave nothing to so-and-so, even though he is a believer.' The Prophet said,«أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ؟»
(Or say, a Muslim.) Sa`d repeated his statement thrice each time the Prophet answered,
«أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ؟»
(Or say, a Muslim.) The Prophet then said,
«إِنِّي لَأُعْطِي رِجَالًا وَأَدَعُ مَنْ هُوَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِنْهُمْ،فَلَمْ أُعْطِهِ شَيْئًا مَخَافَةَ أَنْ يُكَبُّوا فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِم»
(I might give some men and give nothing to others, even though the latter are dearer to me than the former. I do not give them things for fear that they might be thrown on their faces in the Fire.)'' This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs. Therefore, the Prophet made a distinction between the grade of believer and the grade of Muslim, indicating that Iman is a more exclusive grade than Islam. I mentioned this subject in detail supported by evidence, in the beginning of the explanation of the chapter on Iman in Sahih Al-Bukhari, all praise is due to Allah and all the favors are from Him. So this proves that the Bedouins whom the Ayah mentioned were not hypocrites, rather they were Muslims in whose hearts Faith was not yet firmly established. They claimed a higher grade for themselves than the grade that they earned, and they were taught a lesson as a consequence. This meaning agrees with the meaning given by Ibn `Abbas, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Qatadah and that preferred by Ibn Jarir.
﴿قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُواْ وَلَـكِن قُولُواْ أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الايمَـنُ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ﴾
(Say: "You do not believe, but say `We are Muslims,' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts...'') meaning, `you have not yet achieved the reality of Faith.' Allah the Exalted said,
﴿وَإِن تُطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لاَ يَلِتْكُمْ مِّنْ أَعْمَـلِكُمْ شَيْئاً﴾
(But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds...) `He will not decrease any of your rewards,' as Allah said;
﴿وَمَآ أَلَتْنَـهُمْ مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ﴾
(We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.) (52:21)
When such a category of Sahaba existed, could it not be said that there was a risk that such people might revert back to their old ways?
We read in Surah Ale Imran verse 144:
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌۭ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ ۚ أَفَإِي۟ن مَّاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ ٱنقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْقَـٰبِكُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَنقَلِبْ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَن يَضُرَّ ٱللَّهَ شَيْـًۭٔا ۗ وَسَيَجْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ ١٤٤
Muhammad is no more than a messenger; other messengers have gone before him. If he were to die or to be killed, would you regress into disbelief? Those who do so will not harm Allah whatsoever. And Allah will reward those who are grateful.
Whilst the verse descended in order to rebuke the Sahaba that had abandoned Rasulullah (s) on the plains of Uhud, having heard rumours of him (s) being killed, the warning issued by Allah (swt) evidences that it applied to the Sahaba then and in the future. This is clear by the fact that Allah (swt) saw the need to warn the Sahaba of apostating should Rasulullah (s) die (naturally) (مَّاتَ) or be killed (unnaturally) (قُتِلَ). Whilst the end result is the same, one is a natural death and the other is a violent one, when Allah (swt) of course knew of the pending death of Rasulullah (s), he mentions both, thus making it clear that this verse covers both scenarios present and future. This proves the verse and its consequences for the Sahaba were not limited to Uhud, rather they applied to any scenario in which the Prophet (s) died. It is noteworthy that the words ٱنقَلَبْتُمْ ("you") in this verse questioning whether individuals might renege ,were Rasulullah (s) to die, was in the plural, thus addressing the believers that were with Rasulullah (s) i.e. his Sahaba. It did not address the Kuffar or hypocrites, as they would not renege or apostate from their faith, as they have no faith to go back on.
During his Farewell Pilgrimage, Rasulullah (s) warned his Sahaba not to become apostates by striking each other’s necks.
We read in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith Number 6865:
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَانُ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَطَاءُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ، أَنَّ عُبَيْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَدِيٍّ، حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّ الْمِقْدَادَ بْنَ عَمْرٍو الْكِنْدِيَّ حَلِيفَ بَنِي زُهْرَةَ حَدَّثَهُ وَكَانَ، شَهِدَ بَدْرًا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنْ لَقِيتُ كَافِرًا فَاقْتَتَلْنَا، فَضَرَبَ يَدِي بِالسَّيْفِ فَقَطَعَهَا، ثُمَّ لاَذَ بِشَجَرَةٍ وَقَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِلَّهِ. آقْتُلُهُ بَعْدَ أَنْ قَالَهَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لاَ تَقْتُلْهُ ". قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهُ طَرَحَ إِحْدَى يَدَىَّ، ثُمَّ قَالَ بَعْدَ مَا قَطَعَهَا، آقْتُلُهُ قَالَ " لاَ تَقْتُلْهُ، فَإِنْ قَتَلْتَهُ فَإِنَّهُ بِمَنْزِلَتِكَ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقْتُلَهُ، وَأَنْتَ بِمَنْزِلَتِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَقُولَ كَلِمَتَهُ الَّتِي قَالَ ". وَقَالَ حَبِيبُ بْنُ أَبِي عَمْرَةَ عَنْ سَعِيدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِلْمِقْدَادِ " إِذَا كَانَ رَجُلٌ مُؤْمِنٌ يُخْفِي إِيمَانَهُ مَعَ قَوْمٍ كُفَّارٍ، فَأَظْهَرَ إِيمَانَهُ، فَقَتَلْتَهُ، فَكَذَلِكَ كُنْتَ أَنْتَ تُخْفِي إِيمَانَكَ بِمَكَّةَ مِنْ قَبْلُ ".
Narrated Al-Miqdad bin `Amr Al-Kindi:
An ally of Bani Zuhra who took part in the battle of Badr with the Prophet, that he said, "O Allah's Apostle! If I meet an unbeliever and we have a fight, and he strikes my hand with the sword and cuts it off, and then takes refuge from me under a tree, and says, 'I have surrendered to Allah (i.e. embraced Islam),' may I kill him after he has said so?" Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Do not kill him." Al- Miqdad said, "But O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! He had chopped off one of my hands and he said that after he had cut it off. May I kill him?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said. "Do not kill him for if you kill him, he would be in the position in which you had been before you kill him, and you would be in the position in which he was before he said the sentence." The Prophet (ﷺ) also said to Al-Miqdad, "If a faithful believer conceals his faith (Islam) from the disbelievers, and then when he declares his Islam, you kill him, (you will be sinful). Remember that you were also concealing your faith (Islam) at Mecca before."
We read in Sahih Muslim Hadith number 65:
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، وَابْنُ، بَشَّارٍ جَمِيعًا عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ شُعْبَةَ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُدْرِكٍ، سَمِعَ أَبَا زُرْعَةَ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ جَدِّهِ، جَرِيرٍ قَالَ قَالَ لِيَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي حَجَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ " اسْتَنْصِتِ النَّاسَ " . ثُمَّ قَالَ " لاَ تَرْجِعُوا بَعْدِي كُفَّارًا يَضْرِبُ بَعْضُكُمْ رِقَابَ بَعْضٍ
It is narrated on the authority of Jarir b. 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) asked him on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage to make the people silent and then said:
Do not return to unbelief after me by striking the necks of one another.
We read in Sunan Nasai Hadith Number 4131:
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُدْرِكٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا زُرْعَةَ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ جَرِيرٍ، عَنْ جَرِيرٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي حَجَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ اسْتَنْصَتَ النَّاسَ قَالَ " لاَ تَرْجِعُوا بَعْدِي كُفَّارًا يَضْرِبُ بَعْضُكُمْ رِقَابَ بَعْضٍ "
It was narrated from Jarir that:
During the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah [SAW] asked the people to be quiet and listen, and said: "Do not revert to disbelievers after I am gone, striking the necks of one another (killing one another)."
Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)
Allah (swt) in his perfect book warned the Sahaba about the risks of them becoming apostates, and Rasulullah (s) had also warned the Sahaba not to return to their old beliefs and become apostates after him. There exist a plethora of Hadith that refer to the Sahaba becoming apostates that we shall discuss in our next reply, but at this point, we will discuss why Rasulullah (s) sought it important to warn his Sahaba not to renege after him. Whilst Allah (swt) and his Prophet (s) know best, the risk of converts relapsing back to their old habits / beliefs was something that Rasulullah (s) was very conscious of. This can be evidenced by the fact that the engagement between Rasulullah (s) and new entrants to the faith was a delicate one. It is for this reason that Rasulullah (s) dealt with these new Muslims in a very thoughtful and tactical manner, so as to curtail any risk of them reneging back to their old faith in the future.
We read in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith Number 3147 the Book “One-fifth of Booty to the Cause of Allah (Khumus)” under the chapter “What the Prophet saws used to give to those Muslims whose faith was not so firm” as follows:
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ، أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ، حَدَّثَنَا الزُّهْرِيُّ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّ نَاسًا، مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ قَالُوا لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم حِينَ أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ أَمْوَالِ هَوَازِنَ مَا أَفَاءَ، فَطَفِقَ يُعْطِي رِجَالاً مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ الْمِائَةَ مِنَ الإِبِلِ فَقَالُوا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعْطِي قُرَيْشًا وَيَدَعُنَا، وَسُيُوفُنَا تَقْطُرُ مِنْ دِمَائِهِمْ قَالَ أَنَسٌ فَحُدِّثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ بِمَقَالَتِهِمْ، فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى الأَنْصَارِ، فَجَمَعَهُمْ فِي قُبَّةٍ مِنْ أَدَمٍ، وَلَمْ يَدْعُ مَعَهُمْ أَحَدًا غَيْرَهُمْ، فَلَمَّا اجْتَمَعُوا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " مَا كَانَ حَدِيثٌ بَلَغَنِي عَنْكُمْ ". قَالَ لَهُ فُقَهَاؤُهُمْ أَمَّا ذَوُو آرَائِنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَلَمْ يَقُولُوا شَيْئًا، وَأَمَّا أُنَاسٌ مِنَّا حَدِيثَةٌ أَسْنَانُهُمْ فَقَالُوا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعْطِي قُرَيْشًا وَيَتْرُكُ الأَنْصَارَ، وَسُيُوفُنَا تَقْطُرُ مِنْ دِمَائِهِمْ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنِّي أُعْطِي رِجَالاً حَدِيثٌ عَهْدُهُمْ بِكُفْرٍ، أَمَا تَرْضَوْنَ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ النَّاسُ بِالأَمْوَالِ وَتَرْجِعُونَ إِلَى رِحَالِكُمْ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا تَنْقَلِبُونَ بِهِ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَنْقَلِبُونَ بِهِ ". قَالُوا بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَدْ رَضِينَا. فَقَالَ لَهُمْ " إِنَّكُمْ سَتَرَوْنَ بَعْدِي أُثْرَةً شَدِيدَةً، فَاصْبِرُوا حَتَّى تَلْقَوُا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى الْحَوْضِ ". قَالَ أَنَسٌ فَلَمْ نَصْبِرْ.
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
When Allah favoured His Apostle with the properties of Hawazin tribe as Fai (booty), he started giving to some Quarries men even up to one-hundred camels each, whereupon some Ansari men said about Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), "May Allah forgive His Apostle! He is giving to (men of) Quraish and leaves us, in spite of the fact that our swords are still dropping blood (of the infidels)" When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was informed of what they had said, he called the Ansar and gathered them in a leather tent and did not call anybody else along, with them. When they gathered, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to them and said, "What is the statement which, I have been informed, and that which you have said?" The learned ones among them replied," O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! The wise ones amongst us did not say anything, but the youngsters amongst us said, 'May Allah forgive His Apostle; he gives the Quarish and leaves the Ansar, in spite of the fact that our swords are still dribbling (wet) with the blood of the infidels.' " Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) replied, I give to such people as are still close to the period of Infidelity (i.e. they have recently embraced Islam and Faith is still weak in their hearts). Won't you be pleased to see people go with fortune, while you return with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to your houses? By Allah, what you will return with, is better than what they are returning with." The Ansar replied, "Yes, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), we are satisfied' Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said to them." You will find after me, others being preferred to you. Then be patient till you meet Allah and meet His Apostle at Al-Kauthar (i.e. a fount in Paradise)." (Anas added:) But we did not remain patient.
As one can see from this Hadith, Rasulullah (s) prioritised Khums distribution to those that “are still close to the period of Infidelity” – in other words, had they not received this, there would have been a risk of them turning their backs and reverting back to their past apostate ways.
