Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

This is a Digital Library

With over 100,000 free electronic resource in Persian, Arabic and English

Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] - نسخه متنی

| نمايش فراداده ، افزودن یک نقد و بررسی
افزودن به کتابخانه شخصی
ارسال به دوستان
جستجو در متن کتاب
بیشتر
تنظیمات قلم

فونت

اندازه قلم

+ - پیش فرض

حالت نمایش

روز نیمروز شب
جستجو در لغت نامه
بیشتر
لیست موضوعات
توضیحات
افزودن یادداشت جدید


SERMON 66


When after the death of the Prophet
news reached Amir al-mu'minin about the happening in Saqifah of Bani Saidah,(1) he enquired what the ansar said. People said that they were asking
for one chief from among them and one from the others, Amir al-mu'minin said:

Why did you not argue against them (ansar) that the
Prophet had left his will that whoever is good among ansar should be treated well and
whoever is bad he should be forgiven.

People said: "What is there against them in
it?"

Amir al-mu'minin said:

"If the Government was for them there should
have been no will in their favour."

Then he said:

"What did the Quraysh plead?"

People said: "They argued that they belong to
the lineal tree of the Prophet.

Then Amir al-mu'minin said:

"They argued with the tree but spoiled the
fruits."
(1).
From what happened in the Saqifah of Bani Saidah it appears that the greatest argument of
muhajirun against ansar and the basis of the former's success was this very point that
since they were the kith and kin of the Prophet no one else could deserve the Caliphate.
On this very ground the big crowd of ansar became ready to lay down their weapons before
three muhajirun, and the latter succeeded in winning the Caliphate by presenting their
distinction of descent. Thus in connection with the events of Saqifah at-Tabari writes
that when the ansar assembled in Saqifah of Bani Saidah to swear allegiance on the hand
of Sad ibn Ubadah, somehow Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah also got the
hint and reached there. Umar had thought out something for this occasion and he rose to
speak but Abu Bakr stopped him, and he himself stood up. After praise of Allah and the
immigration of the muhajirun and their precedence in Islam he said:
They are those who worshipped Allah
first of all and accepted belief in Allah and his Prophet's friends and his Kith and Kin.
These alone therefore must deserve the Caliphate. Whoever clashes with them commits
excess.
When Abu Bakr finished his speech
al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir stood up and, turning to the ansar, he said: "O' group of
ansar ! Do not give your reins in the hands of others. The populace is under your care.
You are men of honour, wealth and tribe and gathering. If the muhajirun have precedence
over you in some matters you too have precedence over them in other matters. You gave them
refuge in your houses. You are the fighting arm of Islam. With your help Islam stood on
its own feet. In your cities prayer of Allah was established with freedom. Save yourselves
from division and dispersion and stick to your right unitedly. If the muhajirun do not
concede to your right tell them there should be one chief from us and one from them."
No sooner al-Hubab sat down after
saying this then Umar rose and spoke thus:
This can't be that there be two
rulers at one time. By Allah, the Arabs will never agree to have you as the head of the
state since the Prophet was not from amongst you. Certainly, the Arabs will not care the
least objection in that the Caliphate is allowed to one in whose house Prophethood rests
so that the ruler should also be from the same house. For those who dissent clear
arguments can be put forth. Whoever comes in conflict with us in the matter of the
authority and rulership of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) he is leaning towards wrong, is a
sinner and is falling into destruction.
After Umar, al-Hubab again stood
up and said to the ansar, "Look, stick to your point and do not pay heed to the views
of this man or his supporters. They want to trample your right, if they do not consent
turn him and them out of your cities and appropriate the Caliphate. Who else than you can
deserve it more?"
When al-Hubab finished Umar
scolded him. There was use of bad words from that side also, and the position began to
worsen. On seeing this Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah spoke with the intention of cooling down
ansar and to win them over to his side and said:
"O' ansar ! You are the people
who supported us and helped us in every manner. Do not now change your ways and do not
give up your behaviour." But the ansar refused to change their mind. They were
prepared to swear allegiance to Sad and people just wanted to approach him when a man of
Sad's tribe Bashir ibn Amr al-Khazraji stood up and said:
"No doubt we came forward for
jihad, and gave support to the religion, but our aim in doing thus was to please Allah and
to obey His Prophet. It does not behove us to claim superiority and create trouble in the
matter of the caliphate. Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was from Quraysh and they have a
greater right for it, and are more appropriate for it." As soon as Bashir uttered
these words division occurred among the ansar, and this was his aim, because he could not
see a man of his own tribe rising so high. The muhajirun took the best advantage of this
division among the ansar, and Umar and Abu Ubaydah decided to swear allegiance to Abu
Bakr. They had just got forward for the act when Bashir first of all put his hand on that
of Abu Bakr and after that Umar and Abu Ubaydah swore the allegiance. Then the people of
Bashir's tribe came and swore allegiance, and trampled Sad ibn Ubadah under their feet.
During this time Amir al-mu'minin
was occupied in the funeral bath and burial of the Prophet. When afterwards he heard about
the assemblage at the Saqifah and he came to know that the muhajirun had won the score
over ansar by pleading themselves to be from the tribe of the Prophet he uttered the fine
sentence that then argued on the lineal tree being one but spoiled its fruits, who are the
members of his family. That is, if muhajirun's claim was acceded for being from the lineal
tree of the Prophet, how can those who are the fruits of this tree be ignored? It is
strange that Abu Bakr who connects with the Prophet in the seventh generation above and
Umar who connects with him in the ninth generation above may be held of the tribe and
family of the Prophet and he who was his first cousin, he is refused the status of a
brother.
.

Forward to Sermon 67.

Back to Sermon 65.

/ 247