COMING OF ISLAM - A NEW ERA FOR THE PAGAN ARABS
(In this Chapter, we mention a brief history of the rise of Islam from the time when Prophet Mohammad proclaimed his prophethood. We also mention the prevailing social conditions in Arabia and the great impact that Islamic teachings brought about, how the teachings grew along with the growth in the number of adherents, and how – like Zulmat did with all previous Messengers/Avatars – attempts were made to thwart the message from progressing forward and to limit its impact, so much so that what we have presently is the corrupted version of Islam and Prophet Mohammad’s teachings. Purpose is to give our readers who are not familiar with the history of Islam a brief insight into its history.)
In the foreword to the book ‘Imam Ali-A Beacon of Courage’ (by Sulayman Kattani, an Arab Christian and translated in English by IKA Howard) Ustad Jafar al-Khalili says: “Life for the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, who were mainly nomadic, was primitive in accord with its meagre economy, insofar as such a primitive life was reflected in the style of living and all their intellectual activities. The products of the vast desert area that Arabian Peninsula is, consisted of cattle which lived on pastures which were more like sand dunes or beaches than fertile plains. There were also dates and some small plantations. Trading in spices took place which brought the area in closer contact with the neighbouring countries in the North and the East (including India).
It is believed that the economic situation is the basis for intellectual life and the basis of every higher development. They lived as separate tribes, raiding one another in order to provide what they needed to sustain life. Such a nomadic life, such a weak economy, such exposure to burning sun in this vast area could not provide the conditions of life, which develop among richer, more populous societies.
Yet Arabia saw a cultural and intellectual revolution among the people with an extremely backward economy and made out of them pioneering leaders for peoples who are economically richer and more powerful as the history of Islam proves.
The birth of Mohammad was a beginning and an end, the beginning of a new era, the end of an old era.
Out of the self-same land, the great Apostle brought his great Message to be, even beyond the Arabian Peninsula, a religion and a constitution, which would link it to the ideals of thinking man, which would create for it a civilization comparable with the civilization around it to the East and to the West…. And which would then raise its society from nomadic tribal decadence to the level of sophisticated unity in so far as it was to be established on the basis of a productive and well-developed economy.”
Just as an arrow that glided from his bow no longer belongs to the quiver, no sooner did the message begin to circle in the minds of the people than they seized hold of it as one of their rights. For them it was appropriate for every circumstance. They grasped it to the extent of their need for it. Yesterday, they were in need of everything, which would equally free their souls, and their bodies from slavery whose dominion had been long and whose darkness had been intense.
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Mohammad, the Prophet
Allama Ali Naqi Naqvi, in the book ‘Martyr of Humanity’ has mentioned the genealogy of Prophet Mohammad, in the following words: “Abraham occupies a largely international position, being held in reverence by the Jews, the Christians as well as the Muslims. Indeed the Quran explicitly mentions that the Prophet of Islam claimed to be a leader belonging to the faith of Abraham who, incidentally, was the first to name those who followed his faith as Muslims. The Quran [14:40-41] records his prayer to God:
My Lord, make me and my descendants establishers of prayer. Our Lord, accept my prayer.
Forgive me, our Lord, and forgive my parents and all the believers on the Day of Reckoning. '
The coming into existence of the Muslims as a nation and the advent of their Prophet would, therefore, appear to be the fruit of Abraham’s prayer. Traditions concerning Abraham’s life, therefore, constitute the heritage of the Muslims in common with the Jews and the Christians, and contribute significantly to the fashioning of the elements of the Muslim conduct and ethics. Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. From Isaac sprang the Israelites and from Ishmael, the Prophet of Islam, both long, long after their ancestors. Abraham and Ishmael, between themselves, built the Kaaba which religion ordained to be the meeting place of all the peoples of the world. This pre-eminence, which was given to the Kaaba, induced the growth, among the people, of the realization of the pivotal position occupied by the descendants of Abraham.
Ishmael had twelve sons. The descendants of two of them, Nabit and Qidar, settled down in Hijaz (Arabia) and greatly multiplied. Among Qidar’s descendants, Adnan rose to great fame. The Prophet of Islam was among his descendants.
The genealogy of the Prophet from Adnan downwards, as unanimously preserved in histories and the traditions, is as follows: - Adnan, Ma’ad, Nizar, Muzar, Ilyas, Mudrika, Khazuma, Kinana, Nazr, Malik, Fihr, Ghalib, Laway, Ka’b, Murra, Kilab, Qossai, Abd-e-Manaf, Hashim, Abdul Muttalib and Abdullah, father of (Prophet) Mohammad. It would appear that twenty-one generations intervened between Adnan, and the Prophet and, assuming the time separating one generation from its successor to be of an average duration of thirty years, all these generations were spread over about 630 years. It is not clear who, from among the older of these 21 progenitors, came first to be distinguished with the appellation of Quraish.
The trusteeship of the Kaaba passed among a few tribes, till Qossai brought it back in this family. Qossai’s son, Abd-e-Manaf was the true representative of his ancestors in various qualities. Hashim, whose real name was Amr, was the most influential and distinguished among the sons of Abd-e-Manaf. Hashim was succeeded by his brother, Muttalib, who was succeeded by his nephew, Sheba, who came to be called Abdul Muttalib. He surpassed his predecessors in greatness and renown and won the appellation of ‘Saiyad-ul-Batha’, which is still retained by his descendants who are called Saiyeds even to this day. Abdul Muttalib’s implicit faith and complete trust in God got revealed when Abraha advanced upon Makkah from Yemen in order to raze the Kaaba to the ground. The people of Makkah were not strong enough to oppose the invader with the force of arms, but Abdul Muttalib reposed his trust in divine help, and ultimately divine help it was which destroyed the “men of the Elephant””.
It so happened that Abraha marched towards Kaaba with a huge army and several elephants. Subsequent to Abdul Muttalib telling Abraha that since it is the House of God, God Himself would save it, small birds with tiny pebbles in their beaks flew high in the sky and dropped the pebbles from their beaks. They fell on the elephants with such force that the elephants trampled their own forces and Abraha was killed.
This family occupied the focal point in Arabia as the custodians of the Kaaba, having been invested with the privilege of catering to the needs of the pilgrims in the Hajj season. The family led and represented the Arab nation in all matters of consequence, external and internal. It was also marked out as devoted to the help of the needy, and in times of distress like scarcity, it was known as principally concerned with the care of the weak and the impoverished. It was acknowledged as a family of Saiyeds, (chiefs) not only by virtue of their title, but also due to their deeds, which agreed with the title. To the battlefield it sent dauntless warriors and for the discernment of spiritual secrets it contributed sages like Abdul Muttalib as shown by the manner in which he opposed the ‘men of the elephant’. The family played a leading role in providing redress to the persecuted and led all tribes of the Quraish to this end. And from this family was to arise one whose radiant splendour would, for all time to come, illuminate the world of mankind.
Two of Abdul Muttalib’s sons were Abdullah and Abu Talib. Mohammad was the son of Abdullah, Ali was born to Abu Talib, and it was Abu Talib who was entrusted with the care of Mohammad, when still a child, after the death of Abdullah and Abdul Muttalib. Ali was 30 years younger to Mohammad. The two, Mohammad and Ali were cousin brothers, but while Mohammad had the privilege of being brought up under the guardianship of his uncle, Ali’s father, Ali as a child was taken up by Mohammad and grew up in his house.
Ali was ten years’ of age, when Prophet Mohammad announced his Prophethood. For some years, the message of Islam was only privately propagated. Thereafter the message was communicated to the Prophet’s near relatives. Accordingly, the Prophet arranged a feast inviting to it all of the stock of Abdul Muttalib. Before the assembled guests, he declared himself to be God’s Prophet and preached the unity of God. He then asked:
Who among you would support me in spreading the message of Islam, on the clear understanding that he alone would be my brother, and my successor?
The question elicited no response from the audience. Ali, though still very young, stood up, and promised to give all assistance in the mission. The Prophet put his hand on Ali’s shoulder and said:
This is sufficient. He is my brother, and my successor. It is incumbent upon you all to obey him.
Worship of pseudo-gods and their idols now came to be openly reprobated. This excited the hostility of the Quraish towards the Prophet and fixed them in their resolve to harm him. The forceful personality of his uncle, Abu Talib, however, kept him out of harm’s reach, and his enemies could not put their mischievous designs through. At last a deputation of the Quraish notables, consisting of Otba, Sheba, Abu Sufiyan, Aas b. Hisham, Abu Jahl, Waleed b. Mughira, Aas b. Wael, and others met Abu Talib to complain about his nephew who denounced their gods, disparaged their faith, held them up to ridicule and deemed their ancestors to have been led astray. (Note: ‘b.’ stands for ‘bin’ or ‘ibne’ meaning ‘son of’. Therefore Ali b. Abu Talib or Ali ibn-e-Abu Talib would be Ali s/o Abu Talib). They requested him, therefore, to bid his nephew desist from these activities, or else hand him over to them. Abu Talib turned them away mildly. The deputation, however, repeated its visit to Abu Talib shortly afterwards, telling him brusquely that the state of things brought about by his nephew could no longer be tolerated. They, therefore, demanded that Abu Talib should put curbs on his nephew’s offensive conduct, failing which they defied him to an armed trial of strength, so that one of the two parties should be decisively crushed. Abu Talib, therefore, thought it fit to acquaint the Prophet with the shape things had assumed. On hearing the whole story, the Prophet said:
By God, even if these people put the sun into one of my hands, and the moon into the other, I would not be deterred from discharging my duty. God will bring my mission to a successful conclusion, or I will sacrifice my life to it.
Tears welled up in his eyes when he said so, and this touched Abu Talib to the quick, and he told his nephew to be persevere in the discharge of his duty, assuring him of his own assistance to his last breath. Accordingly Abu Talib left nothing undone to protect the Prophet and shielded him from all violence.
After the deaths of Abu Talib and Khadija (Prophet’s wife), however, the persecutions and hardships that Mohammad and the small group that had accepted his message had to encounter at the hands of the people of Makkah rose both in frequency and severity. The Prophet therefore, resolved to leave his home. He began to direct his followers to shift to Medina where people had accepted his teachings. When the people of Makkah got wind of the intention of the Prophet to leave for Medina, they resolved to do away with him. Men from each tribe were chosen, who were to enter his house at night and kill him. God made the Prophet aware of the plan of the enemy who hastened his departure to Medina. When leaving for Medina the Prophet asked his cousin – Ali - to sleep in his bed wrapped in his sheet in order to foil the scheme of his enemies. Ali did as bidden, and thus saved the life of the Prophet, sleeping soundly under the shadow of unsheathed swords.
After the Prophet had settled down at Medina, his enemies persisted in their aggressions against the Muslims and battles like those of Badr, Ohad and Khandaq had to be fought. In all these engagements it was Ali’s sword that won victories for the followers of Islam.
The Prophet had a daughter, Fatima, whom he held in such high esteem on account of her great qualities that he used to stand up, as a token of his respect for her, whenever she visited him. When she was married to Ali, the Prophet would go to her doorstep every morning to convey his greetings. While going out of Medina, Fatima’s house was the last that he visited and this was the first house where he went upon return from his trip. Many were the tributes of praise that he paid her, one being his remark that she was the leader of the women in paradise and of the wives of the believers. That was too big a claim that any mortal human being could have made. Yet, the Muslims could not recognize her true worth. The Prophet also called her part of himself, not once but on several occasions. From being the father, she was surely the part of Mohammad. Why then Mohammad stressed on this time and again; and he didn’t say so for other daughters. This part of Mohammad i.e. Fatima was married to Ali after migration from Makkah to Medina.
No Muslim, till this date, knows the real reason for Prophet’s unusual behaviour towards his daughter. Only the Vedas and Upanishads can shed light on Prophet’s conduct. Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad states that the one Self (Brahma) got divided into two similar selfs, similar to the original One Self. They were the Selfs of Prajapati (Mohammad, also called Indra and by various other names) and Brhaspati (Ali, also called Rudra, Vayu, Marut, Aditya, Yagyapati, Neshtra, etc.). From the Self of Indra was born the Self of Fatima (Saraswati, Ira, Parvati, Aditi, earth, Dakshina Lakshmi, etc.), which procreated with the Self of Brhaspati to give birth to two Ashwins (Hasan and Husain – the sons of Ali and Fatima). Upanishads never say that the two Selfs, produced out of division of the One Self, created the Aswins. In fact, they always end on the number five, saying that part of the first Self procreated with the second Self, to give birth to the two Aswins, thus making it five. Prophet Mohammad perhaps wanted to highlight this relationship when he repeatedly said Fatima was part of him.
We know now that the Noor of Devi had descended in the bodies of women several times in the past to guide and lead the people, especially to be the guide to women. She sometimes lived as a pativrata (devoted to husband) and at other times had to even fight against evil. She as Devi was the leader of women in paradise and of the wives of the believers. Fatima was not only the possessor of Divine Noor but she was the daughter, the wife and mother of carriers of Noor. It was this knowledge that commanded respect and Mohammad used to stand up in respect for her and showered many tributes of praise on her. The mere audacity of the claim suggests that it is true, for no mortal man could have dared to make claims of this nature.
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Condition of society
The pre-Islamic period in Arabia is called the “age of ignorance” or the “era of darkness”. It would, however, be incorrect to infer that in that period the Arabs were living in savagery and barbarism, and were unacquainted with the ways of leading a social existence, and the arts of civilized life. On the contrary, according to Dr. Wahid Mirza, “Centuries before the advent of Islam, Southern Arabia had been the cradle of a flourishing civilization and the centre of a prosperous trade. The accounts of the archaeological memorials of the Himyar Kings, of the lake embankment (Saddi-i-Marib), of Shaddad’s garden, and of the throne of Bilqis, Queen of Sheba, testify to the advanced stage to which civilization had attained in this part of the peninsula. Again, the poetry of the times, comprising some of the best specimens of literary expression, shows the Arabs as possessed of some of the noblest human attributes, like bravery, generosity, hospitality, faithfulness, fraternal affection and conjugal love. It also shows that notwithstanding the fact they did not subscribe to contemporary revealed religions, being polytheists and idolaters, they were not wholly unaware of some of the cardinal tenets of religion. They tried to put a gloss on their idol-worship by claiming for the idols no greater merit than that of bringing them into closer proximity to the one God (something that the Hindus of today too claim, yet when those idols are worshipped, the One God normally does not come into contention). A large proportion of the Arabs claimed descent from Ishmael, and we may not be drawing too heavily on unsophistication to credit them with at least a nodding acquaintance with the teachings of their remote ancestors. Yet, it may even be held that speaking in relation to the levels of civilization alone, the pre-Islamic Arab community was treading the path of retrogression. The vestiges of their pristine virtues, still retained by the Arabs, were being swamped by a plethora of vices. They did annually assemble at Makkah for the performance of Hajj, but they had no inkling of the significance of this sacred duty or the importance of Kaaba. To be sure, their caravans still journeyed to the Hijaz, Iraq and Syria, with loads of merchandise, but they had lost their erstwhile ardour for industry, trade and commerce. Excessive poverty had whetted their rapacity. They still held some vague and nebulous notions about God, but their images commanded greater adoration. They realized the advantages of a life of peace and contentment, and shunned war, but self-seeking indigence abetted them in misappropriating what belonged to their neighbours. They grieved sorely over the dead, but were unequal to resisting the temptation of wreaking vengeance, often leading to bloody warfare lasting for generations. They loved their children, but not endure the prospect of their daughters working as drudges for some callous uncle or indifferent brother like unbidden guests. They, therefore, considered the slaughter of their daughters as the best way of maintaining their self-respect. Social attitudes like these are generally intractably resistant to reform. A nation still in the stage of primitive savagery and primeval barbarism consists usually of simple-minded individuals. In the absence of any earlier impressions, their hearts, like clean slates, easily and distinctly receive the imprint of whatever may be urged upon their attention. The weaknesses of Arab society arose from the acceptance of a purely material dispensation of life, and indulgence in the lust for power. These failings, in association with the natural disposition of the Arabs, tended to be thrown into bolder relief.
When individuals get obsessed with notions of their superiority, personal rivalries, group jealousies and tribal animosities are the product, and these vices sprang up among the Arabs in great profusion and with marked intensity. Another development was the annulment of the sense of human equality and brotherhood. Dominance, power and authority were all that counted. The murder of an important person was not deemed to have been fully avenged with the perpetrator of the crime alone suffering death; hundreds of his tribesmen had also to be slain in retaliation. In the murder of an ordinary person by one who counted, the former’s blood was not supposed to be entitled to be paid for by blood in requital. This invidious distinction made between the important and the not so important men was productive of countless social iniquities destructive of human dignity. This had come to pass as materialism was allowed the greatest say in human affairs and all other considerations had been bereft of weight. All privileges and exemptions were determined by the possession of material resource, and this was not so in Arabia alone.
Religiously the Arabs were in an advanced stage of decadence. They had no common religion. People of many faiths lived in the peninsula. A large segment of the population was idolatrous or worshipped stars. Not less than 360 idols had been installed in the Kaaba itself, one day in the Arabic year of 360 days being sacred to the worship of one of the idols. The religions in vogue, Judaism, fire-worship and Christianity – all were degenerate, their practices unworthy, mutual respect and tolerance amongst their followers was non-existent, and general blood-shed and like evils were notoriously rampant amongst the people. Human nature seemed to be waiting for the emergence of a chosen being to deliver the Arab world from its afflictions.
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Hard times for women
Ali Shariati from whose book “Fatima is Fatima” we quote extensively, says: “The social order of the Arabs had passed beyond the Age of the Matriarch centuries before Islam. During the Age of Ignorance, prior to the mission of the Prophet, the Arabs had established the Age of the Patriarch. Their gods had become masculine whereas their idols and their angels were feminine (that is, daughters of the great god, al-lah). The tribes were governed by ‘white beards’ and the grandfathers ruled the family. Essentially, their religion was a kind of ancestor worship. They adhered to whatever beliefs and practices their fathers had had.”
The Prophet had brought a revolutionary message. He was trying to awaken a thought based on the principle of worshipping One Absolute God. All the great prophets of God had time and again led revolution against the ancestral religion of the fathers. Several such incidents are mentioned in the Quran. We will see in our commentary of Gita that Krishna too was opposing people with similar mind-set.
Mohammad opposed this kind of inherited, imitative worship based upon the principle of father worship. When confronted with the revolt against ancestor worship and myths, which sought out their forefathers, the tribes opposed his teachings, in their attempt to preserve their “masculine traditions”.
This situation was further affected by the difficult life of the tribes of the dry desert, which was filled with hostility between one tribe and another, for the basic principles of life are ‘defend and attack’ and ‘keep your promises’. In this society, the son played a special role which was based upon the ‘uses and needs’ of the society’s social and military principles.
According to a universal principle of sociology, where profit was substituted for value, being a son was by and of itself of the highest essence. It meant embodying virtues, meaningful social and ethical values and human nobility. For this very reason, being a girl or having a daughter was humbling. Her frailness was substituted by ‘being weak’. Her ‘being weak’ pushed her towards slavery and slavery caused her human values to lessen.
She became a creature who was the slave of a man, the disgrace of her father, the toy of a man’s sexual urges and the ‘goal’ or slave of the home of her husband. She was the highest form of shame and disgrace. For the betterment of society and the relief of one’s mind, it was much better to kill her while still a baby so that the honour of her fathers, brothers and ancestors, all men for that matter, was not stained.
As Firdowsi tells us in the Shahnamah:
It is better to bury women and dragons in the earth.
The world will be better off if cleansed of their existence.
An Arab poet tells us:
If a father has a daughter he wants to remain, whenever he thinks of her future, he should think about three different son-in-laws: one, the house which will hide her; two, the husband who will keep her and three, the grave which will cover her! And the last one, the grave, is the best.
This is that very same poem that says women and dragons are both better to be covered by the earth because it is a means of exchange. ‘Covering the girls with earth is a way of preserving honour.’ Not only in Arabia, but also among all the great civilizations of the time, including Europe, Africa and India, woman was bearing the same ignominy and hardship. In India, perhaps she was not being killed in infancy during those times, but this kind of treatment is common nowadays, when she is killed even in her foetal stage. During those times, she was made to live in the temples for the ‘service’ of all, and also forced to enter fire (sati), when her husband died – all in the name of honour. This is why the Quran, in the strongest terms, warned of the dangers of this frightening ‘highest honour’ when it said:
He hides himself from the people of the evil for the tidings given him. Should he keep her with disgrace or bury her alive in the dust? Behold, evil is what they decide.
