Disputes of the Companions
مشاجراتِ صحابہ
Qur'anic Verses Concerning the Companions
مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ (الفتح ۲۹)
Allah Most High says: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are firm against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. (Al-Fath 29)
لَّقَدْ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ (الفتح ۱۸)
Allah was well pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree. (Al-Fath 18)
وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا (الحجرات ۹)
And if two parties of the believers fall to fighting, [then make peace between them]. (Al-Hujurat 9)
وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰ إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا (النساء ۹۴)
And do not say to one who offers you peace (greets you with the Islamic greeting), 'You are not a believer.' (An-Nisa 94)
لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ (الفتح ۲۹)
So that He may enrage the disbelievers through them. (Al-Fath 29)
يَا نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ (الاحزاب ۳۲)
O wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women. (Al-Ahzab 32)
وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ (الاحزاب ۶)
And his wives are their (the believers') mothers. (Al-Ahzab 6)
Prophetic Traditions Concerning the Companions
عَنْ جَابِرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ : لَا تَمَسُّ النَّارُ مُسْلِمًا رَآنِي وَ رَأَى مَنْ رَآنِي (أخرجه الترمذي)
Narrated by Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'The Fire shall not touch a Muslim who has seen me, or who has seen one who saw me.' (Reported by al-Tirmidhi)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ : لَا تَسُبُّوا أَصْحَابِي فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْ أَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ أَنْفَقَ مِثْلَ أُحُدٍ ذَهَبًا مَا بَلَغَ مُدَّ أَحَدِهِمْ وَلَا نَصِيفَهُ (أخرجه مسلم)
Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Do not revile my Companions, for by Him in whose hand is my soul, were one of you to spend gold equal to (Mount) Uhud, it would not equal a handful of one of them, nor even half of it.' (Reported by Muslim)
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ : أَحِبُّوا اللهَ لِمَا يَغْذُوكُمْ بِهِ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ وَأَحِبُّونِي لِحُبِّ اللهِ وَأَحِبُّوا أَهْلَ بَيْتِي لِحُبِّي (أخرجه الترمذي)
Narrated by Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Love Allah for the blessings with which He nourishes you, and love me for the love of Allah, and love my household (Ahl al-Bayt) for the love of me.' (Reported by al-Tirmidhi)
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لِنِسَائِهِ : إِنَّ أَمْرَكُنَّ مِمَّا يُهِمُّنِي مِنْ بَعْدِي وَلَيْسَ يَصْبِرُ عَلَيْكُنَّ إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ الصِّدِّيقُونَ (أخرجه الترمذي)
Narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his wives: 'Indeed, your affair is among the things that concern me after I am gone, and none will bear with you patiently except the patient and the truthful.' (Reported by al-Tirmidhi)
خِيَارُكُمْ خِيَارُكُمْ لِنِسَائِي (ابن عساكر عن أبي هريرة)
'The best among you are those who are best to my wives.' (Ibn Asakir, from Abu Hurayrah)
لَا تَسُبُّوا أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ فَإِنَّهُمَا سَيِّدَا كُهُولِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ إِلَّا النَّبِيِّينَ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الْحَسَنَ وَالْحُسَيْنَ فَإِنَّهُمَا سَيِّدَا شَبَابِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ وَلَا تَسُبُّوا عَلِيًّا فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ سَبَّ عَلِيًّا فَقَدْ سَبَّنِي وَمَنْ سَبَّنِي فَقَدْ سَبَّ اللهَ وَمَنْ سَبَّ اللهَ عَذَّبَهُ اللهُ (ابن عساكر وابن النجار عن الحسين عن علي)
'Do not revile Abu Bakr and Umar, for they are the two chiefs of the elders of the people of Paradise among the first and the last, except for the Prophets and the Messengers. And do not revile Hasan and Husayn, for they are the two chiefs of the youth of the people of Paradise among the first and the last. And do not revile Ali, for whoever reviles Ali has reviled me, and whoever reviles me has reviled Allah, and whoever reviles Allah, Allah will punish him.' (Ibn Asakir and Ibn al-Najjar, from al-Husayn, from Ali)
عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ : أَبُو بَكْرٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَعُمَرُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَعُثْمَانُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَعَلِيٌّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَطَلْحَةُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَالزُّبَيْرُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَسَعْدُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَأَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ ابْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ ، وَسَكَتَ عَنِ الْعَاشِرِ فَقَالُوا مَنِ الْعَاشِرُ فَقَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ يَعْنِي نَفْسَهُ (أخرجه أبو داود والترمذي)
Narrated by Sa'id ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Abu Bakr is in Paradise, Umar is in Paradise, Uthman is in Paradise, Ali is in Paradise, Talha is in Paradise, al-Zubayr is in Paradise, Sa'd ibn Malik is in Paradise, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf is in Paradise, and Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah is in Paradise.' Then he fell silent about the tenth. They said, 'Who is the tenth?' He said, 'Sa'id ibn Zayd' — meaning himself. (Reported by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi)
عَنْ أَبِي إِدْرِيسَ الْخَوْلَانِيِّ قَالَ لَمَّا عَزَلَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ عُمَيْرَ بْنَ سَعْدٍ عَنْ حِمْصَ وَوَلَّى مُعَاوِيَةَ فَقَالَ النَّاسُ عَزَلَ عُمَيْرًا وَوَلَّى مُعَاوِيَةَ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ لَا تَذْكُرُوا مُعَاوِيَةَ إِلَّا بِخَيْرٍ فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ : اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ بِهِ (أخرجه الترمذي)
Narrated by Abu Idris al-Khawlani: When Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) removed Umayr ibn Sa'd from (the governorship of) Hims and appointed Mu'awiya, the people said, 'He removed Umayr and appointed Mu'awiya.' Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, 'Do not mention Mu'awiya except in good terms, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: O Allah, guide (others) through him.' (Reported by al-Tirmidhi)
عَنِ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا بَكْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ وَالْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ إِلَى جَانِبِهِ وَهُوَ يُقْبِلُ عَلَى النَّاسِ مَرَّةً وَعَلَيْهِ أُخْرَى وَيَقُولُ : إِنَّ ابْنِي هَذَا سَيِّدٌ وَلَعَلَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُصْلِحَ بِهِ بَيْنَ فِئَتَيْنِ عَظِيمَتَيْنِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (أخرجه البخاري)
Narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him), from Abu Bakra (may Allah be pleased with him): I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) upon the pulpit with al-Hasan ibn Ali beside him; he would turn once to the people and once to him, saying: 'This son of mine is a chief, and perhaps Allah Most High will reconcile through him two great factions of the Muslims.' (Reported by al-Bukhari)
Commentary
If one were to ask, 'Who were the best of people?' — they were the Companions of Moses. Likewise, if one were to ask of the Christians, 'Who were the best of people?' — they would be the disciples of Jesus. And if one were to ask of the Muslims, 'Who were the best of people?' — they would say: the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), namely Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq and ʿUmar al-Fārūq. But in the era of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), after the great conquests, the empires came under (Muslim rule), wealth flowed in like water, and the doors of internal strife began to open. On one side were the People of the Sunna and the Community (Ahl al-Sunna wa'l-Jama'a), who were upon the truth; on the other side arose the servants of falsehood and the worshippers of caprice. Then among the misguided sectarians there arose those who would brand everyone but themselves as disbelievers, considering themselves the truly pious and God-fearing while regarding others not merely as grave sinners but as outright unbelievers. Among these people of caprice there were also some who acknowledged only Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and regarded everyone else as disbelievers.
After this introduction, I wish to establish that no Companion was an enemy of God and His Messenger, nor did they regard one another as disbelievers in their mutual dealings, nor did they refuse to pray behind one another. Their internal disputes arose from honest misunderstandings. In what follows, the causes of these misunderstandings will be explained, and — God willing — a few words will be offered for those in whose hearts the love of God and His Messenger still burns like a lamp, so that they may form a sound opinion.
