What is the ruling on people
who claim that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
appointed ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) as khaleefah, and say that the
Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) conspired against him?
Praise be to Allaah.
This opinion is not known among
any of the Muslim groups apart from the Shi’ah, and it is a false view which has
no basis in the ahaadeeth that have been proven from the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
On the contrary, a great deal
of evidence shows that the khaleefah after the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be
pleased with him). But the Prophet did not state that clearly and he did not
appoint him in any definitive sense; rather he gave commands which indicated
that, when he told him to lead the people in prayer when he (sallallahu alaihe
wa-sallam) was sick, and when he told him about the leadership of the Muslim
community after his death, saying, “Allaah and the believers will only accept
Abu Bakr.”
Hence the Sahaabah (may Allaah
be pleased with them) gave their allegiance (bay’ah) to Abu Bakr and they were
unanimously agreed that Abu Bakr was the best among them. It was reported in the
hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) used to say during the Prophet’s life: “The best
of this ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then ‘Uthmaan,” and
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of their saying
that.
Mutawaatir reports from ‘Ali
(may Allaah be pleased with him) show that he used to say, “The best of this
ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr then ‘Umar.” And he (may Allaah be
pleased with him) used to say, “No one is brought to me who prefers me over
them, but I will whip him with the hadd punishment for telling lies.”
He never claimed that he was the best of this ummah, or that the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had appointed him as
khaleefah.
He (Ali) never said that the
Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) had wronged him and taken away his
rights. When Faatimah (may Allaah be pleased with her) died he gave a second
pledge of allegiance (bay’ah) to Abu Bakr, as confirmation of his first pledge
and to demonstrate to the people that he was with the jamaa’ah (the main group
of Muslims) and that he had no reservations in his heart against giving his
allegiance to Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with them all).
When ‘Umar was stabbed, he
appointed six of those whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had testified were guaranteed Paradise, for them to appoint one of their
number as ‘Umar’s successor; among these six was ‘Ali, who never denounced
‘Umar, either whilst he was still alive or after his death. ‘Ali did not say
that he was more entitled than any of them to be khaleefah, so how can anyone
have the right to tell lies about the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and say that he appointed ‘Ali as khaleefah?
‘Ali himself never made any
such claim, and none of the Sahaabah claimed that for him. Rather they were
unanimously agreed that the caliphate of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan was valid;
‘Ali acknowledged that and he cooperated with all of them in jihad, shoora
(consultation), etc. Moreover, the Muslims after the Sahaabah were agreed upon
that which the Sahaabah had been agreed on. After all this, it is not
permissible for anyone or for any group, Shi’ah or others, to claim that ‘Ali
was the appointed successor, or that the caliphate before him was false.
Similarly, no one has the
right to say that the Sahaabah wronged ‘Ali and took away his rights. Rather
this is the falsest of falsehoods, and it is thinking badly of the Companions of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), including
‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him and with them all).
Allaah has protected the ummah
of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and kept it from
agreeing on misguidance. It was narrated in a saheeh report in many ahaadeeth
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A group
of my ummah will continue to adhere to the truth and to prevail.” It is
impossible that the noblest generation of this ummah could agree on falsehood,
supposedly the caliphate of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan. No one says this who
believes in Allaah and the Last Day, and no one says this who has the slightest
insight into the rulings of Islam.
From the Fatawa of Shaykh Ibn Baaz, from Kitaab Fataawa Islaamiyyah, 1/46.