Quran, 16:59
Ancient historians and modern scholars, who write the history of religion, have given different explanations for the burying alive of female children in the Age of Ignorance. Beginning with the fear of shame, disgrace, scorn, prejudice and fear of marriage with an unsuitable person, or, scorn, as some of the scholars say, in primitive religions, girls were sacrificed for the gods. But the Quran most strictly and clearly says that the fear was the fear of poverty. In other words, it was an economic factor. The other explanations are mere words.
The Quran emphasized:
Do not kill them from fear of poverty for We will provide for you and your children.
Quran, 6:151; Quran, 16:59
Is it not true that the modern day foetal killing that is happening in India too is not because of any other factor but the fear of poverty? It shows the human nature has always remained in the same, both when it treads on the path of spiritual excellence and when it leaves it.
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Deliverance arrived from God
It were not only the Arabs but the entire world was waiting for this last Prophet. Quran says that the last Prophet before Mohammad was Isa (Jesus) and during the 500-odd years after Isa, the world was without a prophet. Just prior to the time of Isa, various prophets were sent in different civilizations all over the world, and each one of them had given signs of the coming of the last Prophet before departing. With no prophet in the world for such a long period, the entire world had digressed from the original teachings of their respective prophets and there were only few who still held to the path shown by them.
It was at this crucial moment that the Noorani Rooh descended in the body of Mohammad [IndraDeva], son of Abdullah, and presented the teachings of Islam, which shook the world to its foundations. He brought the glad tidings of a renaissance to moribund humanity. As Dr. Wahid Mirza puts it, “The task before the Prophet was, indeed, arduous since it was not his mission to convert savages living in a state of nature to civilized life, but to reform a diseased social order. His job was to make a clean sweep from the hearts of the Arabs of all those beliefs, superstitions, traditions and usages, which had become integral parts of their lives. He had to instruct, in the ways of tolerance, forbearance, humility and forgiveness, those who deemed forgiveness as evidence of weakness, and forbearance a symbol of mean spiritedness and cowardice. He had to give lessons in equality and fraternity to those who prided themselves upon their high births and took pains to commit to their memories their genealogical tables up to remote ancestors. Islam had also to struggle against many other evil customs and practices. It prohibited the use of liquor to which the Arabs had got used to and upon which they looked as symbolic of generosity. It placed gambling under an interdict although the Arabs esteemed it as an unmistakable concomitant of open-handed liberality. It also forbade many other practices corrosive of morals. The Arabs could not even dream of the purest man achieving the highest merit in the eyes of God, or that, after subscribing to Islam, the lowest of men could claim equality with any member of the noblest families in Arabia”.
Khwaja Ghulam-us-Saiyidain has put the message of Islam very aptly in another form. “Islam brought to a world groaning under the power and authority of priests a message of freedom, - freedom from the shackles of a priestly order which claimed to be an intermediary between the worshippers and the worshipped, - freedom from the tyranny of an oligarchy of the affluent who, caring nothing for any divine law, and less than nothing for any human regulation, brazenly enjoyed the fruits of the toil and labour of others, - freedom for the slaves and the suppressed classes from the oppression, inhumanity and torture of their masters and social superiors, - freedom from women from what was, to all intents and purposes, slavery which divested them of even their elementary human rights, - freedom for the ordinary man from the constraints imposed upon him by narrow inhibitions of castes, colour and race which blighted collective human life, and divided people into rival, warring camps. Mankind was fettered by trammels designed by itself. Iqbal has described the plight in which men found themselves in the following telling couplets:
1. Man worshipped man in the world. He was bereft of dignity reduced almost to non-existence, and relegated to the position of an underdog.
2. The power of Chosroes and Caesars had robbed him, and fetters were put on his hands and feet and round his neck.
3. Soothsayers, kings, popes and prominent leaders a hundred hunters for one prey.
4. His nature was debased by slavery, and sweet lays turned into blood in his flute.
Islam imparted to humanity the message of freedom, taught liberty, equality and human fraternity, and, for the first time in human history, conferred plenary civic and human rights upon all men. The enjoyment of these rights by them had been withheld on considerations of race, colour, sex, resourcelessness and destitution. The glad tidings kindled new hopes and awakened a new awareness of their being useful members of society among the impoverished and the persecuted that had been so far only heartlessly downtrodden by the powers that be.
At this time, Mohammad’s message of equality between all humans, irrespective of disunity on grounds of wealth, caste or creed, and worship of One Universal God worked wonders far and near. This was the message that all earlier Messengers and Prophets had given, but that had been forgotten with time. The message was reinforced with such strength that it shook the citadels of all those who worshipped forces other than God or had compromised with the unity of God, in some way or the other. There was no way in which an outward equality could be created, because of differences in regions, sex, colour, wealth, positions, physical strength, etc. It, therefore decided to create a revolution in men’s ways of thought, so that they might be enabled to shake off their mental lethargy and realize that they were all equal.
Whenever plurality gets related to a unity, feelings of equality and fraternity spring up among the component units of the plurality. It must, however, be noted that all unifications of pluralities, ordinarily contrived, serve only as preludes to large divisions and fragmentations. When sons of the same parents get united in equality, they get separated from the sons of other parents. When members of one family get united in fraternity and equality, they are parted from the members of other families. When residents of one country conjoin, a disjunction between them and the residents of other countries follows. Wars between one country and other countries, between one nation and other nations break out, followed by an unending series of successes or defeats. When people of one quarter of the earth band together in fraternity and equality, they, as a corollary, break away from the peoples of other quarters of the earth. Europeans form a separate race, and Asians follow suit and form a different race. Where colour united people, the peoples of skins of different pigments got so exclusive of one another that the white races barred the black ones from resorting to the same hotels as they did, and closed the doors of their churches upon their own co-religionists among the latter. These separatist tendencies resulted from the fact that attempts at coalescing individuals, groups, races, countries and colours, had of necessity to be based upon the raising of corresponding barriers between human beings. A dividing wall, thus raised, united those on one side of it and separated them from those on the other side. Islam struck at the root of the impasse and holding that equality among individuals could flow only from the unity of the point of their convergence, decided upon the demolition of all partitions separating humanity and the inauguration of a common meeting ground for all races, colours, countries, races and nations, so vastly extensive, of such illimitable dimensions as to accommodate within it the entire mankind. Since there would be nothing without the compass of that resort, no question of division of humanity and parting of their ways could possibly arise. The focal point toward which all men were to converge had, therefore, of necessity to be other than material. For everything material would perforce be subject to limitations e.g. of nearness and distance of space, of meagreness and abundance in measure. It was, therefore, of the highest import that human vision be averted from all that was materialistic and be fixed at that immaterial, transcendental power which, unhampered by the confining attributes of space, measure and degrees, would bear relationship to everybody and to which everybody belonged. This power is the one God whom Islam has presented as the object of universal worship, the creator of all beings and the end of everybody’s pursuit. Once it came to be realized that all men were God’s creatures, the development of a sense of equality and fraternity between individuals became inevitable.
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Impediments put in the spread of Islamic teachings
Says the book ‘Martyr of Humanity’, “The framing of Islamic laws and regulations, the setting up of Islamic practices and institutions and, in general, the establishment of an Islamic social order were achieved during the lifetime of the Prophet of Islam. It was no mean achievement for the revolution ushered in by Islam. The Prophet of Islam had to undergo untold hardships and contend against all manner of stiff opposition and overwhelming forces of obstruction in bringing about the revolution. Some men are so sentimentally devoted to all that is ancient that they harbour a motiveless malignity against anybody who changes the existing order. Some others have vested interests in the old dispensation and apprehend impairment of their selfish advantages from any move to overthrow the status quo. The clean sweep that Islam had made of the old order and the far-reaching alterations that it had introduced in all departments of life were productive of personal loss to persons in many walks of life, not only in a pecuniary sense, but also in many other ways, concerning their rank and power. For example, Islam placed an embargo on the charging of interest on loans. Did this not forebode the reduction of the moneylenders of Arabia to bankruptcy, as they fattened on the amount of interest exacted from the impoverished and the needy? And then, the ban applied not only to the charging but also to the payment of interest. Obviously it is the needy who pay interest to the opulent few, and it was the poorer classes who were being irresistibly attracted towards Islam. Accordingly, even if the capitalists could parry the blow aimed at them by not joining the ranks of the faithful, they stood to gain little, for those who paid interest and upon whom therefore, depended their livelihood, stopped payment of interest to them. Again, the Islamic instruction that precedence among individuals was to be determined solely on the basis of excellence of conduct and conscientious discharge of human responsibilities, and on no other grounds whatever, shattered the prospects of those who had wrested positions of authority and power simply on the strength of social superiority, wealth, property or the numerical preponderance of their tribes or races. The changes made by Islam in the standards of determining pre-eminence and merit amongst individuals abolished the rights enjoyed on the basis of previous norms, so that those in power before the advent of Islam were reduced to impotence, being devoid of merit as conceived by Islam. To the contrary, those who had been earlier deemed to be unworthy even of a passing notice such as the strangers from foreign lands, the destitute or the members of the oppressed and despised classes, were set on the road to the acquisition of dignity and respect, should they fulfill what was demanded of men in performance and piety and fear of God. How could then the monopolists of rank and distinction reconcile themselves to their unhappy lot under Islam? They had lorded it over their fellow men whom, instead of making the bondsmen of God, they had made their own slaves.
These reasons for the opposition to the Prophet of Islam were underlined for the Umayyads by the memories of outstanding animosities, both ancient and of recent origin, and envy. Their leader, Abu Sufiyan, therefore, raised the whole of Arabia against the Prophet. All kinds of torments were inflicted on God’s Messenger. He was pelted with stones, rubbish was heaped on his head, offensive things were cast at him, and he was threatened with assassination. When danger to the Prophet’s life became imminent, his uncle, Abu Talib, removed him to the safety of his mountain fastness: Sheb of Abu Talib. The Prophets’ family, all the Hashimides (Prophets own tribe) except Abu Lahab [one of Prophet’s uncle], joined Abu Talib in his retirement with the Prophet. The Quraish (the larger clan to which Hashimides belonged) formed a confederacy against the Hashimides: they would not marry their women, nor give their own women to the Hashimides in marriage, they would neither sell anything to them nor buy anything from them, and all transactions with them would stop. It was made almost impossible for even the necessities of life, like water and food, to reach the isolated Hashimides. People had to live without food and water for days; it is reported that Khadija (Prophet’s wife) used to put a piece of leather in her mouth and chew it when in excessive hunger, there are some who are reported to have tied up stone on their stomachs, and ate whatever they could find in that barren place, including the bark of trees. This was in the seventh year of the prophetic life of Mohammad, and lasted for close to three years.
After the termination of the blockade, the Hashimides emerged from their seclusion. Within a year, however, Khadija and Abu Talib passed away. Opposition to the Prophet assumed such intensity in the bitterness that his assassination was planned and he had to leave for Medina.
Even after he had reached Medina, opposition to the Prophet did not allow him much repose. On the one hand those of his followers who could not leave Makkah after his departure were put to a variety of hardships and on the other, preparations for launching an attack on Medina itself were set afoot. The Prophet was, therefore, compelled to come out in the open to give battle to their enemies and save himself, and, what was still more important, to keep from harm the hearths and homes of those who had afforded shelter to him and his followers.
The manner in which the first battle of Badr was fought is an indicator that Prophet could have never contemplated attack. The Muslims, who were completely unprepared for the engagement, numbered only 313 men who had between them only three horses and a few swords. But the Hashimides made things exceedingly unpleasant for the adversary. Hamza b. Abdul Muttalib, Obaida b. Haris and Ali b. Abu Talib, performed such outstanding feats of bravery that the enemy lost heart. The Muslims and, in particular, the Hashimides, suffered a grievous loss in the assassination of Obaida in the war, but the Makkans, specially the Umayyads, suffered much heavier losses. Abu Sufiyan had not only to mourn the death of his son, Hanzala, at the hands of Ali, but also to grieve over the capture of his other son, Amr, at the same hands. Abu Sufiyan’s wife Hind had to mourn the death of her father, Otba, her uncle Sheba, and her brother, Walid. Abu Sufiyan was so overwhelmed with sorrow that he took a vow not to bathe till he had led an attack against the Prophet. But the infidels could not muster courage enough to face the Muslims in battle. In order, therefore, to keep up the appearance of having honoured his oath, Abu Sufiyan collected two hundred horses from amongst the Quraish and made for Medina. Reaching the confines of Medina, he killed two Muslims, destroyed some date trees and beat a hasty retreat. When the Prophet emerged with his followers to give him battle, Abu Sufiyan had already fled, and in the hurried disorder of his flight his band shed all along the way, their wallets containing parched and powdered cereals, called ‘sawique’ in Arabic, which their pursuers recovered. The engagement is therefore, called the war of sawique.
The important battle of Ohad took place in 3 A.H. Ikrima b. Abu Jahl, Abu Sufiyan and Hind could not rest contented for a moment till they had settled old scores with the Medinites. The Makkans prepared for war on an ambitious scale. Besides the Quraish, the Bani Kinana and the Tahamites also joined the fray. Their army consisted of 3000 armed soldiers, of whom 700 were clad in armour. The Prophet met this army with a force consisting of only 700 men of whom only 100 were armour-clad combatants. Ikrima and Khalid b. Walid, were in command of the troops of the Quraish.
It must be remembered many of these Quraish who came to fight the battle were to later form the greatest obstacle to progress of Islam. This included the likes Abu Sufiyan, Khalid b. Walid and others who were later left with no choice but to embrace Islam and contributed their worth to degrading the principles of Islam after the death of Prophet. Some of them like Khalid b. Walid are very much revered by the Muslims to this day. Khalid b. Walid is the same man whose marauding armies attacked all frontiers, in the name of Jehad, and led to the emergence of view that Islam spread with sword. They were self-seekers - materialists who opposed Islam when they thought they could subdue it and joined its fold to reap the rewards from within. In fact, forces of Zulmat used them to thwart the teachings being given by the Forces of Noor.
This war of Ohad wrought great havoc among the Muslims but the Hashimides’ and Ali’s swordsmanship ultimately retrieved the day, and the enemy had to retire, discomfited. Another of the brave Hashimides, Hamza was martyred in the battle. There was a stage when nearly all Muslims had fled, with the exception of few Hashimides including Ali. This was consequent to the Prophet being attacked and somebody raising the slogan that he had been killed. Ali continued to fight with vigour till he had dispersed all those who had surrounded the Prophet and raised him so that people knew that he was still alive. The enemy had come so close to the Prophet that he lost two of his teeth in the attack but the swordsmanship of Ali and few others changed the tide of the battle and it was time for the Quraish to flee.
As a last attempt, therefore, Abu Sufiyan and the rest of his aides aligned as many parties in Arabia with themselves as possibly could, and even maneuvered to win over the Jews to their cause. Then they emerged with 10000 men in year 5 A.H. for a war, which, on account of the multi-party composition of its army, is called the “war of parties” or “war of the clans” or “war of trench” (khandaq). Poised against this numerous army, the Muslims numbered only 3000; but their enemies again met with defeat, and their hero, Amr b. Abd Wud fell a victim of Ali’s sword. Abu Sufiyan had to retire to Makkah crestfallen and in a very sorry plight. The spirit of confronting the Prophet in a war or launching an attack upon him had been crushed although the wounds inflicted up by these reverses did not lend themselves to healing. When he failed to crush the force of Noor through direct conflict, and saw the growing number of Muslims accepting the Message with each passing day, the only way left for Abu Sufiyan and his cohorts on the path of Zulmat was to infiltrate the rank of Muslims and make an attempt to corrupt the path from within.
When the Prophet of Islam found that the infidel Quraish had desisted from showing aggression in any manner for some time, he made up his mind for the Umra or lesser pilgrimage to the Holy House (Kaaba) in 6 A.H., and led a party of the Muslims with sacrificial camels, a sure symbol of the absence on his part, of any warlike disposition. But when the Quraish heard of the approach of the Prophet, they reached Kra-il-ghamim with Khalid b. Walid at their head to offer resistance to his entry into Makkah.
At this juncture the courage of the Muslims had naturally been heightened by the successive triumphs that had attended their arms, especially when they noticed confronting them the same defeated troops that had not sufficient time to put themselves in trim for a battle. It would, therefore, have been easy enough for the Prophet to offer a battle to his adversaries so as to enter Makkah in triumph as a victor. The Prophet, however, had to prove his pacific intentions and as soon as he noticed the dust raised by the opposing forces marching to check his advance he abandoned the road he was following and turned to the right and adopted the route which led to Hudaibia, passing behind Humz and through Saniat-ul-Marrar.
This gesture of conciliation so impressed the unfriendly Makkans that they likewise fell back and opened negotiations with the Prophet, through Urwa, b. Masud Saqafi. The Prophet’s conciliatory behaviour created such a cordial atmosphere that Sohail b. Amr was dispatched to the Prophet as a representative of the Quraish to finalize the peace parleys. He presented such conditions for the treaty as favoured the infidels and were seemingly designed to put undue pressure on the Prophet and to extort unfair advantages for his own men. The Prophet, however, accepted all the terms proposed for the treaty, which was then ratified. The settlement required that:
1. Mohammad and his followers should go back that year without entering Makkah and performing the pilgrimage.
2. War should be suspended for 10 years.
3. Whoever wished to join Mohammad and enter into a treaty with him, shall have liberty to do so; and whosoever wished to join the Quraish and enter into a treaty with them shall likewise be free to do so.
4. If anyone went over to Mohammad without the permission of his guardian, he shall be sent back to his guardian. If any one, however, from amongst Mohammad’s followers returned to the Quraish, he shall not be sent back to Mohammad.
5. In the following year, Mohammad may visit Makkah with his followers for three days, and the Quraish would retire from the city for the duration. The Muslims shall, however, not carry any weapons, save those usually kept by the travellers, every one carrying only a sheathed sword. Every one of the Muslims shall leave Makkah within not more than the three days allowed for their stay in that city.
These terms were so iniquitous and markedly disadvantageous to the Muslims that many of the Prophets’ companions, who were unable to perceive the underlying purposes of their leader, were thrown into great agitation and anxiety. As recorded by some historians, the matter assumed dimension of great magnitude and acquired the attributes of uncommon delicacy in the hearts of men, and their renegation seemed imminent. Their faith was shaken and they were driven to all but apostasy. Accordingly, when after putting his signatures to the treaty, the Prophet told his followers to offer their sacrifices and get their heads shaved and return to Medina, the majority of the assemblage maintained a glum silence. Nobody seemed interested in complying the Prophet’s directions. The Prophet, however, rose with conspicuous nonchalance, to offer the customary sacrifice and got his head shaved. Others also then rose with ill-concealed reluctance and got their heads shaved or their hair-cropped (as is the custom during Hajj), but looks of murderous sullenness were writ large on their brows.
The difference in Prophet’s action and that of the Muslims are evident. Ali accepted the Prophet’s decision and history has recorded that it was Ali who was alongside him, writing down the points of the treaty. At the same time, history has recorded several of those Muslims considered eminent today were unable to digest Prophet’s action. The difference in the mind-set is evident. Prophet was all for peace while many, still carrying materialistic tendencies, wanted to take advantage of the situation, when they were powerful while the enemy was nervously trying to make a peaceful settlement. That shows that even when the Prophet was powerful, he only fought when he was compelled. The mind-set that we have talked about showed its colours when, after the Prophet, vicegerency was denied to Ali and people who hadn’t understood the true teachings of Islam themselves became champions of Islam. They were aided fully by the likes of Abu Sufiyan and Khalid b. Walid, who were still in the opposite camp till the Peace Treaty of Hudaibia. Khalid b. Walid was given the title ‘Sword of Allah’, and this sword instead of fighting only when compelled, as was the case when Prophet was alive, was used to conquer territories. As war-booty filled the coffers of the influential, the poor died in poverty while the rich lived in luxury, the ‘sword of Allah’ went on to conquer territories in the name of Jehad.
At Hudaibia, while impervious to the sentiments of his followers, the Prophet accepted the oppressive conditions of the treaty. Had he taken Makkah by storm, he would have exposed himself to the charge of committing an act of aggression against the Makkans. He observed the terms of the treaty strictly in letter and spirit. The ink had not dried on the treaty when a son of Sohail, b. Amr himself, who had acted as a representative of the infidels, approached the Prophet crying and seeking his intercession and shelter. This young man had embraced Islam and was unwilling to accompany his father back to Makkah. According to the terms of the agreement, Sohail, however claimed him, and the Prophet raised no objection. To the young man’s piteous prayers he made only this reply:
This hardship will not last long. Be patient. God will assuredly work for you and others like you, some way of deliverance. We have concluded a treaty with these people, and will not do anything against it.
The Prophet then went back. The following year he returned to Makkah as provided in the treaty. The infidels withdrew from the city for three days, leaving the Prophet and his followers undisturbed in the performance of the pilgrimage, where after the Muslims left Makkah within the specified time. The Makkans, however, did not thereafter adhere to terms of the treaty regarding non-aggression. The treaty, it will be recalled, had kept it open for all persons or groups to join the Prophet or the infidels as allies of either. Accordingly, the tribe of Bani Khazae attached itself to the Prophet and the tribe of Bani Bakr allied itself to the infidels. These two tribes were on terms of long-standing enmity and missed no opportunity of harming each other whenever opportunity offered. As war between the Prophet and the infidels had been banned by the treaty for 10 years and, by implication, the embargo applied also to the allies of both, the Bani Khazaa, shedding their apprehensions, disarmed themselves and neglected to remain on the alert against any possible hostile move by the Bani Bakr. They were surprised by the Bani Bakr when camping near a stream and lost many of their number as killed.
Some of the Quraish secretly helped the Bani Bakr, and had a hand in the slaughter of the Bani Khazaa. Amr b. Salim, belonging to the unfortunate tribe repaired to Medina lamenting what had befallen his kinsmen. He saw the Prophet when the latter was sitting in his mosque with his companions. A very tragic and moving account of exceedingly heartless cruelties which had been perpetrated against his tribe was given by him in verse ending with the words, “Prophet of God, the Quraish have broken their pledge to you. The Bani Bakr ambushed my tribe on the bank of a stream, knowing that nobody would come to our rescue and lend a willing ear to our laments. Had we been prepared for the war, they would not have dared attack us. They are not superior to us in numbers and have always been proved inferiors in war. We were massacred while we were engaged in our nightly prayers and bowing and prostrating ourselves before God.”
The Prophet was so deeply moved by the verses recited that he did not tax the supplicant with a longwinded reply, contenting himself with the very eloquently brief remark, “Amr b. Salim, you have been helped”. Saying this, the Prophet set out with his followers to the aid of the tribe allied to him. He was heading towards Makkah, but in a different attitude of mind this time. The infidels, lacking the spirit to try their luck against him in the field of battle, laid down their arms and in the extremity of distress, Abu Sufiyan found himself compelled to subscribe to Islam, outwardly.
It is a measure of his large heartedness that the Prophet of Islam granted amnesty not only to Abu Sufiyan, but extended it to those who took shelter in Abu Sufiyan’s house or in the mosque or retired into their houses and shut their doors. According to another version laying down of arms was the sole condition for the grant of amnesty. However upon actually entering Makkah, the Prophet declared a general amnesty. When he entered the city, he asked those who had gathered in front of him, “How do you think I would treat you?” They answered, “We hope only to receive good treatment. You are our generous brother and the son of a generous brother.” The Prophet replied, “You may go. I have set you all free.”
Remember many of these people were those who had tortured the Prophet while he was in Makkah. They had thrown stones at him and planned to kill him on several occasions. It was because of them that the Prophet and his family had to live in scarcity of food and water for three years, consequent to which his beloved wife and uncle, both died of weakness. It were they who had spearheaded the battles against Muslims when they were in Medina, consequent to which several of Prophet’s friends and relatives had died, and even two of his teeth broken.
In view of the foregoing events it is only natural to presume that while the stunning blow of irretrieved disaster may force an enemy to capitulate, to surrender arms and drive him to sullen silence it can never assuage feelings or melt an obdurate and cantankerous heart to faith. Nor could such defeat move hatred to love and loyalty – a consuming hatred nurtured over generation as evidenced by the preceding events. Such a change of heart is well-nigh impossible, human nature being as it is. Human psychology makes it easy to realize that the dreaded dragon hissing death and defiance would not lie low and under the cloak of conformity feel free for underhand and clandestine intrigues and conspiracies. Such a foe can be truly dangerous. Such precisely was the assessment of Imam Ali, that assayer of Islam, when he observed:
They did not accept Islam: they only accepted before the might of Islam.
Unfortunately, those who took to Caliphate after the Prophet’s demise, brought these very people close to the corridors of power.
Summing up the situation, Aga Mahdi Pooya says:
“The new mission, Islam, is like a heavy shower coming down from heaven, a promising event every one welcomes, but the thunder, lightning and darkness, coming along with it, create fright and make people take precaution against the impending threat. In the days of early Islam some people anticipated reaping a good harvest if they joined the ranks of the believers, yet they were reluctant to give up the privileges enjoyed by them under the old system. For example, the Quraish, as custodians of the Kaaba, were respected by the people of Arabia. This sanctity gave them the opportunity of monopolizing the trade from the Indian Sea to the Mediterranean, and from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and Red Sea up to the African coast. By giving up idolatry, they had to renounce class distinction and agree to the equality of human beings, preached by Islam, which would have certainly affected their economic interests. On the other hand, they could not close their eyes to the grand possibility of taking control of the ever progressing active energy of a highly advanced society, created by the lofty ideals of Islam, which would spread like a wild fire all over the world, so as to rule over vast lands and countless people and appropriate the wealth of the nations. The result was a continuous wavering. Neither did they want to detach themselves from the old order, which appeared to them as a frightful darkness, nor could they resist the unlimited produce the abundant rain, Islam, would yield.”
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Enemy of Islam within the fold of Islam
The Prophet had repeatedly said that the way forward was through Quran in its capacity as the highest theoretical reference for the Message. On the other hand, he had linked it to the apostolic leaders who were at the level of taking on the huge responsibilities of leading the experiments infallibly, sincerely and with a proper awareness. Of those men, Ali was the person who was equipped to do this through the stipulation of the Prophet. There had been innumerable occasions when the Prophet had explicitly told the collected audience that Ali was to be his successor. Deviation from this and the subsequent reaching of power in the hands of those who were no less than the worldly rulers, softened and later distorted the nucleus, so that the message that went across, beyond a certain time, appeared to be tied closely to sword.
This deviation occurred because people who had joined the folds of Islam when left with no choices came close to the pillars of power. It was Prophet’s large-heartedness that he accepted even those into the folds of Islam who had plotted and conspired against it till sometime before. Also, it was against the teachings of Islam not to believe in their words when they were saying they were coming to its fold. And unless they came up in defiance, they could not have been killed or punished.
It is fascinating to note how fast the affairs of the Muslim government went outside the text of the Message and turned into an aristocracy, which had created a new class.
The man who brought the Message himself got removed from the scene in 632 A.D. Though he had given several warnings in this regard, they were not taken seriously. In addition to that, the Message was still only freshly in its covers. Men had not practiced it sufficiently and it was still threatened by many apostasies like the running away of Muslims from the battlefield at Ohad and then the return. It was still seeking help from the leaders of Quraish, those men who had only sought to slip away from their thrones under challenge. There were still the false gods Mana, al-Uzza and Hubal mumbling in the dust of their broken fragment under the veils of the Kaaba.
The Message itself had not yet been established in its polished form. There were still sayings of the Prophet scattered among the Companions, which had not been properly collected and arranged. In addition, it was exposed to attempts to soften it under the numerous currents of reasoning and interpretation based on interests and whim.
It was these wavering hypocrites who were to do the biggest disservice to the Message of Islam. It was they who hijacked the Islamic teachings right at its infancy and were responsible for portraying the religion in bad light, which is still evident in the manner and belief of the Muslims. They opposed Islamic teachings tooth and nail and even waged war against the young religion in their attempt to throttle the teachings in their infancy. When they realized that this tactic was sure to fail, they embraced Islam, though only in face. They kept waiting for their opportunity, which they got when the towering personality of Prophet Mohammad was no longer among them. Within a short while itself, the reigns of the entire Muslim ‘empire’ (empire it was for them) had fallen in the hands of those who were Islam’s greatest enemies. A stage came when the Umayyads were taking their animosity against Islam to its extreme, killing and imprisoning the true champions of the faith, while the world considered them as Caliphs of the new religion. It is sad that even today, their actions, their beliefs, their conduct is viewed as Islam.
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The death of the Prophet
It is a pity that the subject of Khilafat (Caliphate), i.e. succession to the Prophet, has become such a vexed question that even now the contention about it between the Shias and Sunnis defies resolution. The historical fact, however, remains that upon the Prophets’ death, some of his followers joined hands to eliminate the members of Prophet’s household, from the seat of political power. As a result, therefore, the members of the Prophet’s household, suffered outwardly, in the eyes of the world, from an eclipse.
All Muslims believe that Ahlulbayt were the most righteous of men of all times. They were also witness to the extraordinary love that Prophet showed towards them even at public places. Muslims had repeatedly heard the Prophet declare that whosoever bore affection towards him should be bound by affection to them as well. They had also seen visible signs of annoyance on the Prophet’s face whenever any lapse, however small, from affectionate conduct towards his grandsons, occurred in the Prophet’s presence, as would appear from the sharp retort given by the Prophet to one who, perhaps, lightly addressed Hasan thus, “How fine is your mount, child” on seeing him propped on the Prophet’s shoulder. The Prophet at once re-joined, “And how good is the rider as well”.
Writes Allama Ali Naqi Naqvi: “To those who had the slightest insight into the Prophet’s nature, such incidents left little room to spare any effort and care in according due consideration to these grandsons (Hasan and Husain) of the Prophet. It would therefore be no exaggeration to say that Husain was then a lamp around which circled moths, or a sun around which revolved the planets. Adoration was shown to him from all directions of the world.
Every morning, before going for prayers, the Prophet used to stop outside the door of Fatima’s house and call out:
Get up, it is time for prayers. God wishes, O members of the household to remove from you all trace of defilement and to purify you as purity itself may require.
People were also witness to Prophet’s extraordinary behaviour towards his daughter, in whose respect he used to stand up. Every morning, he unfailingly went to the Fatima’s door to convey his greetings. Traditions abound of Prophet calling her the head of the women in heavens, or saying that anybody who grieved Fatima, grieved the Prophet. But tides were to change soon after Prophet’s departure. History has recorded that merely a few days after the demise of the Prophet, people assembled at the door of Fatima’s house and set fire to it. The burning door fell on Fatima’s abdomen and the child in the womb died because of this. Fatima too died as a consequence of that injury sometime later. Fatima used to cry so often at the behaviour of the Muslims towards the Members of the Household (Ahlulbayt) that a complaint was then made by the people that her unremitting wailing had made it impossible for them either to take their meals or to snatch some rest. She, therefore, used to retire to the graveyard of Jannatul-Baqi where she raised her continuous laments and cries.
It is not worth mentioning what circumstances propelled the situation to change so fast that Fatima and Ali, both most beloved of Mohammad, had to face such severe hardships only a little time after his departure. What is worth mentioning is that most Muslims, to this day, try to put forth one reason or the other to prove that those who perpetuated the acts were the most righteous companions of the Prophet. If you are amazed at the power and capacity of Zulmat to change situation so fast, you are requested to read our description of Buddha’s departure, given in Part-III of this BOOK. Zulmat, you will have to agree, is as powerful as the force of Noor, and it gets strengthened by the sensual afflictions that bound our selfs to it.
As regards to Ali, who was Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, there are innumerable instances when the Prophet had proclaimed him as his successor in the company of his companions. Only some of them have been given here in this BOOK. Ali had also been the bravest of fighters during the various wars with enemies. He was the most righteous of men. There are innumerable traditions of Prophet citing Ali’s lofty position. At one point he said:
Ali is never separated from the truth and the truth is never separated from Imam Ali.
At Ghadeer-e-Khumm (about which you will read later), while returning from the last Hajj, Prophet Mohammad identified Ali as his successor in front of a large crowd. This was even validated by God when the Quran’s verse said that with this announcement the teachings have been completed. Whether it was because of the fact that it was Ali who had killed the near and dear ones of a lot many who had come to fight against Mohammad in earlier days and these people had entered the folds of Islam, or whether it was because of the extraordinary position that Mohammad had given to Ali, or because of Ali’s superiority in terms of piety or several ayats of Quran lauding actions of Ali – people were jealous of Ali, his position, attributes and achievements. Another reason that contributed to this was his affiliation to the Hashimide tribe of Quraish.
An interesting conversation between the second caliph and Ibn-e-Abbas, recorded by Tabari and other historians, is quoted below, which throws light on the behaviour and mental attitude of the non-Hashimide Muslims.
The second caliph said:
“O son of Abbas! Do you know why your family has been deprived of Khilafat? The Quraish did not like that prophethood (nubuwwat) and vicegerency (khilafat) be combined in the family of Hashim, lest their vanity increases. So they chose some one else, really their choice was good.”
Ibn-e-Abbas said:
“There is nothing unusual so far as the hatred of the Quraish for the family of Hashim is concerned, because right from the beginning they did not like the message, nor the messenger. ‘That is because they were averse to what Allah has sent down, so He shall render their deeds null and void (Quran, Chapter Mohammad: 9)’. And the apprehension about the vanity of the people who have been (thoroughly) purified, by Allah himself, from every type of uncleanness is an (unfounded) accusation. It would have been most appropriate if the Quraish had chosen he whom Allah had chosen, and...”
At this stage the caliph interrupted and said:
“Behold! O son of Abbas! I have already been informed about your utterances. Beware! You may fall in my estimation.”
Ibn-e-Abbas said:
“Yes. If my opinions are true, they should not cause my downfall, and if they be untrue, you should remind me to put them in order.”
The caliph got angry and left the place.
This incident, sharply defines the most vital issue that divided the Muslims into various schools of thought.
This was confounded by the feeling that owing to Ali’s steadfastness and just nature, they would never be able to take benefit out of being in the fold of the thriving religion of Islam, if Ali was to remain at the helm of affairs. Therefore, on one side the Prophet was making announcements citing Ali as successor and Caliph, certain influential people were hatching plans to usurp that position for themselves. It is evident from the events that happened on the day of Prophet’s death that the plan to change the course of Prophet’s will had already been made. People were now waiting for a chance to take their plan to implementation.
The day it was known that the Prophet was dying, life suddenly changed for the beloved members of his household. This was despite the fact that Prophet spared no opportunity to introduce them and remind of their importance, not only in his life, but also in the schemes of God for the future.
The Medina that was once pure and good was now filled with hatred and fear. Politics had pushed faith and piety from the city. The army that was ready to do anything at the wish of the Prophet’s command stood unmoved, against the words and even insults of the Prophet. Prophet had given the banner of leadership to Ali but Osamah was chosen as the leader of army, despite objections from all quarters.
Even at the time of dying, the Prophet had asked for something that had been denied to him. He had said:
Bring a tablet and pen so that I can write something so that when I am gone, you will not be led astray.
Instead of obeying to his command, as they used to do in the past, they caused uproar and did not allow this small wish of the Prophet. They said he was just mumbling. They said the book of God existed, and there was no need of writing anything. Perhaps they knew what Mohammad would have written and they also knew that the same in writing would create more hurdles in their path of attaining their age-old objectives. It was for this day that they had entered into the fold of Islam and they never wanted to waste this opportunity.
If the Prophet was mumbling under the influence of illness, he would have written a set of jumbled words that would have made no sense. What was the harm in giving him the pen and the tablet?
But Omar and Abu Bakr (Abu Bakr was later appointed as the first Caliph, only to be followed by Omar) knew that the Prophet was not just mumbling and whatever he was saying was in full senses. The words of the Prophet were profound and sensible, so much so that the history has recorded them clearly. He wanted to write something that would prevent the people from getting astray when the Prophet was gone. Isn’t it clear that the Prophet was going to identify his successor once again? Otherwise, in response to the Prophet’s desire for a pen, what was the reason to say that the book of God existed, and there was no need for writing anything? Answer itself shows what was going in their mind!
Prophet had said he wanted to write something so that when he is gone, Muslims won’t be led astray. Muslims of the period paid no heed to his words. If they got astray to such an extent that the world saw an image of sword-wielding territory capturing Muslims and is now seeing a more sordid image of terrorist Muslims, instead of the lofty spiritual message that Mohammad gave all his life, it was because they didn’t pay heed to their Prophet’s words. Not just on death-bed, even earlier Prophet had been saying time and again that he was leaving two things worthy of respect – the Quran and the Ahlulbayt – and if Muslims held on to both, they won’t get astray.
Shias are blamed for holding on to the Ahlulbayt and leaving the Prophet. Truth is that the Shias hold on to the Ahlulbayt in order to continue holding on to the Prophet and the Quran. The prophecy of the Quran was getting true, right there:
Mohammad is no more than a Prophet. Other prophets have been sent before him. If he dies or is killed, you will go backwards and you will return to the reactionary, despotism of ancient time.
Upon hearing of the death of the Prophet, Omar and Abu Bakr entered the room again, who had been asked to go by the Prophet when pen and paper were denied to him, cried and left. Ali was all this while in the room; in fact the Prophet’s head was on Ali’s lap.
From that time onwards, it was politics that governed the affairs. It had replaced truth, the God’s and the Prophet’s wish. The city was full of plans, plots and conflicts. It is recorded in history that only Ali and few of his trusted companions were there at the time of Prophet’s ablution as well as burial. Isn’t it amazing that the Prophet of the Muslims, who had controlled nearly the entire Arabian Peninsula up to the limits of the diminishing Roman Empire on one side and the Persian Empire on the other, was buried with only a few family members and loyal friends at his side? Writing was already on the wall!
Where were the rest? It is stated that the Ansars (Medinites) of the Prophet had gathered at a place outside the city, called Saqifah, to elect the Caliph. They had felt that the Quraish of Makkah had their own plans. Abu Bakr, Omar and Abu Ubaidah arrived and then convinced them that the Prophet had said, ‘Leaders are from among the Quraish’. They reasoned that the replacement for the Prophet must be from among his family. As a result, Abu Bakr was chosen at Saqifah.
Why was the hurry? Were there threats from outside the Muslim world of attack? Even if there were, the Muslim dominion had stretched at least so much so that it would have taken a few days for the message to reach the enemies and then for them to attack or plan sabotage. Moreover, Prophet had already ordered a battalion to march towards one of the frontiers. Though they didn’t listen to orders and waited, truth is that an entire contingent was battle-ready.
Then why didn’t they wait till the burial? Those who defend this behaviour say that the Muslims should not remain without a leader even for a moment, once the previous leader died. What a logical argument indeed? But can they explain that the last words that were heard of Omar in Medina, prior to his appearance outside the city at Saqifah were that the Prophet never dies and would soon reappear. Do they know how many days elapsed when Omar died and the next Caliph Usman was chosen?
It so happened that when the news of Prophet’s death was spreading, Omar unsheathed his sword in public and said that he would kill anybody who would say that the Prophet had died. He said, ‘The Prophet has not died. He rose to heaven like Jesus. He will return. Whosoever says the Prophet has died is a hypocrite. I will cut-off his head.’
Isn’t it clear that the fear that Omar and Abu Bakr had was not from outside Muslim world but from inside? People were threatened with death if they talked of Prophet’s death, lest the message spread among the common people, many of whom could have put other candidates in front. Then upon hearing that a meeting was already in place at Saqifah, the three rushed there, and got one from among them elected. Nobody says that when God had not chosen them, when even the Prophet had not chosen them, then who gave the authority to that select group of people to choose the successor, that too at a time when the Prophet had still not been buried.
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Why not Ali?
Everything becomes clear. That is why for centuries after this incident, the Muslims were not allowed to study numerals, lest their reasoning faculties would arise. In spite of this, if the Muslim world progressed so much that it is called the originator of Arabic numerals and excelled in all fields for nearly 200 years after the Prophet, it was courtesy those attached with the centres of learning created by the Ahlulbayt.
Prophet too knew that the plans were being hatched to usurp the caliphate. That is why upon his return from his last pilgrimage and prayer at Ghadeer-e-Khumm, he had introduced Ali in front of all of the groups of Muslims who had accompanied him to the Hajj and had them admit that the leadership of Ali was the same as his leadership. It is recorded that even several of those who were present at the Saqifah to elect the Caliph had congratulated Ali at Ghadeer-e-Khumm, as the Prophet’s successor-designate.
There are several other questions that are yet to be answered by the Muslims in general? See Ali Shariati’s view:
“Why was it that when the Prophet had not yet entered the city, a group of 12 people circled the mountainous road so that he – and perhaps Ali – would be killed? And this plot that came about after pronouncement of Ali as successor-designate at Ghadeer relates to it because the elections were no action.
And why is that, although the Prophet was informed about the plot beforehand and ordered them to be taken away after the event, he did not reveal their names? It was not a small accident especially considering the particular interest of the Companions of the Prophet who have recorded with care even the least important events of his life.
Why did the Prophet in his last battle, the Battle of Tabuk, accepted – considering his age and the age of his great and elder Companions and those who were not military men, who were not men of the sword but more political elements – that they go to this battle to fight the powerful foreign Romans in the north of the country where the danger of death was very great? Why did he single out Ali, and, against the will of Ali, the reproach of the Jewish people and the hypocrites, kept Ali in Medina even though Ali was known as a man of the sword, the hero of many battles, the bearer of the flag and the conqueror of the famous and great battles of the Prophet? He said to him, ‘I leave you for that which I left behind in Medina. Are you not satisfied that your relationship to mine is the same as the relationship of Moses’ with that of his brother Aaron?’ (The world knows that Aaron succeeded Moses after his death.)
Why did he, at the time of his death, sent an army to fight the Romans when there was no emergency neither need to send the army to defend the border? Why did he ordered Abu Bakr, Omar and the other great men and politicians who had influence, to go along with the army? Why, with such an army did he choose the 18-year-old Osamah to lead the army while these great men were among the common soldiers? Why, when there was objection to Osamah’s leadership because of his youth, did the Prophet get angry and in strong terms criticized those who thought age was more important than worthiness?
And why when he was feverish and at the door of death, did he insist and persist, pray and insult so that the army would move quickly, and along with it the elders too would move out of Medina while he kept Ali in Medina? Why, at the last moment of his life did he ask for a tablet and pen and said, ‘I want to write down something so that you will never go astray.’ Why do those who later got elected as caliphs, not allow him to write anything down? They even argued in front of him and created uproar. They bothered him. They even insulted and protested to his wives who were crying behind the curtain saying, ‘The Prophet wants to leave his last will and testament. Bring him a tablet and a pen.’ They delayed. They called themselves friends of Joseph until the Prophet, in anger said, ‘All of those women are better than you.’ And then he asked to be left alone.
Why at the end of his life, when the Prophet said, ‘I have three pieces of advice for you,’ he mentioned only two of them and the third one, which was about Ali, remained unanswered? Why when Bilal said, ‘It is the time of ritual prayer,’ and the Prophet was not able to rise from his bed, he said, ‘Tell Ali to come.’ Suddenly both of them (Abu Bakr and Omar) appeared in answer to the message of Abu Bakr’s daughter and the Prophet saw all three of them (including Usman) at one time and then, without saying anything, asked all three to leave.
Why? Why? Why?
Why is it that the Prophet, who at the most difficult times of battle, face to face with the power of the enemy, and he lacking power, filled with loneliness, always spoke full of hope and strength, certain of the future? Why during the last days of his life when he was on the edge of his victory, was he so afraid and worried?
Why the last night of his sickness before his death, in the middle of the night, alone with his main helper (Ali), he went to the graveyard and spent a long time whispering to the silent corpses, with the greatest of pain, saying, ‘May God bless you all. How lucky you are to be dead and therefore not facing this present situation.’
Why is it that as he got closer to death he repeated more and more often that plots and conspiracies like parts of the black night are now continuously appearing? Yes. Now all of these whys were answered. A part of that black night had passed by. Ali had finished burying the Prophet and the great Companions of the Prophet, at the same moment, buried Ali’s rights.
They came from Saqifah to the mosque so that the Caliph could announce his leadership in a message to the people. Ali returned from the empty house of the Prophet to Fatima’s home to begin 25 years of silence, full of pain, loneliness and blackness.”
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For some Ali was still the only refuge
We quote still! The fate of Islam was decided in Saqifah without the presence of Ali, the rightful inheritor. The few of the elders presented there had no time to listen to the likes of Salman, Abuzar, Ammar, Miqdad and others (who continued to honour Prophet’s wish by being with Ali). They were not from among the aristocrats of Aus and Khazraj tribes of Medina. Neither were they from the original Quraish family whose luxury of blood, family and class had given them station and position? These were the things that seemed to have ended during the Prophet’s time when Muslims had become but one Ummah irrespective of class or tribal distinctions, but they had suddenly come to the fore again.
Those faithful to Ali included people like Salman who was an Iranian and who had been praised by the Prophet for his faith and even included in his Ahlulbayt. Likewise, Abuzar (who was so trusted that he is reported to have been sent to India by the Prophet to teach and the Prophet had even prophesied about his future) was from the desert, while Ammar whose mother was a black African slave and his father had come from Yemens, or other unknown people without any prestige or any claim to being high class. They were simple deprived people like Meesam, who sold dates.
These people, in the eyes of the Prophet were dear and beloved because of their spiritual excellence but now that he had gone, they had been obliged to return to a permanent state of humility. Values had changed again.
Says Shariati: “Their only refuge was Ali. Ali himself had the same position as them in Medina. He also suffered from the renewed regime of old values. His story was like this: He was a young man, thirty some years old (in comparison to the elders of the community). He was a man empty-handed, without class, without the shackles of politics or tribal bonds. He held only the pious virtues of knowledge, bravery, and persistence upon the way, high thinking and awareness. He had the power of speech and the sword. His entire fortune was amassed from and consisted of the dangers he met remaining loyal to the Prophet as well as his sword which was raised in Jehad and the great amount of blood which had drawn from the hatred of yesterday’s enemies – who had ‘surrendered’ to the ‘decree’ of the Prophet (but had now gained access to the corridors of power.)
Those values, consciousness of self and the unawareness of provoking the jealousy of friends, sacrifices and courage, created a hatred in his enemies which could never be made up for. Both friends and enemies alike joined hands and stories in attacking and condemning Ali. They slandered him; humiliated him and finally they ostracized him and left him alone.
When a spirit rises above the level of his time and grows beyond the container of the patience of the people of its time, it is left alone. The profundity, beauty and richness of his ‘being’ of and by itself, humbles the empty, trivial ugliness of others. Whenever one humbles oneself, friend and foe alike, consciously and unconsciously, join together to negate or destroy the spirit of the great personality or else they try to destroy its distinct rights. They mutually benefit each other. Then, friends, companions and those who have the same thoughts, because of the greatness of ‘being’, show contempt. They create a vacuum in their personalities. They suffer. They try by negating or denying his virtues to contaminate the personality, to feign closeness in order to reduce the space which is causing them to suffer. Since they can never reach the level of spirit directly, they try to pull it back so that they can reach it in this way. It is in this effort that they join with the enemies and find mutual interests. When this happens, friends also find a need to destroy that spirit. They unknowingly become the toys of the enemy. They become the representative of murder. They become amateur servants of oppressors. This is why they all united in humiliating Ali.”
This is why that the Umayyads, led by Abu Sufiyan and later his son Muawiya started advertising that ‘Ali does not perform his ritual prayers’, ‘Ali is the son of the earth (Abu Turab)’ and so on. This was in spite of the fact that it was Abu Sufiyan who had endeavoured to instigate Ali with the words:
What? It is the limit that in your presence, one of the lowliest families of Arabia should have gained the upper hand. By God, if you so desire I would fill the streets and lanes of Medina with mounted soldiers to aid you.
But since Ali was above sentimentalism and selfishness, he gave Abu Sufiyan short shrift, saying:
By God, you have always been an enemy of Islam and of the Muslims.
This not only demonstrated how firmly Ali was resolved to place the collective interests of the community and the solidarity of Islam foremost even before himself, even though it might entail the sacrifice of his personal interests, but Ali’s refusal to accept Abu Sufiyan’s help also served to expose the insincerity of the acceptance of Islam of Abu Sufiyan and members of his family. It was also meant to be a warning against such duplicity as might ever pose a danger to Islam, since those who openly declared their opposition to the faith were incapable of causing such great harm to it as false friends and insidious enemies. It was, therefore, necessary that such persons should be closely watched and no opportunity given to them to execute their nefarious designs.
The propaganda against Ali was so intense that later, when he was killed while offering prayers in the mosque, people would ask questions. How is it that Ali is killed in the mihrab (the place which gives the direction of prayer) of a mosque? What sort of news is this? What was Ali – the ‘father of dust’, ‘the man who supposedly, ‘does not perform his prayers,’ - doing at the mihrab? Ali, performing his prayer? How could that be?
As you see Ali Shariati has talked of Ali’s resolve to place the collective interests of Islam and of the Muslims as reason for not listening to Abu Sufiyan’s words regarding making an attempt to take control of the caliphate. We must remember, Ali Shariati is giving the historical perspective, as a common man could see Ali’s actions in the light of his character. We now know the true reason. The Noor created by the Manifest Self was using Ali’s body as office. The purpose of creation of this Noor, we have seen, was to lead mankind to the worship of Absolute God. This was and has always been the chief goal of all the Ahlulbayt. For them, it didn’t matter whether they were being placed on high positions or not. The force of Mohammad’s teachings had already resulted in a great number of people coming to the worship of the Absolute God. On earlier occasions, when the same Noor (i.e. the Devatas) had attempted to impart teachings, people had started worshipping those Messengers and Avatars themselves in whose body the Noor was working. This time, however, Mohammad was not being worshipped but the one God of Mohammad was being worshipped. Ali would have been the last person to create discord among the population that was worshipping Allah. He continued to impart teachings, continued to worship God day and night, and even continued to help the Caliphs when they sought his advice. We have already given an Upanishadic verse explaining Ali’s stance, as per which despite the fact that he was disillusioned, his delight was in the fact that the One Lord was being worshipped. The unfortunate part was that by leaving Ali, people kept on deviating from the rope or cord of Allah, which were the Ahlulbayt, so much so that they forgot altogether the lofty position of those who were responsible for salvation. Prophet Mohammad had prophesied clearly, if you leave one from amongst the Book Quran or the Ahlulbayt, you would be drowned. The terrorists of today are legacy of those drowned generations.
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Others were busy destroying Ali
Ali Shariati writes further: Everyone knew that this hatred of Ali resulted from his heroic deeds at Badr, Khandaq and other such battles. But a friend? Those who had participated in the battles of Badr and Khandaq against the Umayyads had now joined them and were singing the same tune. Why?
The well-known of the great Companions were obliged to lower their heads at the Battle of Khandaq where Ali, a young man, twenty-even years old, struck such fear into the enemy through his sword and the cries of Allah-o-Akbar which issued forth from him that the Prophet praised him:
The blows of Ali in the battle of Khandaq are more than the worship of all the men and jinn.
The blows of his sword made them happy but, hidden, nevertheless, was a jealousy which planted itself in their unconscious conscience. It grew later on without they themselves being aware of it. The seed grew into branches bearing leaves, which eventually covered their whole spirit and thoughts. Its roots entrenched in the depths of their bones.
At the battle of Khaybar where Abu Bakr carried the flag of the Prophet and went forward to conquer the citadel, and after great effort, he returned broken, then Omar went and returned defeated, the Prophet said:
Tomorrow, I will give the flag into the hands of someone who loves both God and His Prophet and both God and His Prophet love him.
