“O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not personal inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort your testimony or refuse to give it, then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.” (Qur’an 4:135)
This topic can be quite a testy subject for people who invoke emotionalism and do not bring forth proofs and evidences.
It is amazing how on the one hand people can say that the ahl bayt of various prophets who are rank and file beyond any companion of the Blessed Messenger (saw) can sin, and yet, some 10,000 plus companions were all righteous, everyone?
I am going to share with you some text from the Qur’an. Imagine if you will that instead of Jacob and Yusuf that this was talking about the Blessed Messenger (saw) and his 12 sons. Imagine if you will that it was talking about Abu Bakr and his 12 sons. Imagine if you will that it was talking about Ali and his 12 sons.
So with that though experiment in mind let us look to the Qur’an.
JACOB AND HIS SONS
“He said, “O my child, do not relate your vision to your brothers, lest they plot a plot against you; indeed, Satan is an evident enemy to man.” (Qur’an 12:5)
Here we have Prophet Yacub (alayhi salam) telling his son Yusuf (alayi salam) that Yusuf’s brothers (his as-sahabah, his companions would plot against him).
“Recall when they said, “Joseph and his brother are certainly dearer to our father than we are, although we are a(whole) band. Most surely, our father is in evident misguidance. “Kill Joseph or throw him somewhere in the land, and your father‘s attention will be yours, then afterwards you become righteous people.” (Qur’an 12:8-9)
Here we can see the sons of a Prophet claiming that their father is upon misguidance! Can you imagine?
“One of them said, “Do not kill Joseph, but cast him into the invisible cavity of the unlined well—some travelers may pick him up—if you must do something. They said, “O our father, why do you not trust us with Joseph, when we are most surely his advisors? Send him with us tomorrow, that he may eat well and play, and we are most surely his preservers. He said, “It surely grieves me that you should go away with him, and I fear the wolf may eat him while you are oblivious of(what happens to) him.” They said, “If the wolf should eat him while we are a(whole) band, then most surely, we would be losers.” So when they went away with him and agreed to put him into the invisible cavity of the unlined well, and We revealed to him, “You will surely inform them of this affair of theirs while they are unaware.” (Qur’an 12:10-15)
Here we have the as-sahabah, the companions, the brothers of Joseph, planning to kill him. They also lie toe their father in suggest they are sincere advisors to their brother.
“And they came to their father in the evening, weeping. They said, “O our father, we went off racing one another and left Joseph by our belongings, so the wolf ate him. But in no way would you believe us, even if we were truthful.” (Qur’an 12:16-17)
Here we have the as-sahabah, the companions, the brothers of Joseph, telling a flat lie right to the face of a Prophet of Allah!
“And they came with false blood on his shirt. He said, “Rather, your(inner) selves prompted you(to do) something, so beautiful patience(is most fitting for me) , and Allah alone is besought for help against what you describe.” (Qur’an 12:18)
Here we have the as-sahabah, the companions, the brothers of Joseph, even falsifying evidence.
“They said, “(We swear) by Allah, Allah has certainly preferred you over us, and we were definitely wrongdoers.” (Qur’an 12:91)
“They said, “O father, pray for the forgiveness of our misdeeds; we were indeed wrongdoers.” (Qur’an 12:97)
Imagine these children growing up in a house hold witnessing their father, the Blessed Prophet Jacob, praying, fasting, beseeching Allah (swt) in stability and distress. Surely Prophet Jacob passed on to his children good moral teachings.
NOAH AND HIS SON
“And it sailed with them through waves like mountains, and NOAH CALLED TO HIS SON who was apart, “O MY SON, come aboard with us and be not with the ungrateful. But he said, “I will take refuge on a mountain to protect me from the water.” Noah said, “There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He gives mercy.” And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned.” (Qur’an 11:42-43)
Then Allah (swt) informed Noah…
“And Noah called to his Lord and said, “My Lord, indeed MY SON IS OF MY FAMILY (AHLI) and indeed, Your promise is true; and You are the most just of judges! He said, “O NOAH, INDEED HE IS NOT OF YOUR (AHLIKA) FAMILY; indeed, he is one whose work was other than righteous, so ask Me not for that about which you have no knowledge. Indeed, I advise you, lest you be among the ignorant. Noah said, “My Lord, I seek refuge in You from asking that of which I have no knowledge. And unless You forgive me and have mercy upon me, I will be among the losers.” (Qur’an 11:45-47)
Noah (alayi salam) called out to Allah (swt) to save his son. Allah (swt) replied that indeed that was not his son. This is very powerful! The English say, ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ In Islam, ‘Faith is thicker than blood!’ Our ties as Muslims bind us together.
The first murderer in human history was a descendant from a Prophet.
Cain killed his brother Abel. Both of them were descendants of the Prophet Adam (upon whom be peace). Yet, one was righteous and the other became the ‘first’ murderer. Such that Allah (swt) made an example of this particular incident throughout time.
“And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers.” (Qur’an 5:30)
We can clearly see from the Qur’an those who were children, direct descendants of Prophets, did works other than righteousness, killed their own brothers, plotted against their own brothers lied to to their father etc.
Blood ties and blood relations did not make them from among the righteous!
When it comes to Ali Ibn Abu Talib, here are the following things we are NOT claiming.
- That he killed his brother (like Cain did Abel)
- That he had his brother thrown in a well and lied to his father (like the sons of Jacob did)
What we ARE claiming.
That his decision at Siffin was against what Allah (swt) prescribed in the Qur’an.
That he unjustly slaughtered untold number of as-sahabah, companions at Nahrawan.
Those Sahabah, those Companions who differed with Ali going against the book of Allah (swt). They were following what Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be plead with him) said:
I heard ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) reported saying: “In the lifetime of Messenger of Allah (saw) some people were called to account through Revelation. Now Revelation has discontinued and we shall judge you by your apparent acts. Whoever displays to us good, we shall grant him peace and security, and treat him as a near one. We have nothing to do with his insight. Allah will call him to account for that. But whosoever shows evil to us, we shall not grant him security nor shall we believe him, even if he professed that his intention is good.”
(Riyad as-Salihin 395 Bukhari, Hadith 395)
So what Umar ibn Al-Khattab (r.a) was saying was that in the time of the Blessed Messenger (saw) people were called to account via revelation, the Qur’an and/or guidance directly from the Blessed Messenger (saw). Now with the revelation discontinued, and having the Qur’an and the Sunnah we shall judge you by your apparent acts!
Descendants of the Ali Ibn Abu Talib and Ibn Abbas (r.a) slaughter and assassinate one another.
Later on we see the members of the Ahl Bayt in an all-out war against one another.
Or does anyone want to think that the Abbasid Caliphate Al-Mansur or Abu Ja’far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur was righteous and just?
Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al-Mansur was a great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammed (saw) cousin, Ibn Abbas (r.a).
Here are some of the things he did:
He had one of his governors send spies to spy on Imam Malik. He had Imam Malik tortured, had his arm pulled out of his socket, and publicly humiliated.
He had the grandsons of Hassan ibn Ali the sons of Abdullah ibn Hasan ibn Al Hasan ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib killed, namely Muhammed and Ibrahim.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Khuḍayrī al-Suyūṭī mentions that he was the one that made that already tenuous relationship between the house ‘Abbas and the house of ‘Ali completely fractured. Source: (Tarikh al-Khulafa p.279-280)
He jailed Sufyan al-Thawri and Abbad ibn Kathir and, Abu Hanifa an-Nu’man.
He had Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani murdered.
The list goes on and on.
Wake up oh Muslim Ummah! You have been taught that there are only two narratives in the Islamic history. Look beyond the lies and the distortions and see the truth for what it is!
What really happened at the battle of Siffin
Are all the companions just?
Prima Quran 