We read in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith number 4331:
حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ نَاسٌ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ حِينَ أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَا أَفَاءَ مِنْ أَمْوَالِ هَوَازِنَ، فَطَفِقَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعْطِي رِجَالاً الْمِائَةَ مِنَ الإِبِلِ فَقَالُوا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعْطِي قُرَيْشًا وَيَتْرُكُنَا، وَسُيُوفُنَا تَقْطُرُ مِنْ دِمَائِهِمْ. قَالَ أَنَسٌ فَحُدِّثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِمَقَالَتِهِمْ، فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى الأَنْصَارِ فَجَمَعَهُمْ فِي قُبَّةٍ مِنْ أَدَمٍ وَلَمْ يَدْعُ مَعَهُمْ غَيْرَهُمْ، فَلَمَّا اجْتَمَعُوا قَامَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " مَا حَدِيثٌ بَلَغَنِي عَنْكُمْ ". فَقَالَ فُقَهَاءُ الأَنْصَارِ أَمَّا رُؤَسَاؤُنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَلَمْ يَقُولُوا شَيْئًا، وَأَمَّا نَاسٌ مِنَّا حَدِيثَةٌ أَسْنَانُهُمْ فَقَالُوا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعْطِي قُرَيْشًا وَيَتْرُكُنَا، وَسُيُوفُنَا تَقْطُرُ مِنْ دِمَائِهِمْ. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " فَإِنِّي أُعْطِي رِجَالاً حَدِيثِي عَهْدٍ بِكُفْرٍ، أَتَأَلَّفُهُمْ، أَمَا تَرْضَوْنَ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ النَّاسُ بِالأَمْوَالِ وَتَذْهَبُونَ بِالنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى رِحَالِكُمْ، فَوَاللَّهِ لَمَا تَنْقَلِبُونَ بِهِ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَنْقَلِبُونَ بِهِ ". قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَدْ رَضِينَا. فَقَالَ لَهُمُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " سَتَجِدُونَ أُثْرَةً شَدِيدَةً، فَاصْبِرُوا حَتَّى تَلْقَوُا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَإِنِّي عَلَى الْحَوْضِ ". قَالَ أَنَسٌ فَلَمْ يَصْبِرُوا.
Narrated Anas Bin Malik:
When Allah gave Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) what he gave of the properties of the Hawazin tribe as a war booty, the Prophet (ﷺ) started giving some men 100 camels each. The Ansar (then) said, "May Allah forgive Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as he gives to Quraish and leaves us although our swords are still dribbling with the blood of Quraish." Allah's Apostle was informed of their statement, so he sent for the Ansar and gathered them in a leather tent, and did not call anybody else along with them. When they al I gathered, the Prophet (ﷺ) got up and said, "What is this talk being informed to me about you?" The learned men amongst the Ansar said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Our chiefs did not say anything, but some people amongst us who are younger in age said. 'May Allah forgive Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as he gives (of the booty) to Quraish and leaves us through our swords are still dribbling with their blood." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I give to these men who have newly deserted heathenism (and embraced Islam) so as to attract their hearts. Won't you be happy that the people take the wealth while you take the Prophet (ﷺ) with you to your homes? By Allah, what you are taking is better than whatever they are taking." They (i.e. the Ansar) said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! We are satisfied." The Prophet (ﷺ) then said to them. "You will find others favored over you greatly, so be patient till you meet Allah and His Apostle and I will be at the Tank then." Anas added: But they did not remain patient.
We see from this narration that the method of reproachment undertaken by Rasulullah (s) towards the new Meccan converts whose hearts had not fully embraced Islam caused considerable angst to the Ansar who were from the much earlier converts and had sacrificed blood, sweat and tears for the faith. Due to this, they deemed the Meccan Quraish as undeserving of their support.
Rasulullah (s) justified his reasoning on the basis that these were new converts for whom the Deen hadn't fully penetrated the hearts of. Similar narrations appear in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith number 3778 and Sahih Muslim Hadith number 1059a,1059b, 1059c and 1059d. We see that the new converts were bestowed with wealth, in order to acquire contentment and pleasure, but why was this important? This is because they had spent years hating Rasulullah (s) and the Islamic faith that he was propagating, as such, the best means to conquer their hearts and minds would be via charitable acts of kindness. This didn't just relate to the issue of financial support. Rasulullah (s) made it clear that the Meccan Sahaba's mindset was linked to the era of Jahiliyya. In this regard, we read in Sahih al-Bukhari 1583:
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، أَخْبَرَ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنهم ـ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ لَهَا " أَلَمْ تَرَىْ أَنَّ قَوْمَكِ لَمَّا بَنَوُا الْكَعْبَةَ اقْتَصَرُوا عَنْ قَوَاعِدِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ". فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَلاَ تَرُدُّهَا عَلَى قَوَاعِدِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ. قَالَ " لَوْلاَ حِدْثَانُ قَوْمِكِ بِالْكُفْرِ لَفَعَلْتُ ". فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ لَئِنْ كَانَتْ عَائِشَةُ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ سَمِعَتْ هَذَا مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَا أُرَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم تَرَكَ اسْتِلاَمَ الرُّكْنَيْنِ اللَّذَيْنِ يَلِيَانِ الْحِجْرَ، إِلاَّ أَنَّ الْبَيْتَ لَمْ يُتَمَّمْ عَلَى قَوَاعِدِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ.
Narrated `Aisha:
(the wife of the Prophet) that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to her, "Do you know that when your people (Quraish) rebuilt the Ka`ba, they decreased it from its original foundation laid by Abraham?" I said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Why don't you rebuild it on its original foundation laid by Abraham?" He replied, "Were it not for the fact that your people are close to the Pre-Islamic Period of ignorance (i.e. they have recently become Muslims) I would have done so." The sub-narrator, `Abdullah (bin `Umar ) stated: `Aisha 'must have heard this from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) for in my opinion Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had not placed his hand over the two corners of the Ka`ba opposite Al-Hijr only because the Ka`ba was not rebuilt on its original foundations laid by Abraham.
So here we have the acknowledgement of Rasulullah (s) that he:
was unable to expand the Kaaba to the size it was when it was constructed by Nabi Abraham (as).
made it clear that he (s) feared a backlash from his Sahaba who remained accustomed to the Kaaba structure from the era of Jahiliyya.
Clearly, this couldn't have been a cluster of individuals. It must have been the sizeable majority of Meccans who had recently embraced the faith but remained embedded to the era of jahiliyya, whose stronghold over public consensus was such that these Meccan Sahaba of Quraishite descent had forced Rasulullah (s) to desist from bringing the Kaaba back to its original structure. In his commentary of this Hadith, Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri in “Faiz-ul-Bari Tarjuma Fath-ul-Bari” opines that that the decision of Rasulullah (s) to not alter the Kaaba was on account of his fear that the new Muslims may become disillusioned and revert back to their old faith. This showcases that not only do we, as the Shia assert this, but also that the scholars of the Sunni sect attest to the fact that Rasulullah (s) feared that the new Muslims would revert back to their old ways.
Imam Nasai in his Sunan Hadith Number 2578, the Book of Zakat, under the chapter Those Whose Herts Have Been Inclined Toward Islam, records the below tradition:
أَخْبَرَنَا هَنَّادُ بْنُ السَّرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَحْوَصِ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي نُعْمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ بَعَثَ عَلِيٌّ وَهُوَ بِالْيَمَنِ بِذُهَيْبَةٍ بِتُرْبَتِهَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَسَمَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَيْنَ أَرْبَعَةِ نَفَرٍ الأَقْرَعِ بْنِ حَابِسٍ الْحَنْظَلِيِّ وَعُيَيْنَةَ بْنِ بَدْرٍ الْفَزَارِيِّ وَعَلْقَمَةَ بْنِ عُلاَثَةَ الْعَامِرِيِّ ثُمَّ أَحَدِ بَنِي كِلاَبٍ وَزَيْدٍ الطَّائِيِّ ثُمَّ أَحَدِ بَنِي نَبْهَانَ فَغَضِبَتْ قُرَيْشٌ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى صَنَادِيدُ قُرَيْشٍ فَقَالُوا تُعْطِي صَنَادِيدَ نَجْدٍ وَتَدَعُنَا . قَالَ " إِنَّمَا فَعَلْتُ ذَلِكَ لأَتَأَلَّفَهُمْ " . فَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ كَثُّ اللِّحْيَةِ مُشْرِفُ الْوَجْنَتَيْنِ غَائِرُ الْعَيْنَيْنِ نَاتِئُ الْجَبِينِ مَحْلُوقُ الرَّأْسِ فَقَالَ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ . قَالَ " فَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِنْ عَصَيْتُهُ أَيَأْمَنُنِي عَلَى أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ وَلاَ تَأْمَنُونِي " . ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ الرَّجُلُ فَاسْتَأْذَنَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ فِي قَتْلِهِ يَرَوْنَ أَنَّهُ خَالِدُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ مِنْ ضِئْضِئِ هَذَا قَوْمًا يَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرْآنَ لاَ يُجَاوِزُ حَنَاجِرَهُمْ يَقْتُلُونَ أَهْلَ الإِسْلاَمِ وَيَدَعُونَ أَهْلَ الأَوْثَانِ يَمْرُقُونَ مِنَ الإِسْلاَمِ كَمَا يَمْرُقُ السَّهْمُ مِنَ الرَّمِيَّةِ لَئِنْ أَدْرَكْتُهُمْ لأَقْتُلَنَّهُمْ قَتْلَ عَادٍ " .
It was narrated that Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri said:
"When he was in Yemen, Ali sent a piece of gold that was still mixed with sediment to the Messenger of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah distributed it among four people: Al-Aqra' bin Habis Al-Hanzali, 'Uyaynah bin Badr Al-Fazari, 'Alqamah bin 'Ulathah Al- 'Amiri, who was from Banu Kilab and Zaid Al-Ta'I who was from Banu Nabhan. The Quraish" - he said one time: became angry and said: 'You give to the chiefs of Najd and that, so as to soften their hearts toward Islam.' Then a man with a thick beard, prominent cheeks, and a shaven head came and said: 'Fear Allah. O Muhammad! He said: 'Who would obey Allah if I disobeyed Him? (Is it fair that) He has entrusted me with all the people of the Earth but you do not trust me?' Then the man went away, and a man from among the people, whom they (the narrators) think was Khalid bin Al-Walid, asked for permission to kill him. The Messenger of Allah said: 'Among the offspring of this man will be some people who will recite the Qur'an but it will not go any further than their throats. They will kill the Muslims but leave the idol worshippers alone, and they will pass through Islam as an arrow passes through the body of the target. If I live to see them. I will kill them all, as the people of 'Ad were killed."'
This tradition evidences that Rasulullah (s) again gave preference in zakat distribution to new converts. This attracted the ire of an earlier convert from the Sahaba who stated 'You give to the chiefs of Najd and that, so as to soften their hearts toward Islam.' – that in itself provides an admission of the mindset of Rasulullah (s) that the hearts of the new converts be conquered via financial support to avert the risk of them abandoning their faith on account of their experiencing alienation and disillusionment.
We further read in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith number 1478:
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ غُرَيْرٍ الزُّهْرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عَامِرُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ أَعْطَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَهْطًا وَأَنَا جَالِسٌ فِيهِمْ قَالَ فَتَرَكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْهُمْ رَجُلاً لَمْ يُعْطِهِ، وَهُوَ أَعْجَبُهُمْ إِلَىَّ، فَقُمْتُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَارَرْتُهُ فَقُلْتُ مَا لَكَ عَنْ فُلاَنٍ وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأُرَاهُ مُؤْمِنًا. قَالَ " أَوْ مُسْلِمًا " قَالَ فَسَكَتُّ قَلِيلاً ثُمَّ غَلَبَنِي مَا أَعْلَمُ فِيهِ فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ. مَا لَكَ عَنْ فُلاَنٍ وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأُرَاهُ مُؤْمِنًا. قَالَ " أَوْ مُسْلِمًا ". قَالَ فَسَكَتُّ قَلِيلاً ثُمَّ غَلَبَنِي مَا أَعْلَمُ فِيهِ فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا لَكَ عَنْ فُلاَنٍ وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأُرَاهُ مُؤْمِنًا. قَالَ " أَوْ مُسْلِمًا ـ يَعْنِي فَقَالَ ـ إِنِّي لأُعْطِي الرَّجُلَ وَغَيْرُهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْهُ، خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يُكَبَّ فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ ". وَعَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ صَالِحٍ عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبِي يُحَدِّثُ هَذَا فَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثِهِ فَضَرَبَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِيَدِهِ فَجَمَعَ بَيْنَ عُنُقِي وَكَتِفِي ثُمَّ قَالَ " أَقْبِلْ أَىْ سَعْدُ إِنِّي لأُعْطِي الرَّجُلَ ". قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ {فَكُبْكِبُوا} قُلِبُوا {مُكِبًّا} أَكَبَّ الرَّجُلُ إِذَا كَانَ فِعْلُهُ غَيْرَ وَاقِعٍ عَلَى أَحَدٍ، فَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْفِعْلُ قُلْتَ كَبَّهُ اللَّهُ لِوَجْهِهِ، وَكَبَبْتُهُ أَنَا.
Narrated Sa`d (bin Abi Waqqas):
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) distributed something (from the resources of Zakat) amongst a group of people while I was sitting amongst them, but he left a man whom I considered the best of the lot. So, I went up to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and asked him secretly, "Why have you left that person? By Allah! I consider him a believer." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Or merely a Muslim (Who surrender to Allah)." I remained quiet for a while but could not help repeating my question because of what I knew about him. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why have you left that person? By Allah! I consider him a believer. " The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Or merely a Muslim." I remained quiet for a while but could not help repeating my question because of what I knew about him. I said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Why have you left that person? By Allah! I consider him a believer." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Or merely a Muslim." Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (p.b.u.h) said, "I give to a person while another is dearer to me, for fear that he may be thrown in the Hell-fire on his face (by reneging from Islam)."