Among the differences that arose between the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), and the battles that took place, a few points are worth bearing in mind. Because if all the authentic hadiths reported by the noble Companions were not accepted, the very transmission of the Qur'an and its mass-transmitted (mutawatir) chains would lose their certainty. If the Qur'an and the Hadith no longer remained reliable, then what would become of the religion? Where would the Prophetic teaching go? Casting suspicion upon the Companions leads to the very ruin of Islam — God forbid (al-'iyadhu billah).
Against anything established from the Qur'an and the well-known reports, there are only weak narrations, untrustworthy historical statements, fabricated tales, baseless interpretations, and politically motivated falsehoods — none of which can be given any weight. Concerning the Companions it is revealed: 'Allah was well pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree' — that is, Allah became pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you beneath the tree. And in another place: 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are firm against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves' — that is, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are stern against the unbelievers yet compassionate among themselves.
This too is worth pondering: 'And if two parties of the believers fall to fighting...' From this verse it is established concerning the Companions that whatever battles occurred among them, none was a war of sect against sect, and no group emerged from faith and Islam. For this reason their opponents were not deemed sinners (fasiqun), nor were those who fought them deemed warmongers or disbelievers (muharibun aw kafara) — because this internal war was based upon interpretation (ta'wil) and independent reasoning (ijtihad).
Despite all this, Imam Ḥasan (al-Mujtabā) — although he was the noblest and the chief of his age — preferred, for the welfare and well-being of the Muslims, that worldly rule and the caliphate be handed over (to Muʿāwiya) and that he himself be content with his religious leadership.
No testimony can be regarded as reliable until the one against whom it is offered has been cross-examined. The Fatimids of Egypt and the Ismailis, in order to establish their own dominion, left no stone unturned in defaming the Banu Umayya, blackening their name, and spreading false propaganda; yet they never found any opportunity to impugn the (chains of the) Banu Umayya's authentic narrations. If one weighs the matter with reason and a balanced mind, why would the Banu Umayya of Damascus be considered evil, as though they had no connection with Islam at all? The Banu Umayya of Andalusia were truth-loving, a source of strength for Islam, a wellspring of knowledge, and a centre of distinguished men of virtue and perfection.
The non-political scholars, whose only concern was faith and piety — such as the traditionists (muhaddithun), jurists (fuqaha), exegetes (mufassirun), and others — never reported anything ill of the Banu Umayya, nor did they consider them sinful or unjust. Neither Imam Bukhari, nor Imam Muslim, nor the other rigorous critics who compiled the Sahih collections found in their research that the hadiths of the Banu Umayya were forged. Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb was not outside the circle of (juristic) probity; nor was Amr ibn al-As; nor al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba. The greatest critics of Hadith held all of these to be of sound integrity and trustworthy (thiqat). It is the work of the enemies of Islam to dishonour the eminent figures of Islam and to belittle them, so that nothing of Islam may remain.
The authentication of narrations is possible, and confidence in them can be attained, only when their narrators have first been scrutinized. If anyone, out of mischief, were to scrutinize the narrators of such ruinous, strife-stirring narrations, he would find that many of those reports do not even reach a sound chain back to the event. They are mostly lies, fabrications, and politically and self-interestedly motivated inventions. Then, for the sake of a single grain of truth, no one with sense is willing to accept all this falsehood.
The conquered ones — the defeated Jews, Christians, Magians, idol-worshippers, and the like — outwardly became Muslims to save their lives, but in their hearts hypocrisy and enmity remained alive and persisted. The light of faith had not entered their hearts: 'And faith had not yet entered their hearts.' They sought to harm Islam in every way — sometimes in the guise of traditionists, sometimes attaching their names to the chains of narration, sometimes tampering with history, sometimes raising slogans of liberty, equality, and 'judgment belongs to none but Allah' (lā ḥukma illā lillāh), and sometimes singing the false tune of love for the Ahl al-Bayt — all the while striving to extinguish the lamp of religion. But:
وَ ضِدُّ شَيْءٍ مَا يُكَبِّتُهُ خَدَا
But that lamp which God Himself has kindled — how shall it be put out?
يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللَّهُ إِلَّا أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ
They wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, even though the disbelievers detest it.
In short, the books are filled with such strife-stirring narrations and tales, which are utterly unworthy of acceptance and unfit to be transmitted.
Conservatives and Liberals: A Difference of Temperament
Some people are conservative by nature, while others are freedom-loving; some are 'liberal,' others 'conservative.' Some are idolaters of tradition while others care nothing for any school of thought. Some are strict followers (muqallid) while others follow no one. Such party divisions are the result of differing natural temperaments. Those who walk the path of moderation and the straight middle way are very few. The people of the world are seldom free of disputes among these various groups. Each one thinks himself in the right. If one reflects, is any of them truly opposed to dominion itself, or to religion (madhhab) itself? Never. Each merely has his own bent of mind — yet over this, too, slaughter and bloodshed go on. Each one thinks: 'I am upon the truth; my principles are correct; my way is right.' When such a one is confronted with another's dominion or another's school of thought, all of this comes to a head. The plain truth of the matter is that none of them is, in reality, opposed to dominion as such or to religion as such; rather, the real cause of these conflicts and wars is neither pure opposition to rule nor pure opposition to religion — it is something else entirely. Yet the enemies of dominion and religion, taking on the guise of partisans of rule or of faith, are eager to ruin both rule and religion as they please.
My discourse here is with the sincere; but it is usually observed that through such (internal) wars, dominion and religion alike are destroyed. The ruin of Russia and Spain is unfolding before our very eyes at this present hour. A difference of opinion ought to remain within its proper bounds. The king, the prime minister, the president, or the dictator may change — that is the matter for the seat of consultation (dar al-nadwa), the legislative assembly, the cabinet, and the parliament; these too change. Naturally, so long as the ruler does not have the support of his hand and feet (his officials), and so long as the functionaries of state are not in agreement, no work can proceed. Hence at the highest administrative level there is appointing and dismissing, replacing and removing — this is bound to happen. Such change and replacement must not be construed as ill intent or partisanship; rather, the need for it must be recognized.
The Banu Hashim were the keepers of the Ka'ba and religious leaders, like the Brahmins; the Banu Umayya were organizers of armies and statesmen — like the Kshatriyas. The Banu Hashim were thoroughly versed in the particulars and the subtleties of religion and were great experts in religious matters; the Banu Umayya were thoroughly versed in the affairs of state. After the advent of Islam this same disposition remained: before the Banu Hashim there was always the word 'religion (madhhab)'; the Banu Hashim, indifferent to the particulars, sacrificed themselves for the universal principles of faith and remained ready to lay down their lives and wealth for religion. Before the Banu Umayya there was always 'dominion (saltanat)' before their eyes. When dominion is destroyed, religion too is destroyed along with it. A personal loss should not be regarded as a national loss. To save the universal principle of religion, one may relinquish the worldly. One ought not to tear the unity of the community and religion to shreds over disputes about secondary matters. For this reason 'the easier of the two affairs' is the one worthy of being chosen.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in the final age, was the complete guide in both religion and the world — that is, he was both a Prophet and one who carried out the work of a king. After him the consensus of the community held that an Islamic government ought to be democratic. There is no such thing in the world as 'so-and-so, son of so-and-so' (hereditary entitlement); rather, the principle of Islam is that authority be entrusted to whoever can best serve the community.
The Banu Hashim regarded the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as their own and considered themselves his heirs. The Banu Fatima, being themselves part of prophethood, considered themselves more deserving; the Banu Abbas, being his paternal uncle's line, considered themselves better entitled. As for the Banu Umayya, since rulership and governance had always been theirs, they considered themselves the most fit for dominion and regarded others as unfit for rule and lacking in statecraft.
In short, those rulers who were pious and God-fearing considered it obligatory in every particular matter to enjoin good (amr bi'l-ma'ruf) and forbid evil (nahy 'an al-munkar). The worldly rulers, instead of accepting this, construed it as rebellion, and matters even reached the point of killing.
