1

Prophets of God

and the

Nations of The World

(In light of Torah, Zabur, Bible and Quran)

Volume -3

Imam AliA and The Caliphate

Author:

Syeda Anwar Zehra Zaidi

English Translation:

Wasi Zaidi

Layout/Maps/Composing:

Saeed Mangi (0332-3693814 - 0300-9211933)

www.quranindex.com.pk

2

In the name of Allah,

the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

3

Dedication

Dedicated to the people who form the last bastion of a nation standing on

the edge of a chastisement of God.

(A righteous soldier fights even without a sword)

4

Index

Preface ………………………………………………………………………………….

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter-1:

The case of succession ……………………………………………………………….

The first division in Islam ……………………………………………………………

Assembly of Ansar …………………………………………………………………...

Ba’yt of Abu BakrR …………………………………………………………………...

Banu Hashim‟s claim to Khilafat …………………………………………………….

Ba’yt of Abu BakrR acceptance by Ummah ………………………………………….

Controversy about ba’yt of AliA and Banu Hashim …………………………………

Abu Sufyan‟s advice to AliA………………………………………………………….

Ba’yt of Banu Hashim …………………………………..……………………………

Chapter-2:

The Imamat (Divine guidance) ……………………….……………………………

FatimaSA

binte MohammadS ………………………………………………………..

Imam AliA …………………………………………………………………………..

Imamat (Divine guidance) ………………………………………………………...

Imamat in the progeny of IshmaelA ……………………………………………….

God ordained a sign for assessing Bani-Israel obedience ………………………...

Necessity of institution of Imamat ………………………………………………..

Why did Imamat end with 12th

Imam? ……………………………………………

Logical reason for hidden Imam MahdiA …………………………………………

Imams of Ahlul-ba’yt of prophet MohammadS …………………………………...

Fatima ZahraSA

. ……………………………………………………………………..

Fatima ZahraSA

, daughter of prophet MohammadS ……………………………….

Birth of Imam HasanA …………………………………………………………….

Birth of Imam HusaynA …………………………………………………………..

Fizza ………………………………………………………………………………

Births of ZainabR and Kulsum

R ………………………………………………….

Fatima ZahraSA

‟s financial status …………………………………………………

The miracle of Fatima ZahraSA

……………………………………………………

Revelation of verses of Surah-e-Dahr ……………………………………………

Titles of Fatima ZahraSA

…………………………………………………………..

Fatima ZahraSA

in Mubahila ……………………………………………………...

Prophet‟s last Hajj, and a veiled call from Lord ………………………………….

6

8

9

11

11

13

15

19

19

21

22

25

25

25

25

29

33

40

43

44

45

51

51

57

58

64

66

67

68

69

72

72

75

5

Fatima ZahraSA

witnessed the sermon at Ghadir-e-Khum ………………………..

Hardships surrounded Fatima ZahraSA

……………………………………………

Fatima ZahraSA

after the demise of prophet ………………………………………

Illness of Fatima ZahraSA

…………………………………………..……………..

Death of Fatima ZahraSA

………………………………………………………….

Five ladies who nursed Fatima ZahraSA

…………………………………………..

Allama Iqbal‟s tribute to Fatima ZahraSA

…………………………………………

Chapter-3 : Khilafat of Abu BakrR

Imam AliA-ibne-Abi Talib

R: ………………………………………………………….

Birth of Imam AliA ……………………………………………………………….

Names and titles of Imam AliA ……………………………………………………

Status of Quran during caliphate of Abu BakrR …………………………………..

Quran and the role of Imam AliA …………………………………………………

Inheritance of Prophet and Fadak …………………………………………………

Rebellion of False prophets, apostates, etc. ………………………………………

Threats from Romans and Syrians ………………………………………………..

Departure of OsamaR‟s army to Roman frontiers ………………………………...

Expedition against apostates, false prophets etc. …………………………………

Strategy of Abu BakrR …………………………………………………………….

Instructions for commanders ……………………………………………………...

Battle with Musilma Kazzab ……………………………………………………..

Peace agreement with Bani Hanif ………………………………………………..

False prophet Taliha Asadi, and Zakat deniers …………………………………...

Maalik-bin-Navira ………………………………………………………………...

Dismissal of KhalidR-bin-Walid …………………………...………………….…..

KhalidR-bin-Walid‟s conquests in Iraq ………………………………………..…..

75

78

81

87

87

89

93

97

97

98

98

99

101

106

111

112

113

113

114

117

117

118

119

122

123

6

Preface

Al-Quran

Surah Ra’d-13

Verse: 7

You (Muhammad) are only a Warner and there is a guide for every nation.

An important indication in this verse is the declaration of Almighty Lord that there is a

guide for every nation. it logically follows that for all nations and for all times, there has to be a

God appointed guide. This Divine system of guidance must therefore continue even after the

demise of prophet MuhammadS (not in the line of prophets but in the line of Imams) and must

continue upto the end of time.

The Holy Quran provides yet another indication which reaffirms above:

Al-Quran

Surah Bani-Israel-17

Verse: 71

The day We shall summon all humanity with their Imams (guides).

A tradition of prophet MuhammadS further throws the light on this subject:

“Whosoever did not recognize the Imam of his time, died a death of ignorance”.

Although many Muslim writers of history and biography have tried to evade this subject,

but they could not succeed, and at one point or the other the question did arise about the

necessity of proper guidance in Muslim society. Could prophet MuhammadS leave the world

without advising about this guidance? Could there be any other way of holding Muslims united

in interpreting the Quran the way God Willed?

Some of the traditions of prophet MuhammadS which have been cited by scholars to explain

Quranic words “there is a guide for every nation”, indicate that Imams will be twelve. The

figure of 12 is a number worth contemplation as it is not merely a coincidence that the tribes of

prophet MosesA were 12, and the disciples of prophet Jesus

A were also 12.

When we look at the history of the period after prophet‟s death, we find that a caliphate was

quickly formed which after some time tuned into dynasties and kingdoms. As Maulana

Maududi in his book “Khilafat-o-Malukiyat” says”

“Caliphate (the system of governance) setup during the initial years after the demise of

prophet MuhammadS, soon turned into Malukiyat (kingship)”.

7

It is obvious that the Divine system of guidance promised by God must have been much

different from the kings and emperors ruling the Islamic world. How did this Divine system of

guidance (Imamat) play its role and how did it interact with the ruling governments?

In this volume, in addition to writing about the events of history, I have also tried to search

answers to the above question.

I am sorry that I took considerable time to complete this volume, but believe me this is the

best that I could do.

Syeda Anwar Zehra Zaidi

24 March, 2008.

15 Rabiul-Awwal, 1429.

8

Introduction

I have in front of me the “Third Volume” of Anwar Zehra‟s series of book on history of

Prophets. The first two volumes authored by her were generally appreciated by readers,

specially the collection of information from many different sources which was put together by

her very appropriately and beautifully. The source of her information were primarily the holy

Quran, the bible, the Torah and authentic books of history. With these impressive sources, the

horizon of her writing not only got widened but also got increased in authenticity.

An interesting aspect of her writing is the connection and continuity between widely

varying references which carries away the readers and its flow appears to them very normal and

smooth. Interest of readers therefore enhances as they proceed with the reading. This style is

typically Anwar Zaidi‟s own.

This third volume covers the period known in Islamic history as Khilafat-e-Rashida (the

caliphate of four caliphs). This is perhaps the most sensitive part of Islamic history, especially

in the region of South Asia (Pakistan-India subcontinent). Reason is that the personal beliefs of

the writers mostly overshadow the impartial recording of historical events. Many traditions are

rejected simply on the basis that the narrator belonged to an opposing sect. This obviously does

not meet the requirements of writing impartial history.

Anwar Zehra has relied mostly on sources which are considered authentic by majority. Even

when she quotes a minority viewpoint, she does not let go the requirements of logic and reason.

She has been extra careful on this issue as she neither gets emotional when narrating

controversial issues, nor she lets the emotions of others getting hurt. Thus she promotes a style

which earns respect and acceptability.

People generally believe that females are emotional writers, but Anwar Zehra has

effectively proved inaccuracy of this assumption. May God grant her a long healthy life so that

we may continue getting benefitted by more of her works.

Sd.

Shaista Zaidi

12th

May, 2007.

9

Chapter - 1

The Case of Succession

Al-Quran

Surah Baqarah-2

Verse: 30

(O Muhammad), when your Lord said to the angels: “Verily I am going to

appoint a Khalifa (vice-regent) on earth”.

Faslul-Khitab-I

Page: 84 Khalifa is an Arabic word used for delegating functional authority by the

owner to someone else to perform the required functions on owner‟s behalf.

This delegation may be on account of the owners absence from the place, or

owner‟s death, or being the appropriate way for discharging a function.

The appointment of Khalifa on earth by God can be attributed to the last

factor i.e, the appropriate way of discharging a function. We must keep in

mind that it is an attribute of God, the Creator, to institute a system of

guidance for His creation. As the creation, specially the human being, is

made of matter and the Creator is free of all things, therefore it was most

appropriate that the Creator appoint someone from amongst the humans to

act as a perfect model to guide his fellow beings. Thus the Almighty Lord

put into operation a system of guidance by appointing a Khalifa on earth.

The concept of this system is fool-proof and argument-proof, as no logical

arguments can ever challenge the wisdom behind this system of guidance.

The guides chosen by God are called by Quran as Khalifa, Rasul, Nabi, and Imam, who are

appointed solely by the Almighty Lord. No one else has the authority to appoint them. But at

the same time the mankind has been given by the Lord, the freedom of choice and action.

Imam Jafar SadiqA when asked about the meaning of Khalifa replied:

“Khalifa is the central figure in the system of guidance instituted by God. This system is

fool-proof and argument-proof”.

Many scholar have also commented on this subject, for example:

Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi said:

Almighty Lord has ordained, “Khalifa will be my Vice-regent for the purpose of governing

and guiding My creation”. This Vice-regent was AdamA, who was the first prophet”.

Historian Ibn Jarir Tabari quotes from Abdullah ibn AbbasR and Ibn Masud

R:

“Khalifa is the Vice-regent of Almighty Lord on earth, responsible for spreading His

Guidance and implementing His commandments”.

10

Maulana Maududi in Tafheem-ul-Quran-3, page 418, says that Quran explains the meaning

of Khilafat as:

“Accepting the supreme power of God and to exercise one‟s own governance powers in

accordance with the Commandments of God”.

In the light of this definition only righteous and pious ( ) can be the Khalifa

(Maulana then says that Almighty Lord explains Khilafat in the holy Quran, as:

Al-Quran

Surah Nur-24

Verse: 55

Allah has promised to appoint those of you who believe and do good deeds

as successors on earth, as He has appointed those before them. He shall

certainly establish their religion (Islam) which He has chosen for them, and

He shall give them in exchange security after their fear. They shall worship

Me and not associate any one with Me; and whoever disbelieves after this,

then they are the wicked transgressors.

A lot has been written by commentators in explanation of this verse of Surah Nur. The gist

of these commentaries can be summarized as under:

Appointing Khalifa is the authority of Almighty God alone.

The standard for appointing Khalifa is righteous faith ( ), and virtuous deeds

( ).

Since the time of AdamA to the end of time, God only appointed those humans as

Khalifa who fulfilled the required Divine standard of and (righteous faith

and virtuous deeds). Thus started the chain of prophets, messengers and Imams which

started from AdamA and continued even after Muhammad

S in the form of Imams, the last

Imam being Imam MahdiA.

Before the end of time, Imam MahdiA will clean the world of all evil.

Following tradition of prophet MuhammadS is believed by all Muslims (with only little

variation of words):

Prophet MuhammadS said:

Qurtabi Vol-7

Page: 420

Tafsir-e-Namuna-16

Page: 429

Even if only one day remain for the world to end, Almighty Lord will

elongate that day until a person of my Ahlal-bayt takes over the rule of the

world. His name will be same as mine (Muhammad), and he will fill up the

world with justice, fairness and peace as it was filled before by injustice,

evil and cruelty. Then the world will reap benefits of governance run

according to Laws of God.

11

The first division in Islam:

It was the darkest and most sensitive time for Islam when prophet MuhammadS departed

this world. The time was made more tragic as both the tribes of Ansar (Aus and Khizraj) started

manavouring for ascending to the pinnacle of power. They did not consider it politically

prudent even to wait for the burial of the prophet.

This was the beginning of the first division in Islam. It was an unfortunate happening as it

was accruing at a time when Almighty God had already declared that religion of Islam had been

completed. The prophet had already hinted that the time of his demise was near, and shown his

preference that Ali was the person in the eye of Almighty God and the prophet, to lead the

Muslims (in a great congregation at Ghadir). Three days before his death, prophet again wanted

to write down his last instructions, but could not do so because UmarR said that prophet was

getting delirious because of disease, and Book of God (Quran) was sufficient for Muslims.

Assembly of Ansar:

Tareekh-e-Tabari-2

Page: 28 Abdullah bin Abdur Rehman bin Abi Marrah al Ansari

R narrates that:

Immediately after the demise of prophet of God, Ansar assembled in their

council-Hall at Saqifah bani Sai‟da to decide their future policy. They were

deliberating to make the chief of Khizraj (Sa‟d bin A‟badah) as the overall

chief of both the tribes of Khizraj and Aus. They were of opinion that Ansar

had an edge over others in claiming the right to become the head of the

state of Medina, because:

They provided shelter to the prophet of God when he was facing

threats of death from his own tribes and was forced to flee his own city

of Mecca.

They were Ansar who after accepting Islam fought with the enemies of

prophet MuhammadS and aided his companions with their wealth and

lives.

Through the help of Ansar, Almighty Lord granted prophet

MuhammadS supremacy over the land, and the swords of Ansar made

the Arabs submit to the prophet.

When prophet MuhammadS left this world, he left in a state most

pleased and most appreciative of Ansar. Therefore Ansar had a right

more than others to rule the Muslim state.

While the council of Ansar was in progress in the suburbs of Medina, Abu

BakrR was talking to a group of Muhajirin by the side of the door of

prophet‟s house. At that time someone brought the news to Abu BakrR that

Ansar were about to decide to swear allegiance (baya’h) to Sa‟d bin

12

A‟badaR. (Tabari did not name the messenger who brought this news).

Immediately upon hearing this, Abu BakrR took Umar

R with him and

hastened to reach Saqifa bani Sai‟da. On their way they met Abu A‟bidah

bin JarrahR (A Muhajir). When the three reached council hall, Ansar

temporarily stopped deliberations, out of respect for the elderly Abu BakrR.

Abu BakrR‟s cool temperament grasped the situation well. He had always

been a man cool and calculative, and had seldom exhibited a harsh and

aggressive attitude. He addressed Ansar in a low and conciliatory tone, and

started first with the praise of Almighty Lord. Then what he said can be

summarized as under:

God sent MuhammadS to His creation (the mankind) as His prophet to

guide them for worshipping one God. Arabs were idolaters and they

worshipped hundred of idols. When prophet rejected the idols, they did not

like it. God then caused some people in Mecca to accept the Truth, who

were the first to do so. They were the first Muhajirin who swore allegiance

to the prophet and stood by him in thick and thin. They braved all the

atrocities of Quraiysh.

They are therefore the First who worshipped one God, and stood behind the

prophet from the beginning. These pioneers are the family members of the

prophet, the Wali (helpers) of God, who deserved the right to rule the

Islamic state more than anyone else. Those who disregard their right can

only be called Zalim (unjust transgressors).

After them come the Ansar, whose stature, greatness and dedicated support

during the initial years of Islam cannot be overlooked by anyone. Almighty

God chose Ansar to help His prophet, that is why he migrated to Medina to

promote Islam.

Therefore we certainly consider Ansar as the next best after the First

Muhajirin. Therefore in all fairness we deserve to hold the highest office

and you deserve to hold the second highest. It will be mandatory upon us

not to take any decision without your participation.

Abu BakrR stopped at this point, but Ansar were reluctant to accept his

proposal. Habab bin ManzarR from Ansar insisted on the stand that Ansar

should take their independent decision without submitting to opposing

arguments.

At this point UmarR took over the debate from Abu Bakr

R and aggressively

pleaded the case of succession to remain within the same tribe on whom

God had blessed the prophet-hood. He insisted that there were clear sayings

of prophet and clear proofs to this effect. Moreover prophet MuhammadS

indisputably headed the governance of state, and all accepted him without

any reservations. After him, now we, his family members and Wali, deserve

the right to govern. Only those who are strayed, or are sinners, or are

heading towards calamities, will deny this fact.

As this debate was going on, Bashir bin Sa‟d bin Ma‟azR stepped in and

made an announcement which suddenly turned the tables against Ansar of

13

Khizraj. (BashirR was the son of Sa‟d bin Ma‟az, the late chief of Aus who

had died a couple of years ago). BashirR said:

“O fellow Ansar! The respect and the elevation which we the Ansar

attained by fighting the enemies of Islam and by serving the prophet, was

only on account of pleasing the Almighty Lord and achieving His

closeness. Let all know that prophet MuhammadS hailed from Quraiysh,

and so Quraiysh deserve to be the Ameer (the chief)”.

The Ansar of Khizraj were alienated by this announcement. Habab bin

ManzarR shouted at Bashir

R that he betrayed the community of Ansar and

he made the announcement only because he was jealous of Khizraj chief

Sa‟d bin A‟badah, and did not want to see him becoming Ameer.

Ba’yt of Abu BakrR:

Abu BakrR was watching all the proceedings attentively but had kept his

silence. Seeing now that the two tribes of Ansar (Aus and Khizraj) got

entangled with each other and BashirR (representing Aus) had openly sided

with Quraiysh, Abu BakrR stepped forward and spoke loudly:

“O people listen! UmarR and Abu A‟badah bin Jarrah

R are here in front of

you. Choose one of them as your Ameer”.

Both UmarR and Abu A‟badah

R responded spontaneously:

“O Abu Bakr! We will never accept this position as long as we see you

among us. Come put your hand forward, we will swear the ba’yt

(allegiance) on your hand”.

But before they could do so, BashirR bin Sa‟d bin Ma‟az jumped forward

and swore the ba’yt on Abu BakrR‟s hand. The rest of the Aus followed

suit.

UmarR and Abu A‟badah

R also swore their allegiance. they were the only

two Muhajirin who swore Ba’yt on that occasion.

Tabari writes at the end of this episode:

It is narrated by Abu Bakr bin Muhammad al Khaza‟i that on the same

occasion the tribe of Banu Aslam arrived there in such large numbers that

the streets and the lanes of the vicinity got choked by their crowd. They

swore the ba’yt on Abu BakrR‟s hand before the other Muhajirin of Medina

did it.

UmarR used to say:

“When I saw Banu Aslam arriving, I felt assured of our success”.

Three questions arise here for a researching mind. Firstly, about Banu Aslam who were

neither Muhajir nor Ansar, but were a tribe settled in the vicinity of Medina. What made them

arrive in such large numbers all of a sudden in Saqifah Bani Saidah?

Second question is, why no one in Saqifah Bani Sai‟dah spoke about the priority of burial of

prophet MuhammadS. Neither the Ansar nor the Muhajirin who were present there, spoke about

it.

14

Thirdly, why no one spokes about the necessity of AliA‟s presence in the process of

deciding the succession to prophet MuhammadS? Ali

A who was busy at that time in the burial of

the prophet, was the only one whom prophet MuhammadS had repeatedly, again and again,

praised much more than any other companion, and who was the nearest relative of the prophet

MuhammadS, his first cousin and his son-in-law. This question becomes more mind-boggling as

the claim to MuhammadS‟s succession by Quraiysh was primarily based on closeness of

relationship to him.

For finding an answer to question one, I searched through all the history books that I could

find, but I was unable to get an answer.

For question two and three, I did find a hint in a sermon of Fatima ZehraA (prophet

MuhammadS‟s daughter), in which she also commented briefly about the proceedings of

Saqifah Bani Sai‟dah. An extract from it is given below:

Seerat-e-

Fatima Zehra

Agha Sultan Mirza

Page: 255

It is narrated by Sa‟d bin Ghafila, and by Abdullah Mahzz bin Hasan

Muthanna (son of Imam Hasan bin AliA).

After the demise of prophet MuhammadS, when Fatima Zehra

A fell ill,

women from Ansar and Muhajirin called on her. They prayed for her

welfare and conveyed similar sentiments from their men, and requested her

to say a few words of advice.

Fatima ZehraA thanked them and delivered a long sermon in which she also

commented briefly upon the occurrence of Saqifa Bani Sai‟dah.

After praising the Lord Almighty and reciting Salawat and Salam on

prophet MuhammadS, she said:

“O the women of Ansar and Muhajirin, I am disgusted with this world of

yours, and am unhappy with your menfolk, because they deprived such a

person from Khilafat who was the most ardent and dedicated supporter of

the prophet and the superior most expert on the affairs of Deen and Duniya.

(Spiritual and religious realms and worldly affairs).

I fail to understand why your men were unsupportive of Abul Hasan (AliA)?

I swear by Almighty God that if your men had not deprived AliA of the

reigns of Deen which the prophet had entrusted him, AliA would never had

preferred himself to let this responsibility go away. On the contrary, he

would have led you very smoothly and sailed your boat to the peaceful

shores of sparkling clean waters of unlimited abundance”.

When the men folk heard from their women about this address of Fatima

ZehraA, they came to her tendering their apology. But she replied:

“There is no pardoning from the mistake you have committed, please go

away”.

Yet another question arises at this juncture, why did AliA not strive and why did he not

make any political move to attain Khilafat, if he considered himself the worthy most successor?

15

Answer is simple to find if we look and analyze conduct of AliA throughout his life. He was

a perfect exponent of dictates of Quran and Sunnah of prophet MuhammadS. He was therefore

bound by Quranic injunctions and Sunnah when he was confronted with the succession issue.

On the issue of Islamic state, Quran and Sunnah dictated:

No use of force.

To elect the Ameer, choice lay with the people. They were thus put under “Test” by the

Almighty Lord. It was a test like so many tests that every human being undergoes

through his life. People had choice to elect their Ameer either to the liking of God and

pass the test, or they could elect the Ameer of their own choice and fail the test.

AliA had no right to politically manouvre like worldly aspirants, to become the Ameer.

He could only express his Divine position verbally so that people did not have the excuse

that they did not know. If people did not pay any heed to him, they were themselves

answerable to God Almighty. AliA had himself to conduct in a way that was best for the

interest of Islam, and put his own interests aside. He had to cooperate with the Islamic

state government always giving them his best advice, and avoid confrontation at all cost.

This attitude AliA considered mandatory for himself as far as the worldly governance

part of his Divine responsibility was concerned.

But as regards his spiritual and religious Divine responsibility as Imam, AliA was bound

to continue guiding people on the straight path of God, the Sirat-e-Mustaqeem. This part

of his responsibility he could never give up, under any circumstances.

Although the choice lay with the people to elect their Ameer, but they were adequately

advised by the prophet on many occasions (like Ghadir, Hajjatul-wida, Mubahila etc)

about prophet‟s own preference based on liking of God.

AliA himself did never deviate in the least from the dictates of Quran and Sunnah of

prophet MuhammadS. For Ali

A a greater test came when after the demise of second

caliph UmarR, Ali

A refused to accept the vacant position of caliph because he could not

swear allegiance to anything other than Quran and Sunnah of prophet. The “Selection

Committee (Shura), set up by late caliph UmarR, wanted him to swear allegiance to the

Seerat of Abu BakrR and Umar

R as well in addition to Quran and Sunnah of prophet

MuhammadS, which Ali

A refused. Usman

R agreed to this condition and consequently

became the third caliph. AliA had no regrets. For him, the matter of prime importance

was Quran and the Sunnah of prophet MuhammadS.

Banu Hashim‟s claim to Khilafat:

History provides evidence that prophet of Islam (MuhammadS) belonged to Banu Hashim,

the most noble clan of the tribe of Quraiysh. His lineage is recorded as:

16

MuhammadS bin Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim bin Abd-Munaf bin Qussy bin

Kalab bin Murrah bin Ka‟b bin Lavi bin Ghalib bin Fahr (who was titled Quraiysh). The

complete family tree may be seen below.

17

When prophet MuhammadS died his close relatives living at that time were:

His close relatives Who

had rights to his inheritance.

Other relatives.

- Nine (9) wives.

- One daughter (Fatima ZahraA), her husband Ali

A, and her

children HasanA, Hussain

A, Zainab

R and Umme

KulthumR.

- His uncle AbbasR.

- His first cousin FazalR.

- His first cousin QasamR.

- His first cousin AbdullahR.

- His first cousin Abu Sufyan bin HarithR.

- His first cousin AqilR.

- Sisters of prophet MuhammadS‟s father and their

children.

- Children of his first cousin.

All these were the progeny of HashimR‟s son Abdul Muttalib, who had nine (9) sons. Their

children and grand children were called Banu Hashim. After the advent of Islam they migrated

to Medina gradually and after the conquest of Mecca, their migration to Medina was complete.

They built their houses on a piece of land near the Masjid-e-Nabvi. This locality came to be

known as “Enclave of Banu Hashim”, and it physically existed till the end of twentieth century.

But when Saudi government planned the extension of Masjid-e-Nabvi, this entire enclave was

demolished and its land was utilized for the extension of the Mosque.

Abu BakrR was from the clan of Bani Taim bin Marah, a branch of Quraiysh. This clan

branched out from the lineage coming down to prophet MuhammadS seven generations before

the prophet.

Similarly, UmarR‟s lineage separated from prophet Muhammad

S‟s lineage nine (9)

generations before. He belonged to the clan of Adi bin Ka‟b.

This relationship of Abu BakrR with prophet Muhammad

S became the deciding factor of the

succession of prophet. Ansar accepted this criteria.

Nahj-al-Balagha

Sermon: 65 When someone brought the news of Saqifa bani Sai‟da to Ali

A, he asked

him: “What did the Ansar say”?

He replied that Ansar demanded an Ameer from among them, while the

other Ameer could be from Quraiysh.

AliA said: “Why didn‟t you argue that the prophet had willed a benevolent

and honorable treatment of the righteous Ansar and a forgiving attitude for

the wrong-doing Ansar”.

He asked: “How does it relate to the Saqifah”?

AliA replied: “If the Khilafat and Imamat were intended for the Ansar, then

18

why would the prophet make the above mentioned will”?

Then AliA asked: “What did the Quraiysh say”?

He replied: “They argued their case of succession on the basis of

relationship with the prophet of God”.

AliA said: “They upheld the case of lineage from the tree of prophet-hood

and argued on its basis, but they destroyed the fruit of this tree”.

What AliA meant was that they argued and convinced people about the right of succession

only for the relatives of prophet MuhammadS. It was more like making Muslim Ummah holding

on to the branches of the tree of prophet-hood, but neglecting and wasting its fruit, which were

in fact the best part of this tree and were the means of continuation of the holy mission of the

prophet.

Holy Quran throws some light on these fruit of the tree of prophet. Quran says:

Al-Quran

Surah Kauthar-108

Complete Surah

Verily We have given you (O Muhammad) Kauthar (abundance).

So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice.

Verily it is your enemy whose line (progeny) shall be cut off.

In the first verse of above Surah, Kauthar (abundance) has been promised by Almighty

Lord to prophet MuhammadS. The interpretation of Kauthar has been done by scholars in

fifteen (15) different ways which is a proof of the eloquence of this verse. But one interpretation

which cannot be ignored is “the abundance of progeny”. This has a background too. Because

prophet MuhammadS did not have a son but only a daughter, the Quraiysh infidels of Mecca

used to humiliate him by calling him Abtar (which means a truncated man who has no

descendents). Almighty Lord therefore comforted MuhammadS in two ways in this Surah, first

by promising him an abundance in progeny and secondly by predicting that it is not

MuhammadS‟s lineage but the lineage of his enemies which will be cut off.

The promise which God made to MuhammadS about abundance of progeny was fulfilled by

the Lord through the daughter of the prophet (Fatima ZahraA) who was the sole means of

continuation of prophet‟s progeny. In other words, prophet‟s daughter (Fatima ZahraA) was the

trustee of the fruit of the tree of prophet-hood and the source of continuation of this Divine

blessing. That is why the prophet of God gave her lessons of Quran and called her Siddiqa

(truthful) Tahira (pious).

She was an inseparable part of verse of Purity and verse of Mubahila ( ).

She was one of the five “Sacred Souls” and was awarded the titles and

(the chief lady of all worlds and the chief lady of the Paradise) by the prophet.

She was also the recipient of Salawat (praise of the Lord) by virtue of revelation of Quranic

verse 33:56. This verse says:

19

Al-Quran

Surah Ahzab-33

Verse: 56

Verily God and His angels send blessings on the prophet.

O you who believe, send Salawat (blessings) on him and greet him with a

worthy greeting.

Prophet MuhammadS made it mandatory for Muslims to include h.is aal (family) in the

Salawat in every prayer, and FatimaA was an essential part of his aal.

Fatima ZahraA was dejected by the proceedings of Saqifa Bani Sai‟dah. Maulana Maududi

also writes:

Tafheem-ul-Quran-4

Pages: 123-126 Prophet‟s daughter (Fatima Zahra

A), her husband Ali

A, prophet‟s uncle

AbbasR, and prophet‟s cousins, all expressed dejection that they were

totally forgotten in the matter of succession by those who based the claim

of succession on the tradition of prophet:

“Ameer will be from Quraiysh”.

Ba’yt of Abu BakrR and its acceptance by Ummah:

Tareekh-e-Tabari-1

Page: 518 Ans bin Malik

R narrated that the next day after the ba’yt of Abu Bakr

R at

Saqifa, he went to Masjid-e-Nabvi, sat on the pulpit and people swore ba’yt

on his hand. Then he addressed them:

“O people! I have been made your Ameer although I am not the best among

you. If I perform righteously, support me; but if I commit mistake correct

me.

O people! Truthfulness is trust and false-hood is dishonesty. Those of you

who are old and frail are powerful in my eyes, and those who are mighty

among you are weak in my eyes.

O people! Do not give up Jihad in the way of God, because those who do so

are disgraced by God.

Those who tolerate and live with evil, hardships and difficulties become

their fate.

O people! As long as I follow God and his prophet, you follow me; but if I

go against it, then do not obey me.

Then Abu BakrR led the prayer after which people dispersed.

Controversy about ba’yt of AliA and Banu Hashim:

Tareekh-e-Tabari-1

Pages: 535-536 Mua‟mmar narrated that somebody asked Imam Zahri:

“Did AliA not swear ba’yt of Abu Bakr

R”?

He replied: “No, he did not, neither did Banu Hashim”.

20

Question arises why did AliA not swear the ba’yt of Abu Bakr

R?

1. The first and foremost reason was from spiritual angle as the Divine responsibility of

Imamat was entrusted to AliA by the prophet and by the Almighty Lord. Ali

A therefore

could not violate this sacred undertaking and could not swear ba’yt to anything other

than Quran and Sunnah of prophet MuhammadS.

2. The second reason was from the worldly point of view regarding the ,mode of election at

Saqifah. Although the criteria for electing Ameer was correct and just i.e, relationship

with the late prophet, but the closeness of this relationship favored Banu Hashim more

than Abu BakrR (specially Ali

A). Prophet‟s preference for Ali

A was not a recent

development but went back to the very early days of Islam. Twenty three (23) years ago

when MuhammadS declared prophet-hood for the first time in a feast he held for his

relatives (Feast of Zul-a’shira, reference Al-Quran 26:214). Inspite of a passage of 23

years after this feast, a large majority of the invitees of this feast were still living and had

not forgotten prophet‟s words on that occasion. Tabari says in his Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume 1, prophet said in this feast:

“O the children of Abdul Muttalib, I don‟t see any one in the whole Arabia who offered

a thing better for his people than the thing I offer to you. I have brought for you the best

of this world and the next.

Almighty God has ordered me to invite you to the religion of God. Who among you is

prepared to help me in discharging this extremely heavy responsibility? Whosoever is

ready to assist me, he will be my brother, my assistant and my successor”.

Prophet repeated this three (3) times. ___ Each time the whole crowd kept silent and only

AliA stood up (who was only a young boy at that time) and said with full confidence:

“O prophet of God! I will assist you, would take the burden off you and will be your

brother, your assistant and your successor”.

The prophet then addressed all those present:

“Beware, Ali is my brother, my assistant and my successor, hear him and obey him”.

These words of prophet MuhammadS were not like a vain talk. He was considered by all

(friends and foes) a truthful and honest person ( ) even before declaration of prophet-

hood. Neither were these words spoken emotionally out of love because the prophet did not say

anything but what God Willed (Al-Quran 53:3). Nor were these words superseded by any verse

of Quran revealed at a later date.

However History is a witness that AliA stood true to his words throughout his life and

helped prophet of God on every demanding occasion.

21

On one such occasion Almighty Lord expressed His appreciation in holy Quran on the

dedication of AliA when he slept on the bed of prophet on the night of migration, when

prophet‟s house was surrounded by Quraiysh infidels bent upon killing him. Quran says:

Al-Quran

Surah Baqarah-2

Verse: 207

And among men is he who sells his self to get in exchange the pleasure of

Allah and verily Allah is affectionate to His servants.

Tareekh-e-Tabari Volume-1 also gives details about attitude of Banu Hashim on the issue

of Ba’yt and cites many narrations. A jist of them is briefly given below:

Not swearing of Ba‟yt by Banu Hashim could have serious political repercussions, but Abu

BakrR did not insist on it. However Umar

R strongly advised Abu Bakr

R to press Banu Hashim

for Ba’yt and to call AliA separately and force him to swear the ba’yt. Abu Bakr

R declined to go

by UmarR‟s advice.

But one day UmarR went to Ali

A‟s house with some people when Banu Hashim were also

there. UmarR knocked the door and called out loudly: “Come out every one, otherwise I will put

the house on fire”.

No one answered but Fatima ZahraA came to the door and protested. Umar

R pushed the door

hard, and it broke and fell upon FatimaA. She was injured and later had an abortion, losing the

child in her womb.

UmarR and his companions left the place after this occurrence.

Abu Sufyan‟s advice to AliA:

Tareekh-e-Tabari-1

Page: 537

Sharah

Nahj-al-Balagha

By: Ibn Al-Hadid

When the ba’yt of Abu BakrR took place, Abu Sufyan was away from

home, in the suburbs of Mecca. As soon as he heard about the demise of

prophet and ba’yt of Abu BakrR, he left hurriedly fort Medina.

There he met AliA and also late prophet‟s uncle Abbas

R. He said to them:

“O the progeny of *Abd-Munaf, what right does Abu BakrR have to

interfere in your affairs? O AliA, O Abul Hasan, how could it happen that

Khilafat moved into the smallest clan of Quraiysh? Just order me, and I will

come in such strength that it will choke the streets and lanes of Medina

with cavalry and infantry, and force Abu BakrR to quit Khilafat.

AliA rise, I will swear ba’yt on your hand”.

AliA‟s decision was quick and stern, scolding Abu Sufyan, he said:

“Your aim is only to create confusion and division (Fitna). You have

always tried to damage Islam. We do not need your advice”.

*Abd-Munaf was the father of Hashim and the fore-father of both Banu Hashim and Banu Umayya.

22

AliA knew very well that it was a time of great danger to Islam. Had he agreed to Abu

Sufyan‟s suggestion he could certainly snatch Khilafat from Abu BakrR, as Banu Hashim and

Banu Umayya were the two largest and powerful clans of Quraiysh; but it would have been at

the cost of great damage to Islam.

AliA also sensed what was in the heart of Abu Sufyan and that he wanted only to capitalize

on the division and rivalry of tribes to ultimately snatch away Khilafat for himself. Had AliA

played in his hands, there would have been a blood-bath in Medina, a great catastrophe for

Islam, and a golden opportunity for enemies of Islam, specially the Romans, to root out Islam

from the land of Arabia.

Ba’yt of Banu Hashim:

After rejecting Abu Sufyan‟s offer, AliA sent a message to Abu Bakr

R:

Tareekh-e-Tabari-1

Pages: 534-536

(Brief)

“Come and meet me alone”.

Abu BakrR was ready but Umar

R advised:

“don‟t go alone to Bani Hashim”.

Abu BakrR replied:

“No, I will go alone. I don‟t expect any foul play by Banu Hashim”.

Abu BakrR went alone. There were many Banu Hashim assembled there. Ali

A stood up and

after praising the Lord and the prophet, he said:

“O Abu BakrR! My reason of not swearing ba’yt to you is not that I want to deny your virtues

Or that I am jealous of the good God bestowed on you, but the reason is that Khilafat belonged

to me and you snatched it away”.

Then AliA spoke in considerable detail about his relationship with the prophet. His talk was

so moving that Abu BakrR wept.

However, the meeting ended with the final message that Banu Hashim will swear ba’yt to

Abu BakrR the same day after Zohr prayer.

Tabari wrote that after Zohr prayer Abu BakrR addressed the congregation and on some

matters begged pardon from AliA. After that all Banu Hashim swore ba’yt to Abu Bakr

R.

Tabari further wrote that AliA also swore ba’yt to Abu Bakr

R.

23

But history and sermons of AliA provide evidence that Ali

A did not swear the ba’yt. In fact

after the above episode, on many occasions, he spoke unambiguously about his right to

Khilafat. Abu BakrR also did not insist on the ba’yt.

In one of his sermons AliA said:

Nahj-al-Balagha

Sermon: 3 “By God Ibne Qahafa (Abu Bakr

R) put on the robe of Khilafat although he

knew very well that my position in Khilafat was similar to the position of

the “Pivot” in the grinding-wheels”. (without the pivot, the wheels cannot

grind wheat and produce flour).

Twelve (12) years later (after the demise of second caliph UmarR), history provided another

convincing proof (about AliA not swearing the ba’yt of Abu Bakr

R) when Ali

A refused the offer

to become the third caliph (provided he agreed to abide by the Seerat of Abu BakrR and Umar

R)

in addition to holy Quran and Sunnah of prophet MuhammadS. Ali

A was prepared to swear the

ba’yt only of Quran and Sunnah of prophet.

After AliA‟s refusal, the Khilafat was offered to Usman

R, who accepted all the conditions

and became the third caliph.

Coming back to the ba’yt of Abu BakrR, Umar

R was not comfortable with Abu Bakr

R‟s

softness on this issue. Imam Abdullah bin Muslim bin Qutaybah says:

Tareekh-e-Siyasat-

wal-Imamat

By: Ibn-e-Qutaybah

Although Abu BakrR had refused to ask for ba’yt of Ali

R, but one day

UmarR led a group of people and brought Ali

A to Abu Bakr

R. Umar

R was

insisting incessantly upon AliA to swear the ba’yt, and Ali

A was constantly

refusing to do it. Abu BakrR then said:

“O Abul Hasan (AliA), if you do not want to swear the ba’yt, don‟t do it. I

will not force you”.

AliA then went home.

After this incident UmarR also calmed down and when he became the caliph two years later,

even then he did not ask AliA for the ba‟yt.

Tareekh-e-Tabari-3

Pages: 275, 278,

282, 283, 284

Spirit of Islam

Syed Ameer Ali

Pages: 234-235

(Brief).

Ten years later, before his death, UmarR constituted a 6 member Shura

(Selection Committee) to select the third caliph. The Head of the Shura,

Abdur Rehman bin AufR, put three conditions before the two selected

candidates, AliA and Usman

R.

(i). Adherence to holy Quran.

(ii). Adherence to prophet MuhammadS‟s Sunnah.

(iii). Adherence to the Seerat of caliphs Abu BakrR and Umar

R.

Abdur Rehman bin AufR first put the offer to Ali

A, who replied:

“I will adhere to holy Quran and the Sunnah of prophet MuhammadS only”.

24

Three times the offer was put to AliA and each time his reply was the same.

Then Abdur Rehman bin AufR put the offer to Usman

R. He accepted all the

conditions and Abdur Rehman bin AufR then swore the ba’yt on Usman

R‟s

hand.

The above episode provides an evident proof that AliA had not sworn ba’yt neither to Abu

BakrR nor to Umar

R. Had he done so earlier, there was no logic in refusing the offer of Khilafat

later, just for this reason.

Later in his life, UmarR also commented once on the proceedings of Saqifa Bani Sai‟da. It

was during his last Hajj in 23 Hijri (644 AD), about which Maulana Maududi writes:

Khilafat-o-Malukiyat

By: Maulana

Maududi.

Pages: 84-85

During this Hajj, somebody remarked:

“If UmarR dies, we will swear the ba’yt on the hands of so and so, because

Abu BakrR‟s ba’yt was also conducted in the same manner and it proved

successful”.

When UmarR was told about it he kept quiet in Mecca, but as soon as he

reached Medina, he talked about it in the first sermon he gave, and

explained the proceedings of Saqifa Bani Sai‟da, stating that those were

very special conditions under which he proposed the name of Abu BakrR

and swore ba’yt on his hand.

But now if somebody, swears ba’yt on some one‟s had without the

consultation of Muslims, then both, the proposer as well as the candidate,

will be liable for execution”.

25

Chapter – 2

The Imamat (Divine guidance).

FatimaA bint Muhammad

S.

Imam AliA.

Imamat (Divine guidance):

Holy Quran throws light on this subject in the following six (6) verses:

Al-Quran

Surah Baqarah-2

Verse: 124

(Remember) when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words, and he

fulfilled them, the Lord said:

“Verily I make you an Imam (guide) for mankind”.

Abraham asked: “And of my offsprings”?

Lord replied: “My covenant will not include Zalimin (unjust)”.

Al-Quran

Surah Ambiya-21

Verses: 72-73

And the Lord gave Isaac and Jacob to Abraham as additional gifts, and He

made all of them righteous, and made them Imams (guides) to guide the

people by the Lord‟s Commands, and revealed to them the doing of good

deeds, the establishment of Salat (prayer), and the giving of Zakat (tax cum

charity), and they worshipped the Lord.

Al-Quran

Surah Qasas-28

Verse: 5

We wished to favor those who were weak in the land ( ), and to

make them Imams (guides) and to make them heirs.

Al-Quran

Surah Sajdah-32

Verse: 24

And We made from among them (Bani-Israel), Imams (guides) to guide

people by Our Command as they were steadfast and they were convinced of

Our Signs.

Al-Quran

Surah Furqan-25

Verse: 74

And those who say:

“O our Lord, grant us out of our wives and our offsprings that which cheers

our eyes, and make us Imams of those who safeguard themselves against

evil.

Al-Quran

Surah Bani-Israel-17

Verse: 71

(Remember), the day when We will summon every people with their Imam.

Then whosoever are given their book of deeds in their right hand, they shall

read their book joyfully, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.

26

The above verses of Quran not only provide a brief history of Imamat but also provide a

system of guidance to the straight path preached by prophets, which guarantees a successful life

of this world, a successful accountability of Akhrah (next world), and ultimately the eternal

blissful life of Paradise.

Imamat is a „Divine position‟ which the Almighty Lord blessed upon His chosen people to

uphold and implement the Shariah (Divine code of life) brought by the prophets of God.

Almighty Lord also blessed Imamat on prophets like AbrahamA (2:124), who in addition to the

preaching of God‟s message, also toiled hard for implementing the Shariah brought by him.

Quranic verse 2:124 provides evidence that when Almighty Lord blessed Imamat on

prophet AbrahamA, the prophet pleaded for continuance of this honor in his offsprings also. He

was replied that this honorable position will not reach Zalimin (the unjust).

The Divine message was clear, that among the progeny of AbrahamA only those pious and

righteous persons will be awarded this honor whose piety was acceptable in the eyes of God.

Almighty Lord then fulfilled His promise by granting Imamat to sons of AbrahamA, Isaac

A

and grandson JacobA, as cited in above quoted verse 21:72-73.

Prophet JacobA had the title of „Israel‟, therefore Quran as well Torah use the word „Bani-

Israel‟ for the progeny of IsaacA through his son Jacob

A.

Whereas Quranic verses are hinting that the era which followed JacobA saw many Imamas

among Bani-Israel; history is telling us that in that period JosephA was the most prominent

prophet-cum-Imam, who ruled over the kingdom of Egypt and implemented the Shariah of

AbrahamA. Subsequently when Bani-Israel went astray and deviated from righteousness, the

Pharaohs of Egypt returned back. They over threw Bani-Israel, enslaved them and treated them

cruelly and torturously. Quran describes that condition of Bani-Israel by the word

(weak in the land).

When the righteous among those oppressed people begged forgiveness and prayed to God,

the Almighty Lord forgave them, favored them and made them Imams and heirs (28:5). MosesA

rose from among them, God made him prophet-cum-Imam, and he brought back to Bani-Israel

success and their lost grandeur. Even after MosesA, blessings of God continued on their

prophets and Imams as Bani-Israel remained steadfast and convinced of God‟s Signs (32:24).

As long as they remained steadfast and devoted to God‟s Signs, they received the Divine

favors. But when they deviated, became insolent and rebellious, God‟s favors of prophet-hood

and Imamat were withdrawn from them. This honor was then blessed upon the progeny of the

other son of prophet AbrahamA i.e, Ishmael

A (Ismail

A), and it‟s recipient was the „Last and Final

Prophet of God‟ i.e, MuhammadS bin Abdullah

R.

27

Touching on this subject, Maulana Maududi writes:

Tafheem-al-Quran-1

Pages: 108-110 When Bani-Israel breached all the covenants and promises made with God,

the Almighty Lord also stopped favoring them with blessings. The Lord

then chose the progeny of their brother Ismail (the Bani Ismail), for the

grant of and (prophet-hood and Messengership), and thus

entrusted the blessings of Imamat to the pious and righteous persons of

Muslim Ummah. Thus the Lord completed the grant of blessings on them

by the final completion of Religion of God for them.

Maulana Maududi‟s comment on Imamat does deserve some discussion:

Those righteous and pious persons of Muslim Ummah upon whom Imamat was blessed by

the Almighty Lord are described (by their qualities) in Quranic verses 25:63-74. The last verse

of them i.e, 25:74 recites their prayer: “Our Lord, grant us out of our wives and our offsprings

that, which cheers our eyes and makes us Imams of those who safeguard themselves against

evil”.

The other eleven verses i.e, 25:63-73 then described the other qualities of these pious men.

___Tafsir-e-Namuna says:

Tafsir-e-Namuna-15

Page: 47

(Brief).

This verse (25:74) is one of the twelve verses which Quran describes the

dedicated pious followers of Almighty Lord. It also points to prophet

MuhammadS and the twelve Imams of his family (see verses 25:63-74).

The wordings of the verse (25:74) also provide an indication that the Almighty Lord

accepted the prayer of prophet MuhammadS and Imams of his family, and blessed them with the

highest reward of Paradise.

The sixth and the last verse of holy Quran on the subject of Imamat is an eye-opener for all

as it means that on the „Day of Accounting‟, God will summon every people with their Imam

(17:71). This means that on the „Day of Judgment‟ all individuals will be held accountable in

front of the Imam they followed in their worldly life. Those who followed the Imams appointed

by God will enjoy their success, while those who followed Imams of their own choosing will

repent and will be big losers.

Commentators have narrated a tradition of the prophet on this subject which says:

“Those who did not recognize the Imam of their time, died a death of ignorance”.

The above noted verses of Quran and the tradition of Prophet MuhammadS bring out two

points worth noting:

28

(i) It is a necessity that either Nabi or a Rasul or an Imam must exist in the world at all

times.

(ii) To appoint Nabi or Rasool or an Imam is the function of Almighty Lord and the

responsibility of human beings is to accept them and follow them.

The above verses of holy Quran also point out that Almighty Lord accepted the prayer of

Prophet AbrahamA and granted Imamat in his progeny to Isaac

A and then to his son Jacob

A.

Then Imamat continued in their lineage. (i,e. Bani Israel) till they were righteous and followed

the straight path of God.

Question arises, these verses speak about Imamat for only one son of AbrahamA i.e, Isaac

A,

what about IshmaelA, the other son of Abraham

A?

Quran does speak about IshmaelA but in a very peculiar way, without mentioning his name

in verses 37:100-111. A brief summary is:

Al-Quran:

37: 100-111 Abraham prayed for grant of a son (as he was childless and had reached an

age of 85).God granted him a son, but when this son grew up to an age

when he could help his father, Almighty Lord indicated in dream to

Abraham that he should sacrifice this son of his. Abraham stood fast to the

desire of his Lord, and sacrificed his son. But God saved his son at the last

moment.

The verse that follows immediately after the above verse is 37:112, which gave AbrahamA

the good news of his other son IsaacA.

The revelation of these verses in this manner makes it quite clear that the son who was

sacrificed by AbrahamA was his first son for whom he had prayed to God as he was childless

and old at that time. This son, obviously, was none other than IshmaelA. There after the

Almighty Lord bestowed AbrahamA his second son, whose name is cited by Quran as Ishaaq

A

(Isaac), as a reward for passing through the difficult tests of sacrificing his elder son Ishmael

A. It

must be kept in mind that AbrahamA had not prayed for birth of Isaac

A but Isaac

A was granted

to him by the Lord as a reward.

The text of verses 37:100-111 also enables us to estimate that Isaac was born about 13 years

after IshmaelA, which means that Abraham

A was then about 99 years old. This estimation can be

made because the mentioned verses say that AbrahamA offered his son for sacrifice when he

had grown up to an age when he could help his father (about 12 years).

Therefore, Imamat was bestowed by God to the progenies of both sons of AbrahamA by

accepting his prayer:

Al-Quran And (remember) when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words, and he

29

2: 124 fulfilled them, the Lord said: “Verily I make you an Imam for mankind”.

Abraham asked: “And of my offsprings?”

The Lord said: “My covenant will not include the Zalimin (unjust)”.

Question arises here, what was God‟s wisdom in revealing the said verses in this peculiar

manner? The answer lies in the strategy which Quran follows in protecting itself against those

who may think about changing the Quranic words to suit their own beliefs. Quran‟s style

demotivates such thoughts.

In this particular case because Israelites believed that the son who was sacrificed by

AbrahamA was Isaac

A, therefore Quran corrected this false belief (but in a peculiar way by not

mentioning the name of IshmaelA). Had Quran clearly cited the name of Ishmael

A, it would

have created a cause for motivating some people to change this word of Quran.

Bible‟s version that the son sacrificed by AbrahamA was Isaac

A, is given in the Book of

Genesis:

Bible

Old Testament

Genesis: 22:2

The Lord said: “Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love. Take

him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must

sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar”.1

The errors in the above verse are self evident as IsaacA is being called as “the only son”.

Factually AbrahamA had another son at that point of time, Ishmael

A, who was about 13 years

older. ___It is not that Israelites did not recognize IshmaelA as the son of Abraham

A. Bible says:

Bible

Genesis: 21:11-13 Abraham was worried about Ishmael but God said:

“Abraham, don‟t worry about your slave woman (Hagar) and the boy, just

do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name. But the son of

the slave woman (Hagar) is also your son, and I will make his descendents

into a great nation.”1

Imamat in the progeny of IshmaelA:

Quranic verses indicate that when AbrahamA was blessed with Imamat, he was in the city of

Mecca with his son IshmaelA. His other son Isaac

A was not born yet. It can therefore be

understood that Almighty Lord‟s promise about Imamat, first points to IshmaelA and his

progeny and then to IsaacA and his progeny. But in real time Imamat started flourishing in the

1- Contemporary English Version. American Bible Society, New York. 1995.

30

progeny of IsaacA earlier, because in this lineage Imams were destined to come one after

another till the time of JesusA Christ. After Jesus

A, the progeny of Isaac

A got strayed from the

straight path of God to the point that they did not deserve Imamat anymore. For that period,

Almighty Lord had destined the appearance of prophet MuhammadS in the progeny of

IshmaelA, and the time now was ripe for Imamat to be blessed on Muhammad

S in addition to

prophethood.

Bible cites a long story of how Almighty Lord blessed AbrahamA and his son Isaac

A and his

progeny, but also took a promise from them to remain faithful and righteous, so as to deserve

these blessings which essentially included prophet-hood and Imamat. The Lord also cautioned

them of a “Sign” which would indicate their adherence to righteousness. In other words, if they

abandoned this “Sign”, they would not deserve the blessings of prophet-hood and Imamat.

A brief summary of Bible‟s story is as follows:

Bible Old Testament

Genesis: 12:1-5 The Lord said to Abraham:

“Leave your country, your family, your relatives and go to the land that I

will show you. I will bless you and make your descendents into a great

nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless

anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse

on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you”.

This migration of Prophet AbrahamA from his home town was because of the enmity of the

king and his people who had tried to burn him in a great fire that they had lit for this purpose,

but God saved him. Quran speaks about this incident briefly:

Al-Quran

21:70-71 And they intended to entrap him (Abraham), but We made them the worst

losers, and We delivered him and Lot (and brought them safely) to the land

which We have blessed for the worlds.

After migration to this blessed land (Kanaan) AbrahamA prayed:

Bible

Old Testament

Genesis: 15:2-5

“O Lord All powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for,

except children. And when I die, Eliezar of Damascus will get all I own.

You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit

everything.

The lord replied: “No, he won‟t. You will have a son of your own, and

everything you have will be his”.

Then Lord took Abraham outside and said: “Look at the sky and see if you

can count the stars, that‟s how many descendents you will have”,

Quran also cites this prayer of AbrahamA:

Al-Quran

37:100-101 “O my Lord, grant me a righteous son”.

So, We gave him the glad tidings of a forbearing son,

31

By this time AbrahamA had reached an age of 85 years, and his wife Sarah was also an aged

woman. Inspite of his age, AbrahamA held on patiently to his hopes, but Sarah gave up hopes of

becoming a mother

Bible says:

Bible

Old Testament

Genesis: 16:1-4

Abraham‟s wife Sarah had not been able to have any children. But she

owned a young Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, and Sarah said to

Abraham: “The Lord has not given me any children. Sleep with my slave,

and if she has a child, it will be mine”.

Abraham agreed and Sarah gave him Hagar to be his wife. This happened

after Abraham had lived in the land of Kanaan for ten (10) years. Later

when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and was

hateful to Sarah.

Bible

Genesis: 16:15-16 Abraham was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to their son and he

named him Ishmael.

According to Bible, after about 13 years of IshmaelA‟s birth, God promised another son to

AbrahamA.

Prophet AbrahamA had a third wife also, whose name was Qatura. His descendants from

this wife were called Bani Qatura or Bani Madyan. They inhabited a region by the side of the

highway going to Palestine and Syria along the Mediterranean coast. It was a region full of

green pastures and thick forests, and extended upto the mountains of Sinai. Bani Qatura lived

there for about 600 years. Almighty Lord had raised Prophet ShoebA from among these people,

and ShoebA was the prophet in whose house prophet Moses

A took refuge after escaping from

Egypt. After some time, MosesA married prophet Shoeb

A‟s daughter. Later on, these entire

people merged with the people of MosesA, and lost their separate identity.

As we have already discussed, AbrahamA‟s son from Hagar (Ishmael

A) had settled down in

Arabia where House of God, Ka’ba, was situated; and AbrahamA‟s other son from Sarah

(IsaacA) inhabited the region of Kanaan. These three progenies, who had settled down in

different regions were all known as descendants of AbrahamA ( ), comprising of Bani-

Ismail, Bani-Israil and Bani-Qatura. For centuries they lived in harmony and peace. They had

inter-marriages and business relations. ___Ka’ba was the House-of-God for all of them as

prophet AbrahamA had built it with his own hands. At that time Baitul-Maqdas (Jerusalem) did

not exist as it was built about a thousand years later, in 960 BC, by prophet SolomonA. When

prophet JosephA (son of prophet Jacob

A and grandson of prophet Isaac

A) rose to become the

ruler of Egypt, he called his entire family, his father and all his brothers to Egypt, and made

them settle in the fertile lands of the Nile delta.

32

They were then called Bani-Israil because prophet JacobA was known by the title of Israil.

They thrived there for almost 400 years. But as they degenerated, they were uprooted by the

Pharaohs, who returned to recapture Egypt. Bani-Israil were then enslaved by the Pharaohs.

They were forced to labour worse than slaves and lived like captives. During these times of

distress and torture they lost all contacts with their brothers in Arabia (Bani-Ismail).

As centuries passed, Bani-Israil lost even their faith and attachment with the religion of

AbrahamA. After passing through about 400 years of slavery, at the time of birth of Moses

A,

there was only one family among them who still held firm faith on the religion of AbrahamA.

That family was that of father of MosesA, Imran.

Bible mentions briefly this part of their history:

Bible

Genesis: 15:15 (Almighty Lord said to Abraham):

“I promise that your descendants will live as foreigners in a land that

doesn‟t belong to them. There they will be forced into slavery and abused

for 400 years. But I will terribly punish the nation that enslaves them, and

they will leave with many possessions”.

Almighty Lord promised AbrahamA many descendants and many nations.

Bible says:

Bible

Genesis: 17:1-8 Abraham was 99 years old when the Lord appeared to him again and said:

“I am God All powerful. If you obey me and always do right, I will keep

very solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be

counted”.

Abraham bowed with his face to the ground, and God said: “I promise that

you will be the father of many nations. That is why I now change your

name from Abram to Abraham. I will give you a lot of descendants and in

the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.

I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants

because I am your God and their God. I will give you and them the land in

which you are now a foreigner. I will give whole land of Kanaan to your

family forever, and I will be their God”.

Almighty Lord thus promised to bless AbrahamA and his progeny with all the above favours

but with one condition, that they will obey the Lord. And for assessing their obedience, the

Lord ordained one Sign.

33

God ordained a Sign for assessing their obedience:

Bible

Genesis: 17:9-14 Abraham you and all future members of your family must promise to obey

me. And the Sign that you are keeping this promise; you must circumcise

every man and boy in your family. From now on, your family must

circumcise every baby boy when he is 8 days old. You even must

circumcise any man or Boy you have as a slave, both those born in your

homes and those you buy from foreigners, this will be a sign that My

promise to you will last forever. Any man who is not circumcised hasn‟t

kept his promise to me, and cannot be one of my people.

This was a warning of the Lord for the descendants of all sons of AbrahamA, as

circumcision of all males was desired by the Lord as the sign proving their obedience. This

Divine command was practiced by descendants of IsaacA (Bani-Israil) until the time of Jesus

A

Christ, but was abandoned later. Bani-Israil consequently lost the privilege of Divine Prophet-

hood and Imamat. Time had then become ripe for the Almighty Lord to bestow these blessings

in the progeny of IshmaelA to Muhammad

S.

Bible says that Almighty Lord had promised to bless the progeny of IshmaelA, and to make

it a great nation:

Bible

Genesis: 17:20 God said:

“I have heard what you asked me to do for Ishmael, and so I will also bless

him with many descendants. He will be the father of 12 princess, and I will

make his family a great nation.

It is difficult to research the exact word used by the Lord in the above revelation which has

been translated as “12 Princes”; however Bible throws some light on this subject:

Bible

Genesis: 25:12-16 Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the slave woman of Sarah.

Ishmael had twelve sons, in this order:

1. Nebaioth. 2. Kedar. 3. Adbeel 4. Mibsam 5. Mishma 6. Dumah

7. Massa 8. Hadad. 9. Tema 10. Jetur 11. Naphish 12. Kedemah.

Each of Ishnmael‟s sons was a tribal chief, and a village was named after

each of them. Ishmael had settled in the land east of his brothers, and his

sons settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt on the way to

Asshur. Ishmael was 137 when he died.

To sum up the above discussion: God‟s promise of blessing Imamat on the progeny of

AbrahamA was subject to two conditions:

(i) That they will remain obedient to Almighty Lord.

34

(ii) That Imamat will not be blessed on those descendants of AbrahamA who would be

Zalim (unjust with rebellious attitude to God).

How well these two conditions were adhered to by the progeny of IsaacA/Jacob

A (Bani-

Israil), has been made quite evident by history. ___ Repeatedly they abandoned belief in one

God, and did not listen to the prophets and Imams of their times. They even killed many

prophets and Imams, the last prominent one being John the Baptist (YahyaA), and after him they

conspired to crucify JesusA.

Consequently they earned their punishment. They were attacked, defeated and enslaved

three times. Jerusalem was destroyed and razed to ground two times. First they were crushed in

721 BC, when the “Ten Tribes of Israel” were enslaved by Assyrians, and were scattered

around in such a way that they could not be traced. Then in 586 BC, the Babylonian king

Nebuchadnezzar defeated them, enslaved them, and razed Jerusalem to ground. Lastly in 70

AD, Romans again razed Jerusalem to ground.

The Almighty Lord then deprived Bani-Israil from the privilege of prophet-hood and

Imamat and bestowed it to the descendants of IshmaelA i.e, to prophet Muhammad

S.

A verse of Holy Quran points to the above mentioned transfer of blessing in a very peculiar

way. This verse says:

Al-Quran

3:33 Verily God choose Adam and Noah and the descendants of Abraham

( ) and the descendants of Imran ( ) above all the worlds.

Outwardly it looks simple, but this verse carries the whole history of prophet-hood and

Imamat hidden behind its words. Pondering over it with a researching mind, some questions

come up, like:

(i) Why did God chose AdamA and Noah

A and descendants of Abraham

A and Imran

above all the worlds? What about other prophets who number over 100,000?

(ii) Why did God use the word descendents (Aal) only with AbrahamA and Imran, and

not with AdamA and Noah

A?

Firstly, in this verse Almighty Lord is speaking about “Religion of God” which

descended upon humanity with AdamA, in verbal form, as the civilization in

AdamA‟s time did not need a Book and verbal commandments were sufficient. But

as civilization developed, Books were needed and God sent down five (5) Grand

Prophets over a period of about 3500 years, one after another. Each of them came

with a Book. These five Grand Prophets were NoahA, Abraham

A, Moses

A, Jesus

A,

and MuhammadS. The other prophets, numbering over 100,000, who were sent by

35

God over different places at different times, followed the Books relevant to the

Grand Prophets of their times. (See the Quranic verse 42:13-14 for the five God-

appointed Grand Prophets, i.e, NoahA, Abraham

A, Moses

A, Jesus

A and

MuhammadS).

The above mentioned verse is also indicative of the said five Grand Prophets,

namely NoahA and the desdcendants of Abraham

A (Aale-Ibrahim). It is indicating

that four of the five Grand Prophets will come from AbrahamA and his

descendants.

The verse further includes the word “Aale-Imran”, although the mention of “Aale-

Ibrahim” in it, was adequate for conveying the desired message. Why “Aale-

Imran” is included additionally, we will discuss below.

The verse is further saying that these prophets are above all the worlds i.e, they are

the best of the beings created by Almighty Lord.

It must also be kept in mind that because AbrahamA was blessed by the Lord with

the additional responsibility of Imamat, therefore from the time of AbrahamA the

transfer of “Divine Responsibility” included the prophet-hood as well as Imamat.

Why Aale-Imran is highlighted additionally can be explained by the fact that after

MuhammadS because Imamat was to be separated from prophet-hood, therefore

use of Aale-Imran was to convey that message.

But before going further, it is important to know: Who was Imran and who were

his descendants?

To answer the question “Who was Imran”, a research through Bible leads to the

person of Imran, who was the father of prophets MosesA and Aaron

A. Bible spells

his name as Imram and shows his lineage as:

Bible

Old Testament Exodus:

6:16-20

(Prophet Jacob)

|

Levi

|

Kohath

|

Amram

|

| |

MosesA

AaronA

But this offers only a partial answer, because it points only to MosesA as one of the

three Grand Prophets. What about JesusA and Muhammad

S?

36

Bible

Mathews: 1:1-17

(brief)

Searching for JesusA, we find that Bible shows him as son of

JosephA and Virgin Mary and traces his lineage through Joseph

and through King David, all the way to Abraham (a trace of 42

generations).

But this lineage of JesusA is highly objectionable because holy Mary was virgin; she

was not married, neither to JosephA nor to anyone else.

In this respect, turning to Quran we find that a Quranic verse depicts briefly the

scenario of Virgin Mary‟s birth. The father of Virgin Mary was Imran, and her

mother had vowed to Almighty Lord, when she would bear her child, she would give

away that child in the service of the Lord. When the child was born, it turned out to

be a daughter, not a son. She was extremely worried and pleaded to Almighty Lord in

submission, before offering her daughter to the Lord. Quranic verses say:

Al-Quran

3:35 When the wife of Imran said: “My Lord, I have vowed unto

thee, what is in my womb to be dedicated for thee, freed (from

worldly responsibilities); therefore accept it from me. Verily

thou art the All-hearing, All-knowing”.

Thus Quran clarifies that the lineage of JesusA was through Imran, father of Virgin

Mary.

Bible is silent as to how Virgin Mary was brought up after she was given away by her

mother in the service of the Lord. Quranic verses however, briefly describe this part

of Virgin Mary‟s life.

There were many aspirants interested in taking Mary into their guardianship. So the

issue was finally decided by casting lots with their pens. ZakariyyaA (Father of John

the Baptist) came out as winner, and made arrangements for the dwelling of Mary in

the Sanctuary. Quran says:

Al-Quran

3:44 This is of the news of the things unseen (by you) which We

reveal to you (O Muhammad), because you were not with

them when they cast lots with their pens as to who of them

should take care of Mary; nor were you with them when they

disputed among themselves.

Quran further says:

Al-Quran

3:37 So her Lord accepted her with gracious acceptance and made

her grow up with a graceful growth, and He made ZakariyyaA

take care of her.

Whenever ZakariyyaA came to see her in the Sanctuary, he

37

found her provided with sustenance, he asked: “O Mary, from

where this comes to you”? She answered: “It is from Lord.

Verily Lord provides for whomsoever He likes without

measure”.

Thus Virgin Mary was brought up in the Sanctuary under the care of ZakariyyaA, and

the father of Virgin Mary was Imran.

After some time, with the blessing of the Lord, when Virgin Mary gave birth to

JesusA Christ, the second of the three Grand Prophets was born.

Question still remains open about the third and the last of the three Grand Prophets

i.e, Prophet MuhammadS, from where Imamat separates from prophet-hood. This

Grand Prophet was declared by Almighty Lord in the holy Quran.

Quran says:

Al-Quran

33:40 Muhammad is a prophet of God, and the seal of the prophets.

God is the knower of all things.

But one question is not yet answered, what was the connection of Imran or Aale-

Imran with prophet MuhammadS? This is answered by the fact that:

The Holy Quran.

Mir Ahmad Ali.

Page: 278

Imran was also the name of prophet MuhammadS‟s uncle Abu

Talib, and Aale-Imran were the descendants of Abu Talib.

Imam AliA was the son of Abu Talib, in whose progeny

Imamat was sent down further by the Lord.

To summarize the above discussion:

The Divine wisdom behind mentioning the word Aale-Imran in verse 3:33 appears to

indicate that the Divine positions of prophet-hood and Imamat were both to be

transferred from Bani-Israil ( ) to Bani-Ismail ( ), and that Imamat

was destined to continue in the progeny of Imam AliA-ibn-Abu Talib

R.

The importance of word Aale-Imran is so high that Chapter 3 of Quran was given the

title “Aale-Imran”.

The need of conveying the above message by using “Aale-Imran” like a code-word, was

the Divine-wisdom to demotivate any thoughts of manipulation or changing words of

Quran, because Imamat was going to become a controversial subject in times to come.

38

This was a preventive strategy to up-keep the original purity of words of Quran. Similar

examples can be seen at many places in the holy Quran.

Another important indication hidden behind the word Aale-Imran is about the last days

of our world. The “End-of-time” will witness extremely vital roles played by the

descendants of Imran: JesusA Christ representing the Aale-Imran of Bani-Israil, and

Imam Mahdi representing the Aale-Imran of Bani-Ismail; both together will cleans-up

the world of all evil, and fill it up with justice and peace.

The last comment needs some explanation for which we will go back in history to the times

of prophet AbrahamA and his eldest son Ishmael

A. When they were laying the foundation-stone

of House-of-God (Ka’ba), in the city of Mecca (which used to be a wilderness), both father and

son prayed to God. Quran says:

Al-Quran

2:127-129 (Remember) when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the

House (Ka’ba), praying “Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily

you, and you alone, are the All-hearing and All-knowing.

Our Lord, make us both submissive to you, and of our progeny make a

group submissive only to you, and show us the ways of our devotion and

turn to us (mercifully).

Verily You and You alone are the Oft-turning and Merciful. Our Lord, raise

up in them a prophet from among them who shall recite to them Your

revelations, and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Verily,

You and You alone are the Mighty, the Wise”.

The Merciful Lord accepted their prayer but kept to Himself the time of its implementation.

2500 years later, when the time became ripe, the Lord blessed prophet-hood on the progeny of

IshmaelA i.e, on Muhammad

S. Quran decreed:

Al-Quran

33:40 Muhammad is a prophet of God and the seal of the prophets. God is the

knower of all things.

Traditions of prophet MuhammadS also narrate that after him neither would come any

prophet nor any messenger.

But about Imamat, neither Quran nor any tradition spoke that it will also end with prophet

MuhammadS. On the contrary holy Quran declared:

Al-Quran

17:71 (Remember) the day when We will summon every people with their Imam.

39

And prophet MuhammadS declared in a tradition: “One who did not recognize the Imam of

his time, died the death of an ignorant”.

This makes it amply clear that an Imam must exist at all times till the world exists. In such a

situation it is important to know, who were the Imams after prophet MuhammadS, and who is

the Imam of our times?

This subject will be discussed later, but relevant to our discussion about Aale-Imran, a

tradition narrates:

Masnad ibn Hambal

Vol: 1, Page: 99

Vol: 3, Page: 70-71

Tradition narrates that before the End-of-time, MahdiA (the last Imam in

the Ahlul-bayt of (prophet MuhammadS) will appear along with prophet

Jesus ChristA. They will clean up the world of all evil and fill it up with

justice and peace.

Thus the End-of-time will witness extremely vital roles played by the descendants of Imran

( ); Jesus ChristA representing the Aale-Imran of Bani-Israil, and Imam Mahdi

A

representing the Aale-Imran of Bani-Ismail. Both together will embark upon a seemingly

impossible struggle, to win the Grand Battle against the combined evil of the entire world; and

with God‟s help they are destined to achieve a thorough victory.

It is unfortunate that Imamat became a controversial subject among Muslims. Some believe

in it in totality, some believe partially, while others deny it totally. Those who believe in it

consider it as one of the main pillars of Islam after unity of God and prophet-hood. But those

who deny it have completely eradicated it from their faith.

I personally believe in Imamat, and as I was struggling to put it down in suitable words, I

stumbled upon a document in my pile of books. It was an article on Imamat written by Maulana

Ali Naqi-al-Naqvi. I was happy to have my problem solved so easily and decided to quote the

article verbatim. Few words about its background:

Some years before the partition of India, the late Niaz Fatehpuri used to publish a monthly

periodical by the name “Nigar”. Off and on scholarly writings on religious subjects also used to

appear in this periodical. In 1935, Nigar opened up the subject of Imamat for discussion among

people of all walks of life. Many scholars, religious as well as liberals, Sunnis as well as Shias

contributed to this discussion.

Imamia Mission Lacknow (India, UP), published this entire discussion later, after the debate

was concluded. Fortunately I had a copy of this publication, out of which the article of Maulana

Naqi-al-Naqvi is reproduced below:

40

Necessity of the institution of Imamat:

We will also discuss two issues connected with this subject:

(i) Why Imamat is destined to end at the twelfth Imam?

(ii) Reason and logic for the existence and appearance of the promised Imam?

For the past two years a debate is continuously on about Khilafat and Imamat, in the

periodical “Nigar” which is published under the editorship of Niaz Fatehpuri, a well-known

modern and liberal scholar.

Mr. Niaz Fatehpuri‟s thoughts about religion have always been revolutionary, and I still

remember my discussion with him on the subject of “Miracles of Jesus ChristA”.

I am really surprised that a person who doesn‟t consider “Religion” a necessity, and who

denies the existence of everything like hell, heaven, angels etc, should show such a great

interest in Imamat that he sacrifices valuable pages of his periodical for long and detailed

discussions on it. It is something beyond my comprehension; I will leave it at that, as the saying

in Persian goes “Only the kings know the secrets of their kingdom”. In the publication of March

1936, Niaz Fatehpuri raised eleven (11) questions on Khilafat and Imamat, and requested the

thinkers and scholars of all sects, mainly the major sects of Islam, Sunnis and Shias, to

enlighten the readers with their views.

Those who were misled to believe Dr. Umbaidkar‟s interest in Islam and used to spend their

time and money in this respect, they will consider it their duty to comply in this case also. They

will disregard the fact that Dr. Umbaidkar‟s announcements and invitations turned out to be

false, and perhaps similar may be the outcome of these efforts of Editor of Nigar.

To cut the discussion short, this effort of Nigar continues and the masked players on the

chess-board of Nigar continue to play their parts, but I have no concern with them. I am only

concerned with some of the questions raised by Nigar about the promised 12th Imam. I only

want to highlight some important explanations, not for the sake of satisfying the Editor of Nigar

but for the sake of clearing the confusions and doubts.

The first question I would like to address is “Why Imamat is necessary and why it has to be

limited to the family of the prophet”?

You might recall that, I have been writing about “Why Imamat is necessary” in my

periodical “Wajud-e-Hujjat”. I wrote that human nature of varying moods and selfish trends,

makes it impossible that a righteous guidance once received could be maintained and followed

adequately over long periods of time. If it could be done then only one prophet was sufficient,

and no follow-up guidance was needed. In that case it would not have been necessary for the

Almighty Lord to send 124,000 prophets to this world.

41

We know that the laws of Almighty Lord are firm and also that human nature will remain

the same, so a careful study of the following factors will help us in understanding the necessity

of Imamat:

The causes of rise and fall of nations.

The history of past Imams.

The study of prophets who came with Books and Shariah and the long list of other

prophets who preached those Shariahs later. Also the continuation of this process till the

social and economic conditions demanded a change.

The coming of a new prophet with new Book and Shariah and the analysis of this

continuous process showing the necessity of a continuous system of guidance from the

Lord through Divine teachers.

This is how God completed his arguments with people of all times and which in reality

was the purpose of sending prophets. ( ).

This was the Divine tradition which exists for all the past prophets.

( ).

All this description was about the prophets whose Shariahs were limited to a certain

period. ( ).

God‟s way has been to send one prophet with Shariah and after some time to send another

prophet with Shariah. In the intervening period to send God-appointed prophets and Imams for

preaching, implementing and safeguarding the Shariah brought by the earlier prophet until the

later prophet arrived.

When such were the ways of God then how could His prophet MuhammadS, about whom

He had announced that he was the last prophet, and this prophet himself said that: “After him

neither a prophet will come nor a messenger”, and whose Shariah will continue until the End-

of-time, then how could Almighty Lord leave this last Shariah on its own without protection

and guidance. ___The Almighty Lord did not leave this Shariah unprotected and unguided. He

assigned this function to Imams. Therefore, Imams deserve to be called as successor to the

prophet. (Khalifa-bil-fasl).

Now we come to the question “Is it essential that Imam should exist at all times”? Answer is

yes, because Imam is needed at all times. Had the Shariah of prophet MuhammadS been valid

for a limited time, then the protector of that Shariah would also be needed for that limited time.

But the Shariah of MuhammadS is to stay till the End-of-time, so will be the need of Imam until

the End-of-time.

42

How would the Imam protect Shariah? Undoubtedly, there could be two ways of doing it.

First and the most effective way would be through exercising the worldly power of government.

But if this was not possible because of people‟s ambition and preference, then the Imam was

left with no option but to function in his own personal capacity openly or secretly, depending

upon political environment.

A question still remained unanswered, why is it necessary for Imamat to be limited only to

Ahlul-bayt? ___ No, it is not necessary at all, neither it is logical to limit it to Ahlul-bayt.

However, conditions are laid down which must be met by any person who claims to be Imam.

The conditions are three pronged, namely superiority, infallibility, and Divine appointment. If

any person meets these conditions, he qualifies to be an Imam. It however is an evident reality

that these qualities existed only in the Imams of Ahlul-bayt, in whom Shias believe. Yet another

evident fact is that no other person ever claimed to possess all these qualities. Lastly, as the

traditions confirm, Imams of Ahlul-bayt are those pious persons whom prophet MuhammadS

declared, each one by name, as his successors, Khalifas, and Imams.

Did the Prophet possess the knowledge of Ghaib (unknown)?:

A controversy in the debate arises here, as the conclusions which Editor of Nigar has drawn

include one which says “Because prophet MuhammadS did not posses knowledge of future

(Ghaib), therefore, how could he know about the capabilities of each Ahlul-bayt and predict

which one of them will deserve to be Khalifa and Imam? Alternately if it is assumed that all

Ahlul-bayt, or the progeny of the prophet, are born as righteous and infallible, then this

assumption should be good for all times. But unfortunately in our times we see that this

assumption does not hold good”.

Editor Nigar has discussed this subject further and has cited two of Quranic verses which

not only say that “Prophet did not possess Ghaib”, but also say that “Prophet MuhammadS

himself admitted that he does not possess knowledge of Ghaib”.

While citing these verses of Quran, Editor of Nigar fails to understand that they relate to the

“Entire Knowledge of Ghaib”, which is only in the knowledge of God and no one else. But

when God wishes to grant limited knowledge out of this Ghaib to some one He chooses, God

does it. For example Quran says:

Al-Quran

72:26-27 God is the Knower of the Ghaib and He does not reveal the Ghaib to

anyone except to the Messenger whom he chooses.

If someone raises the question: “Was MuhammadS the Messenger to whom God revealed

Ghaib”, the answer is “Yes”, because firstly Quran provides such indications at many places,

and secondly because MuhammadS was the most elevated prophet so he certainly deserved this

43

favor of God. ___But why was knowledge of Ghaib necessary for him? Because prophet

MuhammadS did not depend on any other source for acquiring knowledge but the Almighty

Lord. Therefore, it goes without saying that he possessed knowledge far superior and far

beyond any other person‟s reach, because that knowledge was revealed to him by God.

Now, raising such questions as, “How could MuhammadS know which of his Ahlul-bayt

will posses what qualities”, will become relevant only when it is first admitted that even God

did not possess this knowledge. But as God is All-Knowing so when prophet MuhammadS

declared by name that after him so and so will be the Khalifas and Imams, then it becomes

obvious that these Khalifas and Imams were the appointees of the Almighty Lord, and God

wanted prophet MuhammadS to announce it for everyone to know.

Why did Imamat end with the 12th Imam?:

Obvious reason is that Almighty Lord knew that after prophet MuhammadS no one else

possessed the qualities essentially required for Imamat except the twelve (12) Imams of

MuhammadS‟s Ahlul-bayt, and that the institution of Imamat will continue until the End-of-

Time. Some of prophet MuhammadS‟s traditions relevent to this subject are as under:

(i). Narrated by Abdullah-Bin-Masud (ref: Yana-Baiy-al-Mawaddah, page 245, published

Istanbul, Turkey).

Our prophet (Pbuh) made a covenant with us that after him, Imams will be twelve (12, as

were the Nuqu-Bai-Bani-Israel similar in number (the leaders of Bani-Israel during the times of

prophet MosesA were twelve).

(ii). Sahi-Muslim quotes from prophet MuhammadS:

Religion will always continue to exist until the last hour of earth, and people will have

twelve (12) Imams who will all be from Quraiysh.

This tradition clearly confirms the existence of twelfth Imam at the End-of-Time and

thereafter it further confirms that from the time of prophet MuhammadS to the End-of-Time

there will exist twelve Imams representing Almighty Lord‟s Hujjat (end of argument) and to

44

uphold the true religion of God (Islam). This naturally leads to the conclusion that an Imam

must exist on earth at all times.

(iii). Sanan Abu Dau’d quotes traditions from prophet MuhammadS:

- The religion will continue to exist till the twelve Imams exist as their Wali, and all of

them will be from Quraiysh.

- The (Qiyamah) cannot take place until all those twelve (12) Imams come to pass who

will all be from Quraiysh.

These traditions leave no doubt that the existence of religion after prophet MuhammadS

depends upon the existence of Imams and that religion will exist till the Last-Hour of earth

(Qiyamah).

Whatever way research is done to discover the twelve Imams mentioned in above traditions,

it will end up in no other possibility but the twelve (12) Imams of prophet MuhammadS‟s Ahlul-

Bayt. It will then dawn upon the researcher that the reason Almighty Lord makes earth to

continue to exist after prophet MuhammadS‟s death is because of continued existence of the said

Imams. After the twelfth Imam there is nothing but the Qiyamah (the destruction of earth).

Logical reason for the hidden Imam MahdiA:

Only this reason should be enough to convince the believers that the great truthful prophet

MuhammadS predicted it. Furthermore there is nothing in this prediction which is against the

“Ways of God” and Quran, or even simple logic. If some people tend to deny this fact they

should produce evidence in support of their claim. The acceptability of the fact that twelfth

Imam is hidden from eyes should come naturally to a Muslim who believes that Ghaib is the

main pillar on which the religion of Islam is based. If some people think that the issue of

“Hidden Imam” is an impossibility not even worth a serious consideration; they should first

abandon their faith on all basic concepts of Islam starting from the end to the beginning,

because Muslims are essentially required to believe in Ghaib (Invisible).

They should ponder and think that they are required to believe in the existence of Almighty

God, who is not visible. ___They are required to believe in the truthfulness of prophets and

45

messengers, none of whom is now available. ___They are required to believe in the Day-of-

Accountability, Paradise and Hell, none of which is visible. ___They are required to believe in

Angels who cannot be seen, etc. etc.

In fact Quran and teachings of prophet MuhammadS require faith on innumerable beliefs

which are invisible, and about which the questioner might not have even thought. Therefore

after having belief in Ghaib on so many important principles of Islam, how can believers deny

the belief on “Hidden Imam” simply because it is based on Ghaib and is not visible to people?

Writer: Syed-ul-Ulema Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi.

Imams of Ahlul-Bayt of Prophet MuhammadS:

Tafsir-Anwar-un-

Najaf,

Vol : 10, Page-154.

(Commentary on Al-

Quran 24:55)

Tafsir-Burhan quotes with reference to Babwiya, from Jabir-bin-Abdullah

Ansari:

“Jandal-bin-Janada-bin-Jubair (a Jewish scholar), upon accepting Islam at

the hands of prophet MuhammadS asked the question:

“Every prophet in the past had declared his successor. Please let us know

who will be your successor after you”?

Prophet MuhammadS replied” “O Jandal, like the Nuquba-e-Israel, my

successors will be twelve (12) Imams, whose names and titles are:

Name of Imam:

1. Ali-ibn-Abi Talib…………………………

2. Hasan-bin-Ali ………………………....…

3. Husayn-bin-Ali ………………………..…

4. Ali-bin-Husayn ....……………………......

5. Muhammad-bin-Ali ………………...……

6. Jafar-bin-Muhammad ………..………......

7. Musa-bin-Jaffar .........................................

8. Ali-bin-Musa .........................................…

9. Muhammad-bin-Ali ………………….…..

10. Ali-bin-Muhammad .............................…

11. Hasan-bin-Ali ………………..………....

12. Muhammad Mahdi-bin-Hassan ……..….

Title:

Al-Murtaza.

Al-Mujtaba.

Shaheed-e-Karbala.

Zainul-Abidin.

Baqarul-Uloom.

Al-Sadiq.

Al-Kazim.

Al-Raza.

Al-Taqi.

Al-Naqi.

Al-Askari.

Al-Mahdi.

Abul-Qasim.

(Qaim-e-AleMuhammad).

The titles (as shown above) allotted to these Imams by prophet MuhammadS, carry a great

significance. These titles are the primary means to recognize the Imams, and have always been

used for this purpose. No changes have neither occurred nor can occur in these titles.

46

The second important means of their recognition is their knowledge and wisdom which

passed on to them from prophet MuhammadS, through their fathers and grand-fathers. This

knowledge was transferred from father to son, from Imam AliA to his sons and grand-sons until

it reached the twelfth Imam.

Prophet MuhammadS always had exclusive concerns about knowledge. Commentator of

Quran, Ibn Jabal has narrated a long tradition of prophet through the authority of Imam Jafar

SadiqA which contains many sayings of the prophet on the subject of knowledge. Some relevant

excerpts from this tradition are:

Bihar-al-Anwar.

Volume: 1

Allama Baqar bin

Muhammad Taqi

Majlisi

An hour of deep thinking about the marvels of creation of the Almighty

Lord, is better than seventy years of prayers.

To listen to the talk of knowledge and wisdom, brings more blessings

than participation in funeral-prayers of 1000 martyrs, or offering prayers

for 1000 nights.

Those seekers-of-knowledge who leave even their homes in search of

knowledge, are blessed by Almighty Lord with a high status in Paradise,

and they are welcomed by the angels at the entrance of Paradise.

Paying attention to the talks of people-of-knowledge and wisdom and

understanding their sayings is better than setting free 100 slaves.

Those who support and help learned people, will be blessed by kindness

of God in the Hereafter.

Those who respect knowledge and wisdom, they infact respect me

(prophet MuhammadS).

These sayings of prophet MuhammadS indicate his priority and concern for knowledge.

Some more of his sayings are:

He used to say that first step of knowledge is cognizance of God. That is why he used to

exhort his followers to acquire knowledge, because it leads to awareness of Straight-path

of God ( ), adopting which is ( ) righteousness.

He used to stress the need of discussing knowledge related subjects in mutual

conversation, because those who talk about knowledge they infact pay homage to the

Almighty Lord.

He used to say that those who seek knowledge it is infact like praying to their God.

Those who impart knowledge to others they are infact like distributors of charity.

Those who assist learned people with knowledge related activities, they perform deeds of

righteousness.

Knowledge enables people to discriminate between Halal/Haram and

permitted/forbidden matters.

47

Knowledge becomes a source of lighting the heavenly paths, and becomes a source of

guidance on land.

In loneliness knowledge is a companion, and in distress it is a friend.

Knowledge keeps people in righteous track during happiness and comforts them during

times of grief.

Knowledge is a source of elegance in congregation of friends, and is a source of victories

in battles against enemies.

Achieving heights of knowledge leads to achieving heights of righteousness, thereby

guiding people to spiritual elevation and success in the Hereafter.

These jewels of quotable quotes give just a cursory glimpse of his attachment to knowledge.

It goes without saying that his treasure of knowledge was the reason that the town of Medina

got the names of “City of Knowledge” and City of Wisdom”.

In this very city, within the compound of Mosque-of-Prophet, an unpaved platform was

built, roofed by date-palm-leaves, which became the first Place-of-Learning setup by the

prophet. This platform was called Suffah, and those seekers of knowledge who utilized it were

known as Ashab-e-Suffah (the companions of prophet, associated with Suffah).

Prophet MuhammadS himself used to impart lessons of knowledge and wisdom at Suffah.

Here, those companions of prophet were allowed to reside who were seekers of knowledge and

who were single and free from family and house hold responsibilities. They worked to earn only

so much which could enable them to live. If any of them wished to marry he moved to a house

and vacated his place in Suffah for another seeker of knowledge.

Sermons of prophet MuhammadS at Suffah, full of spirituality, knowledge and wisdom, on

subjects of One-ness of God, faith ( ), faith on God ( ), self control ( ), human

relationship ( ) etc., were not only listened by Ashab-e-Suffah with full

dedication but were also spread out by them everywhere they went. ___Suffah was therefore a

learning centre, small and modest but extremely effective.

Close to the platform of Suffah were the living quarters of family of prophet and his wives.

There were homes there, which glittered with (light), echoed with names of God, and were

centers of prayers and praises of Almighty Lord. The residents of these homes, dedicated and

God-fearing, prayed to God mornings and evenings.

Surrounded by the houses of prophet‟s wives, there was the home of daughter of prophet,

Fatima ZahraSA

. This home (of family of prophet) was unique with a peculiar distinction that all

of its residents grew up under the personal care of the prophet:

48

Fatima ZahraSA

, daughter of the prophet (pbuh).

AliA-ibn-Abi Talib

R, husband of Fatima Zahra

SA and cousin of prophet (pbuh).

HasanA-ibn-Ali

A, son of Fatima Zahra

SA and Ali

A.

HusaynA-ibn-Ali

A, son of Fatima Zahra

SA and Ali

A.

ZainabR-binte-Ali

A, daughter of Fatima Zahra

SA and Ali

A.

Umme KulsumR, daughter of Fatima Zahra

SA and Ali

A.

All of them, after they were born, opened their eyes in the lap of prophet MuhammadS.

From the days of their infancy they learned to follow the footsteps of prophet, and in their adult-

hood they were the direct beneficiaries of prophet MuhammadS‟s treasurers of knowledge and

wisdom. They learned treading Straight-path-of-God ( ) direct from the prophet, and

it was here that they learned the lessons of patience and gratitude.

History is a witness that the above mentioned family of prophet had among them the three

(3) persons who were the Imams of their times, namely:

1. Imam AliA ibn Abi Talib

R.

2. Imam HasanA ibn Ali

A.

3. Imam HusaynA ibn Ali

A.

All these three were Imams and were the recipients of prophet MuhammadS‟s knowledge

and wisdom, and were the (whose knowledge is perfect), as indicated by the

traditions of prophet MuhammadS:

-- I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its entrance.

-- I am the city of wisdom and Ali is its entrance.

After the times of Imam AliA, Imam Hasan

A and Imam Husayn

A, the remaining nine (9)

Imams, who were also the recipients of the knowledge and wisdom of prophet MuhammadS

through their fathers and grand-fathers, proved themselves head and shoulders above everyone

else. Moreover, nobody ever claimed that he was the teacher of these Imams. Imam AliA said

about them:

Nahjul-Balagha

Sermons 239, 246

(Excerpts).

They (The Imams of Ahlul-bayt) are the holders of Divine secrets and

defenders of the true religion of God (Islam). They are the recipients of

Divine Knowledge. They are the sources from where springs of wisdom

gush out, and they are like a green picturesque valley which represents the

grandeur of Divine Books. They recognize and practice the faith on the

basis of their deep and perfect understanding of the religion of God.

49

Spirit of Islam

Syed Ameer Ali

Page-654

Abu Nasr Siraj, in his book (Studies of Islamic Mysticism),

writes with reference to Junaid Baghdadi that:

Had Ali a chance to avoid the battles that he was forced to fight, he would

have enlightened the world with his astounding knowledge”.

Khwaja Farid-ud-din Attar in his book (Writings about

prophet‟s followers close to God) consider Imam Jafar Sadiq (sixth Imam

of Ahlul-bayt) as the highest and most elevated of all.

This is worth noting that the spiritual attachment of all the Sufi lineage (except a few) take

their inspiration from Imam AliA, and thus they enter the “City of Knowledge of prophet”

through its gate (AliA).

History tells us that during the entire period of Caliphate of the first three caliphs from 11th

Hijra to 35 Hijra (a span about 25 years), Imam AliA remained detached from politics, and

devoted all his time to guiding Muslims to the tenets of Islam and the practices of prophet

MuhammadS.

50

I had intended to end the chapter on Imamat at this point, but because the daughter of

prophet MuhammadS, Fatima Zahra

SA, is such an important link with the subject of

Imamat, this discussion would have been incomplete if I had not mentioned her. Fatima

ZahraSA

was the daughter of prophet MuhammadS, wife of Imam Ali

A and the mother of

the entire chain of Imamat of the eleven (11) Imams.

Therefore, whatever I could gather about Fatima ZahraSA

, I am presenting to my

readers.

51

Fatima ZahraSA: (daughter of prophet Mohammad

S):

Biographers of prophet MohammadS differ on the birth day of Fatima Zahra

SA. The different

opinions about her birth vary from the first year of prophet-hood to the fifth year of prophet-

hood.

Wife of prophet MohammadS, Khadijat-ul-Kubra

R, also known as Malikatul-Arab (the

queen of Arabia), gave birth to Fatima ZahraSA

after she had given birth to two sons earlier. The

birth of the daughter was greatly welcomed by prophet MohammadS and Khadija

R to the utter

surprise of Arabs. Arabs in general used to hate the birth of a daughter. They used to bury her

alive or sell her off. They used to consider this an act of chivalry and pride to bury the daughter

alive, and they used to celebrate this occasion by reciting poetries like: “A girl has only three

places of security. A son in-law, who takes care of her and hides her; or a home which keeps her

hidden, or a grave which is better than a home”.

But the parents of Fatima ZahraSA

were very much different. Her father was

(a Divine blessing for all the worlds), and her mother was and (mother of

orphans, and mother of deprived).

The door of KhadijaR was always open for mothers who wanted to save the life of their new

born daughters from the cruel clutches of their fathers. Those helpless mothers used to leave

their newborns quietly, at the doorsteps of KhadijaR, who then used to raise them with love and

care, and used to marry them off when they reached the right age.

After her birth when Fatima ZahraSA

opened her eyes, she saw her mother, her father and

also the great angel of God, GabrielA. As she grew up she kept on witnessing the pious and

spiritual ways of the house of prophet, the frequent visits of angel GabrielA with Divine-

revelations and the holy environment of prayers and praises of Almighty Lord in her house. She

therefore, developed into a highly elevated personality worthy of her parents, and was honed

personally by her father, prophet MohammadS. Therefore she became a perfect model for

females to follow.

As Fatima ZahraAS

grew up she witnessed the difficult times her father was facing and the

tortures he had to bear. It must have given her a grave surprise that the Maccan Quraysh who

were her relatives, became die-hard enemies of her father just because he preached belief in one

God, but certainly the extraordinary security provided to her father by Abu TalibR (prophet‟s

uncle) and KhadijaR (prophet‟s wife) must have shed her worst fears off.

Some years passed in these wretched and dismal conditions during which the enmity of

Quraysh flared up to such an extent that Abu TalibR and his tribe (Banu Hashim) had to quit

52

Mecca and seek refuge in a narrow mountain valley known as Sheb-Abu Talib. Quraysh

declared a siege of the valley and enforced an embargo.

For three years Banu Hashim had to survive in this valley with great difficulty. The fear of

enemy attack, unending exposure to weather and sun, lack of food and water, the pains of old

and weak, the cries of children, all of this was seen and experienced by Fatima ZahraSA

. When

overtaken by grief she would find a great relief in the lap of her mother. Her own resolve

increased when she looked at the faces of her father and the youth of Banu Hashim, full of

confidence and resolve. Many times she must have seen her mother and grandfather (Abu

TalibR) keeping awake in the night, guarding her father Mohammad

S. How could she sleep in

those hours of anxiety? She must have seen Abu TalibR making his sons sleep in the bed of

MohammadS, sometimes Jafar

R, sometimes Aqil

R and sometimes Ali

A.

After three years when Banu Hashim were at last able to come out of the valley, it was only

a miracle, and it was the first peaceful victory of prophet MohammadS over the Quraysh of

Mecca. The worst of the dark periods was thus over Abu TalibR and Khadija

R, but their sigh of

relief was short lived as both of them left this world shortly afterwards.

The death of Abu TalibR and Khadija

R was a great loss for prophet Mohammad

S, as these

two were his main protectors against an overwhelming onslaught of Quraysh enmity. Prophet

MohammadS was greatly grieved and so was Fatima Zahra

SA. The sense of loss was so high that

this year of deaths was given the name “Year of grief” by the prophet.

Their sense of loss and grief was far beyond any estimation, because Abu TalibR was the

loving uncle who raised his orphan nephew (MohammadS) with such care and protection that it

became exemplary in history. He did not spare any effort in protecting MohammadS from his

enemies and did not hesitate at all in putting his own life and the life of his sons in jeopardy in

doing so. He, as the chief of Hashmi tribe, was like an impregnable shield giving protection to

MohammadS against all kinds of inimical plans of Quraysh.

KhadijaR on the other hand was not merely a loving wife, but she provided her husband

MohammadS a perfect virtuous home in addition to the full financial support for his mission.

She put her entire wealth at his disposal. She looked after the needs of the prophet meticulously.

Infact she dedicated her own self, her heart and spirit, in the service of her husband

MohammadS the prophet of God. Following verse of Quran is a witness to her crucial role:

Al-Quran 93:8 Did He not find you (O, Mohammad) poor, and enriched you?

Fatima ZahraSA

, daughter of KhadijaR (Maleekatul-Arab), was now exposed to the

realization that there was no more any shield, nor cover, nor any wealth for her father, to ward

off the Quraysh enmity and intrigues. She started feeling the great responsibility which was

53

now infront of her. At the tender age of ten, Fatima ZahraSA

had now to fill the gap, as far as she

could, left by KhadijaR and Abu Talib

R.

On the other hand, Fatima Zahra‟sAS

father had now to play the roles of both father and

mother, as his daughter was now without mother. Taking Fatima ZahraSA

in his lap, he uttered

the words (a part of me). Such words were not uttered by any father in the past, nor any

prophet of God had done so. Justice Ameer Ali, commenting on prophet MohammadS and his

(Light), wrote in the end of the preface of his book “Spirit of Islam”.

Spirit of Islam

Page-70 That (light) which glittered the mountain of Sinai and which lightened

up the lives of farmers and fishermen of Galilee, had now started rising

from the hilltops of Faran.

It was certainly the (the light of MohammadS) which rose from the hilltops of

Faran of Mecca, and certainly Fatima ZahraSA

was a part of this (Light).

Fatima ZahraSA

understood perfectly the meaning of this two-worded compliment uttered by

the prophet, who spoke only what God wanted him to speak. This statement of (a part

of me), elevated Fatima ZahraSA

to become (head of women of the worlds).

She was to stay as close to the prophet as possible, and was to follow his footsteps as

meticulously as she could. Fatima ZahraSA

decided that she would never separate from her

father, and God-willing, she would always stick by his side. Until then the Quranic verses on

Hijab had not been revealed, which made her task somewhat easier. Maulana Shibli writes in

Seerat-un-Nabi, with reference to Tabqat-e-ibn-Sa’d.

Seerat-un-Nabi

by Maulana Shibli.

Page-144

In Mecca, many Quraysh chiefs were neighbors of prophet MohammadS.

Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, Abu Sufyan, Aswad-bin-Abd-Yaghus, Waleed-bin-

Mughera, Ummayya-bin-Khalaf, Uqba-bin-Abi-Mu‟yeet, Manba-bin-

Hajaj, Hakeem-bin-al-Aa‟s, etc. were his neighbors who were also his

biggest enemies.

The houses of these chiefs were in close vicinity of the houses of Bani Hashim, and were

located around the Ka‟ba. Their aggressiveness had increased much more as they found the

protective shield around MohammadS weakened after the death of Abu Talib

R. One day when

MohammadS came out of his home, one of those chiefs threw dirt on his face. Fatima Zahra

SA

ran instantly to bring water and washed the dirt off her father‟s face, profusely weeping all the

time. Prophet MohammadS consoled her saying:

“My darling, don‟t weep. Almighty Lord will save your father”. (Ref: Tareekh-e-Tabari and

Ibn-e-Hasham, under the chapter „Khadija‟s death‟).

54

This was only the beginning. Such insults of prophet started occurring frequently; but

Fatima ZahraSA

was by the side of her father all the time. Sometimes she would remove the

thorns from her father‟s feet which were purposely laid down on his way by the wife of Abu-

Lahab (Umme-Jamil). At other times she would be washing off dirt from her father‟s face

which was thrown on him by his enemies.

In order to humiliate prophet MohammadS, Quraysh chiefs encouraged street boys to follow

him whenever he headed to Ka‟ba to hinder his prayers. Those boys would make noise throw

indecent remarks, and sometimes even try to strangle him with their apparel.

One day prophet was praying by the side of Ka‟ba while some Quraysh chiefs were sitting

closeby. Abu Jahl remarked: “I wish someone could bring the stomach of a slain camel so that I

could throw it on Mohammad”.__ Uqba-bin-Abi-Mueet complied and brought it. Abu Jahl then

threw it on the head of prophet while he was in prostration. All of them laughed and taunted.

Suddenly they saw Fatima ZahraSA

running passed through their midst. She pulled the dirty

camel stomach away from prophet and returned back swiftly, cursing all those who were

gathered there. They were spell bound, looking at each other. A frail looking girl had pulled off

the heavy camel-stomach all by herself, and scolded and cursed them boldly and fearlessly!

They spoke to each other hiding their shame: “How dedicated is this girl to her father, she

neither cares for her life nor gets scared of us”!__ Someone remarked: “This girl remains with

her father all the time like a toddler with her mother”.

Prophet MohammadS hearing this talk retorted: “Yes, this daughter of mine is (the

mother of her father).

History tells us that this was a period of great difficulties for Muslims because of atrocities

of Quraysh. Many of them had migrated to Habsha (Ethiopia) to save their skin. Those who

remained in Mecca were literally under house arrest. The tribe of Banu Hashim was in a

deplorable condition after spending three years in exile in Sheb-e-Abu-Talib. They had lost all

their business and means of support. But still they held their loyalties with prophet

MohammadS. The only exception was prophet‟s uncle Abu Lahab who still was a deadly

opponent inspite of seeing the miracles of “Splitting Moon”, and “Mairaj” (ascension of

prophet to heavens).

Tafheem-ul-Quran.

Volume: 6

By: Maulana

Maududi. Page-490.

The unbelievers and polytheists of Mecca, had started talking openly that

MohammadS was weak and without any support. He had no sons and he

was cut off from his own tribe.

55

Uqba-bin-Abi-Mueet, Aa‟s-bin-Wai‟l, Abu-Jahal and Abu-Lahab used to humiliate prophet

MohammadS by calling him Abtar (whose lineage is cut off because he has no sons), they used

to taunt: “When Mohammad will die, his name will also disappear with him, and people will get

rid of him forever”.

Prophet of God used to get grieved by such touchy and thorny taunts, but used to keep quiet,

contented, and dedicated to his Lord. Under these trying conditions he had chosen to remain

indoors as far as possible. He was then spending most of his time with his daughter, tutoring

FatimaSA

on Quranic verses, their explanations and their hidden wisdom ( ). It was a God

sent opportunity for Fatima ZahraSA

. She availed fully every instant and every word of this

teaching, and then her life molded into a model of virtues worthy of her father and his

teachings. Infact her life became a practical demonstration of verses of Quran.

Someone asked Umm-ul-Mominin AyeshaR (wife of prophet) about Fatima Zahra

SA. Her

reply was a worthy tribute to her. She said: “I did not find any one truer than Fatima, and I did

not see any one resembling prophet MohammadS more than she, in every walk of life”.

When Quraysh chiefs called him Abtar (whose lineage is cut off), prophet MohammadS did

not retort although he was grieved. But Almighty Lord did retort. The Lord revealed Surah

Kawthar, 108th chapter of Quran, which consists of only three verses:

Al-Quran.

Kawthar: 108

(full chapter).

- Verily We have given you (O Mohammad) Kawthar (abundance).

- So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice.

- Verily it is your enemy who shall be Abtar (whose lineage is cut off).

This Surah, consisting of only three verses, is considered the shortest Surah of Quran and

the most eloquent. The word Kawthar itself is unique in eloquence because of its wide ranging

meanings, one of which is „abundance of off-springs‟. Commentators have spoken of „Kawthar‟

being a blessing for prophet MohammadS, and a prediction from the Almighty Lord about

abundance of off-springs of prophet MohammadS through his daughter Fatima Zahra

AS.

Maulama Maududi says in his Tafheem-ul-Quran:

Tafheem-ul-Quran

Volume: 6

Page-493

Through only one daughter, Fatima ZahraSA

, God granted prophet

MohammadS such an amazing abundance of off-springs, who are respected

by the Muslim Ummah because of their descent from Fatima ZahraSA

.

The second verse of this Surah asks prophet and his progeny to pray and offer sacrifice.

History proved that Fatima ZahraSA

and her off-springs were the greatest exponents of both

these qualities. The sacrifice offered by her son (Imam HussainA) in Karbala was the greatest

ever sacrifice seen in the history of mankind.

56

The third and the last verse declares that the progeny of prophet‟s enemies, who called him

Abtar, will be cut off. History is a witness that those who were proud of their large families and

numerous sons, and humiliated the prophet as being Abtar, today their descendents are

unknown in history. Moreover, if they did have descendents, they never mentioned their

forefathers being ashamed of related to persons like Abu-Jahl, Abu-Lahab, Aa‟s bin Wa‟yl etc.

Every coming day Mecca was becoming more and more dangerous for prophet

MohammadS and his followers. Almighty Lord then commanded him to migrate to Medina on

the very night when his enemies had surrounded his house to kill him. It was God‟s miracle that

he walked through their midst. Prophet and other Muslims had to leave everything behind and

migrate secretly to avoid capture and torture at the hands of Quraysh of Mecca. On the other

end, Muslims of Medina (Ansar) received their brethren with open arms.

Seerat-un-Nabi

Page-204.

By: Maulana Shibli

In Medina, prophet of God took refuge temporarily in the house of Abu

Ayub AnsariR. His close relatives were also with him like his wife Sauda

R,

his daughter Fatima ZahraSA

, his aunt Fatima binte AsadR, Umme Kulsum

R

and AliA-ibne-Abu Talib

R. They resided there for seven months until the

time the „Mosque of the prophet‟ was built, and after it the house of

prophet. As soon as the house of prophet was complete, all his family

shifted there. AliA-ibne-Abu Talib

R had always lived with him, and he also

shifted there.

After migration to Medina although the migrants (Muhajirin) were almost penniless but

mentally they were happy and satisfied because they were free to practice their religion freely.

Prophet of God now got very busy in trying to set up the State of Medina right from scratch, but

still he managed to steal some time for Fatima ZahraSA

. There was neither any change in his

kind and loving care, nor his ways. On the other hand Fatima ZahraSA

‟s sentiments for her

father were as high as ever. Whenever prophet of God entered his home, he found Fatima

ZahraSA

waiting. He did not love anything more than the smile on her face, and Fatima ZahraSA

did not hold anything dearer to her heart than the radiant face of her father.

Fatima is Fatima.

By: Dr. Ali Shariati. Inspite of so much love and sentimental attachment with his daughter, the

prophet had raised her in a practical way like a gold-smith heats up gold

and prepares it for making jewelry. Prophet MohammadS had seen, that

she got accustomed to hardships, contentment and struggle, and develop

into a perfect likeable personality.

Although Fatima ZahraSA

devoted much time to Quran and prayers, but she was also

assisting her mother SaudaR with domestic chores. No one ever saw her busy in time wasting

activities. Prophet MohammadS once asked his wife Sauda

R: “Did you teach Fatima something

about household”?

57

She replied: “O prophet of God, she never gave me an opportunity of tutoring her for doing

some things and refraining from some other things. On the contrary it is me who learns from her

the wisdom and secrets of Quranic verses”.

It was two years after migration (in the month of Shawwal, and after the battle of Badar)

when prophet‟s marriage with AyeshaR was consummated. Shortly afterwards prophet

MohammadS gave away the hand of Fatima Zahra

SA in marriage to Ali

A-ibn- bu Talib

R, as

desired by the Almighty Lord. (For details, see volume: 2, chapter 5).

Both AliA and Fatima

SA were happy with their marriage, and the followers of prophet

celebrated this marriage with enthusiasm. Fatima ZahraSA

took pride when prophet of God

declared: “ I have married you (O Fatima) with the superior most person of our family”. She

herself knew that AliA was the person who meticulously followed the footsteps of the prophet

and who sold out his soul to buy „Will of God‟ in exchange. It was Almighty Lord‟s Will also

to have through this couple an exemplary progeny, highly virtuous, pious, dedicated and

desirous of great sacrifices.

When Fatima ZahraSA

got married, a separate house was constructed for her in the middle of

the houses of prophet‟s wives. As the time passed in Medina, the number of prophet‟s wives

gradually increased. Fatima ZahraSA

was fully at ease with them, appreciating all the time that

whatever prophet was doing it was the Will of God. Her full attention however was always

focused on the newly revealed verses of Quran and the freshly declared commandments.

As far as the Ummahat-ul-Mominin (wives of prophet) are concerned, although their mutual

relations were sometimes marred by friction, but none of them tried to interfere between the

prophet and his daughter Fatima ZahraSA

.

There were occasions when prophet MohammadS was seated among his wives and Fatima

ZahraSA

happened to come there, then the prophet of God would rise, embrace his daughter,

make her sit in his place, and call her (a part of my body). He would then add: “If she

gets displeased, I get displeased. If she is happy, I am happy. She is and also

(purified and truthful). __ Wives of prophet were accustomed to this show of love by the

prophet. They were neither surprised nor disturbed.

Birth of Imam HasanA:

On 15th of Ramdhan, year 3 Hijrah, the first son was born to Fatima Zahra

SA and Ali

A. In

the house of prophet MohammadS, this was the first birth of a child after the birth of Fatima

58

ZahraSA

. The birth was well celebrated, and prophet MohammadS himself named the child

„Hasan‟. Prophet also held the ceremony of Aqiqa for HasanA (shaving off hair on head).

From that day on, the Aqiqa became Sunnah for Muslims.

Birth of Imam HusaynA:

On the 2nd

of Sha’ban, 4 Hijrah, a second son was born to Fatima ZahraSA

and AliA. The

house of prophet celebrated this second happy occasion appropriately and prophet MohammadS

named him Husayn.

These two sons of AliA and Fatima Zahra

SA were called „Sons of the prophet‟ by prophet

himself and everyone else. Although it was against the Arab tradition, but prophet loved it and

Almighty Lord loved it. Prophet MohammadS was extremely sensitive about both his

grandsons. Whenever they cried, prophet became restless and spoke to FatimaSA

: “O Fatima! I

cannot bear the crying of these children”. Fatima ZahraSA

therefore always tried her utmost to

see that children did not cry.

All the house-wives in the city of Medina used to work with their own hands as no other

help was available in those times. In the house of the prophet similar was the situation, and

Fatima ZahraSA

also used to do the same. She used to enjoy playing her part in all household

chores like washing clothes, cleaning the house, kitchen work, raising children, looking after

the needs of her husband etc. She was unique in one respect that although she was busy in

household chores but her tongue was repeatedly reciting Quranic verses. The freshly revealed

verses used to reach her through her father and her husband and she used to repeatedly recite

them until she knew them by heart. She used to try to find as much time as possible fort

meditative prayers in addition to the regular prayers.

A tradition cited by both Sunni and Shia sources and narrated by Umme-AymanR (slave-girl

of mother of prophet MohammadS), says:

Majmua-e-Majalis

Volume: 2.

Pages- 236-237.

Umme-AymanR narrated: “One day I went to see Fatima Zahra

SA but the

door of her room was closed. I peeped through the crevices and saw her

sitting by the side of a grindstone. She had dozed off, but to my surprise I

saw the grindstone turning, the beads of rosary in her hand moving, and the

baby-cot (with child HusaynA inside) swinging. I was perplexed. It looked

as if some hidden hand was doing all this. I went straight to the prophet,

told him what I saw and asked him, how could it happen”?

59

Prophet replied: “O Umme-AymanR, Fatima is fasting today. She wanted to

perform all her tasks as usual, but because of the fatigue it was hard on her.

She was trying to turn the grindstone with one hand to have some flour for

making bread, with the other hand she was trying to pray through the rosary

beads, and at the same time she was trying to swing the cot of Husayn.

Almighty Lord liked her attitude so much that He made sleep overcome

Fatima and made angels to do the jobs that Fatima was doing”.

Inspite of such spiritual dedication, Fatima ZahraSA

kept herself fully informed of the fast

developing conditions in and around Medina, the struggles, battles and successes of her father

and her husband, the dedication of Muhajirin and Ansar (immigrants and locals), their

sacrifices, their love for prophet and their love for Jihad, and the stunning victories and

miraculous bravery of her husband AliA. Fatima ZahraSA greatly valued all this, but she valued

more the declaration of Quran that Almighty Lord and angels send (salutations) on her

father. Quran said:

Al-Quran.

33:56. Verily Allah and His angels send (salutations) on the prophet. O you

who believe, send salutations on him and greet him with a worthy greeting.

Not only that but Almighty Lord declared her father (blessing for all worlds),

He granted him (the most pious and human conduct), and elevated him to the grand

position of (the best of Messengers) and (the worthy most prophet).

Fatima ZahraSA

had much to be proud of:

Her mother, Khadijat-ul-KubraR was honored by the Almighty Lord when prophet of

God told Fatima ZahraSA

that her mother KhadijaR was leader of all women of all the

worlds . This happened after the revelation of Surah-e-Ale-Imran and

Surah-e-Maryam.

Her other mothers (wives of prophet) were also honored by the Almighty Lord by

declaring them „Mothers of Muslims‟.

She often used to recite the Quranic verses from Surah-e-Tauba (9:100) which say: “The

first and foremost among those who left their homes (Muhajirin), those who welcomed

them (Ansar), and those who followed them in goodness.__ Allah is well pleased with

them and they are well pleased with Him. He has prepared for them gardens in which

rivers flow where they will abide forever. That is the great achievement ( ).

60

Seerat-un-Nabi

By: Maulana Shibli

Page-197.

Fatima Zahra‟sSA

husband AliA was amog „The first Muslims‟ and was the

achiever of (great success).

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 1

Page-235.

Mustadrak

Volume: 3, Page-32

Hakim Neshapuri.

Seerat-e-

Mohammadya

Page-102

In the Battle of Badar, Fatima Zahra‟sSA

husband AliA, was the

celebrated hero.

In the Battle of Uhad, AliA was the grand savior of the battle, and he was

the one about whom people heard the heavenly call

(there is no swordsman like Ali and no sword

like Zulfiqar, the sword of Ali).

In the Battle of Trench when AliA proceeded to face the famed enemy

champion (Umer-bin-A‟bd Wud), the prophet of God called out: “Today

(total faith and nothing but faith) is going to face (total

unbelief and nothing but unbelief).

When AliA was victorious in the Battle of Trench, prophet of God called

out: “Today, on the Day of Trench, one blow of AliA is better than the

entire prayers of humans and Jinns”.

Seerat-un-Nabi

By: Maulana Shibli

Pages: 270-271

In the Battle of Khyber, after repeated reverses, prophet of God finally

declared: “Tomorrow I will give flag of Islam to such a person who is

(a model of chivalry who never retreats). He holds God and

prophet dear to his heart, and God and prophet hold him dear. He will not

return from battle unless Almighty Lord grants victory on his two hands”.

(This victor of Khyber was AliA-ibn-Abu Talib, the husband of Fatima

ZahraSA

).

Fatima ZahraSA

also witnessed the demonstration of „purification of self‟ by

(wives of prophet) who preferred contentment over worldly desires on the advice of

prophet of God. This happened after the revelation of verse of Surah-e-Nur and Surah-e-

Ahzab.

Fatima ZahraSA

also valued highly the blessings of Almighty Lord on her house and the

houses of wives of prophet, which were declared the centers of prayers and light where

angels descended with revelations.

Al-Quran:

Nur: 24:36 (This lamp of Light of God) is lit in houses which God has permitted to be

exalted, and His name to be remembered therein. He is glorified therein in

the morning and evening.

Tafseer-e-Kabir

Volume: 6

Page-783.

By: Fakharuddin Razi

Dar-al-Manthur

Among these houses the house of Fatima ZahraSA

was unique in respect

that it housed the Ahlul-bayt of prophet, and among them those four

exalted ones whom God loved the most. They were Fatima ZahraSA

, her

husband AliA, and her sons Hasan

A and Husayn

A. In the family of

prophet, these were the foremost in closeness to God and their prayers

61

Volume: 5, Page-199

By: Jalaluddin Suyuti

Tafheem-ul-Quran

Volume: 4, Page- 93

By: Maulana

Maududi.

Yana Bayul

Mawaddah.

Pages: 174-176.

By: Shaikh Suleman

Nadvi.

and meditational practices through night and day, were exemplary and

unmatchable. Under this very roof the celebrated verse of Surah-e-Ahzab

was revealed which is known as Ayah-e-Tatheer (the verse of purity).

Traditions narrate that this verse was revealed by the Almighty Lord

specifically to declare absolute purity of „Five Souls‟; MohammadS,

Fatima ZahraSA

, AliA, Hasan

A and Husayn

A.

The verse of purity (33:33) says:

“Verily God intends but to keep off from you (every kind of)

uncleanness O you the Ahlul-bayt, and purify you (with) a thorough

purification”.

The circumstances and manner of descension of above verse has been narrated by Fatima

ZahraSA

and by two wives of prophet, namely Umme-SalmaR and Ayesha

R. Before talking

about this episode it will be of interest to know that the houses of Fatima ZahraSA

and wives of

prophet were situated adjacent to the „Mosque of Prophet‟ in such a manner that the doors of all

these houses opened into a common courtyard, and so all the residents remained in contact. The

houses of Umme-SalmaR and Ayesha

R were on either side of the house of Fatima Zahra

SA. This

is the reason that many traditions concerning Fatima ZahraSA

are narrated by these two

(wives of prophet).

Umme-SalmaR had special attachment with child Husayn

A because when she got married to

prophet MohammadS in year 4 Hijrah, Husayn

A was only few months old. She developed

extraordinary love for HusaynA and the family of Fatima Zahra

SA. After the death of Fatima

ZahraSA

she continued with her loving role, and even after the tragedy of Karbala she kept very

close to this family.

Tafheem-ul-Quran

Volume: 4

Page-93

By: Maulana

Maududi.

Yana Bayul

Mawaddah

Pages: 174-176

Both Umm-ul-Mominin AyeshaR and Umme-Salma

R narrated that when

Ayah-e-Tatheer descended, they were a witness to it.__ Imams of Ahlul-

bayt and also Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari narrate it through Fatima ZahraSA

.

This tradition came to be known as Hadeeth-e-Kitha (tradition of cloak).

A brief of this tradition is:

One day as usual, when prophet MohammadS came to the house of Fatima

ZahraSA

, he lied down and covered himself up with her daughter‟s Yemeni

cloak. After a little while his grandchildren HasanA and Husayn

A came in

and after them AliA-ibne-Abu Talib

R. The prophet took all three under his

cloak. Seeing this Fatima ZahraSA

also requested her father‟s permission to

enter the cloak, and prophet granted the permission. When all the four of

them were together inside the cloak, the prophet prayed to the Almighty

62

Lord:

“O my Lord! These are my Ahlul-bayt. They are my burden-sharers and

helpers. Their flesh is my flesh and their blood is my blood. If they are

harmed, I am harmed. Battling with them means battling with me, and

making peace with them means making peace with me. Friendship with

them means friendship with me because they are from me and I am from

them.

O God, send on me and on them Salawat and blessings. Have me and them

under your gracious clemency and be happy with us. Keep us away from

every uncleanness and purify us with a thorough purification”.

As soon as prophet‟s prayer was completed, angel GabrielA appeared and

said: “O prophet of God, peace be on you. The Gracious Lord, the

Almighty Allah sends His greetings to you to bestow on you His Grace

and Mercy. O prophet of God, I have come with a revelation from God,

please permit me to enter”. Prophet permitted, GabrielA entered and

revealed the following verse:

Almighty Lord intends but to keep off from you every uncleanness O

Ahlul-bayt, and purify you with a thorough purification. (Al-Quran, Ahzab

33:33).

After this verse was revealed, AliA asked prophet: “O prophet of God, what is the honor and

significance in revelation of this verse at a time when all five of us got together”?

The prophet replied: “O Ali, I swear by the Almighty Allah who granted me the Divine

messengership and the chosen prophet-hood, honor and significance are the blessings which are

bestowed on people. Whenever people who love us assemble anywhere on this earth, and recite

this, Almighty Lord‟s blessings will descend on them, angels will surround them, and will seek

God‟s Grace for them till the time they disperse”.

It certainly was a great honor bestowed by Almighty Lord on prophet MohammadS and his

Ahlul-bayt, FatimaSA

, AliA, Hasan

A and Husayn

A.

The narration of the above tradition is through two (wives of prophet), Umme-

SalmaR and Ayesha

R.__ Umme-Salma

R said: “I was at that time by the side of their door”.__

Ayesha said: “I saw it myself and heard it with my own ears”.

Both, Umme-SalmaR and Ayesha

R asked the prophet: “O prophet of God, we are also your

Ahlul-bayt, pray for us”.

Prophet said: “You are on the path of goodness, but you are not among them”.

The books of history and biography indicate that as time passed Fatima ZahraSA

‟s

overwhelming virtuous qualities became apparent in all fields of life, like prayers, meditative

63

activities, virtuous righteous ways, contentment, patience etc. On the other hand, exhibition of

love and deep attachment of prophet for her became more and more visible.

AyeshaR and Umme-Salma

R narrate that nothing was more dear to prophet Mohammad

S

than his daughter FatimaSA

. Every morning when he used to go out, he used to stop at the door

of Fatima ZahraSA

and say: “Peace be on you O Ahlul-bayt of prophet”.

Upon returning back he first used to go to the house of FatimaSA

. Similarly, when

embarking upon journeys, Fatima ZahraSA

‟s house was the last that he would visit. When he

came back from journey he would first go to Fatima ZahraSA

‟s house, greet her, hug her, and

kiss her and then involve in other engagements.

In her turn, Fatima ZahraSA

had immense love for her father, as much love as would be

befitting for her title of (mother of her father). This title had become exemplary in the

house of prophet, describing it as the limit of love which was possible for a daughter, and also

which was possible for a father for his daughter.

Inspite of such love, it was amazing how strict was prophet on training her and honing her

for the ultimate limits of human excellence. Prophet MohammadS used to emphasize: “O

Fatima, be on the move and keep on struggling in the path of God, so that on Day of Judgment

you may not need any assistance”.

Fatima ZahraSA

valued every word of prophet‟s advice. She did all her house work herself.

Cleaning the house, looking after children and managing kitchen, were parts of her daily chores.

Besides, working on the grind-wheel to produce flour for making bread was also her

responsibility. This was hard work, her hands used to get soars, but she never complained. In

addition to all this, she never let go any opportunity in her devotion to the Almighty Lord.

Through the day, she utilized every spare moment for prayers and meeting her religious

obligations, but her nights were solely dedicated to her Lord. Her feet used to get swollen due to

prolonged standing during night prayers, but it did not bother her.

She used to look after her husband AliA with great responsibility. Ali

A also tried to help her

as much as he could, but his own engagements were simply overwhelming, specially his vital

role in Jihad, fighting the enemies of Islam. Both Fatima ZahraSA

and AliA one day went to the

prophet and requested him to allocate a female prisoner-of-war to help Fatima in her home.

Prophet of God listened and answered after a while:

“This is not possible at this time, because I need every penny of their ransom money for the

setting-down of Muhajirin and looking after the needs of Ashab-e-Suffa”.

This answer did not disappoint FatimaSA

. On the contrary she left ashamed, why did she

asked her father for something which he could not afford. On the other hand Prophet

64

MohammadS also felt restless as he could not fulfill the only need of his daughter. As the night

approached, Prophet of God hastened to the house of FatimaSA

and spoke to her with a loving

tongue:

“Wouldn‟t you like me to give you something which is far better than that which you

ask”?

FatimaSA

said: “O prophet of God, what is that”?

Prophet replied: “Recite before you go to bed, 34 times , 33 times , and 33

times . Remember this recitation was brought down by angel GabrielA as a special

gift”.

This was a great gift. Fatima ZahraSA

and AliA both started practicing it so dedicatedly that

it became an important recitation in the life of not only the Ahlul-bayt and their descendents but

among all Muslims at large. This came to be known as „Tasbih-e-Fatima‟ and it is believed that

recitation of it after each daily prayer brings great rewards from Almighty Lord.

FizzaR:

Times changed rapidly and enemies of Islam were defeated in battles. Prisoners of war were

brought to Medina and many of them were freed by the prophet after they paid ransom money.

There were some females among them who chose to remain with Muslims and accepted Islam.

Prophet of God gave some of them away to his wives. He also gave away one of them to his

daughter FatimaSA

, and named her FizzaR. He instructed:

“O Fatima, remember that FizzaR will do your household jobs on one day and you will do it

yourself the next day”.

Fatima ZahraSA

followed these instructions dedicatedly and it became a tradition among her

descendents to practice it in their own lives. This was the reason that slaves working with Ahlul-

bayt, even after were freed, chose to stay and continue with their masters.

FizzaR had the privilege of serving Fatima Zahra

SA only for four years, as Fatima Zahra

SA

died young. But during this short time FizzaR learned so much and her personal qualities and

virtues developed so much that everyone in the house respect her. Whenever children HasanA

and HusaynA came home, they first greeted Fizza

R.

Bihar-ul-Anwar

By: Allama Majlisi

Safina-al-Jihad

By: Abbas Qummi.

FizzaR was so knowledgeable about Quran that quite often she used to

answer people‟s queries by verses of Quran. She accompanied Imam

HusaynA to Karbala and remained with his family throughout their tragic

ordeal and journey as prisoners, through Kufa and Damascus. She was with

them when they returned back to Karbala, enroute to Medina. She did not

leave unattended even for a moment, the daughters and children of Fatima

ZahraSA

. She died in Medina in the years 64 or 65 Hijrah.

65

It is narrated by Abdullah ibn UmarR about Fizza

R. “When Fizza

R had grown old, one day I

met her in the marketplace when she was out shopping house-hold items. I asked: “O Fizza!

You have turned weak and frail. Now you should take rest as you have already earned the

Paradise by serving Ahlul-bayt”.

FizzaR looked up in surprise and replied: “O Abdullah, is there any Paradise other than the

door of Ahlul-bayt”?

FizzaR had made it a routine that on her free days she spent time on prayers, on learning

Quran, and on looking after Fatima ZahraSA

‟s children”.

Fatima ZahraSA

had given top priority to the training of her children. Even when she was

working on household chores, she recited Quranic verses and Tasbih to arouse awareness and

interest in her children. The children in turn developed amazing understanding of Quran. Her

sons HasanA and Husayn

A used to be with prophet Mohammad

S as much as possible and many

times witnessed the revelation of Verses of Quran.

Bihar-ul-Anwar

Volume: 10

Page-193.

It was common knowledge that Imam HasanA as a child used to sit in the

lap of prophet MohammadS in Masjid-e-Nabvi. He used to do it since he

was able to walk. He listened attentatively to the verses when prophet

MohammadS recited them after they were revealed to him. When Imam

HasanA used to go his mother, he used to recite the verses verbatim to her.

Fatima ZahraSA

then used to confirm them from prophet and used to find

them amazingly accurate.

Fatima ZahraSA

had allocated a part of her time for meeting the women folk of Medina. It

had become customary for the women of Muhajhirin and Ansar of Medina to visit the house of

prophet‟s wives and Fatima ZahraSA

. They used to consult them and ask them for clarifications

of dos-and-donts of Shariah, and specially from Fatima ZahraSA

they used to seek

enlightenment on Quranic wisdom. Fatima ZahraSA

‟s talks to them used to be full of knowledge

and inspiration. Brief excerpts from these talks are as follows:

Ahlul-Bayt.

By: Taufiq Abu-

Alam.

Volume: 16.

Page-168.

1390 AH.

Almighty Lord has declared:

Faith cleans you of (polytheism).

Prayer cleans you of (arrogance).

Charity cleans your (soul) and increases your (sustenance).

Fast gives steadfastness to your (purity).

Pilgrimage strengthens (religion).

Justice aligns (hearts).

66

Obedience of us , steers Ummah (believers) to right path.

Faith on Imamat of us Ahlul-bayt, prevents division and eruption of

differences in Ummah.

Struggle for God brings respect to (Islam), and brings disgrace

to (unbelief).

Patience makes achievement of retribution auspicious.

Enjoin the right and forbid the wrong reforms

society.

Kind and loving treatment of parents keeps God‟s wrath away.

Considerate and kind attitude towards relatives enables you

to reach your full age.

God‟s command of (punishment of blood for blood/money)

prevents spread of bloodshed.

God‟s command to fulfill (vow) leads to salvation.

God‟s command to use accurate weights and measures, keeps away

(bad luck).

God‟s command to discard (polytheism), keeps his (concept

of Lordship) pure.

God commanded (righteousness), to steer your lives on right course

so as to live as Muslims and die as Muslims.

Superb eloquence mixed with spirituality was the hallmark of Fatima ZahraSA

‟s talks. Her

address to Caliph Abu BakrR on the occasion of her appeal for return of Fidak, was also an

exquisite example of her eloquence.

Births of ZainabR and KulsumR:

Fatima ZahraSA

gave birth to a daughter on 5th

Jamaduth-thani, 6 Hijrah. When prophet

MohammadS came to know of the birth, he went to the house of Fatima Zahra

SA, took the new

born in his lap and recited Azan and Aqamat in both of her ears. Then tears started dropping

from his eyes. He gave the girl to AliA, saying: “The name of this girl is Zainab”.

Zainab was not a new name. Banu Hashim were familiar with it, but what was new, was the

attitude and behavior of the prophet.__ The word Zainab means „one who faces many

hardships‟. It was thus indicated by the prophet that this girl was destined to face great

hardships. Indeed, not only hardships, but even the greatest tragedy of this earth, the Karbala.

Karbala was not a news for the family of prophet, he had mentioned it earlier to them.__ The

word Zainab also means „grace‟. When prophet MohammadS gave the girl in the lap of Ali

A he

infact also indicated that this girl will bring a great grace to her parents and their training which

67

enabled her to show incredible faith and trust in God, superb strength of character, and amazing

eloquence.

Unlike the births of HasanA and Husayn

A, prophet Mohammad

S did not call Zainab

R, „his

daughter‟, but gave her to AliA, indicating that she should be a replica of Ali

A‟s qualities.

ZainabR proved this fact again and again throughout her life‟s most disastrous and difficult

times. That is why her biographers indicate that she represented an amazing model of her father

AliA‟s mental and thinking abilities.

Two years later, Fatima ZahraSA

gave birth to another daughter. She was also named Zainab

by the prophet, and the family of prophet called her Zainab-e-SughraR. But in the history of

Karbala she was called Umme-e-KulsumR.

Fatima ZahraSA‟s financial status:

After Jews were expelled from Medina and Khyber was conquered, the economic

conditions of state of Medina had improved considerably. Prosperity and better life had come

within reach of Muslims.

Seerat-un-Nabi

By: Maulana Shibli

Volume: 2

Page-279.

The Khums and Fa’y which was solely prophet‟s own, was utilized by him

for his family. He apportioned his wive‟s shares in the oasis of Banu

Nadhir. Additionally he also apportioned the produce of grain and dates

from Khyber to his wives. Twenty (20) (Wasq) barley and eighty (80)

(Wasq) dates were allocated to each wife, which were quite adequate

for One (1) (Wasq) is approximately 140 Kg).

Adjacent to Khyber were the lands of Fidak, famous for orchards and fertile

lands. Israeli notables who owned these lands surrenderd them to prophet

MohammadS without fighting, with the condition that half of the lands

would belong to prophet and the remaining half to the Israelites.__ After

prophet MohammadS returned to Medina, he gave away his part of Fidak to

his daughter Fatima ZahraSA

. As long as prophet MohammadS was alive,

Fidak was owned by Fatima ZahraSA

. She used to contract it out yearly, and

its produce used to be received by her.

Details may be seen in chapter „Ancestral property of prophet MohammadS and caliphate of

Abu-BakrR).

Fatima ZahraSA

‟s practice was to retain with her the needs for running her household, and

give away all the rest to the needy among Banu-Hashim and residents of Medina. Additionally,

68

in case a poor person or a beggar came to her door, she would help him from her own

household provisions.

It is narrated that once when prophet MohammadS came to see Fatima Zahra

SA, he found her

wearing her old dilapidated dress. He was curious. What happened to her new dress? Fatima

ZahraSA

seeing her father‟s curiosity said: “O father, I had only two dresses, one new and one

old. A poor woman came to me who needed a dress. I did not feel like giving her my old dress,

so I gave her the new dress, and I am myself wearing the old one”.

There is a story related with a miracle of Fatima ZahraSA

and her old apparel, which has

become quiet popular among those who hold her dear. Whenever these admirers of Fatima

ZahraSA

come across dangerous and difficult situations, they make a vow that if Almighty Lord

helped them out of that situation, they would recite or hear the miracle of Fatima ZahraSA

. The

Gracious Lord listens to such vows, and people‟s problems get solved through the grace of

Fatima ZahraSA

.

The Miracle of Fatima ZahraSA:

A brief summary is as follows:

It was approximately the year of 5 Hijrah when Israelites were not fully banished from

Medina. There was a marriage in one of Israeli families in which Muslim women of Medina

including Fatima ZahraSA

were invited. But Muslim women were reluctant because they would

feel humiliated if they went to the marriage ceremony in their old dresses. The wealthy Israeli

ladies with their expensive dresses would humiliate them further. So the Muslim women

declined, but Fatima ZahraSA

agreed because her husband and her father accepted the invitation.

Next day was the marriage ceremony, and throughout the night Fatima ZahraSA

prayed to

her God. As dawn approached she begged:

“O my Lord! I am the daughter of your prophet. My honor now rests in Your Hands. Please

help me”.

The Lord heard Fatima ZahraSA

‟s prayer, and sent down virgins of Paradise with elegant

Paradise attire. Dressed like a princess and surrounded by virgins of Paradise, when Fatima

ZahraSA

entered the marriage ceremony, every on-looker was aghast and struck with awe to see

Fatima ZahraSA

walking amidst pretty maidens, chanting the praises of God and his prophet,

and the atmosphere filled with scented air and glory of God.

69

The Israeli women who were impatiently waiting for the opportunity of humiliating the

daughter of prophet MohammadS, could not bear this sight. All of them fell down unconscious

including the bride. After some time they regained their senses but not the bride, she was dead.

The whole congregation turned into a wailing crowd.

Seeing this, Fatima ZahraSA

spread down the outer cover of her dress on ground, by the side

of the bride, and offered two Raka’t of Salat (prayer). Then she prayed:

“O my Lord! The Israelis would put the blame on me for the bride‟s death. O Lord! Help

me in the name of your favored prophet, and revive the bride back to life”.

The Lord accepted FatimaSA

‟s prayer, and the entire wailing crowd was stunned to see the

bride standing up reciting Kalma-e-Shahadat (acknowledging one-ness of God and prophet-

hood of MohammadS). Many of the Israelis, men and women, were so impressed that they

accepted Islam on the spot. Thus they joined the group of Israelis who had earlier accepted

Islam, the best among whom was Abdullah-bin-Salam, who was a great Israeli scholar.

Quran speaks about that righteous group of Israelis in following verses:

Al-Quran

3 : 112

All of them (People of the Book) are not alike. Of the people of the Book,

there is a group, so upright in faith that they recite the signs of God in all

the hours of night, and prostrate themselves in adoration.

The truth-seeking Israelis thus converted to Islam, but those whose hearts were flawed and

prejudiced stuck to their beliefs.

The books of History and Biography do not mention this miracle of Fatima ZahraSA

, but its

denial is also not possible by those who have experienced its blessings. Anyone can try it who

has respect and love for Fatima ZahraSA

in his/her heart.

Revelation of verses of Surah-e-Dahr to honor Fatima ZahraSA and the

Ahlul-bayt:

Al-Quran

(Al-Dahr)

76:7-11

They fulfill their vows and fear the day whose evil shall spread far and

wide.

And (inspite of their own needs) they give food for love of Him, to the

poor and the orphan and the captive.

(Saying) “We feed you only for the sake of Allah. We do not seek any

recompense from you, nor (even) thanks.

Verily, we fear from our Lord a stern day of stress”.

70

So Allah will guard them from evil of the day, and cause them to find

cheerfulness and happiness.

Scholars have commented on these verses in considerable detail. A brief of this commentary

is given below:

Yana-bay’ul

Mawaddah

Pages-154-155

Tafseer Faslul-

Khatab.

Page-606

Tafseer Namuma

Volume: 25 Pages:

276-288

Tafseer Anwarun-

Najaf

Volume:14

Page: 146

Surah-e-Dahr is also known as Surah-e-Insaan. It was revealed in Medina

in 8 or 9 Hijrah. Verses 7-11 of this Surah were revealed specific to a

special episode which is connected with the family of prophet MohammadS.

Following are brief details:

HasanA and Husayn

A, grandsons of prophet Mohammad

S, and sons of

Fatima ZahraSA

and AliA, once fell ill. When prophet Mohammad

S came to

see them, he suggested: “You should make a vow to fast for three days, and

pray to Almighty Lord to grant health to the children”.

Fatima ZahraSA

, AliA, Fizza

R, and both the children made the vow. Within a

few days children regained health. All the five then decided to fulfill the

vow, and they fasted together. When the day ended and time became ripe

for breaking the fast, AliA came home from the mosque after Maghrib

prayer and Fatima ZahraSA

served the food. At that very moment someone

called at the door: “Peace be on you O Ahlul-bayt of MohammadS. I am

poor and needy and hungry. Please give me something to eat”.

__All the five gave away their food and broke their fast with water. The

second day they fasted and at the end of the day when they were about to

break their fast, another person called at their door: “I am orphan and am

hungry”. __Again they gave away their food to the orphan and broke their

fast with water.

Similar incident occurred on the third day of their fasting and a captive

called at their door, asking for food. All the five again gave away their food

to the captive and broke their fast with water. By this time HasanA and

HusaynA had started feeling weak and frail, so Ali

A took them to prophet

MohammadS and explained the entire episode. Prophet Mohammad

S then

came to the house of FatimaSA

and found her praying to the Almighty Lord.

She was also showing signs of weakness and fraility. At that moment

prophet of God prayed:

“O Almighty Lord! These are my Ahlul-bayt who are hungry and nearing

collapse”.

A few moments passed then angel GabrielA descended reciting the verses of

Surah-e-Dahr and carrying a basket full of heavenly food.

Prophet of God thanked his Lord and offered two Raka’t of Salat of thanks,

and all those present followed him. Then they ate the heavenly food.

71

It may surprise some, that Fatima ZahraSA

and Ahlul-bayt could not even afford some extra

food for purposes of charity! However it will not surprises those who love and respect Fatima

ZahraSA

and Ahlul-bayt, and are aware of their way of life, spiritually elevated, selfless,

philanthropic, patient and full of (trust in God).

Fatima ZahraSA

was the owner of Fidak orchards and fertile lands, giving her handsome

income. Besides, she used to work with her own hands to attain the pleasure of Almighty Lord.

She used to work on spinning and carding wheel earning good income, and on grinding wheel

to produce her own flour for making bread. The income that she used to get from all these

sources, she used to give away in charity and retain only what she essentially needed to run her

household.

Her husband AliA used to work in fields whenever he could afford to spare time from Jihad

and other important assignments. He also used to give away everything in charity and retain

only what was essentially required for his family.

Siraj-ul-Mubin

Page-451 When Imam Ali

A was working in the fields and orchards, he was usually

reciting verses of Quran and words of wisdom. People used to think that he

was talking to earth. Fatima ZahraSA

also heard this and asked prophet

MohammadS. He replied:

“O Fatima! It should not surprise you, because Ali is Abu-Turab (father of

earth).

This title given by prophet MohammadS to Ali

A, became popular because

whenever prophet saw AliA resting on bare earth, he called him Abu-Turab.

These verses of Surah-e-Dahr are a witness that the lives of Ahlul-bayt were in total submission

to the Almighty Lord. But alas, some Historians and Biographers under the influence of ruling

dynasties of Banu-Umiyya and Banu Abbas did not do justice to Ahlul-bayt. The best some of

them could do, was to remain silent; but the world-seekers among them did not refrain even

from narrating false traditions for degrading the Ahlul-bayt by falsifying the background events

of the revelation.

The only source to reach truth in that period of confusion were the traditions narrated by

Ahlul-bayt. It is the Will of Almighty Lord that those traditions were not lost during the

upheavals of History, and even today truth-seekers can research them to reach the truth.

The two years of 9th and 10

th Hijrah and the first two months of 11

th Hijrah, was the period

of peace for the prophet of God. Mecca was conquered. Almost the entire Arabia was under the

72

influence of state of Medina. In the month of Zilhijja, 8 Hijrah, prophet MohammadS had the

good news of his wife Maria Qubtiya giving birth to a son, who was named Ibrahim. House of

prophet MohammadS now enjoyed the presence of five children, Hasan, Husayn, Zaynab,

Umm-e-Kulsum and Ibrahim.

However, during these last two years of his life, prophet MohammadS had become

extremely busy in managing affairs of the state and simultaneously concentrating on such vital

issues as reforming the society, (self-control and soul-searching),

(sympathy and helpfulness towards relatives), (kindness) etc.

Titles of Fatima ZahraSA:

Under the care of prophet MohammadS, Fatima Zahra

SA had reached the pinnacle of human

excellence in both obligations, her obligation to the Almighty Lord and her obligation to fellow

beings. It was then that prophet MohammadS congratulated her, saying:

“Almighty Lord has blessed you with titles: (Leader of women of all the

worlds); (Leader of women of Paradise); and

(mother of Hasan and Husayn, leaders of the youth of Paradise).

Fatima ZahraSA

never tried to take things easy and she continued to persist on the high

standards that she had set for herself. She realized that she was the model whom all women of

all the worlds are supposed to follow, and she stood upto it.

Prophet of God had also given her the title (part of me). Fatima ZahraSA

proved

that she deserved every word of this title.

Prophet of God had also given her the title (mother of her father). Fatima ZahraSA

proved the truth of this title during the hardest days of prophet MohammadS‟s life in Mecca.

Fatima ZahraSA

was one of those who were closet to God and whom and the Lord gave the

title (Lord is wel-pleased with them and they are well pleased with the Lord). (Al-

Quran: 89:28).

Fatima ZahraSA in Mubahilā:

Mubahila of prophet MohammadS was a very special event which took place in the 9

th

Hijrah. This year of Islamic calendar is known in History as (the year of sending

delegations). Prophet of God dispatched delegations to all power centers, big and small, and

73

invited them to Islam. Response was quite impressive. Many delegations of tribal chiefs and

their allies came to Medina to meet prophet MohammadS and many of them accepted Islam.

One such delegation came from Najran, a Christian strong hold in Yemen. This delegation

comprised of 60 top Christian priests of Najran and was led by their Lord Bishop who was

famous in Christian world for his knowledge and wisdom. They had a long debate with prophet

MohammadS and asked many questions. Although they could not refute the answers of prophet

MohammadS but still they insisted on their beliefs, specially that Jesus

A was son of God.

Almighty Lord then revealed verses 3:59-60 to end the argument:

Al-Quran

(Al-e-Imran)

3 : 59-60

Verily the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. God

created Adam out of mud, then He said to him „Be‟! And there he was.

__This is the truth from your Lord, therefore be not of those who doubt.

There could not possibly be a better answer than this, to end the argument; because if JesusA

could be called God because of his „father-less birth‟, then Adam deserves it more because of

his father-less and mother-less‟ birth. But the Christian delegation was still adamant. Almighty

Lord then decried Mubahila, and following verses was revealed:

Al-Quran

(Al-e-Imran)

3 : 61

Tell those who dispute this with you even after the knowledge that has

reached you (O Mohammad):

“Come, let us gather our sons ( ) and your sons, our women ( )

and your women, ourselves ( ) and yourselves, and then let us humbly

pray and invoke the curse of God on the liars.

Mubahila was a custom among Arabs to settle their disputes. The two disputing parties were

to assemble in an open ground and were to pray to God with all dedication, to send His

punishment and torment on the liars.

The demand of Mubahila by prophet MohammadS was a big surprise for the Christian

delegation. They requested for some time to think over it. Prophet of God agreed and allowing

time to them, fixed the day, time and place of Mubahila and asked Muslims of Medina to also

assemble there. Islamic traditions indicate that 24th

of Zilhajja 9 AH was fixed for Mubahila.

After announcing the date prophet MohammadS went to the house of Fatima Zahra

SA, and

after reciting the verses of Mubahila he said:

“O Fatima, prepare for Mubahila, yourself with Hasan and Husayn. Almighty Lord desires

the participants as, me (Mohammad) with Hasan and Husayn as sons ( ), you Fatima as

women ( ), and your husband Ali as ( ).

Fatima ZahraSA

made the necessary preparations and on the appointed time prophet

MohammadS emerged from Masjid-e-Nabvi in following manner:

74

Brief summary:

Muslim-bin-Hajjaj

Neshapuri.

Ahmed-bin Hanbal.

Ibn-e-Jareer Tabari.

Fakharuddin Razi.

Ibn-e-Jozi.

Qazi Baizavi

Zamakhshari.

Ibn-e-Hajar

Asqalani.

Allama Qartabi.

Prophet MohammadS had wrapped around himself a black sheet and was

carrying his grandson HusaynA (aged 5 years) in his lap. He was holding

the hand of his other grandson HasanA (aged 6 years). His daughter Fatima

ZahraSA

was behind him, and her husband AliA was at the back of this small

group. Prophet of God had instructed them:

“When I pray for invoking the curse of God on liars you should say

Ameen”.

In this way prophet MohammadS proceeded to the appointed place. When

Lord Bishop saw this small group he exclaimed with awe: “O my people,

today I am seeing such radiant faces, if they pray to God to move

mountains, the mountains will move. So do not dare to do Mubahila with

them. If you do, you will certainly perish”.

When the Christian delegation refused Mubahila, prophet of God asked

them to accept Islam,. But they refused. Then prophet MohammadS asked

them to fight it out and settle the issue.

They replied that fighting was not their desire.

Prophet MohammadS then asked them to make a peace agreement. They

agreed, and a peace agreement was then signed.

During the last two years of prophet MohammadS‟s life, Fatima Zahra

SA‟s life was as happy

and rewarding as she could wish. Dr. Ali Shariati writes in his book:

Fatima is Fatima.

By: Dr. Ali Shariati.

Page- 288

Imagine how happy Fatima ZahraSA

must have been with her house

encircled by honor, glory, purity and nobleness; her father‟s exemplary love

for her; her husband‟s greatness, valour and closeness to God; and her

children‟s‟ unmatchable love, auspiciousness, purity and nobility. Those

memorable times must have been a source of joy, satisfaction and honor for

Fatima ZahraSA

. She must have enjoyed a life full of happiness and free of

sorrows with her heart and soul fully satisfied.

But this short period of joy passed away quickly, and she got engulfed in

hardships and tragedies. In the month of Jamadus-Sani 10 AH, her brother

IbrahimA (prophet‟s son born to Maria Qubtiya

R) fell ill suddenly and died

at an age of 1/½ years. This sorrow was not easy to bear.

A few months later, during the time of Hajj, she came to know that shortly

her father was to leave and depart this earth.

75

Prophet‟s last Hajj, and a veiled call from Almighty Lord:

This very year in 10th Hijrah, prophet Mohammad

S departed Medina for performing Hajj. A

large number of followers accompanied him. Fatima ZahraSA

, her husband AliA and her children

also accompanied the prophet. It was the last Hajj for prophet MohammadS and it was also the

last Hajj for Fatima ZahraSA

with her family.

This pilgrimage is known as Hajj-tul-wida’ (the last Hajj before demise). During this Hajj

Surah-e-Nasr was revealed by the Lord.

Al-Quran

Al-Nasr (110)

Full Surah.

When comes the help of God along with victory, and you see people enter

the religion of God in large groups, celebrate then the praises of your Lord,

and seek his protection. Verily He is Oft-returning (in mercy).

Tafseer-e-Namuma.

Volume: 10.

Page-554.

When prophet of God recited Surah-e-Nasr among his followers, they were

glad to hear about the news of coming victory. But prophet MohammadS‟s

uncle AbbasR started weeping:

“O prophet of God! I feel that in this revelation you are informed about

your death”.

Prophet said:

“O uncle, you have guessed it right”.

When Fatima ZahraSA

heard about this conversation, she became sad and

extremely grieved. When prophet MohammadS saw her in this condition, he

consoled her:

“O Fatima! Don‟t grieve. You will be the first to come to me among my

Ahlul-bayt”.

This consolation was sufficient for Fatima ZahraSA

, as it was not possible

for her to stay away from her father for a long period, be it in this world or

in the hereafter.

Fatima ZahraSA witnessed the sermon of prophet MohammadS at

Ghadyr Khum:

After performing Hajj, prophet MohammadS left Mecca for return journey to Medina. When

he came to a place called Ghadyr Khum, he stopped there, although he had no intention of

stopping at this place which had only one water hole and was not suitable for the large crowd

which accompanied the prophet. It was 18th Zilhajja i.e 8 days after Hajj. The reason why

prophet MohammadS stopped here was the revelation of verse 67 of Surah-e-Mai’da (5).

Prophet of God not only stopped, but also called back all caravans of pilgrims to assemble at

this place so as to hear an important message from Almighty Lord. Verse 5:67 said:

76

Al-Quran

Surah-e-Mai’da

5 : 67

(O Mohammad) deliver what has been sent down to you from your Lord,

and if you do not do it, then (it will be as if) you have not delivered His

message (at all). Surely He will protect you from (the mischief) of people.

Verily God does not guide a disbelieving people).

When all caravans had returned and assembled at Ghadyr, it became a very large gathering

of more than 80,000 people. It was a scorching hot noon, the sun was shining on their heads and

there was little shelter and shade in that desert.

Prophet MohammadS performed noon prayer in that blazing hot summer sun. The entire

gathering prayed behind him. Then a pulpit was erected for the prophet from where he preached

a lengthy sermon of more than one hour duration. Brief excerpts from this sermon are given

below:

After praising Almighty Lord, he said:

“I feel that soon I will be summoned by my Lord and I will depart. But I will be leaving

behind two weighty things amongst you, each one is weightier than the other. They are Quran

the holy book of Allah, and my Ahlul-bayt. It is to be seen how you treat them both. All

knowledgeable Omnipotent God has informed me that both will not separate from each other

till the day they meet at the heavenly pond of Kauthar”.

In this long sermon prophet MohammadS touched upon many subjects vital for his Ummah

to stay on the righteous path after he was no more among them, and more importantly to stay

united and defy division.

Prophet‟s main emphasis was on the Wilayah of AliA-ibne-Abi Talib, to which he declared,

all Muslims must submit. During his sermon therefore he called AliA by the titles of Wali,

Khalifa, Ausiya, Imam and Imam-e-Mubin.

Then he asked the audience:

“O people! Don‟t you stand witness that I have more authority over souls of all Momineen,

males and females, more than they have on themselves”? __All replied: “No doubt you do, O

prophet”.

Then holding and lifting the arm of AliA, prophet said:

“Listen, Allah is my Maula and I am the Maula of all Momineen. To who I am Maula Ali is

also Maula”.

Then prophet MohammadS prayed:

“O Allah, be a friend to those who hold Ali as a friend, and be enemy to those who are

enemy to Ali”.

77

The important message of Ghadyr ended here declaring AliA as Maula of all Momineen.

The large gathering at Ghadyr well understood the meaning and importance of word Maula. No

one under estimated the meaning of Maula and no one tried to question:

“O prophet! Why did you stop the journey of thousands of us pilgrims, for such a small

praise of Ali as calling him Maula”?

After the sermon was over, prophet MohammadS came down the pulpit, prostrated and

prayed to God, and then ordered a tent to be fixed. In this tent, AliA was made to take his seat

and people were ordered to pay homage to him and to address him as Ameer-ul-Momineen

(Lord of the faithful).

Almighty Lord was pleased at this happening and declared His full satisfaction by

revelation of following verse:

Al-Quran

Surah-e-Mai’da

5 : 3

This day I have perfected for you your religion, and have completed my

favors on you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.

153 books by different authors narrate the event of Ghadyr, but unfortunately it is narrated

with splitted contents, some of its contents, have been narrated under the sermon of Hajjatul-

Wida’ (the last Hajj). Some of the wel-known authors of those books are:

Ibne Shehab-al-Zahri (125 AH).

Mohammad ibne Ishaq (152 AH).

Ibn Rahooya (238 AH).

Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal (243 AH).

Ibn Jareer Tabari (310 AH).

Tirmizi (320 AH).

Imam Ghazali (505 AH).

Suyuti (1011 AH).

However, the full sermon has been preserved by Imam Mohammad BaqarA, The fifth Imam

of the Ahlul-bayt (father of Imam Jafar Sadiq who has narrated the full sermon. The books

which may be consulted are:

78

Tafsir-us-Safi by Mullah Faiz Kashani.

Al-a’dad Kuya by Allama Hilli.

Tafsir-al-Burhan by Hashim al Burhani.

Al-ahtajaj by Tabrisi.

Hayat-ul-Qulub by Allama Majlisi.

The sermon of Ghadyr was also heard by Fatima ZahraSA

. She also heard prophet saying

that he had more authority on the souls of Momineen, more than they had themselves, and that

God had made him their Maula, and also AliA their Maula. Thus she knew what a great

authority God had granted AliA over the souls of Momineen. That may be the reason why the

title of Maula has never been adopted by any religious or worldly chief.

The sermon of Ghadyr by the prophet was so dear to Fatima ZahraSA

that she knew it by

heart, and her children also knew it word by word, and all the Ahlul-bayt and their descendents

called AliA by his title i.e Maula Ali

A.

Hardships surrounded Fatima ZahraSA after she returned to Medina:

Upon return to Medina, pilgrims were happy and city of Medina was in a peaceful state. But

Fatima ZahraSA

was uneasy. At the back of her mind was the fast approaching demise of her

father. Additionally events started occurring which were against the wishes of prophet of God,

and even angered him.

Prophet MohammadS wanted to immediately send an army to the Roman borders to preempt

a Roman attack on Muslims. Very quickly he had made all the arrangements and appointed

Usama bin ZaydR as the chief Commander. Usama

R was the young son of prophet

MohammadS‟s freed slave Zayd

R who was recently martyred. This army had been made a

formidable force by the prophet by including all the elite Ashaab (companions) of prophet

MohammadS. Although by this time prophet Mohammad

S had started having symptoms of

terminal disease, but he wanted to ensure that the army of UsamaR did depart, and for this

purpose he himself went upto the outskirts of Medina to see the army off, inspite of being ill.

But this army marched only upto the regular stop outside Medina and camped there.

Prophet MohammadS‟s companions did not want to depart from Medina, and this was the

first time that they even defied prophet‟s orders. When they visited Medina to inquire about

prophet‟s health, prophet MohammadS was angry and asked them to go back to the Army and

immediately march out for Roman borders. They did go back to the camp, but they chose not to

79

follow prophet‟s order of marching out. Inspite of prophet‟s anger, the army of UsamaR did not

move and stayed where it was.

These events were very perturbing for Fatima ZahraSA

. With all her heart she wanted a

peaceful demise of prophet, but it was not just happening and she was helpless.

Yet another later incident worsened this situation when in the presence of companions who

mattered, prophet of God asked for ink and pen so that instructions could be written which

would prevent Ummah from going astray. But this request of prophet MohammadS was rejected

by some companions on the grounds that prophet was delirious under the influence of disease,

and for guidance of Ummah holy Quran was sufficient.

Things were becoming unbearable for Fatima ZahraSA

, but she was helpless and could only

lament.

As the last day of prophet‟s life approached, he also could not bear Fatima ZahraSA

‟s grief.

He called her close and said:

“O my daughter! This is terminal disease. I am about to depart this world, and after this day,

all hardships and grief will end for your father”.

Fatima ZahraAS

‟s eyes were full of tears. Prophet then spoke in such low tones that Fatima

ZahraSA

could only hear when she put her ear over prophet‟s mouth. He was repeating his

words:

“Fatima, you will be the first among my Ahlul-bayt to meet me”.

Fatima ZahraSA

was relieved a little, and looking at the radiant face of her father, she recited

a couplet:

“His face is so white and radiant that even clouds request him for water. He is the support

for orphans, and the shelter for widows”.

Prophet of God opened his eyes and spoke in a weak and low tone:

“O Fatima! This couplet was recited by my uncle Abu TalibR to honor me. But my

daughter, this is time for reciting Quran. Recite: „Mohammad is only a prophet. Other prophets

have already passed away before him. Will you turn back on your heals if he dies or is slain”?

(Surah Al-e-Imran, 3 : 144).

Then came the last moments of prophet MohammadS‟s life. He spoke to Ali

A:

“O Ali! Take my head in your lap, and put your hand near my mouth. After my last breath,

rub your hand on your face. Put my body facing Qibla. You should perform my burial and last

rites, yourself. You should yourself perform Salat-ul-Mayyat (prayer for the dead), and should

only leave after my burial is completed”.

80

Tareekh-e-Ahmadi

Page-98

Tareek-e-Islam

By: Maulana Ali Naqi

Naqvi.

Page-530.

Spirit of Islam.

By Syed Ameer Ali.

Page-197.

Then prophet MohammadS breathed his last. He was in the house of

AyeshaR and wives of prophet stood around. Fatima Zahra

SA was by his

side and his grandsons HasanA and Husayn

A were embracing his feet. Banu

Hashim were standing outside the door.

On his last breath, Fatima ZahraSA

cried:

“ - (O my father)”.

Wives of prophet MohammadS and Banu Hashim wept, and men women

and children of Medina crowded in Masjid-e-Nabvi.

A large majority of Muslim males of Medina were with the army of

UsamaR. As the news reached them, they also hurried towards Medina,

UmarR reached first. Abu Bakr

R was at his home in Sakhaa, which was a

mile away from Masjid-e-Nabavi. __AliA and Banu Hashim were busy in

preparing prophet‟s burial.

In the mean time news reached that Ansar had assembled together in

Saqifa-bani-Sa’yda (suburb of Medina), for the ba’yt of Sa‟d bin Abadah

(swearing allegiance).

For Fatima ZahraSA

this was a news which added to her grief many fold.

How could Ansar break their ties of love and dedication with prophet, and

how could they give in to greed of power, with their prophet lying

unburied? Are not the Ansar the same people who:

When Ansar pledged allegiance to prophet MohammadS, prophet gave

them his sword:

“O Ansar! I swear by my Lord who holds my life, that I will never forsake

you. Even if the whole world walks on one side, and Ansar on the other, I

will walk with Ansar”.

Prophet MohammadS also prayed for them:

“O my Lord! Send your blessings on Ansar, their sons and their

grandsons”.

Prophet MohammadS held Ansar dear to his heart, and wanted his successors to do the

same. He said:

Seerat-un-Nabi

Page-114.

Ref: Sahih Bukhari

under „Munaqib-e-

Sahaba‟.

“O people! Whosoever is guardian of your gains and losses (Khalifa), he

should merit those among the Ansar who are righteous, and should pardon

those who are otherwise”.

81

These very Ansar about whom prophet MohammadS was so appreciative, how did they

forget all that love and kindness of prophet and turned so greedy as to claim, the Khilafat for

themselves?

Fatima ZahraSA

had no answer.

AliA and Banu Hashim were busy in preparing the burial of the prophet. As Maulana Shibli

also says that AliA and close relations from Banu Hashim were busy in the burial procedures of

the prophet when the news was received that Abu BakrR was elected for Khilafat because he

belonged to Quraysh.

This news was a perturbing surprise for AliA and Fatima Zahra

SA, and also for Banu

Hashim. How could such a vital decision be made in the absence of AliA and Banu Hashim?

How could Ansar and Abu BakrR, Umar

R and Abu A‟bidah-bin-Jarrah ignore Ali

A and Banu

Hashim?

Fatima ZahraSA

mind was full of such questions, but there was no one to answer them.

Nahj-ul-Balagha

Sermon- 202 After completing the burial procedures, Ali

A himself laid down the prophet

in the grave, as desired by the prophet. AliA buried him in Ayesha

R‟s house

and led the „prayer for dead‟.

Fatima ZahraSA after the demise of prophet:

MohammadS was not only the prophet of God whom Almighty Lord had sent down as „Blessing

for all the worlds‟, but he was also a father to Fatima ZahraSA

, and a loving cousin to

AliA.__Mohammad

S was also the chief of the tribe of Banu Hashim and the centre of their

devotion and love. Prophet‟s death was therefore a great moment of grief for them. For Fatima

ZahraSA

its effect was much more profound as she witnessed that during prophet‟s last days, in

his own city and among his own people, he was not listened to. His instructions were

disregarded and he was prevented from writing a „will‟.

Various historical events which lie scattered in books of history can be summarized as under:

Tareek-e-Tabari.

Volume: 1.

Al-Imamat-wal-

Siyasat.

By: Ibn Qutayba.

Page-12

Kitab-ul-milal-wal-

mahal.

After the demise of prophet of God, Banu Hashim had gathered a few times

in the house of AliA and Fatima

SA to discuss the political situation. They

had not yet pledged allegiance (ba’yt) to Abu BakrR. Umar

R was insisting

on Abu BakrR to take ba’yt of Ali

A because after Ali‟s ba’yt Banu Hashim

would follow suit.

But AliA was the Imam appointed by God; how could he pledge ba’yt to

anyone and violate the Command of Almighty Lord and the holy prophet.

82

By: Shahrastani.

Page-20.

Tareek-e-Abul Fida.

Tareek-e-Ahmedi.

AliA had only one choice, to stay away from Khilafat and politics without

surrendering his „Divine right‟, but to cooperate and help Khalifa of the

time for keeping the Ummah united and making Islam progress. This

attitude of AliA does show a glimpse of how lofty and selfless were his

spiritual and worldly values.

AliA followed this worldly policy but made sure that he discharged the

responsibilities of Imamat to the utmost. The coming 25 years saw AliA

distanced from active politics but always supporting the unity of Ummah,

and as an Imam working zealously for spreading Islam‟s greatness in

spirituality, morality, worldly dealings, Huquq Allah and Huquq-ul-Ibad

(obligations to God and obligations to fellow beings).

After becoming Khalifa, Abu BakrR was reluctant to ask Ali

A for ba’yt; but Umar

R insisted

on it and sometime later went to the house of AliA and Fatima

SA with his supporters and shouted

at the door:

“Ali, come out otherwise I will set the door on fire”.

Fatima ZahtraSA

came to the door and insisted that she would not open the door. She

lamented:

“O my father, do you see what treatment we are facing after you!”.

Al-Faruq.

By: Maulana Shibli

Nomani.

Volume: 2.

Page-288.

On hearing the lamentation of Fatima ZahraSA

, the supporters of UmarR

stepped back, but UmarR went forward and pushed the door hard.

(According to Maulana Shibli this could be expected of UmarR‟s harsh and

emotional nature). The door broke down and fell on Fatima ZahraSA

,

causing her injury and abortion of her unborn son.

Fatima ZahraSA

was still down with grief and injury when she heard that her land and

orchards at Fidak had been taken over by the state. She pleaded her case with Caliph Abu BakrR

who in support of state action recited a tradition from prophet MohammadS that prophets of

God do not leave behind any inheritance.

Fatima ZahraSA

questioned the authenticity of this tradition and gave an eloquent speech

based on injunctions of Quran and Shariah laws in support of the inheritance of prophets.

Swai’qa Muhariqa.

By: Ibn Hajar Makki,

Under Baghi Fidak.

Seerat-e-Halbiya.

By: Ali Burhanuddin

Halbi Shafii‟. Under

claim for Fidak.

She also claimed that Fidak had been given to her by prophet MohammadS

during his life time. Caliph Abu BakrR asked for witnesses. Fatima Zahra

SA

produced as witnesses, AliA, Hasan

A, Husayn

A and Umme-Ayman

R (slave

girl of prophet MohammadS‟s mother). But these witnesses were rejected

by the Caliph on the premises of being her relatives and dependants.

83

Fatima ZahraSA

‟s patience gave up and she lamented:

“You have broken my heart today, and have usurped forcibly my rightful possession. I will

claim my right in the court of Allah against you on the Day of Judgment. God is the best of the

Judges and MohammadS is our Maula. Now we will meet on the Day of Judgment in the court

of Almighty Lord”.

Ali-bin-Burhan-ud-din Shafaii‟ wrote in Seerat-e-Halbiya and Ibne-Abi-Hadeed wrote in

Sharhe-Nahjul-Balagha that Caliph Abu BakrR started weeping and wrote down:

“I give Fidak back to Fatima”.

But UmarR tore down that paper saying:

“If you distribute state lands in this manner, how will you feed Muslim Ummah”?

(For details see pages 121-124 under „Inheritance of prophet MohammadS and Abu Bakr

R).

The takeover of Fidak by the state was a great shock for Fatima ZahraSA

. Not only that she

was deprived of the major source of her income, but a great many of the poor and needy of

Banu Hashim were also deprived whom she used to support from Fidak income.

Above plea of Fatima ZahraSA

, in its background, points to Quranic verses 59:6 and 7,

which say:

Al-Quran

Surah-e-Hashr

59:6-7

Whatever Allah has bestowed on His prophet from them (Fa’y), you did not

charge with horses and camels; but Allah gives authority to His prophets

over whomsoever He wills. Allah has power over all things.

Whatever Allah had bestowed on His prophet from the people of the towns,

belongs to Allah, and to the prophet, and to (prophets‟) near of kin, and to

orphans, and to the needy, and the wayfarer; so that it may not circulate

among those who are rich among you. __Accept what the prophet gives

you, and refrain from what He forbids, and fear (the wrath of) Allah. Verily

Allah is severe of retribution.

Two aspects are worth thinking here:

i. The decision of takeover of Fidak was a violation of Quranic verses 59:6-7.

ii. The Testimony of such persons was not accepted in this case whose testimony in the

eye of Allah is so respected that it grants entry into Paradise ( ).

Fidak was a property which was categorized as Fa’y by the prophet because no battle or

armed struggle took place for acquiring it. Fidak was then given to his daughter Fatima, by the

prophet.

84

Few years later, during his tenure as Caliph, UmarR returned Fidak to Bani Hashim, but

jointly to AliA and Abbas

R.

(Ref: Tareekh-e-Abul-Fida’; Yaqut Hamvi in Mu’jamul-Baddan; Allama Samhudi in

Tareekh-e-Madina).

This attitude of state in dealing with Fatima ZahraSA

also shocked many close companions

of prophet MohammadS whose memories were still fresh with prophet‟s saying:

“Fatima is a part of me. Anyone who harms her, harms me”.

Consequently those close companions of prophet MohammadS detached themselves from

state activities. For example:

AliA had already separated himself from state politics. He had tasked himself exclusively to

work on the Quran, the complete manuscript of which was given to him by prophet

MohammadS himself. Ali

A‟s laborious work on Quran involved insertion of footnotes,

explanations and time/circumstances of revelations of verses. He used to spare time from

this task only for Salat (prayer) and earning his living.

Bilal HabshiR left Medina and moved over to Syria.

Salman Farsi also left Medina and went to Iran. He died in Madyan. Before leaving Medina

he remarked: “In Saqifa (where Abu BakrR was elected as Khalifa) they did what they

shouldn‟t have done, but they did not do what they were supposed to do”. This saying of

Salman became a quotable quote.

AbuzarR, the wel-known companion of prophet, chose to speak loudly about „Amr-bil-

Ma’ruf-wa-nahi-anil-munkar‟ (forbid the wrong and support the right), but without any

results.

Ammar YasirR whom prophet Mohammad

S held close, stayed away from state activities.

Fatima ZahraSA

, the loving daughter of prophet MohammadS was all in grief and pain. She

used to weep and cry and used to lament on the grave of prophet: “O my father, after you,

my life became so distressful and painful that it could turn even a shining bright day into a

dark night”.

The cause of her grief was not only the death of her father, or the mistreatment of her

husband AliA, or her injury, but most depressing for her heart was the vision of future. She

feared that the ba’yt of Abu BakrR in Saqifa by disregarding the guidance of prophet, had

opened the door of future blood-letting and cruelties for grab of power in Islam. She could

visualize that soon the era of companions will be over who had the privilege of spending their

lives with the prophet, and the future generations will be free to exploit the ba’yt to their full

advantage. Her heart sank when she thought of the atrocities which her children, HasanA,

85

HusaynA, Zainab

R and Umme-Kulsum

R would be exposed to. She could now understand well

the reason of weeping of prophet MohammadS when Husayn

A was born.

She did not only lament and cry, but tried her best to make Muhajirin and Ansar of Medina

realize their obligations towards the family of prophet MohammadS. She tried to appeal to the

dedication of prophet‟s companions to recall the sayings of prophet about the importance of his

daughter and her family (the Ahlul bayt) in the religion of Islam, and not to separate Ahlul-bay’t

from Quran in their beliefs.

Excerpts from speech of Fatima ZahraSA

in Masjid-e-Nabvi:

Kitab-al-ehtijaj

By Allama Tabrasi

Bilaghat-un-Nisa

By Abul Fazal

Ahmad-ibn Abi Tahir

Agha Sultan Mirza

Dehlavi

Page-202

O people! Beware that I am Fatima, the daughter of Mohammad MustafaS

the prophet of Islam. I am repeating what I said earlier, and I will say it

again and again because it is the truth and in saying it I don‟t exceed any

limits. O people! Where are you heading, away from the truth? The truth is

clearly spelled out in this Book of God, the Quran, which is in your hands!

Fatima ZahraSA

specially appealed to the Ansar:

O! the helpers of my father, O the chivalrous people, the strong arms of

Ummah and the protectors of Islam. How can you afford not to pay heed to

me and to disregard my appeal? Didn‟t my father, your prophet, say:

“Protection of a person means protection of his family”.

How quickly you have committed (departure from Sunnah of

prophet) in religion. O! the Ansar of prophet MohammadS, O! the tribes of

Khizraj and Aus, how can you remain silent when the inheritance of your

prophet is denied to his family? It is not that you are unaware. You are

infront of me and I can see you and hear you; but you are not inclined to

support me. I can see that you are inclined for an easy life and have

forsaken the grand person AliA who deserves, more than anybody else, to

guide Islam and Ummah on the straight path of God.

Beware that, I am saying it because of the „betrayal of truth‟ by you and

hypocrisy hidden in your hearts.

O people! I know that my appeals will not move you, but still I cannot

afford to remain silent and not to speak of issues which ache my heart.

Beware that I am the daughter of the prophet who used to warn you of

God‟s wrath. So you go your way and we go ours. You wait for

consequences and we also wait for consequences.

86

The repeated appeals of Fatima ZahraSA

fell on deaf ears because the love of worldly

attractions reigned supreme for them. Even the Arab tradition of helping out women in need,

was forgotten by them.

Fatima ZahraSA

had no illusions. She could see the horrible trends of coming future. She

remembered that during her childhood her father told her to repeatedly recite Surah Kawthar

(chapter 108 of Quran). The explanation of this chapter was elaborated by prophet MohammadS

when his grandsons HasanA and Husayn

A were born. Fatima Zahra

SA recalled the time when

angel GabrielA descended to congratulate prophet Mohammad

S on the birth of each of his

grandsons and also conveyed the message of their martyrdom. Prophet MohammadS spoke

many times on this subject to his daughter, to his wives, to his family and to his close

companions. Books of Islamic history and Sunnah of prophet MohammadS cover this subject

adequately, and highlighted the fact that prophet MohammadS was the person whom Almighty

Lord loved most, and the prophet loved nothing else in this world more than his daughter, her

husband AliA and their children.

Surah Kawthar, which Fatima ZahraSA

recited often says:

Al-Quran

Kawthar (108)

Full chapter.

Verily We have given you (O Mohammad) Kawthar (abundance).

So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice.

Verily it is your enemy whose line (progeny) shall be cut off.

This is the shortest chapter of Quran but the most eloquent with such a depth of meanings

that it could only be understood fully by prophet MohammadS and the (persons

with profound knowledge).

Fatima ZahraSA

and her husband AliA understood why Almighty Lord had coupled the

condition of „Sacrifice‟ with the „Abundance of descendants‟ in Surah Kawthar. They braced

themselves for facing the hard circumstances and trained their children accordingly for offering

the sacrifices needed for saving Islam as and when time demanded. Almighty Lord, the most

Beneficent, accordingly rewarded them and their descendants with Imamat and Wilayat and

blessed them to share with prophet MohammadS the great reward of Darud and Salaam from

entire Ummah for time unlimited.

Fatima ZahraSA

had only a brief time for training her children, as she died young (she died

less than six months after the demise of prophet). But her children proved their mettle when

time demanded sacrifices from them, Karbala being the peak.

87

Illness of Fatima ZahraSA:

Fatima ZahraSA

had been active all her life and was never seen despaired of the hard life that

she lived. She never complained when faced with difficulties, and always tried to have a

smiling face. Prophet MohammadS loved her smiling daughter and whenever she went to see

him, prophet used to get up, kiss her forehead and bless her.

Al-Imamat-wa-

Siyaasat.

Volume: 1

Page- 14

By Ibn Qutayba

(died 276 AH)

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 1

Page-535.

The demise of prophet MohammadS was a great shock and cause of grief

for Fatima ZahraSA

. The events which took place later added to her

remorse, specially the injury she suffered when the door of her house fell

on her. Consequently she fell ill. Caliph Abu BakrR when came to know

about her illness, visited AliA along with Umar

R and said:

“We have angered FatimaSA

. If you accompany us, we will ask her pardon”.

AliA took them to Fatima

SA. She permitted them to come in but did not talk

to them, neither did she pardon them. They went back disappointed.

Imam Bukhari narrates that Fatima ZahraSA

was angry with them, did not

talk to them, and left this world in the same condition.

It is written in Tareekh-e-Tabari that ever-since the case of Fidak, Fatima ZahraSA

cut

herself off from them totally till she died. __When she died, AliA buried her the same night

without informing the Caliph.

Death of Fatima ZahraSA (11 AH, 3 Jamaduth-Thani):

Ruyae-Sadiqa

Fasl: 14

by Dy. Nazir Ahmed

Fatima ZahraSA

was certainly the soul most affected by the death of prophet

MohammadS. The prophet was for her a father and also a mother, because

her mother had expired earlier. Grieved by her father‟s death and exposed

to many hardships and distresses she could not survive for more than three

months after her father‟s death.

According to the citings of Ahlul-ba’yt, Fatima ZahraSA

died 95 days after the demise of

prophet MohammadS. This period she spent in great agony. Nothing was able to console her,

neither her husband AliA, nor her children, nor Umme Salma

R and A‟sma binte „Amees, and

neither the service and comforts provided by Fizza.

Seerat-e-Fatima

Zahra

By Agha

Mohammad Sultan

Mirza.

Page- 255

It is narrated through Abdullah-bin-HasanA (son of Fatima binte Husayn

A),

Abdullah-bin-AbbasR and Sa‟d-bin-Ghafila

R:

When Fatima ZahraSA

was ill, the women of Muhajrin and Ansar of Medina

came to see her. They apologized on behalf of their menfolk, and requested

her to say some words of advice. Fatima ZahraSA

thanked them and uttered

a long sermon. Brief excerpts from this sermon:

88

She began with the praise of Almighty Lord and Darud and Salaam on his

prophet Mohammad MustafaS. Then she said:

“O the women of Muhajirin and Ansar, I have no interest in this world of

yours, and I am angry with your menfolk. I have only pity for them because

they deprived such a person from Khilafat who was the greatest supporter

of your prophet and the worthiest exponent of religion of God and affairs of

Din and Duniya. This act of theirs is unpardonable, and a great loss for

Islam.

I fail to understand why your men are against Abul HasanA (Ali

A). By God!

Had they not deprived AliA of guiding the Ummah and religion of Islam, a

responsibility that prophet MohammadS had put on his shoulders, Ali

A on

his own accord would never have abandoned it. On the contrary, AliA

would have guided them so smoothly to the shores of sparkling clean

waters which only Almighty Lord could bless through merciful abundant

rains”.

When the menfolk heard about Fatima ZahraS‟s remarks, they came to her

house for asking pardon. But Fatima ZahraSA

replied:

“Now there is no possibility of your pardon getting accepted, after you have

committed the grave mistake”.

Fatima ZahraSA

was never able to smile till she died. Whenever pains from her injury

increased, she used to go to the grave of her father and smell the sand of the grave. This would

give her relief. She used to say:

“Whosoever smells the sand of this grave will never desire to smell any other fragrance till

the Day of Judgment”.

The only thing which solaced her was the promise of her father:

“My daughter! You will be the first among my Ahlul-ba’yt to join me”.

Fatima ZahraSA

had now only one desire, to join her father. At last her waiting was over.

One day AliA saw Fatima

SA in good spirits. She cleaned up the children, dressed them and fed

them with her own hand-cooked food. AliA asked:

“O Fatima! What is the reason for this change?”

“O Ali! I saw my father in dream tonight. I think this is my last day”.

Then she brought a written „Will‟ and gave it to AliA. It read:

“I stand witness that there is no God but Allah, the only one. I further witness that

MohammadS is His slave and His prophet, that Paradise and Hell do exist, that Day of Judgment

will certainly come, and that Almighty Lord will resurrect all the dead from their graves.

89

O AliA!, when I am dead, wash me, embalm me, shroud me, say „prayer of dead‟ over me,

then bury me in the darkness of night, and do not inform anyone about my death.

I entrust you to Almighty Lord, and I salute the future generations who will come until the

Day of Judgment”.

In addition to above, Fatima ZahraSA

also wrote in her will:

1. After I am dead, O AliA! marry Amama

R (daughter of Abul-Aa‟s and Zainab

R) because

she loves my children.

2. The participants in my burial should be confined only to relatives.

3. No marks of grave should be left identifiable.

Five ladies who nursed Fatima ZahraSA:

Study of last days of Fatima ZahraSA

indicates that there were five ladies who helped and

nursed her devotedly:

1. FizzaR:

She was the highly respected slave-girl of Fatima ZahraSA

. Throughout Fatima ZahraSA

‟s

illness, FizzaR looked after her children with utmost care and discharged household duties,

FizzaR‟s devotion and services for the family of Fatima Zahra

SA‟s continued after her death,

perhaps more vigorously.

2. Asma‟ binte A‟meesR:

Tarikh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Page-271.

Tarikh-e-

Al-Khamees

Volume: 1

Page-313

Published Egypt.

Her tribe was Aftal and Khasha‟m, named after her grand ancestors. She

was therefore also called Khasha‟m. She was previously married to Ja‟far-

ibn-abi TalibR, but after Jafar

R‟s martyrdom she got married to Abu Bakr

R.

AsmaR‟ had special love and closeness with Fatima Zahra

SA and her family.

She was at her bed-side when Fatima ZahraSA

died, and she participated in

her last rites.

Fatima ZahraSA

had requested her for a burial in a coffin and according by

AsmaR arranged for a coffin of Ethiopian design. Fatima Zahra

SA had also

requested AsmaR, that no outsider should participate in her burial. About

this attitude of AsmaR, Ayesha

R complained to her father Abu Bakr

R. But

Abu BakrR did not object, when Asma

R told him that it was the „Will‟ of

Fatima ZahraSA

.

90

3. Umme SalmaR (Umm-ul-Mominin):

Prophet MohammadS married her in 4 AH after the battle of Badar. She was called Umme

SalmaR because her son‟s name was Salma. When she joined prophet Mohammad

S Fatima

ZahraSA

had given birth to HusyanA only a few months earlier. Prophet advised Umme Salma

R

to take special care of HusaynA, that is why both of them shared feelings of extreme affection.

This was the reason that prophet MohammadS had given Umme Salma

R advance information

about martyrdom of HusaynA, and had also given her sand from Karbala telling her that when

the sand would turn red it would mean that HusaynA had been martyred.

4. AmamaR binte Abul A‟as and ZainabR:

Seerat-un-Nabi

Volume: 2

Page-268

Abul Aa‟s was maternal cousin of KhadijaR (wife of prophet Mohammad

S).

Many years before declaration of prophet-hood, KhadijaR had married off

Zainab with Abul Aa‟s. After declaration of prophet-hood Zainab accepted

Islam, but Abul Aa‟s did not. When battle of Badar took place, Abul Aa‟s

fought on the side of Meccan infidels and was arrested. But prophet

MohammadS released him on condition that he would send Zainab to

Medina because she being a Muslim was „Haram’ for a non Muslim

husband.

Abul Aa‟s after reaching Mecca, sent Zainab to Medina, but Meccan

infidels intercepted and brought them back. During the scuffle she fell

down from the camel and lost her unborn son.

In the year 6 AH, Abul Aa‟s accepted Islam and migrated to Medina with

his two children, Ali and Amama. He was married afresh with Zainab. But

soon after Zainab died in 8 AH. Abul Aa‟s also died in a battle later, but

before his death he entrusted his two children to Zubyr bin al-AwamR.

Prophet MohammadS and Fatima Zahra

SA had affection and liking for

ZainabR and her children. Zainab

R‟s daughter Amama

R was also very

homely with Fatima ZahraSA

, and spent most of her time with Fatima

ZahraSA

and her children. That is why Fatima ZahraSA

had written in her

„Will‟ that AliA should marry Amama

R after her death. At that time

AmamaR was about eleven years old.

5. Umme Raaf‟y: She was the slave-girl of Safiya

R (prophet Mohammad

S‟s maternal aunt). Umme Raaf‟y

R,

was dedicated to Fatima ZahraSA

, and the day Fatima ZahraSA

died Umme Raaf‟yR was with

her. She participated in the last rites of Fatima ZahraSA

.

91

It is narrated by Abdullah bin AbbasR that the day Fatima Zahra

SA died, she took a bath and

put on new cloths. This was the first time during the past three months that she did so. Then she

went to the grave of prophet MohammadS holding the hands of Hasan

A and Husayn

A, and

offered two Raka’t Salat between the grave and pulpit of the prophet. Then she returned home

and asked HasanA and Husayn

A to go to the mosque to their father. Then she lied down, covered

herself with the sheet of her father, and said to AsmaR:

“Don‟t leave me alone, sit by my side, and call me after sometime. If I don‟t answer then

you must know that I have joined my father”.

Asma‟R waited for some time then called Fatima Zahra

SA. Getting no response she

understood that FatimaSA

had died.

AliA was closeby in the Masjid-e-Nabvi, he came quickly. The news of Fatima Zahra

SA‟s

death spread like wild fire. Men and women of Medina flocked to the Masjid-e-Nabvi wailing

and crying. They waited till the nightfall and then went home thinking that burial will take place

the next day.

After all of them had left, AliA started making preparations, and buried Fatima Zahra

SA

quietly as she had willed. AliA got many graves dug out in the graveyard of Jannat-ul-Baqii’

and got them leveled, so that the real grave of Fatima ZahraSA

was not identifiable.

Allama Hafiz Mohammad bin Ali Shehrashob, Ibn Jarir Tabari in Tareekh-e-Tabari, and

Abu Nuaym in Hulyatul-Awlia, have written that in addition to Bani Hashim only Salman

FarsiR, Abuzar Ghaffari

R, Miqdad

R, Ammar Yasir

R and Bureedah

R participated in the last rites

of Fatima ZahraSA

.

The death of Fatima ZahraSA

was very hard on AliA. The loss of such a companion who was

praised by Almighty Lord and was loved devotedly by the prophet, was not easy to bear AliA

felt terribly alone. He went to the grave of prophet and implored:

Nahj-ul-Balagha

Sesrmon-202 “O prophet of God, my salutations on you and on your daughter who has

joined you. O the prophet of God, I feel weak and dejected since your

loving daughter left me. But I must muster my courage to bear this burden

in the same manner as I did on your sad demise.

O prophet of God, I lowered you in grave personally and I remember that

your head was resting on my chest under my neck. __O prophet of God,

Fatima ZahraSA

was a trust from Almighty Lord and was taken back by

Him; but my grief, agony and sleepless nights are here to stay with me for

my whole life, until the Beneficent Lord grants the same blessings to me

92

which He has granted to you.

Your daughter will tell you how your Ummah united against her. She will

tell you what hardships and agonies she feed although very little time had

passed since you left us, and your memories were still fresh in the minds of

people.

My salutations on you both, salutations of the man who is about to depart.

If I depart from here it will not mean that staying here caused sadness to

me; and if I stay it will not mean that I doubt God‟s promise of blessing

those who remain patient.

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 1

Page-535

Outside Medina when people heard about Fatima ZahraSA

, some

commented:

“Silence now prevails because she has departed who used to speak for

prophet MohammadS”.

Urwa-bin-ZubyrR narrates that AliA buried Fatima the same night and did

not inform people as was willed by FatimaSA

. After the death of Fatima

ZahraSA

, opinion of people changed about AliA.

Mu‟mar narrates that someone heard Imam Zahri saying:

“The respect and regard of AliA among people did not remain the same as it was during the

life of Fatima ZahraSA

”.

The events which unfolded subsequently also go to prove, that situation as indicated above,

did prevail. But it is worth thinking as to why such a distinguished and accomplished

companion of prophet, as AliA, lost the attachment of people so quickly after the prophet, when

history is full of AliA‟s merits and extraordinary services for Islam, like:

Seerat-un-Nabi

Pages-106, 121, 271

Tareekh-e-Ahmadi

Pages- 36, 41

Madarij-e-Nabuwa

By: Muhadith

Dehlavi,

Under Battle of

Trench.

AliA, who was declared by prophet Mohammad

S as his brother in this world

and in the next, who was raised by prophet of God like a son from infancy,

who was selected as son-inlaw by the prophet as desired by Almighty Lord,

who was the conqueror of Battle of Badar, who was applauded by the

Almighty Lord in the Battle of Uhad when angel GabrielA shouted

(there is no warrior like Ali and no sword like

Zulfiqar), who was applauded in the Battle of Trench when prophet of God

declared:

“Today the (faith in totality), is going to fight the (infidelity

in totality) and after AliA‟

S victory declared: “One blow of Ali in the Battle

of Trench is better than combined prayers of humans and Jinns of both the

93

worlds, who was the (brave who never turns back) of the battle

of Khybar, whose dedication to prophet of God was unmatchable and so

was the love of prophet for him, who was the messenger of peace for tribes

of Hamdan and Yemen, who was exclusively distinguished by prophet of

God by declaring (Ali is Maula to whom I am

Maula) and who fulfilled every promise which he had made on the

occasion of feast of Zula’shira.

The question remains open!

To end this write up about Fatima ZahraSA

, I must admit that I found it a Herculean task,

because it required not only to search books of history and books of traditions but also to try to

understand the charisma of her personality and the secrets of her highly spiritual life and her

humble worldly life. Thanks to Almighty Lord that I was able to do some justice to this subject;

when it came to paying my final respects to Fatima ZahraSA

, words failed me. Almighty Lord

however but made this problem easy for me when I stumbled upon an ode in Persian ( )

by Sir *Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal, in which he paid his tributes to Fatima ZahraSA

. The

verses of this ode appear like a spiritual intuition which convinced me that there could be no

better a tribute than this to Fatima ZahraSA

.

Poet of the east, Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal‟s tribute to Fatima ZahraSA:

Virgin Mary deserved respect and love because of one relationship, being the mother of

prophet JesusA. But Fatima Zahra

SA deserves respect and love because of three relationships:

(i). Relationship one:

FatimaSA

was the daughter (light of eyes of) prophet MohammadS, such a prophet whom

Almighty Lord had given the title „Blessing of all the worlds‟, and who was the Imam of all

prophets from first to the last.

(ii). Relationship two:

94

(Sir Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, widely known as Allama Iqbal (1877-1938), was born in British

India, province of Punjab. He was a poet, philosopher, scholar, academic, barrister and

politician. He was widely regarded as having inspired the concept of Pakistan, as a result of

which Pakistan came into existence in 1947. He got his initial education in British India and

higher education at Ludwing Maximilian University of Munich, Germany).

FatimaSA

was the wife of that divinely decorated person (AliA) for whom descended the

Quranic verses of Hal-A‟ta‟ (Surah Dahr, 76), and who was blessed with the titles, Murtaza

(with whom God is happy), Mushkil-Kusha (problem solver), and Sher-e-Khuda (lion of the

Almighty Lord).

Inspite of being titled a king, (AliA‟s piety and selflessness was at such a level that his home

was without any comforts) and the only possession he had was a sword and an armour.

(iii). Relationship three:

FatimaSA

was the mother of two sons, one of whom (HasanA) became the centre of love of

God, and the other (HusaynA) became the leader of the party of God, who fought and through

martyrdom reached the peak of love of God.

The first son (HasanA) was like a lamp which brightened up the dark nights of Haram, and

who was the protector of lives and wealths of Ummah of prophet MohammadS. When he saw

that the fire of malice, grudge, brawls and battles was not coming to an end he threw down his

crown and kicked out his throne for the sake of preventing a blood bath among Ummah.

The second son (HusaynA) who is not only the Maula of all righteous and pious people of

the world, but is also the hope and strength behind all truth-seeking braves of the world. The

95

same HusaynA who introduced an amazing pathos in the hearts of people, and from whom truth-

seekers learn secrets of real freedom.

Besides the three relationships, Fatima ZahraSA

had a grand personality.

It is mothers who mould the nature and personalities of their children, and inculcate

qualities of truthfulness and piety. It is also because of mothers that people possesses these

qualities. Batul (Fatima ZahraSA

) is a model of „Surrender to the Will of God‟, and her character

and conduct is the perfect example for all mothers to follow.

Her heart was so kind and full of pathos that to meet the needs of a poor beggar, she sold

her cover-sheet to a Jew.

It is narrated that a needy person came to the door of Fatima ZahraSA

and asked for help.

She had nothing in the house to give him. So she requested AliA to take her used cover-sheet to

the Jew‟s pawn shop and get some money. The Jew gave money to AliA and threw the cover-

sheet in a corner considering it a used cheep stuff.

The Jew was however surprised when he saw AliA giving the money to the poor man and

returning home empty handed. __In the darkness of night, the Jew was further surprised when

he saw a strange light emitting from the cover-sheet which he had thrown down as cheap stuff.

He went running to AliA with the cover-sheet and overwhelmed with emotions requested

conversion to Islam, conversion to the Lord of owner of the sheet.

She enjoyed such authority from the Lord that angels and Jinns were her door keepers (but

it did not effect her down to earth humility), her happiness was only in keeping her husband

happy.

96

Raised in an environment of „Submission to Will of God‟ and patience of highest order, she

used to recite verses of Quran even when she was working on a grinding-wheel to grind wheat

for making bread.

(While praying and offering Salat to the Lord, her concentration was at such a peak that)

she used to weep uncontrolled and unaware of her surroundings, her tears being as precious as

jewels.

Angel GabrielA picked her tears from the ground, took them to the heavens and showered

them like dew is showered on earth.

(Being a Muslim) the Divine Law (Shariah) binds my feet, and the teachings of prophet

MohammadS keep me tied, otherwise I would have spent my life circumambulating her grave

and prostrating its dust. (Israr-o-ramuz. Kulliyat-e-Iqbal. Page 153).

97

Chapter – 3

Imam AliA and the Caliphate

(Caliphate of Abu BakrR)

632 AD – 634 AD, 11 AH – 13 AH

Imam AliA-ibne-Abi Talib:

Murrawa-Juzzuhub

Masu’di

Volume: 3

Page-125

Birth: It is widely known that Ali

A was born inside Ka’ba, the House of God (600

AD, 30 Aa’mul-fil, month of Rajab).

At that time prophet MohammadS was 30 years old, and five years had

passed since he married KhadijaR. He had two sons from her but both had

died in infancy. Before marrying KhadijaR prophet Mohammad

S had lived

with his uncle and aunt (Abu TalibR and Fatima-binte-Asad

R) for almost

twenty years. He considered his uncle‟s house like his own, and used to

visit them frequently. During his recent visits, prophet MohammadS noticed

a strange change in attitude of Fatima binte AsadR that she used to rise to

give him respect whenever he visited her. Prophet asked:

“”O my aunt, why this change?”

She replied:

“O Mohammad, when you come, this child in my belly forces me to stand

up in respect.”

This was the sixth child that Fatima-binte-Asad was to deliver but never

before she experienced such a thing. She was conscious that it was an

extraordinary feeling and was not normal. Therefore she used to visit Ka‟ba

frequently to pray to God. When the time of delivery came near and she

started having labour pains, she left her home, went to the Haram and

started circumambulating the Ka‟ba. Some invisible force made her behave

in this manner.

The door of Ka‟ba was locked and its keys were with the chief of Bani

Abud-dar. Some Quraysh who were present in Haram at that time saw in

awe, that the wall of Ka‟ba cracked near Fatima-binte-AsadR, creating an

opening without any debris falling, and Fatima binte AsadR walked in.

Immediately after, wall of Ka‟ba returned back to normal.

98

This news spread fast, and Abu TalibR and prophet Mohammad

S hurried

towards Haram but did not try to enter the Ka‟ba. They waited outside. A

little later, they saw Fatima-binte-AsadR coming out from Ka‟ba from the

same spot from where she had entered. She was carrying newborn child in

her lap. Giving the child to prophet MohammadS, she said:

“O Mohammad, the child is not opening his eye‟s”.

With great affection, MohammadS took him in his lap and the child opened

his eyes.

Nahj-ul-Balagha

Sermon-191 Prophet Mohammad

S took me in his lap when I was still a newborn. He

used to hug me and hold me close to his heart. In bed he used to hold me

close to him, contact his body with mine, and used to make me smell his

fragrance. I used to follow him like a newborn camel follows his mother.

He used to teach me the secrets of good conduct, a new chapter every day,

and used to make sure that I follow it. I used to accompany him to the cave

of Hira and used to witness the descension of revelations.

Name and titles of AliA:

Imam Nudi.

Ibn-al-A‟rabi.

Sibte Hasan Jozi.

Imam AliA‟

S mother had proposed the names Asad and Hyder fro him. Abu

TalibR called him Zayd, but prophet Mohammad

S named him Ali. His

family names were: Abul Hasan and Abu Sibtayn.

His titles were: Murtaza, Amir-ul-Mominin, Imam-ul-Mutaqin, and Abu-

Turab. All these titles were given to him by prophet MohammadS.

Status of Quran during the caliphate of Abu BakrR:

By and large many Western scholars have tried to create doubts about authenticity of Quran.

This issue aroused an alarming feeling in me when I happened to read some books of Western

authors during my stay in Los Angeles in 2005. To summarize their thoughts very briefly, two

major issues have been raised by them:

MohammadS himself was the author of Quran, and this book has no connection with divine

revelations.

Like Torah and Bible, Quran also has many additions and deletions which were incorporated

into it at later times.

It alarmed me still more when I discovered that our children are also getting impressed by

such writings. As an example I quote a brief extract from F. E. Peter‟s book “Mohammad and

99

the origin of Islam”, published by State University of New York press. On pages 257-268, a

long commentary is given on status of Quran, which I would summarize in three sentences:

That Quran could not be collected in one piece during MohammadS‟s life.

During the caliphate of Abu BakrR and Umar

R, complete Quran was not available.

Caliph UthmanR got the Quran completed during his tenure (23-35 AH), but still many

verses were left out, and many were inserted afresh.

How much, such literature could pollute young Muslim minds made me restless, and I

resolved to write on this subject, in as much detail as I possibly could. Although I had touched

upon this topic in volume 2 of my book, but now I consider it insufficient. I must write more on

(revelation), (elucidation), (collection), (pronunciation), and (for

assistance in pronunciation).

Quran, and the role of Imam AliA:

Tafseer-e-Tabari

Volume: 6

Pages-83-91.

Tareekh-e-Quran

Page-222.

Rabi’-ul-Abrar

Zamakhshri.

Tafseer-e-Saafi.

Asadul Ghaba.

Traditions of prophet MohammadS narrated by Ummul-Mominin Umm-e-

SalmaR:

“Ali is with Haq and Quran, and Haq and Quran are with Ali”.

Before prophet MohammadS died, he made a “Will” which had many

clauses and one of the clauses commanded AliA to perform a task about

Quran. It said:

“The Quran is available written on paper and different pieces near my

pillow. Take charge of it, lest any part gets misplaced”.

AliA made it his top priority to accomplish the command of prophet. He not

only took charge of the Quran but also inserted into it additional

information:

(backround circumstances under which verses were revealed).

(Time of revelation).

(elucidation of verses which have inner and hidden

meaning).

(Verses which were superseded, and the superseding verses).

After completing this task, he put the top and bottom covers on it, and

bound it securely with string.*1 Then he took this complete Quran to caliph

Abu BakrR, but caliph returned it to him saying:

“We do not need this Quran”.

AliA came back with the Quran, kept it in his safe custody and declared:

“Now people will not see this Quran again”.

This Quran was never seen in public after this event, it was only available

to the Imams of Ahlul-bay’t.*2

100

1. *This was the complete Quran with valuable details.

2. *This was a farsighted decision by Imam AliA to prevent division of Ummah on the

basis of two Qurans, one the version of state, and the other version of Imam AliA.

After the above event caliph Abu BakrR called Zayd-bin-Thabit

R and asked him to compile

the complete Quran in the form of book containing the verses and chapters as dictated by

prophet MohammadS.

Zayd-bin-ThabitR was a resident of Medina and belonged to the Khizraj tribe. He could

speak Suryani and Ibrani languages. Prophet MohammadS, seeing the talent in him, had asked

him to learn reading and writing also. He learned reading and writing from the prisoners of

battle of Badar, and became a proficient writer. Whenever Quranic verses were revealed,

prophet MohammadS used to dictate to the scribes, and Zayd-bin-Thabit

R was a regular scribe.

Zayd put up the complete Quran in the form of book to caliph Abu BakrR.

Imam AliA did not raise any objection because Zayd

R‟s Quran contained the same content of

chapters and verses as the Quran of Imam AliA. The only difference was that it did not contain

the time and background of revelations, and explanations and elucidations of verses.

Caliph Abu BakrR approved the Quran of Zayd-bin-Thabit

R and ordered preparations of

copies and distribution to relevant places.

Imam AliA however never relented from spreading the information which he had compiled

in his Quran, through his talks, his sermons and his speeches.

Spirit of Islam

Syed Ameer Ali

Page-534

This was the task of prophet of God and the Imam. Prophet MohammadS

had completed this task in his life time (to make Quran understood exactly

as God wanted it to be understood). Had prophet not done so, the task of

prophet-hood would have been left incomplete. People had mostly

conserved prophet‟s explanations and elucidations in their memories. This

information was therefore available in people‟s memories in bits and

pieces. AliA was the only person who possessed this knowledge, and who

was directly taught by the prophet. Prophet MohammadS had given a clear

guidance to people on this subject through his famous tradition:

“I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate”.

This meant without any ambiguity that anyone who sought knowledge

exactly as understood by prophet MohammadS, must get it from Ali

A.

101

Caliph Abu BakrR and Umar

R were aware of this fact that they did not object to Imam

AliA‟s activities. Imam Ali

A‟s major concern was the continuation of Saffa activities, which

prophet MohammadS had started and promoted very enthusiastically. Imam Ali

A used to devote

much time to this activity and used to deliver lectures on knowledge and topics of wisdom from

the same place in Masjid-e-Nabvi from where prophet MohammadS used to deliver sermons. In

addition to the explanation of laws of Shariah, Imam AliA used to talk about many other

branches of knowledge such as Mathematics, History, Languages, Grammer etc. After him, this

legacy was continued by Imams of Ahlul-bay’t in his progeny.

Spirit of Islam.

Syed Ameer Ali.

Page-534

Justice Ameer Ali in his book „Spirit of Islam‟ called this legacy, „the life

line of wisdom and science in Islam‟. He further elaborated that what Imam

AliA lectured from Masjid-e-Nabvi was of vital importance for Muslim

Ummah. A few quotes from his speeches can make one relies the priority

that he gave to knowledge:

Greatest respect is achieved by making a name in knowledge and

wisdom.

One who makes knowledge „a living entity‟, never dies.

The best decoration for any person is knowledge.

Nahj-ul-Balagha

Seremons:

103-105

108-110

Sermon: 69

Sermon: 120-122

Sermon: 108-110

Sermon: 143-145

One should struggle to gain knowledge before the source of knowledge

dries up; or before involvement with one‟s own affairs starts offering

hurdles.

Gain the knowledge of Quran as it is the best source. Ponder over it as it

enlivens hearts, and recite it with the realization that its contents are most

useful for humanity.

Hold the rope of Quran firmly. Take guidance from it, and accept its

Halal as permitted and Haram as forbidden.

The book of God, this Quran, is always with me. Since the time I found

its company, we never parted from each other.

People follow the character and conduct of prophet MohammadS, because

it is the best course, and follow the Sunnah of prophet because it is the

best possible guidance.

No (departure from Sunnah) can occur unless Sunnah is trampled.

Keep away from people who commit , and stay on the enlightened

course by following Sunnah which is always good and innovations

against it are disastrous.

Inheritance of prophet and case of Fadak:

Tareekh-e-Tabari It is narrated on the authority of Umm-ul-Mominin AyeshaR:

102

Volume: 1

Page-535 After the death of prophet Mohammad

S, Fatima Zahra

SA and Abbas

R went

to Caliph Abu BakrR and demanded the return of Fadak and inherited lands

of prophet in Khyber.

Abu BakrR replied:

“I would have given them to you had I not heard prophet saying that

prophets of God do not leave behind any inheritance. Whatever they leave

behind is Sadqa (charity)”.

UrwaR says that Fatima Zahra

SA was enraged upon hearing Abu Bakr

R‟s

reply. She cut herself off completely from him and did not talk to him till

she died. When she died, she was buried by AliA quietly during the night

without informing caliph Abu BakrR.

Seerat-un-Nabi

Maulana Shibli

Page-278

Tafseer-e-

Jalaluddin Sayuti

Volume: 4

Sh. Sulyman

Balkhi Najfi Yana

Bai’ul mawaddah

Chapter: 39

Sharah Nahjul-

Balagha Ibn Abi-

al-Hadid

Mua‟tazali

Volumne: 4

Page-27

Mu’jumul Baldan

Yaqut Hamavi

Fatuhul Baldan

Volume: 6

Page-343

TareekekTabari

Volume: 1

Page-362

Events narrated in the referred books can briefly be summarized as under:

Fadak lying in the region of Khyber, had many villages where Jews had

migrated before the advent of Islam. They had developed agriculture,

improved irrigation, and converted them into highly productive lands. The

owners of these lands came to prophet MohammadS and surrendered their

lands and orchards to him with the condition that they will till the lands

themselves and give half the produce to prophet.

Mohammad Jareer Tabari also narrates in his book that Khyber was

categorized as belonging solely to prophet MohammadS, because Muslim

army had not fought for it. (Quran categorized such property as Fa’y).

After the victory of Khyber and settlement of Fadak when the prophet MohammadS

returned to Medina, angel GabrielA descended with verses 26 to 30 of Surah Bani Israel (17).

Verse 26 particularly commanded prophet MohammadS to give their dues to (near to

kin):

Al-Quran

Bani Israel

17 : 26

Give (near of kin) their dues, and also to the needy, and the

wayfarer; and do not squander wastefully.

103

After this verse was revealed, prophet MohammadS called Fatima Zahra

SA and said:

“O Fatima, Almighty Lord has commanded me to give Fadak to you”.

At that very time prophet MohammadS bequeathed Fadak to Fatima Zahra

SA.

Verse 38 of Surah Rum (30) also said “give (near of kin) their dues”. Under

explanation of this verse Dur-al-Manthur (Volume: 3, page-177), and Kanza-al-ammal

(Volume: 2, page-209) narrate on the authority of Abdullah-ibn-AbbasR and Abu Saeed Hizri

R,

“Prophet MohammadS gifted his personal property to his daughter Fatima Zahra

SA”.

As commanded by Quran, Fadak was categorized as Fa’y and thus was the right of God and

His prophet and was supposed to be spent on prophet‟s near of kin, and the needy and the

wayfarer. Thus God declared it personal property of prophet MohammadS, which he gifted to

his daughter Fatima ZahraSA

. Ever since, as long as prophet lived, Fadak was owned by Fatima

ZahraSA

(for over two years). She used to keep only the essential portion of its income for her

family and give away the rest to the needy of Bani Hashim, the wayfarer and the poor, as

commanded by Quran.

The lands and orchards of Bani Nadhir (a Jewish tribe of Medina), were similarly vacated

by Jews and were categorized by prophet as Fa’y. Portions of these lands were given by prophet

to his wives and these lands remained under their possessions as long as they lived.

Tafheem-ul-Quran

Volume: 1

Page-391

Maulana Maududi has written that after the death of prophet of God, his

properties (of Khums and Fa’y) were transferred to Bait-ul-Maal. But the

portion of Bani Nadhir lands and Fadak lands which prophet had given to

Ummahat-ul-Mominin continued unchanged.

Seerat-un-Nabi

Page-279 Historians have written that when Abu Bakr

R became caliph, he transferred

prophet MohammadS‟s personal properties into Bait-ul-Maal, and also

stopped Fadak income from going to Fatima ZahraSA

. When FatimaSA

demanded it back, Abu BakrR replied:

“I have heard prophet of God saying, „We‟ the prophets of God, neither

inherit nor get inherited. Whatever we leave behind is (Charity)”.

Imam AliA, who was quiet thus far, went to Masjid-e-Nabvi and in the

presence of Muhajrin and Ansar, asked caliph Abu BakrR:

“O Abu Bakr, firstly you refused to allow inheritance to Fatima Zahra from

her father, secondly you deprived her of the property which the prophet had

bequeathed to her, and which was under her possession as long as the

prophet lived”.

Abu Bakr replied:

“O Ali, Fadak belongs to Muslim Ummah. If Fatima can produce witnesses,

then I will give it to her”.

104

Ali replied:

“O Abu Bakr, is your law different for Muslim Ummah and different for the

daughter of prophet? Did not the prophet say that „claimant is responsible

for producing witnesses and evidence, while defendant is responsible for

defending his position by taking oath?”

(Meaning that since the land was in possession of Fatima ZahraSA

and

caliph wanted to disown her of her possession. Therefore caliph should

have produced witnesses and evidence, for this action).

Abu BakrR, did not reply.

But Fatima ZahraSA

tried to push the case by producing witnesses, AliA,

HasanA, Husayn

A, and Umm-e-Ayman

R (the slave-girl of mother of prophet

MohammadS). But these witnesses were not accepted. This was first time in

Islam, and was against the Shariah (that witnesses were required from

defense).

Swai’q-e-Muhraqa

by ibn-e-Hajr Makki

Seerat-e-Halbia

By Ali Burhanuddin

Halbi Shafii‟

It is written under the heading „Garden of Fadak‟:

When caliph Abu BakrR demanded witnesses and Fatima Zahra

SA produced

them (for the bequeethment of Fadak), Abu BakrR did not accept their

testimony. Fatima ZahraSA

was grieved and enraged.

Imam Fakharuddin Razi, Yaqut Hamvi, and Ibne-Abil-Hadid also narrated

similar commentary.

It is written under the heading „Garden of Fadak‟, that Fatima ZahraSA

pleaded her case with Abu BakrR on the basis that Fadak was under her

possession and was given to her by prophet MohammadS. But when her

witnesses were rejected by caliph Abu BakrR, then she argued on the basis

of inheritance of her father. Therefore she had demanded Fadak on the basis

of bequeathment, and afterwards on the basis of inheritance.

Famous scholar Abu Bakr bin Abdul Aziz Johari in his book „Saqifah‟,

Ibne-Athir in his book „Nihaya‟, Masu‟di in his book „Akhbar-e-Zaman‟

and Ibne-Abi-al-Hadid in „Sharah Nahjul-Balagha‟ have narrated on the

authority of, Imam Mohammad BaqarA, Zainab-e-Kubra

SA binte Ali

A, and

Abdullah-bin-HasanA:

“Daughter of prophet, Fatima ZahraSA

fought for her right and took her case

to the logical end to fight for rights. For doing so, she had even to go to the

Masjid-e-Nabvi and face the congregation of people. The door of Fatima

ZahraSA

‟s house opened into Masjid-e-Nabvi. She used to same door, and as

they entered the mosque, AliA was infront of her and women-folk of Banu-

Hashim were on her right and left. She addressed the people in the mosque.

Some excerpts from her address:

After paying tributes to Almighty Lord and prophet MohammadS she said:

105

„O people, as you know that sun is bright, so you also know that I am the

daughter of your prophet.

I ask you, does Quran command that you get inheritance of your fathers,

but I don‟t? How absurd does it look! Or is it that you have knowingly

ignored the Book of God? Quran clearly states:

That prophet SolomonA got the inheritance of his father (prophet David

A,

Surah Naml, 27 verse 16), that prophet Zakaria prayed for the grant of a

son who would inherit him and also inherit Aley-Yaqub (progeny of

prophet-hood), Surah Maryam 19, verse 5-6.

That the inheritance of a son is double that of a daughter.

That it is the responsibility of every individual to write a „Will‟ for

inheritance to parents and kith and kin.

Or it is that you consider me a non-Muslim which made me ineligible for

inheritance?

Or is it that you consider my father did not own anything. Or I am not

related to him, or I have no right?

Or is it that you know the laws of Shariah, and normal and special verses

of Quran more than my father and my cousin (AliA)‟

At this point Fatima ZahraSA

‟s patience gave up, and she lamented:

Today you have broken my heart and have forcibly usurped my right. But I

will take up my case in court of Almighhty Lord on the Day of the

Judgment. He is the best of judges, and MohammadS is our Maula. Now,

we will face each other on the Day of Judgment”.

Historians have written that this speech of Fatima ZahraSA

is counted among the most

eloquent speeches of Arabic language.

Ibne-abil-Hadeed has written in Sharah-Nahjul-Balagha, and Ali bin Burhanuddin Shafii‟

has written in Seerat-e-Halbia‟ that Abu BakrR became highly emotional, startred weeping and

put down in writing “I return Fadak to Fatima Zahra”.

But UmarR tore down that paper saying:

“If you will distribute lands like this, then how will you feed the Muslim Ummah”?

Abu BakrR then kept quiet and Fatima Zahra

SA returned home, dejected and grieved. She

died three months later, while circumstances remained unchanged.

Allama Samhuri,

Tareekh-e-Medina

Mu’jamul-Baldan

by Yaqut Hamvee

Tareekh-e-Abul

UmarR during his caliphate, returned Fadak to Ali

A and Abbas

R.

But during the caliphate of UsmanR, Fadak was given over to Marwan-bin-

al-Hakam.

106

Fida.

Ibne-abi-al-Hadeed

Sharah-e-Nahjal-

Balagha.

Volume: 4

Page-18

Ibne-abi-al-Hadeed narrates on the authority of Abu Bakr Johari:

When the Umayyad Khilafat reached Umar-bin-Abdul Aziz in the year 99

AH, he wrote to the Governor of Medina to return Fadak to the descendants

of Fatima ZahraSA

. The Governor summoned Hasan bin Hasan MusannaR

and Ali bin HusaynA, and handed over the possession of Fadak to them.

But later Umayyad caliph Yazid bin Abdul Malik (101 AH) again usurped

Fadak, and it remained in their possession until the fall of Umayyad

dynasty (132 AH).

When Abbasids defeated Umayyad (132 AH), the first Abbasid caliph,

Saffah, handed over Fadak to descendants of Imam HasanA. They used to

distribute Fadak income among all the descendants of Fatima ZahraSA

in

accordance with inheritance rules.

During his reign, caliph Mansur Abbasi (137-158 AH), attacked

descendants of Imam HasanA to crush their rebellion, and took Fadak

back from them. But after his death when his son Mahdi became caliph,

he returned Fadak to them (158 AH).

But when Hadi became caliph, he again usurped Fadak (169 AH).

Later when Mamun-ur-Rasheed Abbasi became caliph he ordered Fadak

to be returned back to descendants of Fatima ZahraSA

(198 AH).

Yaqut Hamvi, in his book „Majma’ul-baldan, has reproduced excerpts from the royal decree

of caliph Mamun-ur-Rasheed which was addressed to Qasum bin Jafar. Its translation:

“This is the truth that prophet of God Gave away Fadak to his daughter. This fact was widely

known to the family of prophet”.

A famous poet of that time Du‟bal Khizai‟ was present in the Royal court. He stood up and

recited an appriciative poetry, which started with:

“Today is the day of rejoicing because Mamun has returned Fadak to Bani Hashim”.

Rebellion of false prophets, apostates and Zakat deniers:

After the death of prophet MohammadS, Medina became extremely tense because so many

disturbing events had occurred within a short time, like:

Tussle between Ansar and Muhajrin for succession to prophet MohammadS.

Sudden Bay’t of Abu BakrR.

107

Refusal of Bay‟t by Saa‟d bin Abada (Chief of Khazraj tribe), which got settled later.

Refusal of Bay’t by Bani Hashim.

Abu Sufyan‟s advice to AliA to rise against Abu Bakr

R with his help. This would have meant

a sure victory for Islam‟s two most powerful tribes, Bani Hashim and Bani Umayya, but at

the cost of a grave infighting and blood-shed in Islam. AliA rebuked Abu Sufiyan and

refused the offer.

The conflict of Fadak and protest of Fatima ZahraSA

.

Rumors about grave differences in Muslim Ummah and a strong possibility of infighting

among them, were spreading fast. Rumor mongers were busy in taking news from Medina and

feeding their mentors in different tribes. There were many tribes in Hijaz and in Central Arabia

who had accepted Islam only outwardly. Quran‟s description (2 : 14) fitted them:

“Only their tongues conceded their belief but their hearts were empty of faith”.

Tareekh-e-Tabari.

Volume: 2

Page- 58

As the news of prophet MohammadS‟s death and precarious condition of

Medina, reached tribes outside Medina, many decided to rebel and tried to

unite against Islam. They were called Apostates. Some tribes rebelled

partially and some totally. There were only two tribes who remained totally

faithful to Islam, the Quraysh and Bani Saqif.

In the rebellious tribes there were also those whose chiefs had declared

their false prophet-hoods, like Asad-bin-Ka‟b-Ansi, Muslima-Kazzab, and

Taliha-Asadi. They had declared their prophet-hood during the illness of

prophet MohammadS. __Asad-bin-Ka‟b-Ansi, who had declared false

prophet-hood in Yemen, was already killed in Sana‟a by order of prophet.

__Muslima-Kazzab had also claimed prophet-hood earlier, but had given it

up under fear, after the killing of Asad-Ansi. After prophet MohammadS‟s

death, he again became active in Yamama and vigorously prepared to strike

Muslims. All the tribes in Yamama joined him. Most of the tribes of Najd

also joined him except Bani Tamim. His strength further increased when

Saja married him. Saja was from Bani Tablaghab and she had also falsely

claimed prophet-hood. __Taliha Asadi in his area also gathered strength

and tribes of Ghatfan, Bani Asad, Bani Tai, Bani Ashja‟, and their allied

tribes joined him. Only some righteous Muslims among them stayed away.

Besides above mentioned apostates and false prophets, some other tribes,

who were Muslims, refused to pay Zakat.

This extremely dangerous situation had obviously arisen from the discord prevailing in

Medina, which was fully exploited by evil-mongers. Although the question of succession to

prophet was no more an issue of power-struggle, but caliph Abu BakrR could clearly see the

108

dangers which had surrounded Islam. Imam AliA was also fully alive to the situation, and over-

stepping all the differences and in open support of Islam, he offered his full cooperation to

caliph. Caliph Abu BakrR also welcomed the support of Imam Ali

A.

Imam, AliA then delivered a sermon in Masjid-e-Nabvi:

Nahjul-Balagha

Sermon: 5 O people, overcome the evil-waves of discord by riding the boats of

salvation. Move away from dissension and confusion. Give up ego and self-

praise.

This sermon of Imam AliA actually comprises of three parts. Above mentioned is its first

part which urges Muslims to unite so that the dangers surrounding them may be overcome by

facing them unitedly.

The second part of this sermon which is given below, clarifies Imam AliA‟s own position

with respect to caliphate. But before proceeding with the second part, an important question

arises, why did Imam AliA clarify his position with respect to caliphate? Wasn‟t the first part of

his sermon enough and effective for uniting Muslim Ummah?

Indeed it was enough for uniting the Ummah, but it could lead to a possible

misinterpretation by political groups to mean a bay’t by Imam AliA. Whereas in actual fact

Imam AliA could not swear bay’t to anyone because he was bounded by his obligations to

Almighty Lord and prophet MohammadS to protect and propagate „Quran and Sunnah’. He

could thus not swear allegiance to anything else but „Quran and Sunnah’. Prophet MohammadS

had also declared Imam AliA‟s role by „calling himself as city-of-knowledge‟ and Ali

A as its

gate‟, and by saying that „Quran and AliA will not separate from each other‟, and also declaring

„AliA as Maula of all Muslims‟. __Message of prophet was thus clear, that Muslims must refer

to AliA whenever interpretation of „Quran and Sunnah’ is required.

Imam AliA was also bound by Quran not to use force if people elected some other than him.

Quranic verse 2:256 (“There is no compulsion in religion”) prohibits the use of force in any

form. In the same spirit, this versed also provides freedom of choice to people to elect their

caliph. Although AliA was the declared choice of prophet Mohammad

S for leading Muslim

Ummah, but the final choice was to be exercised by people. Had people chosen AliA it would

have been to the liking of prophet and to the liking of Almighty Lord. But if they chose on the

basis of their political preference, then they themselves were to be responsible and accountable

for their action, to the Almighty Lord.

Therefore it was incumbent upon Imam AliA to clarify his position with respect to caliphate

i.e, people should know that in the first place they themselves should have elected him, but if

they did not do so, Imam AliA would not make any attempts to grab caliphate. Instead, he would

keep away from politics. But if Islam came under threats, he would not hesitate to came forward

109

and assist the Islamic state. That is why after prophet‟s death, for over 25 years, Imam AliA

never manouvered politically, aspiring for caliphate; but restricted himself only to declaring his

right to caliphate so that people did not have excuse that they did not know.

Twelve and a half (12½) years after prophet‟s death, an opportunity came to him to become

caliph when after the death of second caliph UmarR, Imam Ali

A was offered this position by

head of the five member committee setup by UmarR (when he was still alive). But the offer had

condition, that Imam AliA would swear allegiance to:

Abide by Quran.

Abide by Sunnah of prophet MohammadS.

Abide by the Sunnah of the two late caliphs, Abu BakrR and Umar

R.

Imam AliA‟s reply was direct and straight, that he would abide only by Quran and Sunnah

of prophet MohammadS.

UsmanR was then given the same offer. He accepted all conditions and became the third

caliph.

About 25 years after prophet MohammadS‟s demise, when the third caliph Usman

R died,

people from all directions flocked around Imam AliA and beseeched him to take up the reigns of

caliphate. Imam AliA agreed only on condition that he would govern his own way (i.e, fully

following Quran and Sunnah of prophet MohammadS, whether it suited political groups or not).

With this background, it will become easy to understand the words of Imam AliA in the

second part of his sermon. He said:

“Prosperous is one who rises with wings (i.e, with flying power), otherwise he remains

peaceful and lets (task of others) ease. It (the aspiration for caliphate) is like turbid water, or like

a morsel that would suffocate a person who swallows it. One who plucks fruit before ripening is

like one who cultivated in another‟s field”.

In the above sermon, Imam AliA first spoke about the unsuitable time which was not ripe for

him for caliphate, because for him time would be ripe only when he would be able to rise with

wings (meaning with Muslim Ummah’s clear mandate and support which would keep him

flying like the gusts of wind keep birds flying).

This was exactly what Imam AliA did by remaining peaceful and extending a hand of

cooperation for saving Islam, and thus made the task of governance easy for Caliph Abu BakrR.

Imam AliA also explained in the above part of sermon that the aspiration of caliphate at that

time was like drinking turbid water, or like a morsel that would suffocate the person who tried

110

to swallow it, or was like cultivating in someone else‟s field and trying to pluck fruit in haste

without waiting for them to ripen.

The ripe time about which Imam AliA spoke did arrive 25 years after the demise of prophet

MohammadS, at the time when the third caliph Usman

R died. People in Medina then flocked

from all directions, urging Imam AliA to take over the reigns of caliphate. But Imam Ali

A was

very reluctant because of the grave politically corrupt environment. Masjid-e-Nabvi was packed

to the brim with Muhajirin and Ansar. Imam AliA described that situation in sermon 54 (Nahjul-

Balagha):

“They lept upon me (to swear Bay’t of allegiance) as camels leap upon each other on arrival

for drinking water.”__ Imam AliA then took their Bay’t.

The third part of this sermon says:

“If I speak out, they would call me greedy for power, but if I keep quiet they would say I

was afraid of death. It is a pity (to think so, after seeing all the ups and downs of my life). By

Allah, the son of Abu TalibR is more familiar with death than an infant with mother‟s breast.

I have hidden knowledge; if I disclose it, you will start trembling like ropes in deep wells”.

In the end of this third part of sermon, Imam AliA tried to put a veiled indication about his

prime responsibility of protecting Quran and Sunnah in the capacity of an Imam, and warned

people that if he disclosed the knowledge that prophet MohammadS passed on to him, people

will start trembling like ropes in deep wells.

Subsequently, Bani-Hashim with the consent of Imam AliA, swore the bay’t of allegiance of

Abu BakrR, but Imam Ali

A himself did not do so (see page 17 for details). Thus the most

respected tribe of Arabia, Bani-Hashim, swore bay‟t to Abu BakrR.

When Abu Sufiyan came to know of this development, he also went to caliph Abu BakrR

and swore bay’t. The Bani-Umayyad of Mecca, following Abu Sufiyan, also swore bay’t of

Abu BakrR, while Bani-Umayyad of Medina had already done so much before under the

guidance of UsmanR.

After Bani-Hashim and Bani-Umayyad, the third most powerful tribe was Bani-Makhzum.

A part of this tribe resided in Medina and others in Mecca. Khalid-bin-Walid belonged to this

very tribe. All of them swore bay’t to Abu BakrR.

The caliphate of Abu BakrR was now fully secure; thanks to the support of Ali

A-ibn-Abi

Talib who had sacrificed all his personal interests for saving Islam. With this development,

111

Quraysh were now united and Abu BakrR‟s caliphate was internally fully secure. Caliph Abu

BakrR could then concentrate on external threats.

Threats from Romans and Syrians:

Of all the external threats, the threat from Romans and Syrians was the most serious one.

Prophet MohammadS, sensing the gravity of this threat, had taken pains, even during his illness,

to organize and dispatch a force for a preemptive strike on Romans and Syrians. But inspite of

prophet‟s efforts, this force commanded by Osama-bin-Zayd, could not march beyond the first

stop outside Medina, although inspite of his illness prophet had gone upto the outskirts of

Medina to see it off. Prophet MohammadS was constantly pressing for its onward march, but

because of his illness his companions were not prepared to leave Medina.

After prophet‟s death, as soon as the internal security was ensured, Abu BakrR‟s first

decision was to dispatch the „Osama force‟. Target was the Ghussani tribes of Syria, in the

north west of Medina. These tribes had earlier killed the emissary sent by prophet MohammadS,

and had insulted Muslim preachers.

To avenge the killing of the emissary, prophet MohammadS had then sent a force to punish

these tribes. These Ghussani tribes were of Arab descent, but because they were Christians so

they requested the Byzantine Roman Emperor for help. With the Roman help, their combined

forces encircled Muslims at Mota. A ferocious battler took place at Mota, three Muslim

commanders were martyred one after another, Zayd-bin-HarsaR, (father of Osama

R), Abdullah-

bin RawahaR, and Jafar-Tayyar

R-bin Abu Talib

R. The fourth commander Khalid

R-bin-Walid,

was finally able to break the Roman siege, and manage to retreat and reach Medina. This feat

did require great strategy and martial dexterity.

To offset this setback, prophet MohammadS took immediate steps and marched with an

army under his own command (9 AH). This march known as „Expedition of Tabuk‟, was

preemptive move because Romans and allied tribes were massing troops, and prophet

MohammadS wanted to strike them before their preparations were completed.

When news of prophet‟s march reached Roman emperor, he preferred to withdraw his

forces from the border, to avoid a clash. Prophet MohammadS then returned to Medina

victorious, because the imminent Roman threat was removed. But this was only a temporary

relief because the Roman threat had not gone away completely. Therefore, when prophet

MohammadS returned from Hajjat-ul-Wida‟, in the month of Muharram (11 AH), when the

verses of „completion of Religion‟ had already been revealed, Almighty Lord commanded

112

prophet to send an army to Roman border, under the command of Osama-bin-ZaydR (son of

ZaydR, the martyred commander of Mota).

Prophet MohammadS obeyed the command of the Lord, and organized a powerful army

which was strengthened by inclusion of all the close companions of prophet. Osama-bin-ZaydR

was appointed its commander, and prophet MohammadS personally accompanied this army upto

the outskirts of Medina. Although he was already ill but he bade farewell and instructed them to

keep on marching.

But the army marched only upto the next stop and camped there. Prophet‟s companions

were not prepared to leave Medina while the prophet was so seriously ill. Ultimately when the

prophet died, this army returnas ed back to Medina.

Departure of OsamaR‟s army:

When Abu BakrR became caliph and the political situation in Medina became safe, the first

decision he took was to dispatch the OsamaR army to Roman frontiers. Many companions of

prophet opposed this decision because serious threats were also existing at that time from

apostates, false prophets and other rebellious tribes, and so weakening of Medina defenses was

a great risk. But Abu BakrR‟s resolve was firm, and the Osama

R‟s army finally departed in the

last week of month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 11 AH.

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Pages 64-69

Osama-bin-ZaydR, the commander riding a camel, was heading the army.

Accompanying him were companions of prophet on camels, while caliph

Abu BakrR walked by their side. Abdul Rehman bin Auf

R, holding the reign

of Abu BakrR‟s horse, was also walking by the side. In this manner Abu

BakrR went upto the point called Jaraf. He stayed there for a few hours, had

lunch with them and then requested OsamaR to leave behind Umar

R-bin-

Khatab in Medina. OsamaR acceded to the request.

Then Abu BakrR gave his final instructions:

Follow all instructions given by prophet MohammadS previously.

First march to Qaza‟h, then march to Ahal and its suburbs.

Follow the Sunnah of prophet strictly, do not make any deviation.

Do not commit embezzlement.

Avoid hypocrisy.

Do not break any promise.

Do not cut off organs of the dead enemy.

Do not kill old and weak men and women, and children.

Do not cut downRR fruit trees, neither data-palm nor others.

113

Do not kill any animal unless needed, neither goat nor camel, nor others.

If you come across people who have given up this world and live in

monasteries, do not interfere with them.

OsamaR listened attentively, then departed on his mission. First he attacked

Qaza‟h and then Ahal and its suburbs. Enemy was taken by surprise and

OsamaR achieved his objectives with ease without any losses. Then he

returned to Medina. The entire operation was completed satisfactorily in 40

days.

One may question, why was this expedition necessary and what benefits did it achieve?

Answer lies in Abu BakrR‟s faith that prophet Mohammad

S‟s insistence on the Osama

R

Expedition was not without concrete reasons. It turned out to be true. Following benefits did

occur from it:

The Ghussani tribes and their allies, including the Romans, were dispirited and their plans

to attack Muslims were stalled. Moreover, the trade route to Syria and Lebanon was secured.

Apostates, false prophets and other rebellious tribes were also cowed down, and they

realized that Muslims had united under Abu BakrR and it was no more an easy task to defeat

them.

I personally believe that if OsamaR expedition was conducted within the life-time of

prophet, neither the apostates would have emerged, nor other tribes would have rebelled.

Expeditions against apostates, false prophets, and Zakat deniers:

Strategy of Abu BakrR:

Abu BakrR had a long association with prophet Mohammad

S, and had watched closely his

ways. He therefore kept his cool and dispatched letters separately to all chiefs of tribes who

mattered. He also sent letters to those Muslims who in those hard times had stuck to their faith.

During the time of his correspondence, two benefits were achieved:

Army of OsamaR was back after completing their mission, and Medina was back to its full

military potential.

The success of OsamaR expedition had demoralized the rebels.

114

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Pages: 64-69

It is narrated on the authority of QasimR-bin-Mohammad:

When OsamaR‟s army arrived in Medina, they took few days to rest and

recoup. During this time Abu BakrR organized the expeditions to the rebel

centers. During this time also, people gave away so much in charity that it

was not only sufficient to finance the new expeditions, but also catered for

the other expenses.

After leaving behind some combatants for defense of Medina, Abu BakrR

took rest of the army to a place called Zilqazza. He camped there and

divided the army into eleven (11) contingents, named the commander of

each contingent, and assigned his task:

1. KhalidR-bin-Walid was directed to first attack Taliha Asadi, and then to

tackle Maalik-bin-Navira.

2. AkramaR-bin-Abu Jahl was to attack Muslima Kazzab.

3. MuhajirR-bin-Umiyya was tasked to first help Abna‟ and then confront

Aswad Ansi in Hizar Mot.

4. Saeed-bin-al-Aa‟s was to look after the border with Syria.

5. Umru-bin-al-Aa‟s was to tackle the tribes Qazza‟h, Wadia‟h, and Harith.

6. Hazifa-bin-Mahaz was to go towards the Diyya tribe.

7. A‟rfaja-bin-Harthima was to attack the tribe of Moha.

8. Swayd-bin-Maqran was sent towards Tahama in Yemen.

9. A‟la-bin-Hizri was sent towards Bahrain.

10. Shirjil-bin-Hasna was directed to follow Akrama-bin-Abu Jahl, keeping

an appropriate distance.

11. Tarifa-bin-Hajiz was to attack Bani Salim and Hawazin.

All the named commanders, leading their troops, departed towards their destinations. Abu

BakrR had detailed instructions written down for the commanders, which he gave them. The

instructions were:

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Pages: 68-69

Instructions for commanders:

This instruction had been written under the direction of Caliph Abu BakrR,

for commander (so and so), when he was sent for fighting the rebels.

We have appointed commanders on the condition that they will fear God in

their hearts, and also show their fear outworldly as far as possible. That

they will fight the apostates whole heartedly and do their best in the cause

of God.

But before fighting they will invite them to Islam and give them

opportunity to reform. If they accept, they should not be considered as

enemies, but if they reject they should be attacked without delay, until they

115

accept Islam. Then they should be told about their rights and

responsibilities. They should be given what is due to them, and they should

also pay what is due on them. No concession should be given to them in his

respect, and your fighters should stay there and should not come back

unless objective is achieved.

Those who accept greatness of God and follow religion of Islam sincerely,

they should be helped. But those who accept Islam at one time and reject it

at other time, must be fought.

Those who accept the invitation of Islam should not be treated adversely. If

their acts are based on hypocrisy, God is enough to take their account on

the Day of Judgment. However those who openly denounce Islam and

reject the offer they should be killed forthright. The only condition which

can save them is „acceptance of Islam‟. Those who accept Islam they

should be treated as Muslims, and who reject Islam they should be fought

against. If God grants victory, the apostates should be killed by sword and

fire. __One fifth of the spoils of war should be dispatched to the Caliph and

the rest should be distributed among the mujahidin.

The commander must restrain his fighters from hasty acts and disruptive

activities. He should not accept any new person in his camp unless the

newcomer is investigated properly, that he be a spy, and planted to plan a

surprise attack.

He should treat his fighters with kindness, moderation and care, and guard

against unfairness by putting one portion of fighters to battle and not the

others. His manners should be soft and fair.

It may be noted that a portion of this instruction which commands to kill apostates by

sword and fire, appears strange because it is in contradiction with the Sunnah of prophet and is

also against the nature of Abu BakrR. Some examples of how Mohammad

S dealt with apostate,

are cited below, but it may be noted that he never ordered burning by fire as punishment.

Spirit of Islam

Syed Ameer Ali

Page-451

Abdullah-bin-Sa‟d-bin-Abi Sarah was one of the scribes who used to write

down Quranic verses as revealed to prophet MohammadS and dictated by

him. When prophet used to dictate, Abdullah used to change words to

corrupt their meaning. When his evil act was detected, he ran away from

Medina, deserted Islam, and became apostate.

When Mecca was conquered, prophet MohammadS ordered him to be

killed, even if he was found hiding behind the curtain of Ka‟ba.

116

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 1

Page-399

Abdullah-bin-Sa‟d-bin-Abi Sarah was a step-brother of UsmanR. So

UsmanR took him under his refuge, brought him to the prophet, and

requested a pardon for him. Prophet kept quiet for a long time, but upon

insistence from UsmanR pardoned him. However, prophet forbade his entry

in Medina. After UsmanR took him away, prophet spoke to his companions:

“I kept silent for a long time so as to provide an opportunity to any of you

to kill him”.

Another example is that of Abdullah-ibn-Khatab, who had killed a slave of Ansar. The he

ran away to Mecca and turned apostate to avoid punishment. He had two slave girls who used to

recite poetry to dishonor prophet MohammadS. Prophet had ordered killing of all the three. One

slave-girl however ran away, the other two were put to sword.

Two more persons also turned apostate. One was Hawaras-bin-Naqifa, and the other

Maiqas-bin-Hababa. Both used to cause grave harassment to prophet, then they turned apostates

and ran away to Mecca. Prophet of God ordered killing of both, and both were killed.

History thus provides proof that apostates were killed only by sword during the time of

prophet MohammadS. They were neither tortured nor brunt by fire.

History also records the kindness of prophet MohammadS in pardoning his worst enemies.

A‟krama-bin-Abu Jahl was one of the great enemies of prophet MohammadS in Mecca. He had

inflicted extreme tyrannies on Muslims of Mecca and had sworn to kill anyone who believed in

prophet MohammadS. Prophet had therefore named him to be killed whenever found. But he ran

away from Mecca and took refuge in Yemen. In the mean time his wife, Umm-e-Hakeem,

accepted Islam in Mecca and requested pardon for his husband. Then she went to Yemen,

brought her husband back, and took him to prophet MohammadS. A‟krama accepted Islam and

prophet MohammadS pardoned him. During the caliphate of Abu Bakr

R, A‟krama-bin-Abu Jahl

was martyred in the battle of Yarmuk.

Apart from Sunnah of prophet, Abu BakrR himself was a soft spoken person of constancy

and reason. He shows these qualities during the rebellious times of apostates. (narrated by

Zarar-bin-al-Zor).

Tareekh-Tabari Muslim Mujahidin under their designated commanders headed for their

117

Volume: 2

Page-76 destinations, and first offered Islam to their opponents. Many tribes who

accepted the offer were welcomed into Islam. Others, who refused were

attacked and were mercilessly killed. In this killing no distinction was made

between apostates and Zakat deniers. Consequently, many Zakat deniers

were killed, whose faith in Islam was confirmed later.

Maja‟h-bin-Marasa was the chief of Bani Hanif, who had enmity with the

tribes of Bani A‟mir and Bani Tamim because Bani A‟mir had kidnapped a

woman of this tribe, and Bani Tamim had kidnapped some camels. To take

revenge from both the tribes, Maja‟h took sixty (60) of his fighters and

attacked them. He plundered them and also recovered the kidnapped

woman. When he was returning home, his party stayed for the night in

Yamama valley.

Fighters of KhalidR-bin-Walid at that time were nearby. They attacked

Maja‟h‟s party while they were asleep, killed them, and took Maja‟h a

prisoner. They brought Maja‟h to KhalidR-bin-Walid who was about to

depart for attacking Musilma Kazzab.

Battle with Musilma Kazzab:

KhalidR-bin-Walid imprisoned Maja‟h and departed for the battle. Musilma

Kazzab had camped at a place called A‟qraba on the border of Yamama,

and had called all his allied tribes for help. Bani Hanif came to his help in

great numbers.

The two forces met at A‟qraba and a fierce battle took place. In the

beginning Musilma appeared winning but KhalidR-bin-Walid‟s fighters

stuck to their guns, repulsed the attack, and their counter attack resulted in

the defeat of Musilma Kazzab. His fighters ran in panic. At some distance

was an orchard with security walls and an iron gate. Musilma‟s men entered

the orchard and closed the gate. But a Muslim Mujahid, Bara‟-bin-Maalik,

scaled the wall with great chivalry, and opened the gate. Muslim army

entered the orchard, and mercilessly killed the enemy. It is said that 10,000

casualties took place. That is why this orchard was given the name

Hadeeqa-tul-mot. From KhalidR-bin-Walid‟s army, over 600 Muhajirin and

Ansar were martyred. Musilma Kazzab was killed by Wahshi‟s lance, the

same Wahshi who had martyred Hamza-bin-Abdul MuttalibR in the battle

of Uhud. But later he accepted Islam.

Peace agreement with Bani Hanif:

After the battle, KhalidR-bin-Walid summoned Maja‟h and first asked him

to identity the corpse of Musilma Kazzab. Thereafter he negotiated a peace

agreement with Maja‟h and his tribe, Bani Hanif, who had barricated

themselves in their forts. The peace agreement read:

118

This agreement being made by KhalidR-bin-Walid with Maja‟h bin Marasa,

Salma-bin-Umair and others:

All the gold and silver owned by Bani Hanif will be handed over to

KhalidR-bin-Walid.

Half of the slaves, men and women, will be handed over to KhalidR-bin-

Walid.

All the cattle, and one orchard and one farmer from each village will be

handed over to KhalidR-bin-Walid.

Then they will live with freedom and peace provided they accepted Islam.

This agreement guaranteed peace and freedom for Bani Hanif by KhalidR,

on behalf of caliph. Abu BakrR and Muslim Ummah.

It is narrated on authority of Mohammad-bin-Ishaq that before giving

freedom to Maja‟h, KhalidR-bin-Walid asked him:

“Marry your daughter with me”. __Maja‟h replied:

“We should fear Abu BakrR, both of us, because he will get angry. So be

patient”.

But KhalidR-bin-Walid insisted, and Maja‟h then married his daughter with

KhalidR-bin-Walid.

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Voluem: 2

Page-121

When Abu BakrR was informed about this incident, he got angry and had a

note sent to KhalidR-bin-Walid:

“O Khalid, it appears that you have nothing else to do but to marry!

Although the blood of 1200 Muslims is still wet in your backyard, it is not

dried up yet”.

When KhalidR-bin-Walid received the letter, he said:

“This is the handiwork of UmarR, who made Abu Bakr

R send this letter to

me”.

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Page- 76

False prophet Taliha Asadi, and Deniers of Zakat:

Ten (10) days after the death of prophet MohammadS, delegations from

four tribes came to Abu BakrR and declared their intention of converting to

Islam and following all the rules except payment of Zakat. They requested

exemption from Zakat. The tribes were:

Bani Asad, Bani Hamzan, Bani Qaza‟h, and Bani Tai.

Caliph Abu BakrR did not accept their request. All the four delegations then

went back, and their tribes joined Taliha Asadi.

This was the second time that Taliha Asadi had claimed prophet-hood. He

had done so earlier during the life time of prophet MohammadS. At that

time Aswad Ansi had also claimed prophet-hood, but he was killed by order

of prophet MohammadS. Thereafter Taliha Asadi got so frightened that he

119

went underground. During the time of Abu BakrR‟s caliphate, he surfaced

again. Caliph Abu BakrR sent Khalid

R-bin-Walid to punish him.

At the same time Abu BakrR asked A‟di

R-bin-Hatim Tai to go to his tribe

(Bani Tai) and save them from the disaster of siding with Taliha Asadi.

A‟diR-bin-Hatim-Tai accomplished his mission successfully.

When KhalidR-bin-Walid attacked Taliha Asadi, the tribes of Bani-Ghaftan,

Bani-Asad, and Bani-Faraza also fought for Taliha Asadi. But they lost

badly and many were killed. Those who survived, accepted Islam. But

KhalidR-bin-Walid ordered them to identify those who had committed

tyranny and killed Muslims. Those tyrants were cruelly punished by

KhalidR-bin-Walid. Their limbs and body parts were cut off, they were

stoned and burnt, some were pushed down from hill-tops, and some were

thrown in wells and shot by arrows. Only two of them were kept alive and

were sent to Caliph. They were Qura-bin-Habira of Bani A‟mir and

Uaynah-bin-Hsn of Bani-Ghatfan. Abu BakrR pardoned both. __Qura-bin-

Habira had all along been a Muslim but he refused to pay Zakat although

later he agreed to pay it. __Uaynah-bin-Hsn had turne‟d apostate. He

acknowledged later that his heart had never accepted Islam, and all along he

had been a hypocrite. He infact deserved to be killed.

Tabari narrated a story about a man from Bani Salim whose name was

Fajah Ayas-bin-Abdullah-bin-A‟bd. He come to Abu BakrR and requested

for supply of arms to fight apostates. Abu BakrR accepted his request and

supplied armaments. But he broke his promise, joined apostates and

plundered and killed Muslims. Abu BakrR had to send fighters to arrest

him. When he was brought to Medina, Abu BakrR had a great fire lit and

had him thrown into it.

Tareek-e-Ahmadi

Reference Ibn-al-

Wardi.

Page-122

MaalikR-bin-Navira:

MaalikR-bin-Navira belonged to the tribe Bani-Yarbu‟. He accepted Islam

at the hands of propht MohammadS, and the prophet appointed him as „the

Zakat collector‟ of Bani Yarbu‟.

When Abu BakrR became Caliph, Maalik

R-bin-Navira refused to pay Zakat.

Abu BakrR sent Khalid

R-bin-Walid for Zakat collection. When Khalid

R-bin-

Walid reached the place Atba‟ in the home area of Bani Yarbu‟, he

dispatched fighters in different directions with instructions to give call of

Azan and arrest those who did not turn up for prayer. If they resisted, they

should be killed.

MaalikR-bin-Navira was out in the vicinity with 25 of his tribesmen when

KhalidR-bin-Walid‟s fighters surrounded them, and arrested all of them.

Without investigation, KhalidR-bin-Walid had them all killed by sword and

120

fire, in the freezing cold night.

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Page- 97

It is narrated on the authority of Sweed that the fire had badly burnt all the

bodies and their faces, but the face of MaalikR-bin-Navira could still be

recognized because of thick hair on his head.

Mut‟imR-bin-Navira, the brother of Maalik

R-bin-Navira went to caliph Abu

BakrR with the demand of Qasas (blood-money) for his brother. He pleaded

to the caliph:

“My brother was killed hungry and thirsty”.

Hearing this, UmarR became emotional as he remembered Maalik

R-bin-

Navira, when he had come to prophet MohammadS for accepting Islam.

UmarR asked Muti‟m: “Is it true what you are saying?”

Muti‟m replied: “Yes, it is true. This is how things happened”.

UmarR then spoke to caliph Abu Bakr

R:

“Khalid is responsible for killing a Muslim. Even if responsibility of killing

cannot be pinpointed, there is still enough evidence to arrest him”.

Tareek-e-Ahmadi

Page-122

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2 Page-97

Tareekh-e-Abul

Fida

Chapter: Deniers of

Zakat.

After MaalikR-bin-Navira was killed, Khalid

R-bin-Walid took possession of

his pretty wife and treated her like his slave-girl. When this news reached

Medina, UmarR protested to caliph Abu Bakr

R:

“Khalid has committed adultery (because MaalikR-bin-Navira and his wife

were Muslim). So the caliph must order his killing by stones”.

Abu BakrR replied:

“O Umar, keep quiet in this matter. Khalid had committed a mistake. You

should not comment on it anymore, but only pay his blood-money”.

The blood money was paid thereafter to MaalikR-bin-Navira‟s brother.

Question arises, why did Abu BakrR defend Khalid

R-bin-Walid against the dictates of Quran

and Sunnah?

Answer can easily be found by looking back at the history of prophet MohammadS. During

the life-time of prophet, the Chief Commander of Muslim army was AliA-ibn-Abi Talib, whose

sword always came out only in support of Quran and Sunnah.

When Abu BakrR became caliph, he could have continued with Ali

A as Chief Commander;

but he did not make this choice. Why? The reasons were obvious:

121

Although AliA had offered a cooperative hand to Abu Bakr

R, but he had not sworn bay’t, and

so had kept himself free to follow only Quran and Sunnah. Therefore caliph could not expect

from AliA a blind obedience.

Making AliA Chief Commander would have meant giving all the power to the tribe of Bani

Hashim, who by virtue of being Quraysh and being the most close relative of prophet

MohammadS, were the highest contenders for the position of caliph.

Caliph Abu BakrR therefore had to look for an exceptionally competent military victor, who

also belonged to a powerful tribe. All the conditions were met by KhalidR-bin-Walid.

Seerat-un-Nabi

Volume: 1

Pages: 124-125

KhalidR-bin-Walid-bin Mughira belonged to the tribe of Bani-Makhzum,

which was the third most powerful tribe of Quraysh after Bani-Hashim and

Bani Umayyad. Like Bani-Umayya, Bani-Makhzum had been trying in the

past to be counted as equal to Bani-Hashim.

The father of KhalidR, Walid-bin-Mughira, was the chief of Bani-Makhzum, and Abu Jahl was

his nephew (Abu-Jahl-bin-Hasham-bin-Mughira) Historian Ibne-Hasham has written about both

(Walid and Abu Jahl) as the worst enemies of prophet MohammadS. Quranic verses spoke about

their inimical devilish attitude (Surah Qalam 68:10-16, Surah Alaq 96:9-19).

Abu BakrR was well aware of those facts, but he chose to give benefit to Khalid

R-bin-Walid,

because Islam had announced forgiveness for all previous sins of everyone who entered the

Muslim faith. KhalidR-bin-Walid, and A‟krama-bin-Abu Jahl both were among such notable

Muslims.

KhalidR-bin-Walid had many exceptional qualities like:

An expert military strategist.

An exceptional operational field commander.

Had performed remarkable feats in battle, not only in moments of victory but also in

moments of defeat; and not only in attack but also in retreat.

These were the qualities KhalidR-bin-Walid had shown prior to accepting Islam as well as

after accepting Islam, for example, in battle of Uhud and battle of Mauta. Caliph Abu BakrR

therefore piched him up as the Chief Commander of army of Islam, and gave him the task of

overcoming the insurgency of apostates, false prophets and deniers of Zakat. At a later stage,

KhalidR-bin-Walid was also tasked to face the challenge from Roman and Persian empires.

But UmarR-bin-Khatab, who was the right hand man of caliph Abu Bakr

R, and whom Abu

BakrR had nominated as the future caliph after him, did not like Khalid

R-bin-Walid. Umar

R was

particularly against KhalidR-bin-Walid‟s cruel ways in battle, hot tempers, sword happiness,

122

revengefulness, and pre-Islamic Arabian customs. UmarR also felt threatened by the rising

influence of KhalidR-bin-Walid.

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Pages: 186-187

Though Abu BakrR had forgiven acts of Khalid

R-bin-Walid because of

exigencies, but UmarR was not prepared to forgive him, and kept quiet only

during the time of Abu BakrR‟s caliphate (about 2½ years).

UmarR was most unhappy about Khalid

R-bin-Walid‟s such sins as:

Merciless killing of thousands of people.

Merciless killing of MaalikR-bin-Navira and his tribesmen.

Illegal possession of wife of MaalikR-bin-Navira.

Marriage with the daughter of Maja‟h, while he (KhalidR-bin-Walid) was still busy

fighting the battle.

Merciless slaughter of such a large number of prisoners-of-war in Iraq that their

blood in a canal, made it look like a „Canal of blood‟.

Dismissal of KhalidR-bin-Walid.

Tareekh-e-Tabari

Volume: 2

Pages: 279-284

The narration of Tareekh-e-Tabari on this subject can be summarized as

under:

After the death of Abu BakrR, when Umar

R became caliph, his first order

was for dismissal of KhalidR-bin-Walid, who at that time was commanding

the army of Islam on the Syrian front.

Caliph UmarR sent a letter to Abu-A‟bidah-bin-Jarrah, informing him of the

death of Abu BakrR, and appointing him the Commander of all Muslim

armies on the Syrian front, and ordering him to dismiss KhalidR-bin-Walid.

Excerpts from Caliph UmarR‟s letter:

“I advise you to fear God, the everlasting Almighty Lord, while every other

thing is finite. I appoint you the chief of KhalidR‟s army. Stand up for

leading Muslims.

Beware, let not the greed of spoils-of-war make you risk Muslim lives.

If KhalidR-bin-Walid does his soul searching, accepts his callous crimes

and repents sincerely, then he may continue as Chief Commander.

But if KhalidR does not do so, then you take-over his position. Take-

over his turban of Army Chief, and divide half and half between you and

him, all his possessions”. (For details see page 269).

123

KhalidR-bin-Walid‟s conquests in Iraq:

(continued…)