We can see from this narration that Rasulullah (s) ignored those that were closer to him and were prima facie more entitled to monetary rewards for their contributions to the faith when it was in its nascent stage, intentionally giving preference to new converts merely to avoid them falling into the quagmire of apostasy.
Rasulullah (s) had assessed the faith of these Sahaba to the extent that he concluded that even the redesign of the Kaaba or their not receiving financial aid via Khums posed a risk of them becoming apostates.
Whilst reply five highlighted the state of late converts, let us look at the faith of an earlier convert that the Ahl’ul Sunnah deem the most superior Sahaba after Abu Bakr- Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Sahih al-Bukhari contains a detailed narration about the peace treaty at Hudaibya, following its agreement between Rasulullah (s) and he Kuffar of Meccah, Umar sought to express his discontent as follows in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith Number 2731, 2732:
حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي الزُّهْرِيُّ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عُرْوَةُ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنِ الْمِسْوَرِ بْنِ مَخْرَمَةَ، وَمَرْوَانَ، يُصَدِّقُ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا حَدِيثَ صَاحِبِهِ قَالَ خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم زَمَنَ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ، حَتَّى كَانُوا بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ خَالِدَ بْنَ الْوَلِيدِ بِالْغَمِيمِ فِي خَيْلٍ لِقُرَيْشٍ طَلِيعَةً فَخُذُوا ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ ". فَوَاللَّهِ مَا شَعَرَ بِهِمْ خَالِدٌ حَتَّى إِذَا هُمْ بِقَتَرَةِ الْجَيْشِ، فَانْطَلَقَ يَرْكُضُ نَذِيرًا لِقُرَيْشٍ، وَسَارَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ بِالثَّنِيَّةِ الَّتِي يُهْبَطُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْهَا، بَرَكَتْ بِهِ رَاحِلَتُهُ. فَقَالَ النَّاسُ حَلْ حَلْ. فَأَلَحَّتْ، فَقَالُوا خَلأَتِ الْقَصْوَاءُ، خَلأَتِ الْقَصْوَاءُ. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَا خَلأَتِ الْقَصْوَاءُ، وَمَا ذَاكَ لَهَا بِخُلُقٍ، وَلَكِنْ حَبَسَهَا حَابِسُ الْفِيلِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لاَ يَسْأَلُونِي خُطَّةً يُعَظِّمُونَ فِيهَا حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ إِلاَّ أَعْطَيْتُهُمْ إِيَّاهَا ". ثُمَّ زَجَرَهَا فَوَثَبَتْ، قَالَ فَعَدَلَ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّى نَزَلَ بِأَقْصَى الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ، عَلَى ثَمَدٍ قَلِيلِ الْمَاءِ يَتَبَرَّضُهُ النَّاسُ تَبَرُّضًا، فَلَمْ يُلَبِّثْهُ النَّاسُ حَتَّى نَزَحُوهُ، وَشُكِيَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْعَطَشُ، فَانْتَزَعَ سَهْمًا مِنْ كِنَانَتِهِ، ثُمَّ أَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يَجْعَلُوهُ فِيهِ، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا زَالَ يَجِيشُ لَهُمْ بِالرِّيِّ حَتَّى صَدَرُوا عَنْهُ، فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ كَذَلِكَ، إِذْ جَاءَ بُدَيْلُ بْنُ وَرْقَاءَ الْخُزَاعِيُّ فِي نَفَرٍ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ مِنْ خُزَاعَةَ، وَكَانُوا عَيْبَةَ نُصْحِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ أَهْلِ تِهَامَةَ، فَقَالَ إِنِّي تَرَكْتُ كَعْبَ بْنَ لُؤَىٍّ وَعَامِرَ بْنَ لُؤَىٍّ نَزَلُوا أَعْدَادَ مِيَاهِ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ، وَمَعَهُمُ الْعُوذُ الْمَطَافِيلُ، وَهُمْ مُقَاتِلُوكَ وَصَادُّوكَ عَنِ الْبَيْتِ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّا لَمْ نَجِئْ لِقِتَالِ أَحَدٍ، وَلَكِنَّا جِئْنَا مُعْتَمِرِينَ، وَإِنَّ قُرَيْشًا قَدْ نَهِكَتْهُمُ الْحَرْبُ، وَأَضَرَّتْ بِهِمْ، فَإِنْ شَاءُوا مَادَدْتُهُمْ مُدَّةً، وَيُخَلُّوا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ النَّاسِ، فَإِنْ أَظْهَرْ فَإِنْ شَاءُوا أَنْ يَدْخُلُوا فِيمَا دَخَلَ فِيهِ النَّاسُ فَعَلُوا، وَإِلاَّ فَقَدْ جَمُّوا، وَإِنْ هُمْ أَبَوْا فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لأُقَاتِلَنَّهُمْ عَلَى أَمْرِي هَذَا حَتَّى تَنْفَرِدَ سَالِفَتِي، وَلَيُنْفِذَنَّ اللَّهُ أَمْرَهُ ". فَقَالَ بُدَيْلٌ سَأُبَلِّغُهُمْ مَا تَقُولُ. قَالَ فَانْطَلَقَ حَتَّى أَتَى قُرَيْشًا قَالَ إِنَّا قَدْ جِئْنَاكُمْ مِنْ هَذَا الرَّجُلِ، وَسَمِعْنَاهُ يَقُولُ قَوْلاً، فَإِنْ شِئْتُمْ أَنْ نَعْرِضَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَعَلْنَا، فَقَالَ سُفَهَاؤُهُمْ لاَ حَاجَةَ لَنَا أَنْ تُخْبِرَنَا عَنْهُ بِشَىْءٍ. وَقَالَ ذَوُو الرَّأْىِ مِنْهُمْ هَاتِ مَا سَمِعْتَهُ يَقُولُ. قَالَ سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ كَذَا وَكَذَا، فَحَدَّثَهُمْ بِمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم. فَقَامَ عُرْوَةُ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ فَقَالَ أَىْ قَوْمِ أَلَسْتُمْ بِالْوَالِدِ قَالُوا بَلَى. قَالَ أَوَلَسْتُ بِالْوَلَدِ قَالُوا بَلَى. قَالَ فَهَلْ تَتَّهِمُونِي. قَالُوا لاَ. قَالَ أَلَسْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنِّي اسْتَنْفَرْتُ أَهْلَ عُكَاظٍ، فَلَمَّا بَلَّحُوا عَلَىَّ جِئْتُكُمْ بِأَهْلِي وَوَلَدِي وَمَنْ أَطَاعَنِي قَالُوا بَلَى. قَالَ فَإِنَّ هَذَا قَدْ عَرَضَ لَكُمْ خُطَّةَ رُشْدٍ، اقْبَلُوهَا وَدَعُونِي آتِهِ. قَالُوا ائْتِهِ. فَأَتَاهُ فَجَعَلَ يُكَلِّمُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَحْوًا مِنْ قَوْلِهِ لِبُدَيْلٍ، فَقَالَ عُرْوَةُ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ أَىْ مُحَمَّدُ، أَرَأَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَأْصَلْتَ أَمْرَ قَوْمِكَ هَلْ سَمِعْتَ بِأَحَدٍ مِنَ الْعَرَبِ اجْتَاحَ أَهْلَهُ قَبْلَكَ وَإِنْ تَكُنِ الأُخْرَى، فَإِنِّي وَاللَّهِ لأَرَى وُجُوهًا، وَإِنِّي لأَرَى أَوْشَابًا مِنَ النَّاسِ خَلِيقًا أَنْ يَفِرُّوا وَيَدَعُوكَ. فَقَالَ لَهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ امْصُصْ بَظْرَ اللاَّتِ، أَنَحْنُ نَفِرُّ عَنْهُ وَنَدَعُهُ فَقَالَ مَنْ ذَا قَالُوا أَبُو بَكْرٍ. قَالَ أَمَا وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْلاَ يَدٌ كَانَتْ لَكَ عِنْدِي لَمْ أَجْزِكَ بِهَا لأَجَبْتُكَ. قَالَ وَجَعَلَ يُكَلِّمُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَكُلَّمَا تَكَلَّمَ أَخَذَ بِلِحْيَتِهِ، وَالْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ شُعْبَةَ قَائِمٌ عَلَى رَأْسِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمَعَهُ السَّيْفُ وَعَلَيْهِ الْمِغْفَرُ، فَكُلَّمَا أَهْوَى عُرْوَةُ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى لِحْيَةِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ضَرَبَ يَدَهُ بِنَعْلِ السَّيْفِ، وَقَالَ لَهُ أَخِّرْ يَدَكَ عَنْ لِحْيَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم. فَرَفَعَ عُرْوَةُ رَأْسَهُ فَقَالَ مَنْ هَذَا قَالُوا الْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ شُعْبَةَ. فَقَالَ أَىْ غُدَرُ، أَلَسْتُ أَسْعَى فِي غَدْرَتِكَ وَكَانَ الْمُغِيرَةُ صَحِبَ قَوْمًا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، فَقَتَلَهُمْ، وَأَخَذَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ، ثُمَّ جَاءَ فَأَسْلَمَ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَمَّا الإِسْلاَمَ فَأَقْبَلُ، وَأَمَّا الْمَالَ فَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ فِي شَىْءٍ ". ثُمَّ إِنَّ عُرْوَةَ جَعَلَ يَرْمُقُ أَصْحَابَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِعَيْنَيْهِ. قَالَ فَوَاللَّهِ مَا تَنَخَّمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نُخَامَةً إِلاَّ وَقَعَتْ فِي كَفِّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ فَدَلَكَ بِهَا وَجْهَهُ وَجِلْدَهُ، وَإِذَا أَمَرَهُمُ ابْتَدَرُوا أَمْرَهُ، وَإِذَا تَوَضَّأَ كَادُوا يَقْتَتِلُونَ عَلَى وَضُوئِهِ، وَإِذَا تَكَلَّمَ خَفَضُوا أَصْوَاتَهُمْ عِنْدَهُ، وَمَا يُحِدُّونَ إِلَيْهِ النَّظَرَ تَعْظِيمًا لَهُ، فَرَجَعَ عُرْوَةُ إِلَى أَصْحَابِهِ، فَقَالَ أَىْ قَوْمِ، وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ وَفَدْتُ عَلَى الْمُلُوكِ، وَوَفَدْتُ عَلَى قَيْصَرَ وَكِسْرَى وَالنَّجَاشِيِّ وَاللَّهِ إِنْ رَأَيْتُ مَلِكًا قَطُّ، يُعَظِّمُهُ أَصْحَابُهُ مَا يُعَظِّمُ أَصْحَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم مُحَمَّدًا، وَاللَّهِ إِنْ تَنَخَّمَ نُخَامَةً إِلاَّ وَقَعَتْ فِي كَفِّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ، فَدَلَكَ بِهَا وَجْهَهُ وَجِلْدَهُ، وَإِذَا أَمَرَهُمُ ابْتَدَرُوا أَمْرَهُ وَإِذَا تَوَضَّأَ كَادُوا يَقْتَتِلُونَ عَلَى وَضُوئِهِ، وَإِذَا تَكَلَّمَ خَفَضُوا أَصْوَاتَهُمْ عِنْدَهُ، وَمَا يُحِدُّونَ إِلَيْهِ النَّظَرَ تَعْظِيمًا لَهُ، وَإِنَّهُ قَدْ عَرَضَ عَلَيْكُمْ خُطَّةَ رُشْدٍ، فَاقْبَلُوهَا. فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي كِنَانَةَ دَعُونِي آتِهِ. فَقَالُوا ائْتِهِ. فَلَمَّا أَشْرَفَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَأَصْحَابِهِ، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " هَذَا فُلاَنٌ، وَهْوَ مِنْ قَوْمٍ يُعَظِّمُونَ الْبُدْنَ فَابْعَثُوهَا لَهُ ". فَبُعِثَتْ لَهُ وَاسْتَقْبَلَهُ النَّاسُ يُلَبُّونَ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى ذَلِكَ قَالَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مَا يَنْبَغِي لِهَؤُلاَءِ أَنْ يُصَدُّوا عَنِ الْبَيْتِ، فَلَمَّا رَجَعَ إِلَى أَصْحَابِهِ قَالَ رَأَيْتُ الْبُدْنَ قَدْ قُلِّدَتْ وَأُشْعِرَتْ، فَمَا أَرَى أَنْ يُصَدُّوا عَنِ الْبَيْتِ. فَقَامَ رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُ مِكْرَزُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ. فَقَالَ دَعُونِي آتِهِ. فَقَالُوا ائْتِهِ. فَلَمَّا أَشْرَفَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " هَذَا مِكْرَزٌ وَهْوَ رَجُلٌ فَاجِرٌ ". فَجَعَلَ يُكَلِّمُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، فَبَيْنَمَا هُوَ يُكَلِّمُهُ إِذْ جَاءَ سُهَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو. قَالَ مَعْمَرٌ فَأَخْبَرَنِي أَيُّوبُ عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، أَنَّهُ لَمَّا جَاءَ سُهَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لَقَدْ سَهُلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ ". قَالَ مَعْمَرٌ قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ فِي حَدِيثِهِ فَجَاءَ سُهَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو فَقَالَ هَاتِ، اكْتُبْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ كِتَابًا، فَدَعَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْكَاتِبَ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ". قَالَ سُهَيْلٌ أَمَّا الرَّحْمَنُ فَوَاللَّهِ مَا أَدْرِي مَا هُوَ وَلَكِنِ اكْتُبْ بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ. كَمَا كُنْتَ تَكْتُبُ. فَقَالَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ وَاللَّهِ لاَ نَكْتُبُهَا إِلاَّ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " اكْتُبْ بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ ". ثُمَّ قَالَ " هَذَا مَا قَاضَى عَلَيْهِ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ". فَقَالَ سُهَيْلٌ وَاللَّهِ لَوْ كُنَّا نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ مَا صَدَدْنَاكَ عَنِ الْبَيْتِ وَلاَ قَاتَلْنَاكَ، وَلَكِنِ اكْتُبْ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَإِنْ كَذَّبْتُمُونِي. اكْتُبْ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ". قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ وَذَلِكَ لِقَوْلِهِ " لاَ يَسْأَلُونِي خُطَّةً يُعَظِّمُونَ فِيهَا حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ إِلاَّ أَعْطَيْتُهُمْ إِيَّاهَا ". فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " عَلَى أَنْ تُخَلُّوا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ الْبَيْتِ فَنَطُوفَ بِهِ ". فَقَالَ سُهَيْلٌ وَاللَّهِ لاَ تَتَحَدَّثُ الْعَرَبُ أَنَّا أُخِذْنَا ضُغْطَةً وَلَكِنْ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْعَامِ الْمُقْبِلِ فَكَتَبَ. فَقَالَ سُهَيْلٌ وَعَلَى أَنَّهُ لاَ يَأْتِيكَ مِنَّا رَجُلٌ، وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَى دِينِكَ، إِلاَّ رَدَدْتَهُ إِلَيْنَا. قَالَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُرَدُّ إِلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ مُسْلِمًا فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ دَخَلَ أَبُو جَنْدَلِ بْنُ سُهَيْلِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو يَرْسُفُ فِي قُيُودِهِ، وَقَدْ خَرَجَ مِنْ أَسْفَلِ مَكَّةَ، حَتَّى رَمَى بِنَفْسِهِ بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ. فَقَالَ سُهَيْلٌ هَذَا يَا مُحَمَّدُ أَوَّلُ مَا أُقَاضِيكَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ تَرُدَّهُ إِلَىَّ. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّا لَمْ نَقْضِ الْكِتَابَ بَعْدُ ". قَالَ فَوَاللَّهِ إِذًا لَمْ أُصَالِحْكَ عَلَى شَىْءٍ أَبَدًا. قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " فَأَجِزْهُ لِي ". قَالَ مَا أَنَا بِمُجِيزِهِ لَكَ. قَالَ " بَلَى، فَافْعَلْ ". قَالَ مَا أَنَا بِفَاعِلٍ. قَالَ مِكْرَزٌ بَلْ قَدْ أَجَزْنَاهُ لَكَ. قَالَ أَبُو جَنْدَلٍ أَىْ مَعْشَرَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، أُرَدُّ إِلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَقَدْ جِئْتُ مُسْلِمًا أَلاَ تَرَوْنَ مَا قَدْ لَقِيتُ وَكَانَ قَدْ عُذِّبَ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا فِي اللَّهِ. قَالَ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ فَأَتَيْتُ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ أَلَسْتَ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ حَقًّا قَالَ " بَلَى ". قُلْتُ أَلَسْنَا عَلَى الْحَقِّ وَعَدُوُّنَا عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ قَالَ " بَلَى ". قُلْتُ فَلِمَ نُعْطِي الدَّنِيَّةَ فِي دِينِنَا إِذًا قَالَ " إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَلَسْتُ أَعْصِيهِ وَهْوَ نَاصِرِي ". قُلْتُ أَوَلَيْسَ كُنْتَ تُحَدِّثُنَا أَنَّا سَنَأْتِي الْبَيْتَ فَنَطُوفُ بِهِ قَالَ " بَلَى، فَأَخْبَرْتُكَ أَنَّا نَأْتِيهِ الْعَامَ ". قَالَ قُلْتُ لاَ. قَالَ " فَإِنَّكَ آتِيهِ وَمُطَّوِّفٌ بِهِ ". قَالَ فَأَتَيْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ فَقُلْتُ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، أَلَيْسَ هَذَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ حَقًّا قَالَ بَلَى. قُلْتُ أَلَسْنَا عَلَى الْحَقِّ وَعَدُوُّنَا عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ قَالَ بَلَى. قُلْتُ فَلِمَ نُعْطِي الدَّنِيَّةَ فِي دِينِنَا إِذًا قَالَ أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلُ، إِنَّهُ لَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلَيْسَ يَعْصِي رَبَّهُ وَهْوَ نَاصِرُهُ،
`Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "I went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, 'Aren't you truly the Messenger of Allah?' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Yes, indeed.' I said, 'Isn't our Cause just and the cause of the enemy unjust?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Then why should we be humble in our religion?' He said, 'I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and I do not disobey Him, and He will make me victorious.' I said, 'Didn't you tell us that we would go to the Ka`ba and perform Tawaf around it?' He said, 'Yes, but did I tell you that we would visit the Ka`ba this year?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'So you will visit it and perform Tawaf around it?'" `Umar further said, "I went to Abu Bakr and said, 'O Abu Bakr! Isn't he truly Allah's Prophet?' He replied, 'Yes.' I said, 'Then why should we be humble in our religion?' He said, 'Indeed, he is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he does not disobey his Lord, and He will make him victorious. Adhere to him as, by Allah, he is on the right.'
The Quran imposes upon believers a duty to obey Allah and Rasulullah (s) unconditionally, Allah (swt) says in Surah Nisa verse 59:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ
O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger
And the specific characteristics of the believers are identified by Allah (swt) as follows in Surah al Baqarah verse 4:
وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ
And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad)
And the believers are instructed as follows in Surah Hujuraat verse 1:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُقَدِّمُوا۟ بَيْنَ يَدَىِ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ۖ
O ye who believe! Be not forward in the presence of Allah and His messenger
How, then, should we assess the way Umar was conversing with Rasulullah (s) considering these verses? Can any sincere believer with firm faith contemplate ever speaking to Rasulullah (s) in such an insolent manner? The amazing thing is that Umar remained unconvinced by the responses that Rasulullah (s) gave and sought the counsel of Abu Bakr to allay his concerns by putting those same questions to him. If it is suggested that Umar's conduct here evidenced courage and bravery, we should point out the attributes were missing when Rasulullah (s) (prior to the Ridhwan negotiations) instructed Umar to go out to the Kuffar and Mecca, but according to Shibli Numani in Siratun Nabi Volume 2 page 138:
"The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) chose 'Umar (Allah be pleased with him) to settle peace terms. But 'Umar (Allah be pleased with him) begged to be excused as the Quraish were thirsting for his blood and he had none of his tribesmen in Mecca to shield him"
This begs the question, was Rasulullah (s) not aware that Umar had no tribesmen there? The correct approach would have been for Umar to have said:
لبیک یا رسول الله
“I'm coming Rasulullah” - without fearing the consequences, after all Allah (swt) provides His guarantee.
For we read in Surah Aale Imran verse 150:
بَلِ ٱللَّهُ مَوْلَىٰكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ
But Allah is your Protector, and He is the Best of Helpers.
Umar did not have faith in this verse. He was fearful that harm would come to him in Mecca as he had no clansman there to protect him. Most crucially and without a doubt the biggest indictment against Umar is his raising doubts about the Prophethood of Rasulullah (s) by saying 'Aren't you truly the Messenger of Allah?' If it is suggested that this was a mere rhetorical question on the part of Umar, we shall point out that that Imam Muḥammad ibn Hibbān in his al-Sahih Volume 11 page 224, Hadith # 4872 and Musannaf Abdul Razzaq, Vol. 5 pg. 339, Hadith # 9720 both record that when the peace treaty was entered into between the Meccan Pagans and Rasulullah (s), it caused Umar to have doubts in his (s) Prophethood:
واللَّهِ ما شَكَكْتُ منذُ أَسْلَمْتُ إلا يومئذٍ
"By Allah, I did not entertain any doubt about Prophethood other than on this day (Hudaibiyah)"
Imam Bukhari records the entire event in his Sahih with the identical chain as that used by Ibn Hibban but conveniently omits Umar’s admission. In his commentary of the said work, Shaykh Shuaib al-Arnauti graded the Hadith Sahih pursuant to the conditions set by the Shaykhayn. The words of Umar serve as a damning indictment of him, a man that the Ahl’ul Sunnah rate as brimming with Iman, the second greatest from the Sahaba.
Before we go into the discussion on the offending Shia Hadith, we will return to our previously cited Surah Hujuraat verse 14 - 15:
۞ قَالَتِ ٱلْأَعْرَابُ ءَامَنَّا ۖ قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَلَـٰكِن قُولُوٓا۟ أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ ٱلْإِيمَـٰنُ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ ۖ وَإِن تُطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ لَا يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَـٰلِكُمْ شَيْـًٔا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ ١٤ إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْتَابُوا۟ وَجَـٰهَدُوا۟ بِأَمْوَٰلِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلصَّـٰدِقُونَ ١٥
Some of˺ the nomadic Arabs say, “We believe.” Say, ˹O Prophet, ˺ “You have not believed. But say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger ˹wholeheartedly˺, He will not discount anything from ˹the reward of˺ your deeds. Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْتَابُوا۟ وَجَـٰهَدُوا۟ بِأَمْوَٰلِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلصَّـٰدِقُونَ ١٥
The ˹true˺ believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger—never doubting—and strive with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah. They are the ones true in faith.
Allah (swt) when exposing the faith of the Bedouins identified the condition via which one can be deemed a Mum’in (a believer), one of which includes accepting the Prophethood of Rasulullah (s) with your heart and with certainty, free of any form of doubt. One who has doubts cannot be categorised as a Mu’min. When (as per the Sunni position) a leading light from amongst the Sahaba had doubts in the Prophethood of Muhammad (s) that removed him from inclusion as a Mum’in, what conclusions should we reach about the other Sahaba? We have seen from the five examples that the Sahaba were weak in faith, as such their becoming apostates after Rasulullah (s) is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Apostasy can occur by way of thought, word, or through deed. Apostasy by deed refers to the act of renouncing or abandoning one's religious beliefs or affiliation through actions or behaviors rather than explicitly through words or formal declarations. It is a form of apostasy that is based on actions rather than verbal expressions. While apostasy typically involves a conscious decision to reject or abandon a particular religion or belief system, apostasy by deed goes beyond mere verbal disavowal. It involves engaging in deeds / actions or behaviors that are considered contrary to the principles, teachings, or practices of a particular religion or faith.
There exists a general assumption propagated by the Ahl’ul Sunnah Ulama that the Sahaba performed such good deeds that they far outweighed their bad deeds, so any question of them having ever fallen into apostasy was outside of the realms of possibility. The reality is very different, for Allah (swt) says in verses 1-3 of Surah Hujurat:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُقَدِّمُوا۟ بَيْنَ يَدَىِ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌۭ ١
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَرْفَعُوٓا۟ أَصْوَٰتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ ٱلنَّبِىِّ وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا۟ لَهُۥ بِٱلْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَن تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَـٰلُكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ ٢
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَغُضُّونَ أَصْوَٰتَهُمْ عِندَ رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱمْتَحَنَ ٱللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ۚ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌۭ وَأَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ ٣
1. O you who believe! Make not (a decision) in advance before Allah and His Messenger, and have Taqwa of Allah. Verily, Allah is Hearing, Knowing. 2. O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds should be thwarted while you perceive not. 3. Verily, those who lower their voices in the presence of Allah's Messenger, they are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for Taqwa. For them is forgiveness and a great reward.
In terms of the cause for the descent of these verses, we read in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith Number 4845:
حَدَّثَنَا يَسَرَةُ بْنُ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ جَمِيلٍ اللَّخْمِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا نَافِعُ بْنُ عُمَرَ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ، قَالَ كَادَ الْخَيِّرَانِ أَنْ يَهْلِكَا ـ أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ رَفَعَا أَصْوَاتَهُمَا عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حِينَ قَدِمَ عَلَيْهِ رَكْبُ بَنِي تَمِيمٍ، فَأَشَارَ أَحَدُهُمَا بِالأَقْرَعِ بْنِ حَابِسٍ أَخِي بَنِي مُجَاشِعٍ، وَأَشَارَ الآخَرُ بِرَجُلٍ آخَرَ ـ قَالَ نَافِعٌ لاَ أَحْفَظُ اسْمَهُ ـ فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ لِعُمَرَ مَا أَرَدْتَ إِلاَّ خِلاَفِي. قَالَ مَا أَرَدْتُ خِلاَفَكَ. فَارْتَفَعَتْ أَصْوَاتُهُمَا فِي ذَلِكَ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ {يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لاَ تَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ} الآيَةَ. قَالَ ابْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ فَمَا كَانَ عُمَرُ يُسْمِعُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْدَ هَذِهِ الآيَةِ حَتَّى يَسْتَفْهِمَهُ. وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ ذَلِكَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ، يَعْنِي أَبَا بَكْرٍ.