This too is worth remembering: that brave, noble, religious, and pure-hearted men are slaves of their own conscience; their outer and inner selves are one and the same. They sacrifice their lives and wealth for religion and honour. By contrast, the worldly, political type place greater importance on their lives and wealth; honour and religion carry little weight with them. A brave man, even if abused, will never claim that his honour has been destroyed by mere verbal abuse, whereas a coward will commit murder over it. The accusation of adultery against a brave man is one thing, while a coward's outward bravado conceals a different inner reality. To lie, to backbite, and to slander is the work of the impotent and the cowardly. The earlier generations (al-sabiqun al-awwalun) were free of such faults. In them there was no path for hypocrisy at all. Their thoughts, their words, and their deeds were all sincerity itself; the truthful man (sadiq) is brave. He works with candour of heart and truthful speech, taking on his opponent in open combat, and never glories even in his own defeat.
In the final age of prophethood, Medina the Illuminated was the centre of Islam and the seat of the People of Loosing and Binding (ahl al-hall wa'l-'aqd). When Islam spread far and wide and extended into distant regions, great men arose in the outlying lands too. The point of dispute thus became: was the right of loosing and binding reserved to the people of Medina alone, or did the people of other cities also share in it? Should the caliph be chosen by the people of Medina alone, or should the opinion of eminent men (in other regions) also count? These too were live questions.
Some men are far-sighted by nature and reflect upon consequences; politics is so deeply bound up with such matters that, before troubles arise, they take steps in advance to forestall them. On one side a danger of corruption (fasad) arose; on the other side opportunities for it were being created. While on one side a conspiracy was beginning, on the other side changes, replacements, and dismissals and appointments were taking place. The wicked tried to break our backs and defeat us, but the men who set things in order and who walked the path of moderation are very few. Tyranny exacts a fierce revenge against tyranny. Some men are conspiratorial by temperament; that is their bent. Their conduct is gauged by the standard of the criminal-law administrator: they never pass final judgment without conclusive testimony; they always extend the benefit of the doubt to the accused and consider every man innocent (until proven otherwise). They do not separate principles: politics and justice they accept as distinct. Because of this, the conspirator, the wrongdoer, and the corrupt man (gain ground while) the upright lose strength.
And the outcome of this is that the pure-hearted, virtuous men suffer martyrdom, or dominion sustains harm. After them, the reformer and the one who runs the affairs of state — the king — must mete out severe punishment to the corrupt; indeed at times he even becomes a great tyrant.
At the time of strife and corruption (fitna wa fasad), no matter how hard one tries, the true facts are not to be found. To set the warring parties at one another's throats, to make ten out of one, to recast a good matter in evil words, to give false praise, to attack the intentions of others and assail them — this is their profession. As long as one does not censure others, the great ones (of that age) cannot even be found in their (true) place. History must surely be examined critically, yet the true facts are hard to come by. There is one way to reach a sound conclusion through God's grace — the authentication of narration (tashih al-riwaya) and the verification of transmission (dirayat). Uncritical history has, of itself, given rise to sectarianism in Islam; the unity of Islam was shattered, and the pages of history lie in disarray. The conquerors ruined the land, but they outwardly adopted the religion (madhhab) of the conquered while making use of their politics. The religion of the conquerors was wholly ruined and destroyed; the special qualities of the conquered prevailed. Reflect, then: the conquerors were themselves the conquered.
Hazrat Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq and Hazrat ʿUmar al-Fārūq (may Allah be pleased with them) were neither of the Banu Hashim nor of the Banu Umayya; in the closeness of the era of prophethood, in their harmony with their companions, in their zeal for religion, in their sincerity in worship, and in their simple living, they preserved the ancient Arab nobility and goodness. Suspicion and enmity never made them their target, and the community chose them. The community placed its trust in them, and they never showed any partiality toward their kin in conferring offices, nor did they imagine any concession owed to the Banu Hashim or the Banu Umayya. They held all alike accountable. They never overlooked a fault or weakness in their subordinate officials, nor was their accountability confined merely to (catching) a mistake; and they never laid the blame for an error upon the caliph. So awe-inspiring was their authority that no one dared raise his head against them. They dismissed the greatest commanders-in-chief, governors, and provincial heads, and placed others in charge, yet their work suffered no disruption: just as before, all remained active and zealous in obedience and continued to work as ever.
Hazrat Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) was likewise chosen by the community, though by chance he happened to be of the Banu Umayya. In the time of Hazrat Uthman, the faults of his Umayyad officials began to be ascribed to the caliph. The realm of dominion had expanded greatly; people of various religions had become subjects of the state. Now disputes arose, and faults appeared in civilization and culture. The hypocrite and the mischief-maker found their opportunity to make even a small matter into a great one. They blackened the caliph's name, spread corruption, and the false offspring (of sedition) became partakers in the community. What was the result? Hazrat Uthman al-Ghani drank the cup of martyrdom. What had he done? The river of corruption was now in full flood.
Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) too was chosen by the community, but by then the era had changed. There had been complaints against the Banu Hashim, and in their cover the hunters were stalking their prey. Now there were complaints against the Banu Umayya. Whomever Hazrat Ali appointed to office, that man would be construed as enmity toward the Banu Umayya and partisanship toward the Banu Hashim — Jewish offspring and Magian offspring were carrying out their work; their aim was to dissolve the Islamic dominion, and in this aim they succeeded. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred.
Imam Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) too was chosen by the community, but the colour of the age had changed; there was no one to truly stand by him. Of necessity, Hazrat Imam Hasan had to abandon the outward reform and content himself with the inner reform — relinquishing the caliphate.
In times of strife, the attention of the whole community turns away from the external enemy. Against external foes the whole nation becomes one. When there is peace and the age is at ease and comfort is attained, then internal wars and family disputes raise their heads; mutual cunning sets in, and a path to ruin and destruction is found. In the end a new dominion arises and the ancient dominion becomes a tale and a dream.
Why were these blessed, sacred men so eager for the caliphate and for dominion? The matter is this: they could not bear to see the law of the Sacred Law (shari'a) violated, the rights of people trampled, and the commands of religion (set aside while) those who claimed to obey did not. These men relied upon their own opinion, their own capacity, and their own trustworthiness; they regarded the protection of the highest authority for the service of religion and dominion as more achievable through their own goodness than through the rulers then present. Since the influence of dominion falls upon the general body of Muslims, the propagation of religion and striving (jihad) in the path of Allah can proceed well only when (rule is sound). The reform of the Muslims can be facilitated through dominion. Hence these men regarded the service and protection of dominion and the safeguarding of the highest authority as a tremendous good.
Reflect upon the detailed circumstances of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Uthman, and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all). What benefit did they reap from dominion? Hazrat Abu Bakr, had he engaged in trade, would have been far more prosperous and wealthy; (instead) in the time of his rule, in what hardship and what distress he passed his days! Such was the state of Hazrat Umar; and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was outwardly an emperor, yet his domestic life was utterly that of a poor man (faqir). His was no worldly desire for the caliphate; it was service to creation and service to religion that was his passion. Such was the case of Hazrat Imam Husayn, Hazrat Imam Muhammad ibn Ali, Hazrat Imam Zayn al-Abidin Ali ibn al-Husayn, and Hazrat Imam (al-Nafs al-Zakiyya); and Hazrat (Husayn) himself, seeing that the kings did not act upon religion, rose up to carry this great burden, and they drank the cup of martyrdom with joy. They held that success does not depend on the (visible) outcome:
السَّعْيُ مِنِّي وَالْإِتْمَامُ مِنَ اللهِ
The striving is from me, and the completion is from Allah. Their resolve was never weakened by failures; their high courage never sank low.
إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ ۔ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return. Indeed my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
موت و حیات میری دونوں ترے لیے ہیں ۔ جینا تری گلی میں مرنا تری گلی میں
My death and my life are both for You: to live in Your lane, and to die in Your lane. (Hasrat Siddiqui)