“Was ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar regretful in the final period of his life that he did not fight alongside Imām ʿAlī ibn “Abī Ṭālib (as) against BanūUmayyah?”
Amongst the Urdu speaking community a video of a well-known scholar, Muhammad Ali Mirza, is going viral on social media. In it, he claims that Abdullah ibn Umar, in the last phase of his life, regretted that he did not support Ali ibn Abi Talib against the “rebellious group,” i.e., Banū Umayyah.
Apparently, this statement sounds impressive. However, when we study reliable historical and hadith sources, the reality appears contrary to this claim.
Narration from al-Bayhaqī
Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH) narrates in al-Sunanal-Kubrā:
حدثنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ إملاء حدثنا أبو عبد الله : محمد بن عبد اللهالزاهد حدثنا أحمد بن مهدى بن رستم حدثنا بشر بن شعيب بن أبى حمزةالقرشى حدثنى أبى ح وأخبرنا أبو الحسين بن الفضل القطان ببغدادأخبرنا عبد الله بن جعفر بن درستويه حدثنا يعقوب بن سفيان حدثناالحجاج بن أبى منيع حدثنا جدى وحدثنا يعقوب حدثنى محمد بن يحيىبن إسماعيل عن ابن وهب عن يونس جميعا عن الزهرى وهذا لفظ حديثشعيب بن أبى حمزة عن الزهرى أخبرنى حمزة بن عبد الله بن عمر : أنهبينما هو جالس مع عبد الله بن عمر إذ جاءه رجل من أهل العراق فقال : ياأبا عبد الرحمن إنى والله لقد حرصت أن أتسمت بسمتك وأقتدى بك فى أمرفرقة الناس وأعتزل الشر ما استطعت وإنى أقرأ آية من كتاب الله محكمةقد أخذت بقلبى فأخبرنى عنها أرأيت قول الله تبارك وتعالى ﴿وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِمِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُواالَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِوَأَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ﴾[الحجرات: 9] أخبرنى عن هذه الآية فقالعبد الله : وما لك ولذاك؟ انصرف عنى فانطلق حتى توارى عنا سواده أقبلعلينا عبد الله بن عمر فقال : ما وجدت فى نفسى من شىء من أمر هذهالأمة ما وجدت فى نفسى أنى لم أقاتل هذه الفئة الباغية كما أمرنى الله عزوجل، زاد القطان فى روايته قال حمزة فقلنا له : ومن ترى الفئة الباغية؟ قالابن عمر : ابن الزبير بغى على هؤلاء القوم فأخرجهم من ديارهم ونكثعهدهم،،،،۔
Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar reports:
While he was sitting with Abdullah ibn Umar, a man from Iraq came and said:
“O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān! By Allah, I am eager to follow your way and adopt your approach regarding the divisions among people, and to remain distant from discord as much as possible. However, I read a decisive verse of the Book of Allah that has affected my heart, so inform me about it. What is your opinion regarding the statement of Allah, the Most High:
‘If two groups of believers fight, then reconcile between them; but if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight the one that transgresses until it returns to the command of Allah. And if it returns, then reconcile between them with justice and act justly; indeed, Allah loves those who are just.’ (Qurʾān 49:9)”
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar replied:
“What concern is that of yours? Leave me.”
The man departed until he disappeared from sight. Then Ibn ʿUmar turned to those present and said:
“There is nothing in the affairs of this الأمة (community) that I regret more than that I did not fight this rebellious group as Allah commanded me.”
Ḥamzah said:
“We asked him: whom do you consider the rebellious group?”
He replied:
“Ibn al-Zubayr rebelled against these people, expelled them from their homes, and broke their covenant…”
Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā, vol. 8, p. 298, no. 16706