Narrated Ibn Abi Mulaika:
The two righteous persons were about to be ruined. They were Abu Bakr and `Umar who raised their voices in the presence of the Prophet (ﷺ) when a mission from Bani Tamim came to him. One of the two recommended Al-Aqra' bin Habeas, the brother of Bani Mujashi (to be their governor) while the other recommended somebody else. (Nafi`, the sub-narrator said, I do not remember his name). Abu Bakr said to `Umar, "You wanted nothing but to oppose me!" `Umar said, "I did not intend to oppose you." Their voices grew loud in that argument, so Allah revealed: 'O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet.' (49.2) Ibn Az-Zubair said, "Since the revelation of this Verse, `Umar used to speak in such a low tone that the Prophet (ﷺ) had to ask him to repeat his statements." But Ibn Az-Zubair did not mention the same about his (maternal) grandfather (i.e. Abu Bakr).
Two important things can be gauged from this incident:
1) These verses shine a light on the poor manners of those that sat in the midst of Rasulullah (s). The Tamim delegation visited Rasulullah (s) in 8 Hijri, it is telling that even during this late stage of his Prophethood, the Sahaba, most notably those the Ahl’ul Sunnah deemed the most superior of all, lacked poor akhlaq and failed to behave with correct decorum before Rasulullah (s)
2) Not only does raising one's voice before Rasulullah (s) incur a rebuke, it is so severe that Allah (swt) stresses that such behaviour leads to ALL deeds being nullified.
Now, the question is, what are the consequences of losing ALL your deeds? Well according to Ibn Taymiyyah, the loss of deeds leads to one falling into apostasy. He states in his book As-Sarim al-Maslul 'ala Shatim ar-Rasul" English translation "The Unsheathed Sword" pages 41 - 43:
'Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not' (Surah al Hujurat verse 2）
So the perspective of the evidence is that Allah forbade them to raise their voices above the Prophet's voice and speak aloud to him as the people would speak aloud to each other. The reason for that is because it would lead to their good deeds being wiped out without them realising. Therefore it is obligatory to abandon whatever would wipe out the good deeds. And the good deeds are wiped out due to disbelief (Al-Kufr) due to His saying:
'And whoever denies the faith - his work has become worthless'.(Surah al Maida verse 5)
And nothing wipes out all of the good deeds except for disbelief (Al-Kufr), because whoever dies as a believer, they will undoubtedly enter paradise and if all of their good deeds had been wiped out they would not enter it. This is although they may have some of their good deeds wiped out due to the existence of that which spoiled them such as reminders of a person's generosity or by injury. (Surah al Baqarah verse 264)
So when that is established concerning raising voices above his and speaking aloud with him, then it is to be feared that a person may disbelieve while not realising. This is due to bad manners and underestimating him and taking him lightly and that is without realising! So how about the case of whoever insults him, belittles and takes him lightly and harms him intentionally?! So such a person is a disbeliever even more so".
So one that exhibits bad manners before Rasulullah (s), raising their voices above his (s), or seeking to override him on decision making, unknowingly becomes a Kafir as per the Quran and even the commentary of the scholars of the Sunni sect as has been showcased. If Umar and Abu Bakr’s disrespect of Rasulullah (s) was serious enough for Allah (swt) to rebuke them, deeming their actions sufficient to render them apostates, why couldn’t the other (lesser ranked) Sahaba also be exposed to such a risk?
Shaykh Kulayni records this narration in Al Kafi Volume 8, Hadith # 341:
حنان عن ابيه عن ابي جعفر (عليه السلام) قال كان الناس اهل ردة بعد النبي (صلي الله عليه واله) الا ثلاثة فقلت و من الثلاثة فقال المقداد بن الاسود و ابو ذر الغفاري و سلمان الفارسي رحمة الله و بركاته عليهم ثم عرف اناس بعد يسير و قال هءلاء الذين دارت عليهم الرحي و ابوا ان يبايعوا حتي جاءوا بامير المءمنين (عليه السلام) مكرها فبايع و ذلك قول الله تعالي و ما محمد الا رسول قد خلت من قبله الرسل ا فان مات او قتل انقلبتم علي اعقابكم و من ينقلب علي عقبيه فلن يضر الله شيءا و سيجزي الله الشاكرين
Hanaan, from his father, who has said: “Abu Jafar (AS) has said: ‘The people turned apostate after the Prophet (saww) except for three.’ So I said, ‘Which three?’ So he (asws) said: ‘Al-Miqdad Bin Al-Aswad, and Abu Dharr Al-Ghaffari, and Salman Al-Farsi, may the Mercy of Allah and His Blessing be upon them. Then the people realised after a while.’ And he (AS) said: ‘They are the ones upon whom the grinding stone turned, but they still refused to pledge their allegiances until they went to Amir-al-Mu'minin (AS), so they pledged their allegiances under threat, and that is the Statement of Allah the High: ‘And Muhammad is no more than a messenger the messengers have already passed away before him if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful.’” (3:144)
Our opponents make a huge hue and cry over the words اهل ردة and the suggestion that the Sahaba had become apostates. When one investigates the word (irtidad) اهل ردة it becomes evident that it carries multiple meanings, and its true meaning can be deduced when one looks at the historical context alongside its backdrop to better understand what the term اهل ردة means here. Looking at any statement in its historical context is crucial for a comprehensive understanding and interpretation of its meaning and significance. Historical context refers to the broader framework of events, ideas, and social, cultural, and political factors that surround a particular statement at the time it was made
One therefore needs to appreciate and recognise the historical context in which this observation about irtidad was offered. It is imperative that we understand:
when it took place (date)
where it took place (location)
any major events that took place at that time (historical background)
the religious conditions of the people in the locality at that time
the cultural attitudes, traditions and beliefs of people in that same location
the political landscape at that time, understanding the conflicts / power dynamics that were operating at the time
All of the above needs to be considered in order to provide context to the assessment of Imam Baqir (as). Before we seek to understand what Imam Baqir (as) was referring to, one needs to first understand the Shia position on leadership. The Sunni Egyptian scholar Muhammad Abu Zahra's biography of Abu Hanifa includes his analysis of Shia beliefs as follows;
"The cornerstone of the Shi'a Sect is that Imamate is not something that the community can decide upon, but rather if it is by specific appointment. Leadership is the pillar of the Deen and the rule of Islam and, in their view, it was inconceivable that the Prophet would have ignored it and left it up to the community to decide. The khalifa must have been specified for them and was protected from major and minor wrong actions.”
(Source: Iman Azam, Urdu translation page 184)
As such the Shi'a position on Imamate as taught to us, through his (s) immaculate household is undergirded by a belief that:
Rasulullah (s) would not leave this world without designating a head of state to succeed him, he would never remain silent on such an important matter
there would have been a gross dereliction of duty on the part of Rasulullah (s) had he remained silent on a matter as crucial as who would lead the Ummah as his successor after him (s)
the decision with regards to who would succeed Rasulullah (s) as his Khalifah was his exclusive prerogative
As such the Shi'a averse that Rasulullah (s) appointed Imam Ali (as) as the Head of State to succeed him and his formal coronation occurred following the conclusion of the Hajj at a place called Ghadir Khumm.
Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Ibn Abī Shaybah records the narration as follows in Musannaf of Ibn Abī Shaybah, Volume 17, page 128, Hadith # 32781:
حدثنا عفان قال: ثنا حماد بن سلمة قال: أخبرنا علي بن زيد عن عدي بن ثابت عن البراء , قال: كنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في سفر ; قال: فنزلنا بغدير خم , قال: فنودي: الصلاة جامعة , وكسح لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم تحت شجرة فصلى الظهر فأخذ بيد علي فقال: «ألستم تعلمون أني أولى بالمؤمنين من أنفسهم» , قالوا: بلى , قال: «ألستم تعلمون أني أولى بكل مؤمن من نفسه» , قالوا: بلى قال: فأخذ بيد علي فقال: «اللهم من كنت مولاه فعلي مولاه , اللهم وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه» , قال: فلقيه عمر بعد ذلك فقال: هنيئا لك يا ابن أبي طالب , أصبحت وأمسيت مولى كل مؤمن ومؤمنة
A'fān reported to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Salamah informed us, he said: ʿAlī ibn Zayd informed us, from ʿAdī ibn Thābit, from Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said: "We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, during a journey. He said: 'We will stop at Ghadīr Khumm.' He said: 'Then the call to prayer was made: Prayer is now due, and a place for prayer was swept for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, under a tree, and he prayed the noon prayer. Then he took ʿAlī by the hand and said: 'Do you not know that I have more right to the believers than they do themselves?' They said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Do you not know that I have more right to every believer than he has to himself?' They said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then he took ʿAlī by the hand and said: 'O Allah, whoever I am his master ("Maula"), then ʿAlī is his master. O Allah, be a supporter of whoever supports him, and be an enemy of whoever opposes him.' Al-ʿUmar met him after that and said: 'Congratulations, O Ibn Abi Ṭālib! You have become the master of every male and female believer.'"
Footnote: This hadith was narrated by Aḥmad in al-Musnad (4:281) and in al-Fadāʾil al-Ṣaḥābah (1016) with a similar chain of narrators, except that it has ʿAlī ibn Zayd following ʿAdī ibn Thābit. It was also narrated by ʿAbdullah ibn Aḥmad in his Zawāʾid to al-Musnad (4:281) and al-Qaṭṭānī in his Zawāʾid to al-Fadāʾil al-Ṣaḥābah (1042) with the same wording, but without mentioning ʿUmar and his statement. Ibn Mājah also narrated it (116) without mentioning ʿUmar and his statement, and he reported that these three narrators heard it from Ḥammād. Ibn Abi ʿĀṣim also narrated a similar hadith in his al-Sunnah (1363) through Ḥammād, from ʿAlī ibn Zayd and Abū Hārūn from ʿAdī, but Abū Hārūn is al-ʿAbdī ʿUmārah ibn Jūwayn who is abandoned and accused of fabrication, so his narration is not beneficial. However, al-Nasāʾī narrated it (8473) from the hadith of ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, and said at the end: "Shurayk said: 'So I asked Abū Isḥāq: 'Did you hear Al-Barāʾ narrate it?' He said: 'Yes,' so there is a continuation from Shurayk to ʿAlī ibn Zayd. And his saying 'a place for prayer was swept for him under a tree' means: it was cleaned."
The significance of this event in terms of its context and the words used therein is unsurprisingly problematic, hence why Imam Ahmed Al-Khallal records in his book Kitab Al-Sunnah, Volume 2, page 348, Hadith # 461 the following narration:
وأخبرنا أحمد بن محمد بن مطر أن أبا طالب حدثهم قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عن قول النبي لعلي : من كنت مولاه فعلی مولاه ما وجهه؟ قال : لا تكلم في هذا دع الحديث كما جاء
Ahmed Bin Muhammed Bin Mitr narrated to us that Aba Talib narrated to them saying: I asked Aba Abdillah (Ahmed Ibn Hanbal) about the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family "Whoever I am his master, then Ali is his master." What does it mean? **He said "Don't talk about this, leave the Hadith as it came."
The investigator / muhaqiq of this book, Atiya Al-Zahrani, says in the footnote: **The chain of this Hadith is authentic.
History of course tells us that it was Abu Bakr and not Imam Ali (as) who became the Head of State following the death of Rasulullah (s). How this transpired, we have discussed in our detailed article on Saqifa. Suffice it to say that the same Sahaba present at Ghadir Khumm left Imam Ali (as) en masse and thereafter endorsed Abu Bakr as the Khalifa of the Ummah. Imam Baqar (as) was critiquing the Sahaba for abandoning Imam Ali (as) despite their being present at Ghadir Khumm.
The crux is the meaning of his use of the term Ridda (ردّة) in this and similar narrations and whether it is to be understood in a linguistic sense or the technical sense of apostasy. If the latter is taken then it means all the Sahaba became Kafir [out of Islam] for not remaining alongside Imam Ali (as).
Irtidad in the linguistic sense refers to ‘turning back from something’. It has been used with this meaning in a number of verses such as:
فَلَمَّا أَن جَاء الْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَاهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
So when the caravan herald [fore-runner] came he threw it on his face so he returned to seeing, he said: did I not say to you that I know from Allah what ye do not?
قَالَ الَّذِي عِندَهُ عِلْمٌ مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَن يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ
The one who had knowledge of a part of the Book said: I will bring it to you before your glance returns back to you [i.e. you blink and open your eyes again]
مُهْطِعِينَ مُقْنِعِي رُءُوسِهِمْ لاَ يَرْتَدُّ إِلَيْهِمْ طَرْفُهُمْ وَأَفْئِدَتُهُمْ هَوَاء
Racing ahead, their heads bowed down, their glances not returning back to them [i.e. unblinking] and their hearts void
We can see from the Qur'anic verses that the word Irtidad does not automatically mean one has abandoned their faith. In fact whenever Irtidad from the Din - ‘turning back’ from the Din i.e. apostasy is referred to by Allah (swt) in the technical sense that it is meant, the Qur`an qualifies it by explicitly mentioning Din. Allah says in Surah Al-Maida verse 54:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ
O you who believe, whoever turns back from his Din from among you then Allah will bring about a people whom He loves and they love Him
Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 217:
وَمَن يَرْتَدِدْ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ فَيَمُتْ وَهُوَ كَافِرٌ فَأُوْلَئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ
And whoever among you turns back on his Din and dies whilst being a Kafir then those are they whose deeds have been nullified in the world and the hereafter
It is clear that the narrations about the Irtidad of the Sahaba does not mean their abandonment of the Din which is why Shia Ulema have offered various explanations to this Hadith. It is also imperative to reconcile the Ahadith that are found in relation to the companions in the Shia sources. We do not simply assess one solitary Hadith and form an opinion, rather, we look at the Hadiths holistically and then form a conclusion. We see the many companions who would fight alongside the Imam (as) many years later, showing that the Hadith quoted above must be looked at within the correct context.
The term مرتد is the noun form of the verb اهل ردة
When one investigates Sunni narrations, the terms appear in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith number 4740 as follows:
حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ بْنِ النُّعْمَانِ، شَيْخٍ مِنَ النَّخَعِ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ خَطَبَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " إِنَّكُمْ مَحْشُورُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ حُفَاةً عُرَاةً غُرْلاً {كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ} ثُمَّ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَنْ يُكْسَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِبْرَاهِيمُ، أَلاَ إِنَّهُ يُجَاءُ بِرِجَالٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي، فَيُؤْخَذُ بِهِمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ، فَأَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَصْحَابِي فَيُقَالُ لاَ تَدْرِي مَا أَحْدَثُوا بَعْدَكَ فَأَقُولُ كَمَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ {وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَا دُمْتُ} إِلَى قَوْلِهِ {شَهِيدٌ} فَيُقَالُ إِنَّ هَؤُلاَءِ لَمْ يَزَالُوا مُرْتَدِّينَ عَلَى أَعْقَابِهِمْ مُنْذُ فَارَقْتَهُمْ ".
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
The Prophet (ﷺ) delivered a sermon and said, "You (people) will be gathered before Allah (on the Day of Resurrection) bare-footed, naked and uncircumcised." (The Prophet (ﷺ) then recited):-- 'As We began the first creation We shall repeat it. (It is) a promise We have undertaken and truly We shall do it.' and added, "The first man who will be dressed on the Day of Resurrection, will be Abraham. Lo! Some men from my followers will be brought and taken towards the left side, whereupon I will say, 'O Lord, (these are) my companions!' It will be said, 'You do not know what new things they introduced (into the religion) after you.' I will then say as the righteous pious slave, Jesus, said, 'I was a witness over them while I dwelt among them...(to His Statement)..and You are the Witness to all things.' (5.117) Then it will be said, '(O Muhammad) These people never stopped to apostate since you left them."
The words مُرْتَدِّينَ appear in this narration as per the context it refers to turn away. Let us look at another narration in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith number 6585:
وَقَالَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ شَبِيبِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ الْحَبَطِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، عَنْ يُونُسَ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " يَرِدُ عَلَىَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ رَهْطٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِي فَيُحَلَّئُونَ عَنِ الْحَوْضِ فَأَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَصْحَابِي. فَيَقُولُ إِنَّكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَكَ بِمَا أَحْدَثُوا بَعْدَكَ، إِنَّهُمُ ارْتَدُّوا عَلَى أَدْبَارِهِمُ الْقَهْقَرَى ".
Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
"On the Day of Resurrection a group of companions will come to me, but will be driven away from the Lake-Fount, and I will say, 'O Lord (those are) my companions!' It will be said, 'You have no knowledge as to what they innovated after you left; they turned apostate as renegades (reverted from Islam).
The word ارْتَدُّوا is used in the plural so not one or two individuals rather a group. This is confirmed by a further narration in Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith number 6587:
حَدَّثَنِي إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ الْمُنْذِرِ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ فُلَيْحٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي قَالَ، حَدَّثَنِي هِلاَلٌ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " بَيْنَا أَنَا قَائِمٌ إِذَا زُمْرَةٌ، حَتَّى إِذَا عَرَفْتُهُمْ خَرَجَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنِهِمْ فَقَالَ هَلُمَّ. فَقُلْتُ أَيْنَ قَالَ إِلَى النَّارِ وَاللَّهِ. قُلْتُ وَمَا شَأْنُهُمْ قَالَ إِنَّهُمُ ارْتَدُّوا بَعْدَكَ عَلَى أَدْبَارِهِمُ الْقَهْقَرَى. ثُمَّ إِذَا زُمْرَةٌ حَتَّى إِذَا عَرَفْتُهُمْ خَرَجَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنِهِمْ فَقَالَ هَلُمَّ. قُلْتُ أَيْنَ قَالَ إِلَى النَّارِ وَاللَّهِ. قُلْتُ مَا شَأْنُهُمْ قَالَ إِنَّهُمُ ارْتَدُّوا بَعْدَكَ عَلَى أَدْبَارِهِمُ الْقَهْقَرَى. فَلاَ أُرَاهُ يَخْلُصُ مِنْهُمْ إِلاَّ مِثْلُ هَمَلِ النَّعَمِ ".
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "While I was sleeping, a group (of my followers were brought close to me), and when I recognized them, a man (an angel) came out from amongst (us) me and them, he said (to them), 'Come along.' I asked, 'Where?' He said, 'To the (Hell) Fire, by Allah' I asked, 'what is wrong with them?' He said, 'They turned apostate as renegades after you left.' Then behold! (Another) group (of my followers) were brought close to me, and when I recognized them, a man (an angel) came out from (me and them) he said (to them); Come along.' I asked, "Where?' He said, 'To the (Hell) Fire, by Allah.' I asked, 'What is wrong with them?' He said, 'They turned apostate as renegades after you left. So I did not see anyone of them escaping except a few who were like camels without a shepherd."
We see from this narration that some Sahaba of Rasulullah (s) that outlived him (“after you left”) would perish in Hellfire for becoming apostates, and the fascinating thing is that the narration states only a few will be saved. The Sunni Ulema of Arabic grammar have offered differing interpretations of ارْتَدُّوا here.
Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī offered this interpretation in Nihayatu fi Gharib al-Hadith wa al-Athar, the Chapter of Baa with Daal, page 354:
وَفِي حَدِيثِ الْقِيَامَةِ والحَوْض «فَيُقَالُ إِنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَزَالُوا مُرْتَدِّينَ عَلَى أَعْقَابِهِمْ» أَيْ مُتَخلِّفين عَنْ بَعْضِ الْوَاجِبَاتِ، وَلَمْ يُردْ رِدَّة الكُفرِ
"Apostasy here refers to the abandonment of some obligatory acts rather than falling into state of apostasy"
Ibn Manzur states in Lisān al-ʿArab Volume 3 page 173:
تَّدِين عَلَى َأعقابهم والرَِّدّةُ: الِاسْمُ مِ َن الِا ْرتِدَادِ. وَفِي حَدِي ِث الْقِيَامَةِ وَا ْلحَوْ ِض فَيُقَا ُل: ِإنهم لَْم يَزَالُوا مُر َأي مُتَخَلِّفِينَ عَ ْن بَعْ ِض ْ الْوَا ِجبَا ِت
Al-Ridat: A noun from Al-Irtidad. And in the hadith of the Resurrection and the Hawd, it is said: those people kept on turning on their heels, i.e., they are not following all that is necessary islamically.
Lisān al-ʿArab is one of the most authoritative, if not the most authoritative Arabic dictionaries, and we can see from the discussion therein alongside the interpretation of Ibn Athir that the word Al-Ridat means failing to adhere to obligatory acts and that is how the term applies in the context of the Usul-e-Kafi Hadith.
Applying the same Sunni commentaries of these "apostasy hadith narrations' to the Al Kafi narration enables us to conclude that the words اهل ردة therein does not mean that the Sahaba became Kaafirs on account of them apostating, whereby an individual trades in Islam for Kufr. Irtidad here [just like the Sunni interpretations] means people turning away after Rasulullah (s) from what had been incumbent on them during his (s) lifetime, when they gave the Bay`a to Ali b. Abi Talib as the leader of the believers. This means that their Irtidad was from the Wilaya of Ali (as) not apostasy from Islam. It does not mean that they were permanently in such a state, rather as the narration states “Then the people realised after a while”. Allamah Majlisi offers the following explanation of these words in Mir’āt al-‘uqūl fī sharḥ akhbār Āl al-Rasūl, Sharḥ kitāb al-Kāfī lil-Kulaynī Volume 26 page 213:
أن الحق مع على فرجعوا إليه
“The truth was with Ali so they returned to him”
Allamah Mīr Muḥammad Bāqir b. Muḥammad al-Ḥusaynī al-Astarābādī offers the following explanation of the above words in Ikhtiyar Ma’rifat Al Rijal Volume 1, page, 26 - 27:
أى تنبهوا وتعرفوا واستيقنوا الامر واتبعوا الحق ورجعوا الى أمير المؤمنين عليه لسلام بعد زمان يسير ، و از احوا عن صدورهم وساوس تشكيكات المشككين ، وعن ذلك التعبير فى كتب الرجال بالرجوع الى أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام ، كما يقولون مثلا أبو سعید الخدری مشکور من السابقين الذين رجعوا الى أمير المؤمنين عليها السلام.
"When they focused themselves and become certain of the matter, they followed the truth, and returned to the Commander of the Faithful (as), thus removing the whisperings and doubts that had crept in, and about that expression in the books of Rijaal, referring back to the Commander of the Faithful (as) as was done by for example, Abu Saeed Al-Khudri Mashkour who was at the forefront from amongst those that returned to the Commander of the Faithful (as)"
One needs to understand the upheaval and civil strife that had generated following the coup that saw Abu Bakr take the helm of power. His supporters exploited the situation, his second in command Umar was ordering people to blindly pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr, taking full advantage of the fact that the people were in a state of shock following the death of Rasulullah (s) and were looking for a sense of direction they could follow. As is the norm in society, there is a tendency to go with the flow, people will opt for a quiet life and will follow what most of the people do.
This does not mean that they were unaware or indeed ignorant of the fact Rasulullah (s) had designated Imam Ali (as) as his (s) successor, they simply remained silent and kept aloof from him (as) in order to avoid themselves being exposed to oppression from the State. People were seeing if others would take action rather than them, a concept that has come to be known as the “bystander effect” where there is a collective indifference to individual emergency situations thus creating a diffusion of responsibility, resulting in a lack of intervention or action on the part of the individual. Basically people will look to others to take action to remedy a wrong, rather than themselves, as a result, nothing happens as no one steps out of the breach and places their head above the parapet. This very much explains why people had chosen not to support Imam Ali (as) despite their being present at Ghadir Khumm. To explain the reasons for this unwillingness to put things right, we need to ask ourselves, how do people typically balance self-interest against supporting others when those motivations conflict? The harsh reality is most people ask themselves "What's in it for me?", "What are the consequences of my coming out of my comfort zone and challenging the writ of the State?", “Isn't there a risk I might lose my job, my livelihood, that will in turn impact on those I'm obligated towards - my wife and children”. People will prefer to just accept things as they happen, they might even agree that things aren't right but they will not make the first move and redress it, they will see what others do first, collectively everyone is looking at each other the situation doesn't change due to this collective diffusion of responsibility that explains the lacklustre attitude of those that might have had sympathies towards Imam Ali (as), people knew the reality but were unprepared to change it. There were examples of people acknowledging the leadership of Imam Ali (as) and him tactically testing how they understood its significance. Ibn Hanbal records the following narration in Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal, Volume 17, page 36, Hadith # 23453:
عَنْ رِيَاحِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، قَالَ: جَاءَ رَهْطٌ إِلَى عَلِيٍّ بالرَّحْبَةِ فَقَالُوا: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا مَوْلَانَا قَالَ: كَيْفَ أَكُونُ مَوْلَاكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ عَرَبٌ؟ قَالُوا: سَمِعْنَا رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمَ غَدِيرِ خُمٍّ يَقُولُ: " مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلَاهُ، فَإِنَّ هَذَا مَوْلَاهُ
Riyah b. Al Harith narrated: “A group of Al-Ansar including Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari passed by Imam Ali and said “Salam Alaikum our Mawla.” Then the Imam asked, “How can I be your Master when you are Arabs (Free not Slaves)?” They replied, “Because we heard the Prophet (SAW) say on the day of Ghadir, for whoever I am his Master then Ali is his Master.”
