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:

Assalamu alikum,

Please clear my doubt. There is one Hadith Saheeh, it says, while the death time of Prophet (saw). He ask to his companions to bring one piece of paper and pen, Then Hazrath Omer (RA) was stopped it.This event creates the difference between the companions.

My question is, Why Hazrath Omer was stopped it?

Shiet community explains this event as Prophet want to write the name of next Kalife (Imam Ali).

Omer Know this early that`s why he stopped it

Jazakumullahu khair

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Answer:

Umar stop prophet(saws) writing

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.573 Narrated by Ibn Abbas

When Allah's Messenger (saws) was on his death-bed and in the house there were some companions amongst whom was Umar bin Al-Khattab. The Prophet (saws) said, "Come, let me write for you a statement after which you will not go astray." Umar said, "The Prophet (saws) is seriously ill and you have the Quran; so the Book of Allah is enough for us." The companions present in the house differed and quarreled. Some said, "Go near so that the Prophet (saws) may write for you a statement after which you will not go astray," while the others said as Umar said. When they caused a hue and cry before the Prophet (saws), Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Go away and leave me!"

Dear and beloved brother, there is indeed a narration in the Sahih Bukhari regarding the said incident. When this incident happened, the Messenger of Allah (saws) was indeed seriously ill and unwell, but the believers did not know that he (saws) was going to die. There were a lot of his noble companions around the Prophet (saws) at that time, and some, including Hadrat Umar, were of the opinion that the Messenger of Allah (saws) should be allowed to rest and recover completely, rather than be burdened with the running of the state. It is not conceivable to imagine, that the noble companions, who would lay down their lives and their possessions at one command of the Prophet (saws), would refuse to obey any command of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

It is related in the ‘Seerah’ that the the Messenger of Allah (saws) stayed alive at least 3-4 days after this incident, and his health improved considerably after this said incident. If he (saws) did want something written, he (saws) could have easily done so during this time. Neither his chaste wives, nor his noble family, nor any of his noble companions, including Hadrat Ali (r.a.), ever claimed after the death of the Messenger of Allah (saws), that he (saws) told them something which was not already revealed in the Quran or established in his Sunnah as the deen!

Another thing to remember here is that the Messenger of Allah (saws) did not know how to write himself! Thus all the Prophet (saws) had to do was to declare what he (saws) wanted to say, and ordered someone to write down the instructions. And in the 3-4 days that he (saws) lived after that, the Messenger of Allah (saws) did no such thing!

Some mis-guided people have used this incident to advantage their agenda, and to lay their claims by ‘reading the mind of the Prophet (saws)’, and claim that the Messenger of Allah (saws) asked for the pen and paper so that he could make his final will by announcing Hadrat Ali (r.a.) as his successor! Allah and His Messenger (saws) alone knew what the Messenger of Allah (saws) wanted or intended to document; and unless the people, who laid these claims hundreds of years after the Prophet’s (saws) death possessed the ‘knowledge of the unseen’ whereby they could read the mind of the Prophet (saws), they simply fabricated this whole notion that the Messenger of Allah (saws) wanted to name his successor at that time! If that was the case, the Messenger (saws), who himself did not know how to read and write, could have named his successor at any time when he (saws) was alive or even in the 3-4 days he (saws) lived after that incident, and told the scribes to document it as his final will!

The guidance of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah is such that every minute detail of guidance is mentioned in it. If the appointment of the Prophet’s successor was so important, and the pivot of the deen as some misguided sects maintain, Allah Subhanah would have declared that in the Quran and no one could have ever challenged that succession! We must remember that the mission of the Prophet (saws) was not to establish a kingdom in this world for his descendants, but rather to proclaim the Divine Message of the Holy Quran and Islam to all of mankind!

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. If as the ignorant claim that Hadrat Umar (r.a.) had the ‘knowledge of the unseen’ or could read the Prophet’s mind, and thus prevented the Prophet (saws) from documenting the name of his successor…..then Allah Subhanah is sufficient to hold Hadrat Umar (r.a.) to account for his deeds! But if the ignorant people who take this incident to revile and accuse a noble companion of the likes of Hadrat Umar (r.a.) of misappropriation are wrong in their deduction, they should know that Allah Subhanah is sufficient to take a full accounting from them for their baseless accusations!

Allah Subhanah will neither 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.

Your Question: My question is, Why Hazrath Omer was stopped it?

Shiet community explainsthis event as Prophet want to write the name of next Kalife (Imam Ali). Omer Know this early that`s why he stopped it

Beloved brother in Islam, it is absolutely untrue and inaccurate that it was Hadrat Umar (r.a.) who stopped or prevented the Prophet (saws) from documenting what he (saws) wished to document; quite a few family members and companions who were present when this particular incident occurred were of the opinion that the Prophet (saws) was ill and unwell and should be allowed to recover and not be burdened with the running of the affairs of the state until his health improved.

The questions which one should pose to our brethren sect who accuse Hadrat Umar (r.a.) are:

1. Did the Prophet (saws) know how to read and write??
2. If not, could not the Prophet (saws) have simply declared what he (saws) wanted to get documented….in his life time, or even in the 3-4 days the Prophet (saws) lived after the said incident?
3. Do our brethren sect genuinely believe that Hadrat Umar (r.a.) had the ‘knowledge of the unseen’ or had the ability to read into the Prophet’s (saws) mind??
4. Do the misguided people who claim that the Prophet (saws) wanted to document the name of his successor possess the ‘knowledge of the unseen’ or read into the Prophet’s (saws) mind????
5. How on earth is possible for one to accurately ascertain what exactly the Prophet (saws) wished to document, when the Prophet (saws) did not say what he intended to document??

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