Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

13. If rejecting a Rightly Guided Khalifa is tantamount to apostasy and rebelling against any khalifa even Yazid ibn Mu'awiya will lead to such persons being raised as betrayers in the next world; what of those individuals who rebelled and fought the fourth rightly guided Khalifa? This was the verdict of Abdullah Ibn Umar in his defence of Yazid (See Sahih al Bukhari Arabic - English Volume 9 hadith number 127)

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Answer:

Rejecting the chosen Amir

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

It was not Yazid, but rather this father Muawiya who rebelled against the fourth Rightly guided Khalifa, Hadrat Ali ibn Abi Taalib (r.a.). All the muslims of all the sects of Islam are unanimous in their opinion that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) was indeed on the side of the Truth, and the ones who rebelled against him were wrong.

What will happen on the Day of Judgement to those individuals who rebelled against the Rightly Guided Khalifas, is for Allah Subhanah to decide. Allah has not made it our duty to decide what will happen to whom, and pass our judgments on them. Allah, the All-Knowing, All-Wise watches over everything and He is well aware of who did what, and He will Judge everyone with Justice on the Day of Resurrection.

The deen of Islam was completed, the Quran revealed, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was established at the time of the death of the Prophet (saws). Whatever happened after the death of the Prophet (saws) is the History of the Muslims, and this is in the knowledge of Allah Alone. Allah will not hold us accountable for the deeds of these people, nor ask us about them on the Day of Judgment. We will be asked about our deeds and what did we do for the cause of Islam.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 134: They were a people who passed away. They shall receive the reward of what they earned, and you shall have the reward of what you will earn. And you will not be questioned as to what they did.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan