Why did Uthman burn the Quran? - Yasir Qadhi

One of the questions that many people ask is:  Why did the third Caliph, `Uthman, burn all copies of the Quran during his reign? This is viewed as something sacrilegious or indicating that the Qur'an was wrong.

There is cultural misunderstanding here,  because from the Islamic tradition when you burn the Qur'an you are not disrespecting it; in fact this is the way to respectfully dispose of it, which is the exact opposite from the Western tradition.

Our religion teaches us that when you have a copy of the Qur'an that is worn out and you have to dispose of it, you don't just throw it in the trash; that is disrespectful. Rather, you disintegrate it. They didn't have paper shredders back then so how would they disintegrate the Qur'an respectfully? Simply they would light a fire and burn it because they didn't want people to trample on it; they didn't want people to throw it in trash can. They wanted to get rid of the sacredness of the Qur'an in a manner that is not intentionally disrespectful.

I love the Righteous Khalifah (rta)

 

 

�Abu Bakr is in Paradise, Umar is in Paradise, Uthman is in Paradise, Ali is in Paradise, Talhah is in Paradise, Az-Zubair is in Paradise, Abdur-Rahman bin Awf is in Paradise, Saad bin Abi Waqqas is in Paradise, and Abu Ubaidah bin Al -Jarrah is in Paradise.�

�	Prophet Muhammad, as narrated by Abdur-Rahman bin Awf. [Sahih Jami� at-Tirmidhi]

Governance of Islamic State during Caliph Hazrat Ali

 

 Only Allah can change things. That is why Islam takes its stand immovably upon the nature of things, upon the obvious realities of this world and of human experiences. Islam remains and will always remain what it is because of the timelessness of its message. All other religions have been changed, revised, and altered by the passage of time to meet the fancies and whims of their adherents. Islam, in order to preserve dignity and integrity of the human creatures, both man and woman, has persuaded them to move away from the chaos of the world and submit to the will of Almighty God. 

Human beings possess intellect and a relative free will, yet they do not have the capacity to make laws for the conduct of the society. The rulers, who had power and wealth, did not use them to improve the conditions of mankind but used them from time immemorial to oppress, exploit and control it. 

Our strong belief is that Allah is the sole legislator and law giver. That is why the message embodied in the Quran and the laws derived from it, and from the Suuah of the Prophet must be utilized to bind the community and keep it together. The main object of the Islamic laws is to bring human beings closer to Almighty God and to enforce and implement those laws through reformatory agenda for the betterment of mankind.

Islam developed a complete code of life. Prophet Muhammad became the greatest reformist of all times when guided by the Quranic laws and its principles. His own personal life, presented to the whole of mankind the forgotten message of the earlier Prophets. Revival of the forgotten message could only be achieved through faith and governance by upholding the dignity of man; by practicing the ideals of truth, equality and justice; by promoting education; by denouncing the differences of colour and race; by displaying boundless magnanimity and spirit of tolerance ; and by making peace with enemies.

One of the greatest Caliphs of Islam after Prophet Muhammad was Ali Ibn abi Talib, who as a young man lived under the guardianship of Prophet since childhood in the same house. He was the first youngest person to enter the folds of Islam, acquiring immense Islamic knowledge from the Prophet because of his constant companionship, and even as a young boy Hazrat Ali was his best helper. This developed in him the traits of piety, trust, clarity of thought and Islamic values that distinguished him from other companions of the Prophet. 

The migration of Prophet Muhammad has been described as one of the greatest adventures the history has known in the cause of truth and to propagate the Islamic convictions. At that time Prophet had many items and things in his custody belonging to people of Makkah. He needed to return these things in his charge and custody to their rightful owners. On the night he was leaving Makkah, he told Hazrat Ali Ibn abi Talib to sleep in his bed, and to later return things to the rightful owners before coming to Madina - Yathrib. The young boy Ali dutifully discharged his responsibility before he joined the Prophet and Hazrat Abu Bakr a few days later.

Hazrat Ali learned early in life the skill and ability to handle situations and issues and acquired knowledge. Being a genius, Hazrat Ali absorbed knowledge, lived a humble and simple life, always displayed the courageous and bold side of his personality and Islamic upbringing - rearing and training under the ideal guardianship of Prophet Muhammad.

Before Hazrat Ali assumed the office of the Caliph, he was the principal advisor of the first three Caliphs after the Prophet, Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Usman. He was proclaimed as the Caliph after the assassination of Caliph Hazrat Usman. At that time, unfortunate tensions and uncertainty was reigning supreme.

Hazrat Ali encountered more than his share of issues and problems when he become the Caliph. He had keenly watched the governors of various provinces during the Caliphate period of Hazrat Usman, and was now ready to streamline his administration and governance methods by replacing some of the governors. The prevailing conditions after the assassination of Hazrat Usman necessitated him to speed up the process of change. Hazrat Ali was advised to retain governors appointed by Hazrat Usman and to take the oath of allegiance instead of replacing them immediately with new governors. He, however, felt that the change would help in eradicating evils that had moved stealthily into the administration. Chaos of change contributed to disruption in Hazrat Ali's administration. The disruptions were many including the breakdown of law and order in Madina due to the uprising against Hazrat Usman and later his assassination. The calling for revenge by the Ummayyads, the tribe of Hazrat Usman, for his assassination; refusal to resign and relinquish the governorship position by governors of Syria and Kufah and their actions in stopping the newly appointed governors from assuming the office.

Muawiyah, the governor of Syria, did not allow Suhail bin Hanif, the appointed governor to enter Syria, and Amr bin Shiba, the new governor of Kufah was turned away from Kufah by show of force by forces loyal to the governor of Kufah. This turned out to be an open revolt against Hazrat Ali. In Madina , Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair, two prominent companions of Prophet Muhammad , had taken an oath of allegiance to Hazrat Ali, and were insisting that he take an immediate action to punish the assassins of Hazrat Usman. Hazrat Ali more disposed to enhancing the security of the Islamic state was not eager to take any drastic action against the insurgents that would make the situation more critical and explosive. It seems this infuriated Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair. They sought the help of Hazrat Ayesha- Mother of Faithfuls. Ibn Aamer, the former governor of Basra, joined them and invited them to march to Basra where he had influence and support. In Basra, Uthman bin Hanif, the governor appointed by Hazrat Ali, was defeated by the forces led by Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair.

In the meantime, Hazrat Ali was planning to install the governor of Syria appointed by him and remove Muawiyah from the office who had refused to relinquish the office. This was the first time that Hazrat Ali was ready to show up in the battle field after a long period of absence. During the caliphate period of the first three caliphs - Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Usman, he had devoted his energies to the development of the moral and intellectual life of Muslims besides being an advisor; he seldom took part in battles. He learned that Basra was in the hands of Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair. Hazrat Ali sent emissary to Kufah to negotiate and convince the people to support his caliphate. The mission succeeded and Hazrat Ali was invited to come to Kufah. He left Madina and went to Kufah where the people provided him complete support. From there, he went to Basra. Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair died in the battle that took place between the forces of Hazrat Ali and those supporting Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair. It has been reported by historians that "Hazrat Ayesha was treated with due respect and consideration. After a few days stay in Basra she was escorted to Madina with due courtesy." 

Hazrat Ali moved to Kufah after bringing matters under control and settling affairs in Basra. In Kufah, the support, allegiance and enthusiasm provided a reason and a rational for Hazrat Ali to shift the capital of the Muslims state from Madina to Kufah. This further added to the disruption of administration because it indicated a break with the past and a cut off with the administrative process that was already in place and functioning effectively in Madina.

In the best interest of the unity and integrity of the Islamic state, Hazrat Ali made an attempt to convince Hazrat Muawiyah and advised him to take the oath of allegiance. In reply Hazrat Muawiyah led his forces from Syria to Iraq. The civil war between Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Muawiyah resulted in considerable loss of life. In the beginning Hazrat Ali offered to fight a personal dual with Hazrat Muawiyah to settle the issue which the later declined. In the battle field when the forces of Hazrat Muawiyah were on the verge of defeat, the men from his force tied leaves from the Quran on the lances and appealed for the decision by the 'Book of Allah'. Seeing this, Hazrat Ali's forces laid down their arms and decided to end hostilities, finally a truce was declared. Negotiations commenced after the truce to settle the matters through arbitration that proved to be a challenge to the legitimacy of the caliphate of Hazrat Ali. The arbitration proceedings became more politicized and the end of conflict was not in sight. The question of caliphate between Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Muawiyah remained unresolved that produced another layer of disruption in Hazrat Ali's administration.

Then a group of fanatical men who came to be known as Kawarijis - the seceders, who had originally supported Hazrat Ali, began a cessation movement. The Kawarijis agreed to join Hazrat Ali and later refused to join him when he decided to go to war against Syrians and Hazrat Muawiyah. Hazrat Ali's frantic efforts failed to convince the Kawarijis, instead they turned on other Muslims and let loose a reign of terror at a site near Baghdad and accused both Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Muawiyah for betraying the Cause of Allah and declared their intention to start a new state. Hazrat Ali directed a campaign against the Kawarijis and defeated them in a battle.

After defeating the Kawarijis the forces of Hazrat Ali, instead of marching to Syria, returned to Kufah to take rest before moving on and facing the forces of Hazrat Muawiyah. Later Hazrat Ali's forces refused to proceed to Syria even after many attempts by Hazrat Ali who urged them to participate in the battle against the Syrians. Finally, he had to abandon the idea of leading the expedition to Syria. From the standpoint of one scholar, "Hazrat Ali came to be overwhelmed with troubles from all quarters, and the painful aspect of the tragedy was that such troubles came from friends."

The people of Basra revolted against the caliph but it was successfully suppressed, however, the campaign against the authority of Hazrat Ali by the forces of Hazrat Muawiyah in Madina, Makkah and Yamen resulted in people of these regions taking the oath of allegiance to Hazrat Muawiyah for a temporary period of time. The forces of Caliph Hazrat Ali took military action and recovered Hijaz and Yamen.

In Egypt, Amr bin Aas, one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad, who had conquered Egypt, was made the governor. Later he was deposed by the Caliph Hazrat Usman. From Syria Hazrat Muawiyah approached Amr bin Aas and sought his help, trying to hold on to power in Syria. After getting assistance and support and help from Hazrat Amr bin Aas, Hazrat Muawiyah conquered Egypt and installed Hazrat Amr bin Aas as the governor.

The extremism and fanatical approach by the Kawarijis, to the state of affairs in the Islamic state, took a new twist ending in a conspiracy to kill Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Muawiyah and Hazrat Amr bin Aas. To achieve their aim the Kawarijis sent three assassins to kill them at an appointed time. In the attack Hazrat Muawiyah was wounded; Hazrat Amr bin Aas escaped injury and his deputy was killed; and Hazrat Ali was fatally wounded and passed away.

Hazrat Ali began his governance strategy during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr. His knowledge that provided him insight, and acquired under the guardianship and training of Prophet Muhammad, helped him handle situation in a very simplistic manner to dispense justice. He would assist the weak in time of distress in the spirit of charity and humanitarian by upholding the Islamic values, by using his endowed daring and sound judgement and by using his insight. Hazrat Ali has been called as the greatest jurist of early Islamic period who was always on the side of simplicity, piety and tender heartiness, distributing the public money from the Baitul Maal among the needy and poor at all times.

Hazrat Ali's administration did not indulge in partisanship, partiality or nepotism and kept a constant watch on the administration of the governors appointed by him. He replaced many of the governors appointed by his predecessors. Some of the deposed governors refused to relinquish the office and forced him to take extreme measures to resolve the issue by going to war.

Some of the actions taken by Hazrat Ali gradually slowed down the activities of his administration; impeded swift effective actions; entangled him in revolt at many fronts including Basra, Syria, Egypt and other places; addede to disruptions to his administration when decided to make Kufah as the capital; and decided to go to war to fight against those who had revolted. On top of this Hazrat Ali agreed to the terms of the truce and arbitration concerning the governorship of Syria. This implied a challenge to the legitimacy of has caliphate. Then, there was this new threat and danger coming in from the Kawarijis, even betrayal on the part of his supporters including a section of his forces.

Hazrat Ali's bravery earned him the title of Asadullah - the lion of God. He was a great orator and had possessed the ability to persuade with stirring dialogue and speech. These traits and attributes, it seems, compelled him to launch wars against the deposed governors in various regions, contributing to the process of conquest coming to a halt, involved him in many battles that turned out to be a civil war among Muslims. Hazrat Ali's eloquence, bravery and honesty was brought face to face against the grave and severe realities of political maneuvering. These unscrupulous tactics and activities were used, and the game of deceit was played by some of those who opposed him.

In spite of all this Hazrat Ali established a state archive for the safe custody and preservation of the records of the Caliphate, created the office of Hajib- chamberlain, reorganized the police and streamlined their duties, established army headquarters on the Syrian border, strengthened the frontiers of the Muslim state and constructed unconquerable fortifications on the Persian border.

The glorious Caliphate period of the Righteous Caliphs - Khulafah e Rashideen - came to an end with the passing of Hazrat Ali, the brave, pious and eloquent orator.

*****

Mohammad Yacoob a retired Industrial Engineer and Engineering Proposals Analyst, lives in Los Angeles, California.,USA

SOURCE

Umar ibn al Khattab among the most influential people in history

Michael H. Hart wrote a book entitled "THE 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History" in 1978. Several other authors have written similar books but this still remains a distinguished book in it's category. The book is thought provoking and encourages the reader to see history from different perspectives.

He chose Prophet Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons which was surprising to many people. He said he chose Muhammad because he was the only person in the history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Michael Hart went on to count the traits and qualities of Prophet Muhammad and his overall impact on human history and arrived at the conclusion that Prophet Muhammad should be the number one person in the filed of 100 influential persons in human history.

Another surprise to many people was Michael Hart's choice of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab among the 100 influential persons, whom he not only included among these 100 persons but also put him as number two on the second half (51 to 100) of his choice. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab is 52nd on the list. He ranked him higher than such famous men as Charlemagne and Julius Caesar. He further says that Umar's brilliant leadership was responsible for the expansion of the Islamic territory and the enormous extent that it did occur under him. He further says that Umar Ibn Al-Khattab ordered the Muslim armies to leave the natives of the conquered land in peace and ordered the military personnel not to force the natives to convert to Islam. 

In the parenthesis Michael put his note, "From the above, it is clear that the Arab conquest was more a nationalist war of conquest rather than a holy war, although the religious aspect was not lacking". Michael Hart further says that Umar ibn Al-Khattab's achievements are impressive and it would be a grave mistake to ignore his contributions to humanity. It should be noted that Umar Ibn Al-Khattab's brilliant leadership was responsible for permanence of the territories that came under the Islamic role at that time and are still part of the Islamic world today.

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab is a pioneering figure in the Islamic world. He was a leader, a statesman, a pious and God conscious Muslim who showed respect for all individuals including non-Muslims and he ordered the Muslims to treat non-Muslims with respect. He showed us how to apply the Quranic injunction "there is no compulsion in religion."

Under the leadership of Umar ibn Al-Khattab Islam spread widely not by the sword but by virtue of its beauty, simplicity, transparency, openness and the leadership provided by him. Another reason for the rapid growth of Muslim community was the conversion of some high-placed religious personalities from among the Jewish and the Christian communities. These religious personalities saw Islam as a continuation and affirmation of the Abrahamic faith. Ardkun, the Bishop of Damascus, accepted Islam after the Islamic armies entered the city under Khalid bin Walid. The followers of Ardkun became attracted towards the new faith and became Muslim. The chief administrator of the city of Shata in Egypt, famous for its textiles manufacturing, left his town with two thousand men and went to city of Damietta where the Muslim army was camped and embraced Islam with his followers.

During the time of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the non-Muslims enjoyed freedom of religion. They were free to perform their religious rites, ring bells to start their religious ceremonies, take out the Cross in procession and hold religious fairs. Even treaties were signed during the time of Umar ibn Al-Khattab with non-Muslims that guaranteed freedom of religion. The writ of Hudhaifa bin al-Yaman to people of the region of Mahdinar says, "They shall not be required to change their religion, nor shall any interference be made in their religious practices."

Umar ibn Al-Khattab followed the principle of equality very strictly and would not tolerate any kind of distinction. Once, Umar ibn Al-Khattab had a difference of opinion with Ubayy bin Ka'b. The matter was referred and brought in the court of Qazi Zaid bin Thabit. When Umar ibn Al-Khattab arrived at the court the Qazi, Zaid bin Thabit, vacated his seat out of respect for the Khalifah. Umar ibn Al-Khattab, after observing the situation, said that this was the first injustice Zaid has done to the suit. Then he sat down next to Ubayy, his opponent.

Umar ibn Al-Khattab always favored individual freedom and self-respect. By word of mouth and through his writings he made it very clear that every human being was born free and no one should have to abase himself in front of others. Once, the son of Amr bin As abused and beat up a Copt Christian; on hearing this Umar ibn Al-Khattab had son of Amr punished publicly by the hand of the victim Copt Christian. Then Umar ibn Al-Khattab addressed both father and son and said, "Since when have you turned men into slaves, whereas they are born free of their mothers?"

The people of many cultures who accepted Islam faced new challenges. More complex questions regarding the Islamic way of life cropped up at the same time. Many of the questions could not be answered because clear rulings of the Holy Prophet or the Holy Qur'an were not available. The Qadis and Muftis appointed in towns and cities were Companions of the Prophet, yet they referred complicated questions to the Khalifah. The famous Sahabis who referred the question to Umar Ibn Al-Khattab are Abdullah bin Ma'sud, Ammar bin Yasar, Abu Musa Ash'ari, Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah, Mughira bin Shuba and others. Umar ibn Al-Khattab gave his judgment after discussing these questions in the assembly of the companions. The discussions were conducted with the greatest freedom and acumen. Shah Wali-Ullah writes in Hujjatullah al-Baligha, "It was Umar's practice to consult the companions and hold discussions with them, until the veils were lifted and conviction was attained. For this reason Umar's dicta were accepted throughout the East and the West."

It is said that his writings, his letters and official instructions were as powerful as his speeches. In a letter to Abu Musa Ash'ari he wrote, "People generally hate their ruler, and I seek protection of Allah, if my people should entertain similar feelings about me. Avoid vain suspicions and keep away from malice, and don not encourage people of cherish vain hopes, and be careful of Allah's property, and guard yourself against evil men. If you find any people who are vindictively inclined towards the Muslim state, it is devilish inclination and must be put down by the sword, until they bow to Allah's decision and turn to better ways"

In another letter to Abu Musa Ash'ari he said, "The thing that strengthens one in execution of work and that one should not procrastinate; for if you do so, your affairs will heap up and overwhelm you and you will not then be able to decide what to do and what not to do, and you will fail in your work."

Umr Ibn Al-Khattab appointed Amr bin Al-As as the Governor of Egypt. Amr bin Al-As delayed remitting the revenue to the treasury. Umar ibn Al-Khattab wrote to him and reminded about the delay. Amr bin Al-As procrastinated. Umar ibn Al-Khattab sent him a strong letter, he wrote, "I understand that the thing that has kept you from replying is the fact that your subordinates are not good. They have made you a shield, and it is a disease for which I possess an effective remedy. I am surprised that I have written to you often and at length, but you neglected sending the revenue and have avoided giving straight answers. So Abu, Abdullah, don't worry. Due shall be taken from you and you shall pay them, for as the river yields pearls, so will you have to render the dues."

Umar ibn Al-Khattab used to end his speeches with following statement: "O God, let me not fall into an error, nor let me be called to account on unawares, nor let me fall into neglect."

Umar ibn Al-Khattab's actions speak louder about his character, his integrity and his love for the people in the Muslim state. He made rounds at night to gauge and evaluate the condition of the people. His achievements are reflection of his life.

Sayings of Umar ibn Al-Khattab:

Umar ibn Al-Khattab always had a sound opinion, which made him a very powerful leader who expected higher degree of integrity from the people working with him during his Khilafate. Some of his wise sayings are quoted here:

• One who keeps his own counsel keeps his affairs in his own hand. 
• Fear him whom you hate. 
• The wisest man is he who can account for his actions. 
• Do not put off today's work till tomorrow. 
• What regresses never progresses?
• He who does not know evil will fall into it. 
• When a man asks me a question, I know his intelligence.
• Don't forget your own self while preaching to others. 
• The less of the world, the freer you live. 
• Avoidance of sin is lighter than the pain of remorse. 
• If patience and gratitude had been two she camels, it would have mattered little on which I rode. May God have mercy on him who sends me my faults for a present!
• During his Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah, Umar ibn Al-Khattab heard one of the camel drivers singing. People asked Umar ibn Al-Khattab as to why he did not stop the camel driver from singing. Umar ibn Al-Khattab replied, "Music was the camel driver's provision for a journey.

---

Some of the Achievements of Umar ibn Al-Khattab:

Umar ibn Al-Khattab established many institutions in the Islamic state's administration. Historians have called his reforms as innovations. The achievements of Umar ibn Al-Khattab are numerous. The most important achievements are listed below:

• Umar ibn Al-Khattab established the public treasury: Bait-ul-Mal
• Established courts of justice and appointed judges.
• Proposed and enforced use of the era of Hijra.
• Assumed the title of Amir-ul-Mu'minin.
• To engage the anti-Islamic forces he organized and established the War Department.
• Placed army reserves on the pay-roll. In addition to this, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab improved the army administration by providing every army corps with an officer of the treasury, an accountant, and number of interpreters, physicians and surgeons. He instructed the army commanders to submit accounts of war expenditures and list of the spoils of war. Historical records show that in 16 Hijri Ziyad bin Abi Sufyan came from city of Jalula � after its conquest - and brought with him the records of the accounts to Madinah and submitted them for Umar ibn Al-Khattab's perusal and review.
• Established Land Revenue Department, ordered survey and assessment of lands and also ordered conducting census. This required maintenance of the land revenue records in Persian, Syriac and Coptic languages. The accounts were kept on long rolled-up sheets.
• Founded cities: Kufah, Basrah, Jazirah, Fustat and Musal and undertook construction and building of canals.
• Divided conquered countries into provinces.
• Ordered collecting customs duties. 
• Appointed officials for the collection of tax on the produce of sea.
• Gave permission to traders from foreign countries to conduct business in the Islamic territory.
• Organized jails and enforced use of the whip.
• Made rounds at night to gauge and evaluate the condition of the people. For relaxations he enjoyed lighter pursuits including poetry. Once he asked Abdullah bin Abbas to recite him poetry the whole night. At the time when dawn was breaking, he said, "Now recite the Holy Qur'an." During one of his night rounds around the city he heard the sound of music. He stopped and listened to the music and then moved on. 
• Established military cantonments and had them located at strategic points. 
• Organized Police Department.
• Set up a system to classify pedigree and non-pedigree horses.
• Built houses on the road from Makkah to Madinah for the comfort of the travelers and also established guest-houses in different cities. At that time a system was established for the clearance of land, construction of roads, building of bridges and other operations which are carried out by sappers and miner in present day armies. The local people of the lands were recruited to perform these duties. 
• Provided stipends for the poor Jewish and Christian people.
• Established schools and provided salaries for school teachers and public lecturers. 
• Proposed the principle of Qiyas and its formulation.
• Proposed exact division of inheritance.
• Proposed and inserted additional statement "Prayer is better than sleep" in the call for Fajr prayers.
• Ordained performing taraweeh prayers in congregation.
• Established law for the punishment of alcohol drinkers with eighty lashes.
• Proposed a method for preparing trusts.
• Obtained consensus of opinion for saying four takbirs in funeral prayer.
• Made arrangements for providing lights in mosques at night. It is stated that until the Khilafate of Umar ibn Al-Khattab there were no arrangements for lights in the mosques. A person by name Tamim Dari made the arrangements and supplied lamps for the mosques with Umar ibn Al-Khattab's permission.
• Established a procedure to giving salaries from the public treasury to Imams and Muazzins.

Source

Was Hazrat Fatima (rta) Murdered?

Many Shia 'brothers and sisters' take issue with me loving the Sahaba (rta) and all the Righteous Caliphs (as most Muslims do Alhamdulilah) they especially dont like me posting episodes of the recent Farouk Omar serial. One of the most common accusations levelled at our beloved caliph is the one below which I think the brother has answered very well indeed. :)

Question: According to the Shia school of thought, Hazrat Umar (rta) is responsible of the death of Hazrat Fatima (rta), the daughter of the Messenger of God. They explain it further by claiming that when Hazrat Ali (rta) refused to do bay�at (pledge allegiance to) at the hands of Hazrat Abu Bakr (rta), Hazrat Umar (rta) stormed the house of Hazrat Ali (rta) with several soldiers and during the struggle to enter the house Fatima (rta) got injured and lost her unborn child and later after few months she passed away. I want to know how true this is and what is the background of the story? If Hzarat �Umar (rta) has anything to do with the death or injury of Fatima (rta) then what is the status of Hazrat �Umar (rta) in Islam in regards to this. Your prompt reply shall be highly appreciated. Please note that one quick response would be that the narratives are not reliable. But I am looking for a detained response on the issue. Whey the narratives then are acceptable to shia and unacceptable to the sunnis?

Answer: To be able to accuse a Companion of the Prophet (sws) and in deed any person of a crime as serious as murder (let alone murdering the beloved daughter of the Prophet) one needs to have relevant and reliable evidences. We try to examine the available evidences here:     I.        Evidence in Mainstream Sources "The accusation here is: The suspect (Umar) burned the door to the house of the victim (Fatima) and pushed it on the victim, which resulted in the miscarriage of her expected child." Now let us look at one of the popular sources of evidence of this sort, one that is brought forward occasionally by Shia brothers: Tarikh Al-Tabari: It is recorded that Umar threatened to set the house of Fatima on fire. There is no mention that he actually did that. Further more, the hadith is not reliable. It is narrated via Muhammad Ibn Hamid Ibn Hayyan. This is a very unreliable narrator. In the book of Tahzib Al-Tahzib we read that Bukhari says: There are concerns about his narrations. An-Nasayee says: Not reliable, has been reported that he was a liar. Al-Joozajani says: Not reliable. Al-Razi says: I have 5000 ahadith from him and will not narrate even one of them. Saleh Ibn Muhammad Al-Asadi says: I Haven't seen any one bolder to Allah Ta'Ala than him. He used to collect ahadith and forge them together. I haven't seen any one cleverer than him and Sulayman Al-Shazekuni in lying. Baihaqi says: The Imam of Hadith, Ibne Khuzayma does not narrate from him. Based on the above we can safely conclude that the above evidence (in Tabari) is both insufficient and unreliable. Moreover when we look further in the book of Tabari we find ahadith that conflict with the above story. Only few pages after the above record we read the following two: �         Abu Sufian asked Ali to give him his hand for Bay'at and Ali shouted at him and said we had agreed on Abu Bakr. �         When hearing about the Bay'at in Saqifa, Ali came out of his house while he was not dressed properly only to rush in doing bayat with Abu Bakr. Please note that here I am not arguing that the above two records are reliable. All I am saying is that an unbiased mind should take all these into consideration and test all of them before any attempts for ruling a judgment. It is not a rational approach to ignore the rest of the records in books like Tabari and only rely on those parts that suit our belief and even then without any attempts to test the reliability of what they are quoting. I have examined a number of other sources that are usually referred to by Shia brothers (e.g. Al-Imama wa Al-Syasah, Al Iqd Al-Farid, Qurra Al-Ayn Fi Tafzil Al-Shaykhayn). In none of them have I found a record that fulfils the following conditions: �         Clearly suggesting that Umar actually burned the door or pushed the door on Fatima (RA). �         Having reliable chains of narrators (in fact the majority of these sources do not even have a chain of narrator) �         Not accompanying with conflicting records. Based on the above I can say that there is no evidence in the mainstream sources that can support the accusation. I am more than happy to examine any other sources that might be put forward.  II.        Evidence in Shia Sources It is one of the basic rules of judgement that evidences for an accusation should not be taken from the sources of those who have accused. Having said that, and while appreciating that there are records in support of the accusation in some of the Shia sources, I would like to point out that it is very strange that in some of the more popular and old Shia sources there are no mention of the incident. For instance the book Al-Irshad by Mufid: According to the Shia brothers the book is one of the very reliable sources of history not only because of its author (who is one of the gurus of Shia) but also because of the closeness of the time of writing the book to the time of the presence of Shia Imams. In his book, when it came to naming the children of Ali, (RA) initially we find no mention of the name of the miscarried infant (Muhsin). Mufid then says: "and in Shia there are some who say Fatima miscarried a male infant after the Prophet, who had been given a name by the Prophet, and that is Muhsin. So based on the saying of these people the children of Amir Almo'menin (Ali) will be 18 and God knows best" (Irshad p. 336 by Mufid) It is interesting that Mufid is not approving the miscarriage and attributes the story to some of Shia. It is also interesting that even here there is no mention of the alleged attack on Fatima (RA). This is while the book of Irshad is dedicated to narrate the important incidents of the life of Shia Imams, including Ali (RA). In Kafi, one of the four main books of Shi'ism there is again no mention of the incident in the chapter on life of Fatima. It merely says that Fatima was angry with Umar without any references to any attacks taken place. In Kashf Al-Qumah another classical book of Shi'ism again we read that there are differences of opinion about Muhsin and that some of Shia consider him to be the son of Ali from Fatima who died because of miscarriage. Again no mention of the incident itself. Among the Shia scholars, we have Allamah Fadhlullah who is famous for putting a question mark on the incident and calling it unlikely because of the conflicting records and also based on rationality. He was denounced severely by other Shia scholars for his opinion. Based on the above I think no judge can conclude that the Shia sources can provide us with satisfactory evidence.  III. Rationality Being disappointed in finding hard evidence to rule against the suspect, let us now turn to rationality: Ali according to Shia was the bravest of Arabs. In the Shia book Nahj Al-Balaqah we read that he has said something to the effect that he was not afraid of anything when it comes to protecting the right. I find it very strange that such an incident could take place without Ali trying to protect his wife (the daughter of the Prophet). We fail to find anything about such natural reaction by Ali. Later we find no attempts by Ali or any of the other companions or people closed to Ali's family to bring Umar to justice. Not only this, we even find Ali give the name of "Umar" to one of his children. I do not want to claim that Ali named his son after Umar the second Khalifa. I am well aware of the answer given by our Shia brothers implying that the naming was not after Umar the second Khalifa. However I find it very strange that someone like Ali could give the name of the murderer of his wife (the daughter of the Prophet) to his son. Ali was from the same family as the Prophet. It is narrated that the Prophet never wanted to see the face of Wahshi the killer of his uncle Hamzah even when Wahshi embraced Islam. This is a very serious issue. Today you find no Shia with the name Umar. The other two sons of Ali, Uthman and Abu Bakr were present in Karbala with Husayn and were brutally martyred in protecting their brother. Yet when you go to the mourning ceremonies of Shia brothers you will hear the story of all the Ahl Albayt of Husayn except Uthman and Abu Bakr merely because of their name. This attitude of Shia about names is very understandable and acceptable if one holds the same view that Shia hold for these companions. One wonders why Ali's attitude was not as would have been expected from any human being. How many people do we know who are happy to give the name of the murderer of their wife to their son? Any one who is slightly familiar with the culture of Arab will appreciate that this is even stranger for an Arab. To see the further complication, we will be amazed to find that according to records in Shia books Ali gave her daughter Umme Kulthom to Umar as his wife (although some Shia brothers make some arguments to deny this). So here we have the husband of the victim not only calling his son with the name of the murderer of his wife but also giving his daughter to the murderer of his wife! It is also very strange to think that such a huge crime has been taken place, and (not only Ali, but) none of the companions of the Prophet (sws) ever bothers to complain about it and to bring the sinner to the justice. I think it is safe to conclude that even rationality does not support the accusation. Now all I discussed above was in a generic form, trying to forget the personality of Umar. I think a Muslim who wants to be closer to Allah Ta'ala and have better Taqwa should even have more cautious and fear in accusing a close companion of the Prophet (sws) of such incident. Let us not forget that we are advised in the Qur'an to pray that Allah cleanse our hearts from any bad feelings about the early immigrants (i.e. Muhajerin) and Helpers (i.e. Ansar). This of course does not mean that we cannot academically challenge views or actions of any of them but at least we should be fair enough by basing our criticism on sound evidence. I can guarantee we would not criticise an ordinary man in our time of a crime as simple as theft with evidences as irrelevant and as unreliable as the ones mentioned above.

Author: Abdullah Rahim Source: