Imamate The Vicegerency of the Prophet (s) [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

23. ASH-SHURA: THE COMMITTEE

After ruling for about ten years, 'Umar was fatally wounded by a Zoroastrian slave,
Firuz.

'Umar was very much indebted to 'Uthman (because of the appointment letter) but did not
wish to openly nominate him as his successor; nor did he allow the muslims to exercise
their free will after him. He ingeniously invented a third system.

He said, "Verily the Apostle of Allah died and he was pleased with these six
people from the Quraysh: 'Ali, 'Uthman, Talhah, az-Zubayr, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas and 'Abdu
r-Rahman ibn 'Awf. And I have decided to make it (the selection of caliph) a matter of
consultation among them, so that they may select one from among themselves."

They were called when he was nearing death. When he looked at them, he asked, "So,
every oneof you wants to become caliph after me?' No one answered. He repeated the
question. Then az-Zubayr said, "And what is there to disqualify us? You got it (the
caliphate) and managed it; and we are not inferior to you in the Quraysh either in
precedence or in relation (to the Holy Prophet)."

'Umar asked, "Should not I tell you about yourselves? "

az-Zubayr said, "Tell us, because even if we ask you not to tell, you will not
listen. Then 'Umar began enumerating the bad character points of az-Zubayr, Talhah, Sa'd
ibn Abi Waqqas and 'Abdu 'r-Rahman ibn 'Awf. Then he faced 'Ali and said, "By Allah
you deserved it had it not been that you are of humorous nature. However, by Allah, if you
people made him your ruler, he would surely lead you towards clear truth and on the
enlightened path."

Then he looked towards 'Uthman and said, "Take it from me. It is as though I am
seeing that the Quraysh have put this necklace (caliphate) around your neck because of
your love; then you have put the Banu Umayyah and Banu Abi Mu'ayt ('Uthman's
tribe) on the shoulders of the people (as rulers) and have given them exclusively the
booty (of the Muslims); thereupon a group from the wolves of Arab have come to you and
have slaughtered you in your bed.

"By Allah if the Quraysh give the caliphate to you, you will surely give exclusive
rights to the Banu Umayyah; and if you do so, the Muslims will surely kill
you." Then he caught the forehead of 'Uthman and said: " So if it happens,
remember my words; because it is bound to happen."

Then 'Umar called Abu Talhah al-Ansari and told him that after his ('Umar's) burial, he
was to collect fifty people from the ansar, armed with swords, and gather the six
above-mentioned candidate-voters in a house to select one from among themselves as the
caliph. If five agree and one disagrees, he should be beheaded; if four agree and two
disagree, those two should be beheaded; if there is a division of three and three, the
choice of the group of 'Abdu 'r Rahman ibn 'Awf should prevail and if the other three do
not agree to it they should be beheaded. And if three days pass and they are unable to
reach a decision, all of them should be beheaded and the Muslims should be left free to
select their caliph.'' [19]

The Shi'ite author Qutbu 'd-Din ar-Rawandi narrates that when 'Umar decreed that the
group of 'Abdu 'r-Rahman ibn 'Awf would prevail, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas told 'Ali,
"Again this is lost to us. This man wants 'Uthman to be the caliph." 'Ali
replied, "I also know this; still I will sit with them in the shura', because
'Umar by this arrangement has, at least publicly, accepted that I deserve the caliphate,
while before he was asserting that nubuwwah (prophethood) and imamah could not be
joined in one family. Therefore, I will participate in the shura to show the people the
contradiction of his actions and his words." [20]

Why were Ibn 'Abbas and 'Ali sure that 'Umar wanted 'Uthman to be the caliph? It was
because of the constitution of the shura and its terms of reference.

'Abdu 'r-Rahman was married to 'Uthman's sister; and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and 'Abdu'r
Rahman were cousins.

Seeing the hold which family ties had in Arabia, it was unthinkable that Sa'd would
oppose 'Abdu 'r-Rahman or that 'Abdu 'r-Rahman would ignore 'Uthman. So three votes were
safely in the custody of 'Uthman, including the deciding vote of 'Abdu'r-Rahman.