Isnad is Sahih
Imam Ali (as) during his own tenure also had the Sahaba testify to what Rasulullah (s) said about him at Ghadir Khumm as has been recorded by Ibn Hanbal in Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal Vol 14, pg. 436 - 437, Hadith # 19198 and authenticated by al-Haythami in Majmu' al-Zawa'id wa Manba' al-Fawa'id Volume 9, page 89, Hadith # 14612:
- وَعَنْ أَبِي الطُّفَيْلِ قَالَ: جَمَعَ عَلِيٌّ النَّاسَ فِي الرَّحْبَةِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُمْ: أَنْشُدُ بِاللَّهِ كُلَّ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - يَقُولُ يَوْمَ غَدِيرِ خُمٍّ مَا قَالَ لَمَا قَامَ، فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ ثَلَاثُونَ مِنَ النَّاسِ. قَالَ أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ: فَقَامَ نَاسٌ كَثِيرٌ فَشَهِدُوا حِينَ أَخَذَ بِيَدِهِ، فَقَالَ: " أَتَعْلَمون أني أولى بالمؤمنين من أنفسهم؟ ". قالوا: بلى يا رسول الله. قال: " من كنت مولاه فهذا مولاه، اللهم وال من والاه، وعاد من عاداه ". قال: فخرجت كأن في نفسي شيئا، فلقيت زيد بن أرقم، فقلت له: إني سمعت عليا يقول كذا وكذا قال: فما تنكر قد سمعت رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يقول ذلك. رواه أحمد، ورجاله رجال الصحيح غير فطر بن خليفة، وهو ثقة
from Abu Al-Tufayl’s testimony: "Ali gathered the people at Rahba and said to them: "I call to all the Muslims to bear witness that they heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying on the day of Ghadeer Khumm what he (is said to have) said." When he stood up, 30 men from among the people came to him (in affirmation of his claim) Abu Na'eem said: 'A lot of people stood up and looked on when he raised his hand'. "Do you know that I am the first and foremost over the believers than themselves?" They said: "Yes! O Messenger of Allah! (saw).” He continued: "If I were to be your Master, then he is your Master; O Allah befriend whoever befriends him, and be an enemy to whoever seeks enmity against him." He (Abu Tufayl) said: "I went out as if there was something inside me, until I encountered Zaid b. Arqam and said to him: "I heard Ali (r.a) saying so and so, he said to me: "Don't refuse it! For I (too) heard the Messenger of Allah (swt) saying that." Haythami commented: Narrated by Al-Bazzar and Ahmad, and his narrators are authentic per the condition of Bukhari, other than in the case of Fitr b. Khalifa, who is considered reliable.
Both of the above examples demonstrate that whilst they might not have openly supported Imam Ali (as) following the coup, their sympathies were with him and they (eventually) returned to him, acknowledging his status as the true successor of Rasulullah (s)
The Hadith under discussion in fact alludes to the situation that Imam Ali (as) eventually found himself in, one wherein his support base had eradicated on account of the coercive tactics that had been used by Abu Bakr to cement his position as the Head of State. There is a famous idiom "a week is a long time on politics" as the fast-changing pace of the political landscape, the fortunes of a politician including alliances to him, can change drastically just in the course of a single week, and this is the precise quandary that Imam Ali (as) faced within days of the death of Rasulullah (s). Allamah Shibli Numani highlights the divisions following Abu Bakr taking power in Al Farooq Volume 1 page 90:
“…it may be observed that the Musalmans could be ranked in three separate groups at that time:
Banu Hashim counting Ali amongst them
The Muhajirin who were headed by Abu Bakr and Omar
The Ansar whose chief was Obada"
The renowned Salafi scholar Allama Waheed uz-Zaman in his Urdu commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, translates a narration from Umar that appears in the online English version as Hadith number 6830 as follows:
"One should not deceive oneself by saying that the pledge of allegiance given to Abu Bakr was given suddenly, and it was successful. No doubt, it was like that, but Allah saved (the people) from its evil....
And no doubt after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ) we were informed that the Ansar disagreed with us and gathered in the shed of Bani Sa`da. `Ali and Zubair and whoever was with them (Banu Hashim), opposed us"
In the footnote, he comments:
"They didn't want Abu Bakr to be appointed as Khalifa"
According to Numani the resentment over what had transpired at Saqifa did not just evaporate for the supporters of Imam Ali (as), he states in Al Farooq Volume 1 page 95:
"The only dissenting section of the people were the Banu Hashim who still insisted upon their claims and occasionally gathered at Fatima's house plotting to achieve their own ends. Omar tried to force them to pay homage to the First Caliph, but the Banu Hashim could not bow down before any other person except Ali"
If there were only three supporters that sided with Imam Ali (as) to stake his claim as the legitimate head of state, such a paltry number would not have been a concern for Abu Bakr and his acolytes. If anything, the opposition of three to four people could have been dismissed as those of a handful of disgruntled men, who could be ignored as their ire posed no threat to Abu Bakr's rule. Would Umar have seen the need and indeed the urgency to quash such opposition if it came from no more than four men? Clearly the initial number was more than three, on the contrary, it was clearly a sizeable number, large enough for Umar to seek to quell their opposition via duress. The supporters of Imam Ali (as) were gathering in his home, discussing how to respond to what had transpired. This resulted in Umar going to the home of Sayeda Fatima (as) to address what he saw as a perceived threat. Contrary to what Numani would lead us believe, the opposition was not simply a cabal of aggrieved clansmen, rather, it consisted of the supporters of Imam Ali (as) that went beyond just tribal affiliation. In this regard, Abdullah b. Ahmad b. Hanbal narrates in Kitab As-Sunnah page 225, Hadith # 1220:
عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، قَالَ: "وَغَضِبَ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي بَيْعَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ مِنْهُمْ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ وَالزُّبَيْرُ بْنُ الْعَوَّامِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا فَدَخَلَا بَيْتَ فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَمَعَهُمَا السِّلَاحُ فَجَاءَهُمَا عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي عِصَابَةٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فِيهِمْ أُسَيْدُ وَسَلَمَةُ بْنُ سَلَامَةَ بْنِ وَقْشٍ وَهُمَا مِنْ بَنِي عَبْدِ الْأَشْهَلِ وَيُقَالُ فِيهِمْ ثَابِتُ بْنُ قَيْسِ بْنِ الشَّمَّاسِ أَخُو بَنِي الْحَارِثِ بْنِ الْخَزْرَجِ فَأَخَذَ أَحَدُهُمْ سَيْفَ الزُّبَيْرِ فَضَرَبَ بِهِ الْحَجَرَ حَتَّى كَسَرَهُ" قَالَ مُوسَى بْنُ عُقْبَةَ: قَالَ سَعْدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: حَدَّثَنِي إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ «أَنَّ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ كَانَ مَعَ عُمَرَ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ مَسْلَمَةَ كَسَرَ سَيْفَ الزُّبَيْرِ»، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ
Al-Zuhri said: "The men from amongst the Muhajireen were angered at the paying of allegiance to Abu Bakr. This included Ali bin Abi-Talib (ra) and Zubayr bin Al-Awwam (ra), so they entered the home of Fatima (ra) daughter of Rasulullah (s) with weapons. Umar attended with a party of Muslims, including Usayd and Salama bin Salaama bin Waqsh, both were from Bani-Abd Al-Ashal. It is said that Thabit bin Qais bin Al-Shammas, the brother of Banil-Harith bin Al-Khazraj, also accompanied them. Then, one of them grabbed the sword of Zubayr, smashing it onto a stone until it broke. Musa bin 'Aqaba said: Sa'ad bin Ibraheem said: I was told by Ibraheem bin Abdul-Rahman bin Auf, that Abdul-Rahman was with Umar on that day, and that Muhammad bin Maslama broke the sword of Zubayr, and Allah (swt) knows best."
Graded: Sahih
The crucial points to gauge from this narration is that men from amongst the Muhajireen "were" angered at bayya being given to Abu Bakr, armed themselves with weapons and then attended the home of Imam Ali (as), that in itself evidences they were contemplating addressing the situation through force. There would be no need to visit the property with weapons, if the purpose of such meetings was merely to try and resolve the impasse amicably. If it is argued that the intention behind being armed was in order to defend themselves, what were they defending themselves from? They were attending a private gathering in the home of one of the most senior ranked Sahaba of Rasulullah (s). Why did they see the need to attend the home of Ali (as) armed with weapons? When anyone has in their possession a weapon such as a sword, the logical conclusion is that the intention is to cause injury if the item is used. These swords were not being carried for decorative purposes, and the fact that Zubayr had to be apprehended by the supporters of Abu Bakr and his sword broken, in itself proves that a major standoff had ensued between the supporters of Caliph Abu Bakr and the suppporters of Imam Ali (as). These men were angry over what had transpired before their very eyes, and were contemplating whether they address it through a show of force. Clearly the fact that the gathering was in the home of Sayeda Fatima (as) in itself evidences that they were gathering around Imam Ali (as) and seeking his counsel with regards to how best to respond.
Imam Ibn Abī Shaybah records a narration along similar lines but which in fact highlights how serious Umar perceived the threat, and his willingness to take extreme measures to curtail it. We read in Musannaf of Ibn Abī Shaybah, Volume 13 pages 486- 487, Hadith 38042:
مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بِشْرٍ ، نا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ ، حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَسْلَمَ أَنَّهُ حِينَ بُويِعَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ عَلِيٌّ وَالزُّبَيْرُ يَدْخُلَانِ عَلَى فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَيُشَاوِرُونَهَا وَيَرْتَجِعُونَ فِي أَمْرِهِمْ ، فَلَما بلغ ذلك عمر بن الخطاب خرج حتى دخل على فاطمة فقال: «يا بنت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، والله ما من أحد أحب إلينا من أبيك ، وما من أحد أحب إلينا بعد أبيك منك ، وايم الله ما ذاك بمانعي إن اجتمع هؤلاء النفر عندك ; أن أمرتهم أن يحرق عليهم البيت» ، قال: فلما خرج عمر جاءوها فقالت: تعلمون أن عمر قد جاءني وقد حلف بالله لئن عدتم ليحرقن عليكم البيت وايم الله ليمضين لما حلف عليه ، فانصرفوا راشدين ، فروا رأيكم ولا ترجعوا إلي ، فانصرفوا عنها فلم يرجعوا إليها حتى بايعوا لأبي بكر
“Narrated Muhammad bin Bashir from Ubaidllah bin Umar from Zaid bin Aslam that his father Aslam said: ‘When the homage (baya) went to Abu Bakr after the Messenger of Allah, Ali and Zubair were entering into the house of Fatima to consult her and revise their issue, so when Umar came to know about that, he went to Fatima and said : ‘Oh daughter of Messenger of Allah, no one is dearest to us more than your father and no one dearest to us after your father than you, I swear by Allah, if these people gathered in your house then nothing will prevent me from giving order to burn the house and those who are inside.’
So when Umar left, they (Ali and Zubair) came , so she (Fatima) said to them: ‘Do you know that Umar came here and swear by Allah to burn the house if you gather here, I swear by God that he (Umar) will execute his oath, so please leave wisely and take a decision and don’t gather here again.’ So they left her and didn’t gather there till they gave bay'ah to Abu Bakr.”
All the narrators are reliable as they are the narrators of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
It is important to consider Umar's willingness to set alight the house of Sayeda Fatima (as) as a collective punishment for Ali (as) and his supporters who had gathered therein evidence that he perceived a genuine threat from them. Clearly, these gatherings would not have caused Umar to bat an eyelid had these supporters been three individuals that the Shia narration attests to. Moreover, a dying Abu Bakr whilst contrite over this episode also sought to mitigate for it. We read in Ansab Al Ashraf, Volume 10, pages 346 - 347:
ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي لَمْ أُفَتِّشْ مَنْزِلَ فَاطِمَةَ وَلَوْ نَصَبَ عَلِيٌّ لِي الْحَرْبَ
Abu Bakr said (on his deathbed): “I wish I had not searched Fatimah’s house, and had not sent men to harass her, though it would have continued to be used as a shelter”
Tabari records the words of Abu Bakr as follows in The History of Tabari Volume 11 page 149:
"I wish that I had not thrown open the house of Fatimah to reveal something, even though they had locked it with hostile intent"
So as per Abu Bakr's admission that the house of Fatima (as) served as a shelter for the supporters of Imam Ali (as), and that those therein had a "hostile intent",which is a terminology used when there is a threat of the imminent use of force by those seeking to undermine or sabotage the national interests of the State. There were clearly legitimate grounds for Abu Bakr to have such a suspicion, after all as we had previously quoted:
"The men from amongst the Muhajireen were angered at the paying of allegiance to Abu Bakr. This included Ali bin Abi-Talib (ra) and Zubayr bin Al-Awwam (ra), so they entered the home of Fatima (ra) daughter of Rasulullah (s) with weapons".
The very fact that the men were gathered therein with weapons, demonstrates there was a genuine attempt to undermine Abu Bak's authority, there was anger over he had acquired power, and people were looking to Ali (as) for guidance on how to respond. Abu Bakr therefore perceived a threat to his rule on account of these meetings that he treated as unlawful assemblies as the participants had a hostile intent and were seeking to directly undermine or challenge the authority and legitimacy of his rule. Abu Bakr therefore instructed Umar to implement what he deemed the appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate potential harm or conflict by permanently banning such gatherings.
Moreover, Umar's willingness to burn to death all those gathered in the house of Fatima (as) evidences the extreme measures Umar was prepared to undertake to bring an end to these meetings. Rather than apprehend those partaking in these gatherings, he deemed all those residing in the house as guilty by association, whether that was Sayeda Fatima (as) or her young children. Umar's words are significant:
"...if these people gathered in your house then nothing will prevent me from giving order to burn the house and those who are inside"
These words demonstrate Umar's willingness to kill an innocent woman and her children as a collective punishment for gatherings that he deemed unlawful, even though Islam prohibits collective punishment, for Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported in a Hadith as recorded in Sunan An-Nasa’i 4131:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
لَا تَرْجِعُوا بَعْدِي كُفَّارًا يَضْرِبُ بَعْضُكُمْ رِقَابَ بَعْضٍ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ الرَّجُلُ بِجَرِيرَةِ أَبِيهِ وَلَا بِجَرِيرَةِ أَخِيهِ
Do not return to unbelief after me by striking the necks of each other. No man is to be punished for the crimes of his father or his brother.
Umar’s threats of violence sought to achieve a threefold objective:
Fear and Intimidation: It is evident that Umar appreciated the power of fear and intimidation and was seeking to harness those forces to get Sayeda Fatima (sa) to fear for her own safety, as well as that of her children. These threats would have undoubtedly engendered fear into the hearts of any outside observer. Umar's actions were therefore not just aimed at those in the house, but he in fact sought to deter and suppress opposition from those loyal to Imam Ali (as), creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation amongst those with sympathies towards Imam Ali (as). By instilling a sense of terror, Umar was seeking to discourage dissent and opposition. The supporters of Imam Ali (as) would be less likely to engage in activities perceived as threatening to the state if they fear violent repercussions.
Suppression of Dissent: Umar’s threats of violence were intended to suppress dissenting voices and stifle opposition. It was a clear warning to individuals critical of the Abu Bakr’s coming to power that they may likewise be targeted with threats or acts of violence, so the aim was to deter them from expressing their views or engaging in activities that challenged Abu Bakr’s authority. If Sayeda Fatima (as) were not safe from punishment, then nobody was safe.
Creation of Obedience: By employing threats of violence, Umar sought to establish a culture of obedience and submission. When individuals fear physical harm, they are more prepared to acquiesce to the demands to those in power.
Umar successfully achieved the above objectives, the supporters of Ali (as) were fearful of severe repercussions that further explains why support for Imam Ali (as) eventually dwindled, to the extent that the State had successfully controlled the narrative. Abu Bakr had embedded himself as the Head of State, the people (whether of their own volition or duress) now backed Abu Bakr. Support for Imam Ali (as) therefore withered away, people abandoned the pledge of allegiance given to Imam Ali (as) at Ghadir Khumm in exchange for a quiet life. They left Imam Ali (as), abandoning his Wilayah, which is what the Al-Kafi tradition was alluding to.
We read in Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith number 1631:
حَدَّثَنَا بِشْرُ بْنُ هِلاَلٍ الصَّوَّافُ، حَدَّثَنَا جَعْفَرُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ الضُّبَعِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا ثَابِتٌ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ لَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي دَخَلَ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ الْمَدِينَةَ أَضَاءَ مِنْهَا كُلُّ شَىْءٍ فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي مَاتَ فِيهِ أَظْلَمَ مِنْهَا كُلُّ شَىْءٍ . وَمَا نَفَضْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ الأَيْدِيَ حَتَّى أَنْكَرْنَا قُلُوبَنَا .
It was narrated that Anas said:
“On the day when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered Al-Madinah, everything was lit up, and on the day when he died, everything went dark, and no sooner had we dusted off our hands (after burying him) but we felt that our hearts had changed.”
Imam Ibn Hanbal records in Fadha’il Sahaba Volume 1, pages 828 - 829, Hadith # 1012:
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، قثنا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ قَالَ : أَنا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ قَالَ: لَهَا مَاتَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ارْتَدَّتِ الْعَرَبُ إِلَّا ثَلَاثَةَ مَسَاجِدَ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ، وَمَسْجِدَ الْمَدِينَةِ، وَالْبَحْرَيْنِ
Following the death of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) the Arabs apostatised apart from the attendees of three mosques, the Madinan Mosque (ie Mosque of Rasulullah (s)) the Mosque of al-Haram and the Mosque of Bahrain
The compiler, Wasiullah Khan, graded this narration as Sahih and cited that it is also reported in Musannaf Abd Al Razzaq Volume 11, page 52, Hadith # 19886.
Imam Abu Bakr al-Marwazi records in Musnad Abi Bakr as-Siddiq pages 172 - 173, Hadith # 140:
حَدّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْن عَلي قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُوسَى الزَّمَنُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَاصِمٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عِمْرَانُ الْقَطَانُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرُ بْنُ رَاشِدٍ, عَنِ الزُّهْرِي , عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ: لَمَّا تُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ارْتَدَّتِ
Ahmad bin Ali told us, he said: Abu Musa told us the time, he said: Amr bin Asam said: Amran Al -Qatan narrated from Muammar ibn Rashid who narrated to us, on the authority of Al -Zuhri, on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, who said: that after the death of Rasulullah (s) the Arabs that became apostates.
The researcher of this book, Shaykh Shu’ayb Al-Arnawat, graded this hadith as Hasan (good).
The above traditions are clear in that they showcase the darkness and the decline of Islam soon after the passing of the Prophet (s). The evidence for the apostacy of the so-called sahaba has become more and more overwhelming through the narrations that have been presented.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr records in his esteemed work Al-Isti'ab Fi Ma'rifat al-ashab page 230, the letter ‘ra’, Dhikr Rafa bin Raafi’e:
لما خرج طلحة والزبير كتبت أم الفضل بنت الحارث إلى على بخروجهم، فقال علي "الْعَجَبُ لِطَلْحَةَ وَالزُّبَيْرِ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمَّا قَبَضَ رَسُولَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قُلْنَا: نَحْنُ أَهْلُهُ وَأَوْلِيَاؤُهُ لا يُنَازِعُنَا سُلْطَانَهُ أَحَدٌ، فأبى علينا قومنا فولّوا غيرنا. وأم اللَّهِ لَوْلا مَخَافَةُ الْفُرْقَةِ وَأَنْ يَعُودَ الْكُفْرُ وَيَبُوءَ [1] الدِّينُ لِغَيْرِنَا، فَصَبَرْنَا عَلَى [بَعْضِ الأَلَمِ...
“When Talha and Zubayr rebelled against Ali, Um al-Fadhl bin al-Harith wrote to Ali informing him about their rebellion, he (Ali) said: ‘This is astonishing from Talha and Zubayr. When Allah (swt) brought his Prophet back to Him and we said ‘We are his (prophet) family and guardians, no one disputes us in his authority (leadership)’ our people rejected us and made others as their leaders. By Allah! Had it not been a fear of dissension and a return to apostasy, and my fear of the destruction of the religion, we would have changed things, but we maintained silence”.
This narration is also corroborated in the Shia text Amali al Mufid: Thaqalayn - Hadith Library - Al-Amālī - ‘Ali’s address as Ayesha prepares for Basrah
This narration explains the rationale behind why Imam Ali (as) opted for silence rather than unsheathing his sword to reclaim his legal right. Crucially whilst Imam Ali (as) censured those that usurped his rights, he feared not being adjudged by history as the man whose conduct caused the destruction of Islam because he chose to start a civil war at the critical moment when the apostates began war across Arabia. We have previously referenced that the Arabs had begun to apostate en masse. Imam Ali (as) feared that the inevitable violence resulting from seeking to forcefully remove Abu Bakr from power would lead to the Muslims being overrun by the apostates. Imam Ali (as) was forced to make a consequential decision, did he fight back against those that betrayed him or opt for peace? He maintained patience and opted to make peace with those that wronged him due to the mass apostasy taking place throughout the very regions that had accepted that the Prophet (s) was the final messenger. All great leaders assess what the consequences of their actions or inactions might lead to. In the case of Imam Ali (as), his decision was influenced by the counsel of the most perfect of leaders, for he himself testified that Rasulullah told him to seek peace. We read in Majmu' al-Zawa'id wa Manba' al-Fawa'id Volume 7 page 337, Hadith # 12023:
« إِنَّهُ سَيَكُونُ بَعْدِي اخْتِلَافٌ وَأَمْرٌ، فَإِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ أَنْ تَكُونَ السِّلْمَ فَافْعَلْ ».
رَوَاهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، وَرِجَالُهُ ثِقَاتٌ.
"Soon after me disputes and problems shall arise. Verily if this arises and you can pursue the path of peace, then do so.”
Al-Haythami said: ‘The narrators are Thiqah’
Rasulullah (s) foretold disputes arising "soon after me" and that Imam Ali (as) pursued peace when that arose. This cannot refer to the tenure when Imam Ali (as) was the political head of state, as rather than pursue peace, Imam Ali (as) waged war against his political opponents, i.e. the battles of Jamal, Siffin and Nahrawan. He did so pursuant to the order of Rasulullah (s). This can be evidenced via the assessment provided by Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī in Talkhis al-Habir, Volume 4, page 84:
قوله: ثبت أن أهل الجمل وصفين والنهروان بغا هو كما قال، ويدل عليه: حديث علي: أمرت بقتال الناكثين، والقاسطين، والمارقين. رواه النسائي في "الخصائص" والبزار والطبراني والناكثين: أهل الجمل؛ لأنهم نكثوا بيعته، والقاسطين: أهل الشام؛ لأنهم جاروا عن الحق في عدم مبايعته. والمارقون: أهل النهروان؛ لثبوت الخبر الصحيح فيهم أنهم: "يمرقون من الدين كما يمرق السهم من الرمية وثبت في أهل الشام حديث: "عمار تقتله الفئة الباغية"، وقد تقدم، وغير ذلك من الأحاديث
The statement (of al-Rafi’i): “It is confirmed that the people of al-Jamal and Siffin and al-Nahrawan were rebels” is as he said, and it is evidenced by the hadith narrated by Ali: "I have been commanded to fight against the violators, the withholders and the rebels". This hadith was narrated by al-Nasa'i in ‘al-Khasais’, al-Bazzar, al-Tabarani, and the violators referred to here are the people of al-Jamal because they violated their pledge of allegiance, the withholders are the people of Sham because they withheld their pledge of allegiance and did not accept it, and the rebels are the people of al-Nahrawan because it was confirmed that they “deviated from the religion as an arrow deviates from its target". It has been confirmed in the people of Sham that “Ammar will be killed by a rebellious group”, and other similar hadiths.
The fact that Imam Ali (as) was ordered by Rasulullah (s) to fight all three factions that disputed with him during his tenure in itself proves that he was urging Imam Ali (as) to pursue peace when he encountered disputes in a different one. Logically, this could only relate to the coup that ousted him from power following the death of Rasulullah (s), and that is precisely what he (as) was referring to when he referenced the dilemma he faced following the death of Rasulullah (s). Rasulullah (s) was referring to the events that would occur immediately following his (s) death, when the Ummah would betray him and take his legal right, the advice was to pursue peace, which is precisely what Imam Ali (as) did foregoing his legal entitlement to avoid the Ummah fragmenting and destroying itself on account of his actions and abandinong the faith altogether.
We have presented authentic narrations demonstrating Sahaba being punished on the Day of Judgment for reneging from their faith. We would ask our critics if they are prepared to issue takfeer on the compiler of these narrations that (if we use their understanding of the Shia narration) it means the Sahaba apostated en masse after Rasulullah (s) died. Our understanding is apostasy in this context needs to be understand as those that it refers to the act of breaking the covenant of Wilayah that they had been formed between the Sahaba and Imam and Ali (as) as Ghadir Khumm it does not mean apostasy that meant they had left the covenant of faith and left the Islamic faith.
If our opponents still insist only their interpretation of the Shia tradition should be accepted then we invite them to use the same interpretation and afford that the Sahaba apostatised in the hordes following the death of Rasulullah (s) as confirmed by:
- the traditions in the Sahihayn; and
- Abu Bakr's war on the Apostates against his fellow Arabs who openly deviated from the faith following the death of Rasulullah (s)
Some Sunnis seek to explain the Sahihyan narrations by suggesting it doesn't mean the Sahaba rather it refers to hypocrites, which is incorrect for two reasons:
1) the Quranic verse that we had opened up with doesn't just refer to munafiqs it also includes the Sahaba, rather they were Sahaba for only Allah (swt) would know if they were hypocrites as He (swt) would have known what they have hidden in their hearts, their outward appearance was that of Muslims
2) the hadith from the Sahihyan include the words "my companions" - when Rasulullah (s) identifies them as his Sahaba what value should be given to the scholarly interpretations that it is not? Should weighting be given to the words of Rasulullah (s) or the opinion of the Sunni Ulema such as Ibn Hajr Asqalani?