(We are sure that no Muslim would ever say that the Prophet made the comment on behalf of God, when the God had no such intentions. Even Quran says in clear words that Mohammad speaks nothing that is not divinely ordained. If that is the case then they must believe that Ali was truly someone whom God loved as well. In place of such clear proofs of Ali’s closeness to God, the mantle of caliphate was handed to those about whom no such praise was ever made, nor did any verse from God come to acknowledge their position.)
The next day the Prophet gave the flag to Ali. Ali amazingly conquered one citadel after another. He opened a citadel up and people entered in to plunder and he moved on to attack another citadel.
In the battles of Badr and Ohud, the great ones - the Companions who considered themselves from the point of view of age and position in society, to be at the highest level - either ran away or else went and sat in a corner, afraid and hopeless. It was Ali who like lightening and wind passed through the scenes and created a new front amidst the fear and defeat. When he carried the flag towards victory at battle of Honein, while the great influential and respected Companions ran away from the narrow strait and Abu Sufiyan cried out, ‘The way they are running away, they will not stop until they reach the Red Sea!’ Ali, like a rock, closed the mouth of the strait.
This sword not only created hatred in the enemies but also in the friends. Even though they were fighting for the same thing, jealousy and contempt arose. This is how friends and enemies joined into one front whenever the character, virtues or strength of Ali were spoken about. This is when a friend needed an enemy and an enemy needed a friend and they both work together. This is why the reaction to the greatness of Ali was compensated for by showing contempt for Ali.
How? By not taking his Islamic virtues into account, by not emphasizing them. Even though it is unmanly, they described him in terms that were contrary to what he really was. They expressed words or spread stories in a way that was slander. If they did not reach this low level, they just kept quiet as regard to his values. If they mentioned his weak points whenever they get the chance, they exaggerated them and made mountains out of molehills. They oppressed his rights and destroyed the Truth. They admitted the rights of Ali to the extent of Abu Bakr or Omar, but at the same time did every bit to destroy his rights. They acted from a motive.
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The result: His chances were destroyed
‘Ali? Yes. But he is still young. Let some years pass for him.’
‘Ali? Yes. But he is a man of the sword, devoted, knowledgeable, but he does not know the science of war.’
‘Ali? Yes. But he jokes too much.’
‘Ali? Yes. But at the present time it is not advisable for Islam that he be elected. He has many enemies. At the time of the Prophet, during the wars, he killed many of the great and influential Arabs. The hatred is still warm. It is not advisable.’
‘Ali? Yes. But he is too sure of himself.’ (Their inferiority complex becomes obvious).
Ali? Yes. If the Caliphate were to be given to him, he would run this camel firmly in the right direction. But is he really serious about that?’
Such were the arguments given. The result? The result was that Ali was destroyed both at the hands of the Bani Umayyads as well as at those of Omar, who was the enemy of Bani Umayyad. Usman was victorious with the help of Omar and also the Bani Umayyad who were the enemies of Omar and the family of Usman. All forsook their enmity to oppose Ali, as much as they could.
This was Ali’s greatness that in spite of all that he had to undergo, he was always ready to give such assistance as might be desired concerning any matter requiring knowledge, and advice about any important project or expedition, or in the decision of legal difficulties in spite of the fact that on account of the indifference, apathy and forgetfulness shown to his rightful claims by the world, he was sorely disappointed and bitterly disheartened. People, swayed by their emotions, would ordinarily shun taking upon themselves these gratuitous burdens, especially if they related to offices from which, despite their undisputed eligibility for them, they had been unjustly eliminated. The lesson which Ali’s behaviour conveyed to the members of the Prophet’s house was that they should not treat with unconcern any matter regarding adherence to Divine rulings, and that howsoever invidiously they might be eliminated from the position of having a say in them, they should watch out for opportunities to lend their support whenever the affairs of the Muslims came up against obstacles and dangers, and they should consider serving the interests of Islam as their sole object. History is full of accounts that whenever the Caliphs of the period were unable to find solution to certain puzzles, Ahlulbayt always came forward to help them come to a reasonable solution. We have already given the reason for that stance!
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Why his life was spared by rulers?
The site seratonline raises this question and gives its opinion. It says the martyrdom of Holy Prophet created tumult in the Muslim nation. Shocking events that couldn’t even be imagined in his lifetime, began unravelling like a pre-planned strategy.
One such incident revolves around an attempt on Imam Ali’s life.
There is a debate on whether or not the rulers of the time tried to silence Ali by eliminating him completely.
One group says that Ali’s life was spared.
Another group says that an unsuccessful attempt was made on his life.
We study both arguments over here to find the truth.
Allama Majlisi in Bihar-ul-Anwar relates from the renowned scholar of Ahle Tasannun (Sunnis), Ibn Abil Hadeed who relates:
I asked my teacher, Abu Jafar al-Naqeeb – I am amazed at how Ali was able to remain alive for such a long time after the death (martyrdom) of the Prophet. How long he remained isolated in his house while the enemies were inflamed with anger against him!
Abu Jafar replied – If Ali had not been submissive and lied low he would certainly have been killed. But he chose to keep a low profile and confined himself to worship and prayers and recitation of Quran. He gave up his sword and was akin to a wanderer in the land or a monk in the forests.
Since he complied with the rulers and submitted himself to them, they left him alone. No Arab could have killed him except by (first) obtaining explicit permission from the rulers or by obtaining their secret approval. However those in authority did not have the motivation to kill him and refrained from harming him. Had it been any different, they would certainly have killed him.
Ibn Abil Hadeed continues – I asked him, ‘Is there any truth to the narration of Khalid ibn Walid (attempt on the life of Ali)?’
He replied – a group of people among the Alawi Shias relate this incident. They say that a man came to Zafar Ibn Hudhayl, the companion of Abu Hanifah and asked him – Is it true that Abu Hanifah says that it is permissible for a person to perform an action before concluding his prayers with salutations like for e.g. talk, do something or answer the call of nature?
Zafar replied – It is permissible, in the same manner as Abu Bakr talked before reciting the salution in prayers. The man asked – What did Abu Bakr say before the salutations? Zafar replied – You should not get into it. However, he repeated the question a second time and a third time. Zafar said to those present – Remove this man from here…. I questioned – How you forged this incident? Teacher – I am above such things. Rather, the Imamiyah narrate it.
Sharh Nahj-al-Balaghah, vo. 13, p. 301
Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 29, p. 138; Bait al-Ahzaa, 148-149
The incident under question involving Khalid ibn Walid is the assassination attempt on Ali on the orders of Abu Bakr. The plan was to kill him in the Mosque of the Prophet immediately after the prayers on the recitation of the concluding salutations.
Abu Bakr decided against the assassination while still in prayers and in the same condition ordered Khalid ibn Walid to abandon the plan. Abu Bakr fashioned this change of plan through an innovation – by speaking out aloud in place of the final salutation:
O Khalid! Abstain from what I had ordered you and peace be upon you!
Elal al-Sharaae pp. 190-192 tradition 1
Bihar al-Anwar vol. 29, p. 134
The Muslim majority rejects all talk of an attempt on Ali’s life. But how can they justify the attempt on his life as legislated by Omar in the consultative committee? The order was clear: if Ali chose to differ, behead him. All Muslims agree that Omar had constituted the Consultative Committee (Shura) to select his successor; to ensure that the selection was in harmony with his own choice he formulated some pecular laws. He ordered Sohaib (ibn Sinaan Ibn Maalik) to lead the prayers for three days and only these six members would consult each other. Among these six, the seventh will be none except Abdullah ibn Omar, but there will be no opinion from his side.
Thereafter, Omar made a will to the Muhajireen (immigrants) and the Ansaar (helpers) present there as follows:
If three days pass and after consultation the six members don’t agree on paying allegiance to one of the members, then behead all six of them. If before the passage of three days, four of them agree upon someone and two of them oppose those four, behead the two dissenting members.
Al-Kaafi, vol. 5, p. 23; Tahzeeb al-Ahkaam, vol. 6, p. 148
Al-Ehtejaaj, vol. 2, pp. 362-363; Wasaail al-Shia vil. 15, p. 41
Miraat al-Uqool vol. 18, p. 348
Question arises why did Ali participate in the Consultative Committee? Despite the fact that the Consultative Committee members and its selection policy were heavily loaded against him, Ali pointed out to Ibn Abbas that he decided to participate to underscore the contradiction in Omar’s initial stand (that he gave to deny Ali of caliphate) that Prophethood and Caliphate cannot reside in the same family. Ali ibn Abi Talib reasoned that at least Omar had now accepted that caliphate could rest with Bani Hashim.
However, this should not make anybody to come to conclusion that Ali was afraid of death. The man who had fought many a valiant battles without bothering about his life couldn’t become afraid overnight. The circumstances had changed. While the other battles were as per the will of God, to defend the worshippers of God from attacks by agents of Zulmat, now it was a personal matter. As I say, it is not the job of Noor to defeat Zulmat. Noor’s job is to lead mankind to the worship of God.
People who had been witness to pronouncement of Ali as vicegerent had been silenced for fear of their lives. The first instant of creating fear psychosis among people was when a companion of Prophet unsheathed his sword the moment rumours began spreading about Prophet’s death, saying he would kill anybody who would say the Prophet had died. Saad ibn Ubadah, most respected of Ansar who was the most likely candidate for caliphate on the Day of Saqifah, and whose entire tribe refused to pay allegiance to the caliphate of Abu Bakr, was mysterious killed by an arrow in a remote locaton and his death was attributed to a ‘Jinn’. Moreover, history records Khalid ibn Walid attacking and slaying several tribesmen a short time after the first caliph assuming office. While people were told they had refused to pay the requisite tax, the inherent truth was that they had refused to pay the tax because they regarded the Government as illegitimate.
All those who were at Ghadeer-e-Khumm or had heard narrations of what had happened there were silenced for fear of their lives. But Ali was not the one who could remain silent because of this. Why Ali accepted all the hardships, all the pains and sufferings, rebukes and insults? The reason is given nowhere else but in the Upanishads. People who had earlier worshipped 360 gods for 360 days of the year were now worshipping the One Lord of Ali, and this mattered more to him than anything else. This was the very purpose for which the carriers of Noor had been striving ever since their creation.
And this exactly became the reason why Husain went towards Kufa, despite everybody telling him that Kufans could not be trusted. As an agent of Noor whose purpose is this alone, both as Noor and as an Imam on earth, he could not say no to their pleas lest somebody would say we kept calling the Imam for guidance and he didn’t come.
