Abu Bakr, Uthman, Ali
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:
AsalamAlaikum, You have spoken very highly of Khalifa
Ali. What do you think (based on the Quran and Sunnah) about the status of Khalifa
Abu Bakr, Umar and Usman. I could not find any reference in your website.
Thanks for the great work. I am a Sunni Muslim and you have cleared so many mis-conceptions on the Shia sect
of Islam. But I truly wish that we all would be called as just MUSLIM and not
by a particular sect. Thanks.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Abu Bakr, Uthman, Ali
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.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 36:It does not behove a believing man and a believing woman that when
Allah and His Messenger have given their decision in a matter, they should
exercise an option in that matter of theirs.
For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, has indeed strayed into
manifest error.
Allah and His Messenger (saws)
have given their opinion about the noble companions of the Prophet (saws), and as true
believers, our opinion should also be
the same.
Allah says Himself in
the Holy Quran Chapter 59 Surah
Hashr verse 8, in appreciation of the early
companions of the Holy Prophet who migrated for Islam,:
They (the companions
who migrated from Makkah to
Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.), Hadrat
Umar (r.a.), and Hadrat Uthman (r.a.) were undoubtedly amongst the early reverts to the deen brought by Prophet Mohamed (saws) and are definitely
amongst the noblest companions who migrated to Medina, and Allah has called
them the ‘sadeqoon’ (truthful).
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 100:Allah was well
pleased with those Muhajirs and Ansaar
who were the first to respond to the invitation of the Faith, and with those
also, who followed them in their righteous conduct, and they too, were well
pleased with Allah. Allah has got ready
for them Gardens, underneath which, canals flow, and they will abide therein
for ever. This is the Greatest Success.
Again Allah Himself says He is
pleased with the Muhajirs and Ansaars
who were the first to accept Islam, and there is no doubt that Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.), Hadrat Umar
(r.a.), and Hadrat Uthman (r.a.) were amongst the ‘muhajirs’
and amongst the earliest reverts to Islam!
Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, is pleased with them! He has prepared for them Gardens, underneath
which canals flow, and they will abide therein for ever.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 40: If ye help not (the Prophet, it does not
matter): for Allah did indeed help him: when the unbelievers drove him out (of Makkah). He had no
more than one companion: they two were in the cave and he said to his ‘sahabi’ (companion) "have no fear for Allah is with
us": then Allah sent down His peace upon him and strengthened him with
forces which ye saw not and humbled to the depths the word of the
unbelievers. But the word of Allah is exalted
to the heights: for Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise.
The above aayah
of the Quran is regarding the time the Prophet (saws)
migrated from Makkah to
Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat Umar
and Uthman are also amongst the ‘ashara
mubhashereen’ (the ten noble companions whom the
Messenger of Allah (saws) himself gave the good news of
The Prophet (saws) married Aisha, the daughter of Hadrat Abu
Bakr, thus Abu Bakr was the
Prophet’s father-in-law. The Prophet (saws) also married Hafsa,
the daughter of Hadrat Umar,
thus Umar was also the Prophet’s father-in-law. The
Prophet married two of his daughters (Umm Kulthoom
after the death of Ruqqayyah) to Hadrat
Uthman, and the Prophet married his youngest daughter
Fatema to Hadrat Ali (r.a.). Thus the
Prophet (saws) honored and united these noble companions into his extended
family.
Thus our opinion of these noble
companions is the same as that of Allah and His Messenger (saws). May Allah be pleased with them all.
Brother, I know some misguided
sects of Islam revile and curse some of the most prominent and noble companions
of the Holy Prophet (saws) for their own political mileage …. They can say what they want, for it makes no
difference! Allah will not judge
someone on these mis-guided people’s opinion, but rather
on their deeds.
When these misguided people
revile the companions or even wives of our beloved Prophet (saws), little do
they realize that they are reviling the Prophet (saws) himself … (I see refuge
in Allah from saying this!!!). They have
just not recognized the Prophet of Allah (saws). What kind of a leader they assume our
Prophet (saws) to be, if he could not even choose his closest companions and
wives properly…. The man whom Allah
chose to lead mankind out of the darkness of ignorance to the light of
knowledge, could not even choose a good team for himself?
So brother, please note that we
love every noble companion of the Holy Prophet (saws). May Allah be pleased with them all. We love them
because they loved Allah and His Messenger (saws) with all their hearts, their
wealth, and their lives. They gave
unlimited sacrifices in the cause and victory of Islam. May Allah reward them from His bounty with the
highest grade in
I will conclude this answer with
an authentic hadith of our beloved Prophet
(saws). Allah's Messenger (saws) said:
“Do not revile my Companions! Do not revile my Companions! By Him in Whose Hand is my life (Allah), if
one amongst you would have spent as much gold as Uhud,
it would not amount to as much as one ‘mudd’ on
behalf of one of them, or even half of
it.”
The Prophet (saws) says that
even if one who became a muslim later, spends gold as
much as the mountain of Uhud, in the eyes of Allah,
it would not even amount equivalent to a ‘mudd’ (a measure
of grain) the noble companions of the Prophet (saws) spent in the Way of
Allah!!! Subhan Allah. That is the position and honor the noble
companions of the Prophet (saws) were held in the eyes of Allah and His
Messenger (saws). Now who can be more
misguided than the one who goes against the commandments of Allah and His
Messenger (saws).
Allah is enough to take retribution from the slander these mis-guided people spread in the name of Islam.
Your Comment: But I truly wish that we all would be called
as just MUSLIM and not by a particular sect.
Indeed, for a believer should there
no bigger honor than to be called and recognized by the name that Allah Subhanah Himself has chosen for them; that is, ‘muslims’. The sects are an invention of man himself,
and the names like Shias, Sunnis, Ismaelis, Bohras,
etc. were
created long after the death of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and have
absolutely no basis from the Quran and Sunnah.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj
verse 77-78: O you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’
(bow down) and do ‘sajdah’ (prostration), and worship
your Lord Allah Alone, and do righteous deeds: it may be that you attain true
success! Exert your utmost for the cause
of Allah, as one should. He has chosen
you for His service, and has not laid on you any hardship in your
religion. Therefore, be steadfast in
the religion of your father Abraham. Allah
had named you ‘muslims’ before this, and has named
you (muslims) in this Quran
also, so that the Messenger may be a witness in regard to you, and you may be witnesses in regard to the
rest of mankind.
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 in Islam,
Wister