Talhah (ibn 'Ubaydillah) was from the clan of Abu Bakr, and since the day of saqifah
the Banu Hashim and Banu Taym felt nothing but enmity towards each other. On
a personal level, 'Ali had killed his uncle; 'Umayr ibn 'Uthman, his brother Malik ibn
'Ubaydillah and his nephew 'Uthman ibn Malik in the battle of Badr. [2l] It was impossible
forhim to support 'Ali. az-Zubayr was the son of Safiyyah, 'Ali's aunt, and after saqifah,
he had taken out his sword to fight those who had entered the house of 'Ali to take him to
Abu Bakr. And it was reasonable to expect him to favour 'Ali. But on the other hand, he
could be tempted to stand for the caliphate himself.

Thus, the most 'A1i could hope for was that az-Zubayr was in his favour. Still four
would have gone against him and he would have lost. Even if Talhah had favoured 'Ali, he
could not be caliph because in case of equal division, the opinion of 'Abdu'r-Rahman would
have been upheld. [22]

After this study of the terms of reference, what happened in the shura is of
academic interest only. Talhah withdrew in favour of 'Uthman; prompting az-Zubayr to
withdraw in favour of 'Ali(as), and Sa'd in favour of 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn 'Awf.

On the third day, 'Abdu 'r-Rahman ibn 'Awf withdrew his name and told 'Ali that he
would make him caliph if; Ali pledged to follow the Book of Allah, the traditions of the
Holy Prophet and the system of Abu Bakr and 'Umar. 'Abdu 'r-Rahman knew very well what his
reply would be. 'Ali (as) said, "I follow the Book of Allah, the traditions of the
Holy Prophet and my own beliefs."

Then 'Abdu'r-Rahman put the same conditions to 'Uthman, who readily accepted. Thus,
'Abdu 'r-Rahman declared 'Uthman to be the caliph.

'A1i (as) told 'Abdu r-Rahman: "By Allah, you did not do it but with the same hope
which he ('Umar) had from his friend." (He meant that 'Abdu 'r-Rahman had made
'Uthman caliph hoping that 'Uthman would nominate him as his successor. )

Then 'A1i said, "May Allah create enmity between you two." After a few years
'Abdu 'r Rahman and 'Uthman grew to hate each others; they did not talk to each other till
'Abdu'r Rahman died.

'Uthman, the third Caliph, was killed by the Muslims who were not happy with his
nepotism. The circumstances did not provide him the opportunity to choose his own
successor. Muslims were, for the first time, really free to select or elect a caliph of
their choice; they flocked to the door of 'Ali (as) .

But during the twenty-five years which had passed since the death of the Holy Prophet,
the nature and outlook of the Muslims had changed to such an extent that many prominent
people found 'Ali's administration (which was based on absolute justice and equality, just
like the government of the Holy Prophet) unbearable; they could not think of themselves as
being treated equal to non-Arab Muslims. So first Talhah, az-Zubayr and 'A'ishah revolted;
then Mu'awiyah stood against 'Ali (as).

After the martyrdom of 'Ali (as), al-Imam Hasan wanted to continue the war with
Mu'awiyah. But most of his officers were, meanwhile, bribed by Mu'awiyah; and many were
the commanders who, when sent ahead to intercept Mu'awiyah, changed sides and went over to
the enemy. In this situation, al-Imam Hasan (as) had to accept the offer of Mu'awiyah to
conclude a treaty.

After this treaty, the Sunnis claimed that military power is a valid way of acquiring
constitutional caliphate.

Thus, the four 'constitutional' ways of caliphate came into being.

25. GENERAL REVIEW

In the realm of politics, usually the constitution of a country is prepared beforehand.
And when time comes to elect a government or enact legislation, every function is carried
out according to the provisions of the constitution. Whatever conforms with it, is held
valid and legal; whatever is contrary to it, is rejected as invalid and illegal.

Since, according to the Sunni point of view, it was the duty of the ummah to
appoint a caliph, it was necessary for Allah and His Prophet to provide them with a
constitution (with details of the procedure for election of such a caliph). And if that
was not done, then the Muslims themselves should have approved the constitutional measures
in advance before proceeding to elect a caliph.

But strangely enough this was not done. And now we find a unique 'unsettled
constitution' in which actions do not follow a constitution because there is none; rather
the constitution follows the circumstances.

The best argument put forward by the Sunnis to support their claim is that the Muslims
of the first era considered it their duty to appoint a caliph, and that they regarded it
so important that they neglected to attend the funeral of the Holy Prophet and went to saqifah
of Banu Sa'idah to settle the question of the caliphate. From that event they concluded
that the appointment of a caliph was the duty of the ummah.

But they fail to understand that it is the validity of that very so-called 'election'
which is challenged by the Shi'ahs.

The Shi'ahs claim that that event was illegal; the Sunnis claim that it was legal and
correct. How can the Sunnis put their claim as their argument and proof?

To put their claim as proof is like saying: "This action of mine is legal because
I have done it." Which court of justice would uphold such an argument?

26. THE PRACTICAL SIDE

Leaving aside the academic side of these methods, let us see what effects they had on
the Muslim leadership and Muslim mentality.

Within thirty years after the death of the Holy Prophet every conceivable way of
acquiring power was used and canonized: election, selection, nomination and military
power. The result, is that today every Muslim ruler aspires to occupy the seat of the khilafah
and "spiritual leadership" of the Muslims; and it is this basic defect of the
Muslims' outlook which has always been, and is today the underlying cause of political
instability in the Muslim world. Every Muslim ruler who, as a Muslim, has been taught that
"military supremacy" is a constitutional way to khilafah, tries to weaken
other Muslim rulers so that he himself may emerge as the most supreme among the Muslim
rulers. In this way, this "constitution" has directly contributed to the
weakness of the Muslims in the world.

Apart from that, let us see once again how 'all-encompassing' these methods proved
immediately after they were invented. This four-sided boundary of caliphate is so unsafe
that anyone may enter into it, irrespective of his knowledge or character. The first
caliph after Mu'awiyah was his son, Yazid, who was 'nominated' by Mu'awiyah and had
undisputed "military power". Muslims had given their bay'ah during the
lifetime of Mu'awiyah; thus, there was ijma' also. So he was a "
constitutional caliph". But what were his beliefs and character? Yazid was a man who
bluntly refused to believe in the Holy Prophet. He frankly stated his beliefs in his poem
quoted previously that: "Banu Hashim had staged a play to obtain the kingdom;
actually there was neither any news (from God) nor any revelation. [23]

Neither did he believe in the Day of Judgment: "O my beloved! Do not believe in
meeting me after death, because what they have told you about our being raised after death
for judgment is only a myth which makes the heart forget the pleasures of this real
world." [24]

After assuming the caliphate, he openly made fun of Islamic prayers; and showed his
disrespect for religion by putting the robes of religious scholars on dogs and monkeys.
Gambling and playing with bears were his favourite pastimes. He spent all his time
drinking (wine), regardless of place or time and without any hesitation. He had no respect
for any woman, even those of the prohibited degrees such as step-mother, sister, aunt and
daughter. They were just like any other woman in his eyes.

He sent his army to Medina. That holy city of the Prophet was freely looted. Three
hundred girls, apart from other women, were criminally assaulted by his soldiers. Three
hundred qurra' (reciters) of the Qur'an and seven hundred Companions of the Prophet
were brutally murdered.

The Holy Mosque of the Prophet remained closed for many days; the army of Yazid used it
as their stable. Dogs made it their shelter and the pulpit of the Prophet was defiled.

Finally, the Commander of the army compelled the people of Medina to submit before
Yazid by giving their bay'ah in these words: "We are the slaves of Yazid; it
is up to him whether he gives us back our freedom or sells us in the slaves' market."
Those who wanted to swear allegiance on the condition that Yazid should follow the
instruction of the Qur'an and traditions of the Prophet were put to death. [25] It may
not be out of place to mention that the Prophet once said: "May Allah curse him who
frightens the people of Medina! "

Then the army, on the order of Yazid, proceeded to Mecca. That holiest city of Allah
was besieged. They could not enter the city, so they used manjaniq (catapult: an
ancient military device used to throw heavy stones towards distant targets). With this,
they threw stones and flaming torches towards the Ka'bah. The kiswah (canopy of the
Ka'bah) was burnt and a portion of that holiest of buildings was damaged. [26]

27. AL-WALID AND HARUN AR-RASHID

But this was not an exception; it sadly proved to be the general rule. a1-Walid ibn
Yazid ibn 'Abdi 'l-Malik was another caliph from the Banu Umayyah. He was a drunkard. One
night he was drinking with one of his concubines, till they heard the adhan (call for
prayer) of the dawn prayer. He swore that the concubine would lead in the prayer. She wore
the robe of the caliph and led in the prayer in the same condition of drunkenness. [27]

One day he molested his teenage daughter in the presence of her servant woman. She said
that (it was not Islam) it was the religion of the Majus. al-Walid recited a couplet:
"A man who cares for the (tongues of) people, dies in sorrow; the daring man gets all
the pleasures." [28]

Harun ar Rashid, the famous Caliph of One Thousand and One Nights who is thought
as one of the greatest caliphs, wanted to sleep with one of his late father's concubines.
The woman rightly pointed out that this would be incest since she was in a position like
his mother. Harun ar-Rashid called al-Qadi Abu Yusuf and told him to help him find a way
to satisfy his lust. The Qadi said: "She is just a slave woman.

Should you accept whatever she says? No.

Do not accept her words as true. "

So the Caliph satisfied his desire.

Ibn Mubarak comments: "I do not know who among these three was more surprising:
the Caliph who put his hand into the blood and property of the Muslims and did not respect
his step-mother; or the slave woman who refused to grant the desire of the Caliph; or the
Qadi who allowed the Caliph to dishonour his father and sleep with that concubine who was
his step-mother.'" [29]

28. EFFECTS ON THE BELIEFS OF THE JUSTICE OF GOD AND 'ISMAH OF THE PROPHETS

It has been explained that the Sunni beliefs regarding "constitutional
caliphate" weakened the Muslims politically and compelled them to obey anyone who
succeeded in his bid for power irrespective of his qualifications or character.

As though it was not enough, it compelled them to change their total religious outlook
and beliefs.

First of all, an overwhelming majority of the caliphs were devoid of any sense of
religious propriety or piety. To justify the caliphate of such people, they claimed that
even the prophets used to commit sins. Thus, the belief in the 'ismah (sinlessness)
of the prophets was changed . [30]

As there were perhaps hundreds of people more knowledgeable, more pious and more
qualified for the caliphate than the caliph on the throne, they were compelled to say that
there was nothing wrong with giving preference to an inferior person over a superior and
more qualified one.

When it was pointed out by the Shi'ahs that it was 'evil' according to reason to give
preference to an inferior person when a superior person was available, the Sunnis declared
that nothing was good or evil in itself, whatever Allah orders becomes good; whatever He
forbids, becomes evil. [31]

As for 'reason', they denied that it exists anywhere in the religion. It is not
possible to go into further detail to show how the belief in the Sunnis' 'constitutional
caliphate' affected the whole fabric of Islamic theology, but the following short
explanation may suffice for the time being. It is clear that to protect the caliphs, not
only the prophets were deprived of their 'ismah, but even Allah was deprived of His
'Justice . From this vantage point, we may easily understand the full significance of the
verse revealed at Ghadir Khumm:

O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; (i.e., the
Caliphate of 'Ali - a.s.) and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message
(at all); and Allah will protect you from the people ... (5:67).

The purity of Islamic beliefs and deeds depended upon the Caliphate of 'Ali (as); if
that one message was not delivered, then it would be as though no message were delivered
at all. The safety of the whole religion depended upon the Caliphate of 'Ali after the
Holy Prophet.

29. IS SHI'ISM UNDEMOCRATIC ?

Our opponents look at the succession of the early caliphs and Imams and then claim that
Shi'ism is undemocratic. All the Twelve Imams were of one family while the first four
Caliphs were of different clans. They conclude that the Sunni school of thought is
democratic in principle, which is supposed to be the best system of governance. Shi'ism,
in their opinion, is based on hereditary rule and therefore not a good system.

Firstly, no system of government is good or bad of itself; it is as good or bad as the
person who holds the reins of the government in his hands. Accordingly, the Shi'ite belief
that an Imam is ma'sum, free from every shortcoming and defect and superior in
virtue, means that his rule would be the most perfect and just. On one side is the
uncompromising justice of al-Imam 'Ali(as), the first Imam, during his short term of Imamate;
on the other, the accepted hadith of the Prophet about the last Imam, al-Mahdi,
that "he will fill the earth with justice and equity as it will be full of oppression
and injustice." [32] Our premise is not merely an abstraction.

Secondly, we should bear in mind that all the Sunni caliphs from Abu Bakr to the last
'Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim Billah (killed by Hulagu Khan in 656/1258) were from the
Quraysh. Does it not mean that one family had ruled over all Muslims from eastern China to
Spain for six and a half centuries?

Thirdly, the Sunni system of the caliphate, as already mentioned, was never based on
democracy. The first Caliph was thrust upon the Muslims of Medina by a handful of the
Companions; the second was nominated by the first; the third was selected nominally by
five people, but actually by one. Mu'awiyah took the caliphate by military overthrow.
Before him it was, at best, oligarchy; after him it became monarchy.

So much for the democracy of the constitutional principles utilized. What of the
performance of those early governments from the point of view of the equality which
democracy implies?

'Umar made a decision that a non-Arab cannot inherit from an Arab unless that heir was
born in Arabia. [33]
Again, the Sunni law going back to early times, for the most part, does not allow a
non-Arab man to marry an Arab woman, nor is a non-Qurayshite or non-Hashimate man allowed
to marry a Qurayshite or Hashimite woman, respectively. According to the Shafi'ite law, a
slave, even a freed one, may not marry a free woman. [34] This is
in spite of the well-known declaration of the Prophet that: "There is no superiority
for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for a white man over a
black, nor for a black over a white, except by piety. People are from Adam and Adam was
from dust." [35]

Also, it is in spite of the precedents the Prophet established when he married his
cousin to Zayd ibn al-Harithah, a freed slave, and gave the sister of 'Abdu 'r-Rahman ibn
'Awf (a Qurayshite) in marriage to Bilal, a freed Ethiopian slave. [36]

The Shi'ite shari'ah clearly states: "It is allowed to marry a free woman
to a slave, an Arab woman to a non-Arab, a Hashimite woman to a non-Hashimite and vice
versa. Likewise, it is allowed to marry women of learned or wealthy families to men of
little learning or wealth or of undignified professions." [37]

In the matter of distribution of war-booty, the Prophet had established a system of
equality; it was to be distributed equally to all who had participated in a particular
battle. Abu Bakr continued that system, but 'Umar in 15 A.H., just four years after the
Prophet's death, changed the system. He fixed annual stipends for various people, clans
and tribes: 'Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, was allotted 12,000 or 25,000 dmars per year;
'A'ishah, 12,000; other wives of the Prophet, 10,000 each; the participants in the battle
of Badr, 5,000 each; those who joined between Badr and Hudaybiyyah, 4,000 each; those who
joined after Hudaybiyyah and before Qadisiyyah, 3,000 each. The amount gradually decreased
to two dinars per year. [38]

This system corrupted the Muslim community to such an extent that wealth became their
sole aim in life and the only benefit of their religion. Their outlook became
materialistic and, as mentioned earlier, they could not tolerate the system of equal
distribution which 'Ali reinstated in the first speech he gave after taking over the
caliphate. 'Ali is quoted to have said: Well, any man from the muhajirun and the ansar,
from the Companions of the Prophet, who thinks that he is superior to others because of
his companionship (let him remember that) the shining superiority is tomorrow before
Allah, and its reward and wages are with Allah. ( He should not expect its reward in this
world.) Any man who answered the call of Allah and His Prophet, and accepted the truth of
our religion and entered into it, and faced towards our qiblah, is entitled to all the
rights of Islam and bound by its limits. You are the servants of Allah; and all property
is the property of Allah; it will be divided among you equally; there is no preference in
it for one against the other.

Those who during the twenty years preceding 'Ali's caliphate had grown used to the
unfair distribution, advised and requested 'Ali to compromise; and when he proved
unrelenting on matters of Islamic principle, they conspired against him.

After the victory of the Umayyads this inequality between Muslims was carried further.
Even if someone accepted Islam, he or she was not accorded the rights of the Muslims. In
some way their condition was worse than that of their compatriot non-Muslims. The latter
were obliged to pay only jizyah[40], but the Muslims had to pay that and the zakat (the
tax paid by the Muslims). During the Umayyad period (except for two and a half years
during 'Umar ibn 'Abdi 'l-'Aziz's reign), jizyah was levied on all non Arabs
including the Muslims. [41]

It is not difficult to imagine how little this policy helped the cause of Islam. For
centuries entire countries whose cities and capitals were "Islamic", refused to
convert. Even the Berbers (who responded after initial resistance to the Arab invasion and
served so brilliantly in Spain and on into France), as a whole were not converted until
the establishment of the first Shi'ite kingdom in al-Maghrib. When Idris ibn 'Abdillah, a
great -grandson of al Imam Hasan and the founder of the Idrisid dynasty (789 985 A.D.),
marched against them, most were non-Muslims. This was the result of the ill-treatment in
earlier times. We hear that when Yazid ibn 'Abdi'l Malik occupied the Umayyad throne and
assigned Yazid ibn Abi Muslim Dinar as Governor of al-Maghrib, the latter re-levied jizyah
on those who had become Muslims and ordered them back to the villages where they had lived
before their conversion. [42] The Idrisid change of policy and the extension of full
Islamic rights to all the Muslims, brought the conversion of the Berbers.

This exaltation of Arabism is seen to be even more deeply interwoven in the decision of
those early rulers that if a subject in a conquered country accepted Islam, he could not
be accepted as a Muslim or accorded his Islamic rights unless he attached himself as a
client to some Arab tribe. Such clients were called mawali. Even then they were
objects of ridicule and unequal. treatment by their aristocratic patrons and at the same
time continued to be exploited by the growing bureaucracy.

By restricting the right of rule to the twelve infallible Imams. Allah cut at the roots
of strife, dissension, chaos and false electioneering, as well as social and racial
inequality.

30. A DYNASTIC RULE ?

Some say that the Shi'ite school holds that the Holy Prophet wanted to establish a
dynastic monarchy for his family (in which he obviously failed ) .

They imply that as the Holy Prophet was far above such selfish motives, the Shi'ite
school must be wrong. But these very people say that the Hoy Prophet said:"The Imams
will be from the Quraysh." Will they say that this hadith means that the Holy
Prophet wanted to establish a kingdom for his tribe? Will they say that the Holy Prophet
said these words because of "selfish motives"?

It was explained above that Abu Bakr silenced the ansar of Medina by saying that
as the Holy Prophet was from the Quraysh, the Arabs would not accept any non-Qurayshite as
caliph. This argument silenced the ansar.

By the same argument, if a member of the family of the Holy Prophet (like 'Ali) were
made caliph, all would have obeyed him and there would have been no strife or difficulty.
This aspect of the appointment of 'Ali(as), has been recognized also by some non-Muslim
writers. Mr. Sedillot has written:

"Had the principle of hereditary succession (in favour of 'Ali-a.s.) been
recognized at the outset, it would have prevented the rise of those disastrous pretentions
which engulfed Islam in the blood of Muslims.... The husband of Fatimah united in his
person the right of succession as the lawful heir of the Prophet, as well as the right of
election. " [43]

The fact is that such objectors have completely missed the point. The Shi'ahs have
never claimed that "inheritance " has anything to do with the Imamate. As
explained earlier, an Imam must be ma'sum, superior to all the ummah in
virtue and mansus min Allah ( appointed by Allah).

But it was one of the bounties of Allah, bestowed on Prophet Ibrahim and the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon them and their progeny) that, in reality and practice, all the
Imams who followed them came from their own family; that all those who had necessary
qualifications for the Imamate were of their progeny.

Notes:

[1] at-Taftazani: Sharh
'Aqa'idi'n-Nasafi, p.185.

[2] Miller,W.M.: tr. of al-Babu
'l-hadi 'ashar, notes,

[3] at-Taftazani: Sharhu
'l-maqasidi' t-talibi'n, (vol. 2, p. 272). See also al-Hafiz 'Ali' Muhammad and Amiru
'd-Din: Fulku 'n-najat fi 'l-imamah wa 's-salat, vol. 1 p. 203.

[4] at-Taftazani, op. cit.

[5] as-Suyuti, Tarikhu 'l-Khulafa',
p.71.

[6] at-Taftazani: op. cit.

[7] Ghiyathu 'd-Din: Ghiyathu
'l-lughat, p. 228.

[8] at-Tabari: at-Tarikh, vol.4,
p.l820; Ibnu'1-Athir: al-Kamil, ed. C.J.Tornberg, Leiden,1897, vol.2, pp. 325ff;
Ibn Qutaybah: al-lmamah wa's-siyasah, Cairo, 387/1967, vol. 1, pp. 18ff.

[9] Mir Khwand: Rawdatu 's-safa',
vol 2, p. 221.

[10] al-Halabi: as-Sirah, vol.
3, p. 357. [11] Ibn Qutaybah: al-imamah wa 's-siyasah, vol. 1, p. 4; al-Mawardi: al-Ahkamu
's-sultaniyyah, p. 7.

[12] ar -Radi (ed ): Nah ju 'l
-balaghah, ( Subhi as.Salih' s edition), Beirut, p. 98.

[13] Ibid., Saying no.l90, [pp.502-3]
. The words of 'Ali have been quoted by ash-Sharif ar-Radi under Saying no. 190 which runs
as follows: "How strange? Could the caliphate be through the (Prophet's)
companionship but not through (his) companionship plus (his) kinship?" It is
surprising to note that Subhi as-Salih's edition and Muhammad 'Abduh's edition
(Beirut,1973) have omitted the wordings "but not through (his) companionship! "
For a complete version of this saying, see Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid's Sharh
(Cairo,l959),vol. 18, p.416.

[14] al-Bukhari': as-Sahih,
("Kitabu 'l-Muhakibin"), Cairo, (n.d.), vol.8, p.210; at-Tabari: at-Tarikh,
vol.4, p.l821.

[15] at-Tabari: at-Tarikh, pp.
2138-9.

[16] Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid: Sharh.,
vol. 1, pp.163-5.

[17] Muslim: as-Sahih, ("Kitabu
'l-Wasiyyah", Babu 't-tarki 'lwasiyyah), vol. 5, pp.75-6; al-Bukhari: as-Sahih,
(Cairo, 1958), vol. 1, ("Kitabu 'l-'llm") pp.38-9; vol.4, p.85; vol.6,
pp.ll-2; vol.7, ("Kitabu 't-Tib"), pp.155-6; vol. 9, ("Kitabu
'1I' tisam bi 'l -Kitab wa 's-Sunnah" ), p. 137. It is interesting to note that
where Bukhari gives remark of the Prophet speaking in delirium, he omits the name of the
speaker; and where he paraphrases that remark in more polite language, he mentions the
name of the speaker - 'Umar - clearly. Ibn Sa'd: at-Tabaqat, vol. 2, pp.242, 324f,
336, 368; Ahmad: al-Musnad, vol. I, pp .232,239, 324f, 336,355.

[18] Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid: Sharh,
vol. 12, p. 21, (quoting from Tari'kh Baghdad of al-Khatib al-Baghdad;).

[19] Ibid., vol. l, pp.185-8;
see also Ibn Qutaybah: al-Imamah wa 's-siyasah, vol. 1, pp. 23-7; and at-Tabari: at-Tarikh,
(Egypt, n.d.), vol.5, pp.33-41.

[20] Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid: Sharh,
p.189.

[21] ash-Shaykh al-Mufid: al-Irshad,
(with Persian tr. Of Sh. Muhammad Baqir Sa'idi Khurasani), p.65. [See also Eng . tr. of I.
K.A. Howard, p .47 .]

[22] This analysis is attributed to
'Ali (as), himself by at-Tabari in at-Tarikh, p.35; (see note 19, above). In that
report, the dialogue is said to be between 'A1i (as) and his uncle 'Abbas.

[23] See note 9 of Part One.

[24] Sibt ibn al-Jawzi: Tadhkirah,
p. 291.

[25] as-Suyuti: Tanrikhu
'l-khulafa', p. 209, [see also Eng. tr. Major,H.S.Jarrett, p.213]; Abu'l-Fida': at-Tarikh,
vol.I, p.192; Sibt ibn al-Jawzi: Tadhkirah, p. 288; Mir Khwand: Rawdatu 's-safa',
vol. 3, p. 66; Ibn Hajar al-Haytami: as-Sawa'iqu 'l-muhriqah, p. 79.

[26] Ibid.

[27] ad-Diyar Bakri: Tarikhu
'l-khamis, (vol. 2, p. 3 20 ), as quoted by Nawwab Ahmad Husayn Khan of Payanwan in
his Tari'kh Ahmadi, p. 328 [Ibn Shakir: Fawatu 'l-wafayat, vol.4, pp.255-9]

[28] as-Suyuti: Tari'khu
'l-khulafa', p. 291.

[29] Ibid.

[30] See the author's Prophethood,
pp.9-18.

[31] See the author's Justice of
God, pp.l-2.

[32] Abu Dawud: as-Sunan,
vol.4,pp.106-9;Ahmad: al-Musnad, vol.l, pp.377,430; vol.3, p.28; al-Hakim: al-Mustadrak,
vol. 4, pp. 557, 865.

[33] Malik: al-Muwatta', vol.
2, p. 60.

[34] al-Jaziri: al-Fiqh 'ala
'l-madhahibi 'l-arba'ah, vol. 4, p.60.

[35] as-Suyuti: ad-Durru
'l-manthur, vol. 6, p. 98.

[36] Ibnu 'l-Qayyim: Zadu 'l-ma'ad,
vol. 4, p. 22.

[37] al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli: Shara'i'u
'l-lslam, ("Kitabu 'n-Nikah" ), vol. 5, p. 300; al-Hakim: Minhaju
's.-salihin, ("Kitabu ' n-Nikah" ), vol. 2, p . 279 .

[38] at-Tabari: at-Tarikh,
(Annales I), vol.5, pp.2411 -4; Nicholson,R.A.: A Literary History of theArabs,
p.l87.

[39] Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid: Sharh,
vol.7, pp.35-7; see also al-Imam 'Ali's Sermon no. l26 in Nahju 'l-balaghah.

[40] Jizyah: poll-tax or
tilthes, payable by non-Muslims in the realm of Islam. (pub)

[41] at-Tabari: at-Tarikh,
(Annales II), vol. 3, pp. 1354, 1367.

[42] al-Amin: Islamic Shi'ite
Encyclopedia, vo1. 1, pp. 38 41.

[43] Sedillot, L.P.E.A., Histoire
des Arabes, (Arabic tr.), pp.126-7.]