Jump to content

Draft:Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar

Add links
From wikishia

Lawlā ʿAlī la-halaka ʿUmar (Had it not been for 'Ali, 'Umar would have perished) is a famous dictum attributed to 'Umar b. al-Khattab, the second caliph, acknowledging the superiority and virtue of Imam 'Ali (a) in comparison to himself. Shia theologians and various Sunni scholars cite this statement, along with similar narrations, as evidence of 'Ali's (a) preeminence in knowledge, jurisprudence, and judgment. Consequently, they view 'Ali (a) as the ultimate authority and refuge for the caliphs in moments of judicial uncertainty. This phrase and its equivalents appear in numerous Shia and Sunni sources. According to Qadi Nur Allah Shushtari, a Shia scholar of the eleventh century AH, the second caliph uttered this sentence on 70 distinct occasions.

Ibn Abi l-Hadid al-Mu'tazili described the report as famous, while others have classified it as mustafid (diffuse). The chain of narrators for this statement includes figures such as Sa'id b. al-Musayyib, 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, and Muhammad b. Abi 'Umayr, all of whom are regarded as trustworthy by both Shia and Sunni scholars.

Similar statements regarding 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) are also recorded from the first caliph and the third caliph.

Text

The phrase "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" (If it were not for 'Ali, 'Umar would have perished) is attributed to 'Umar b. al-Khattab. He reportedly uttered it in praise of 'Ali (a) whenever he committed an error in judgment which was subsequently corrected by 'Ali (a). This narration is found in a multitude of Shia [1] and Sunni [2] sources.

The sentiment is conveyed through various other phrasings, including:

  • "A'udhu bi-llahi min mu'dilatin laysa laha Abu Hasan; I seek refuge in Allah from a problem for which Abu l-Hasan ('Ali) (a) is not present." [3]
  • "La abqaniya l-llahu ba'daka ya 'Ali; O 'Ali! May Allah not keep me alive after you." [4]
  • "Allahumma la tubqini li-mu'dilatin laysa laha Ibn Abi Talib hayyan; O Allah, do not keep me alive for a difficulty during which the son of Abu Talib is not living." [5]
  • "La 'ishtu fi ummatin lasta fiha ya Aba l-Hasan; May I not live in a nation in which you, O Abu l-Hasan ('Ali) (a), are not present." [6]
  • "Lawlaka la-ftadahna; O 'Ali! Were it not for you, we would certainly have been disgraced." [7]

Indication of the Virtue of 'Ali (a)

From the perspective of Shia scholars and some Sunnis, the expression "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" signifies the superiority and virtue of Imam 'Ali (a). Shia theologians interpret this and similar statements as an admission of 'Ali's (a) superior knowledge; consequently, they regard 'Ali (a) as the essential reference and refuge for the caliphs. [8]

Several Sunni scholars—including Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, a Maliki jurist of the fifth century AH; Muwaffaq b. Ahmad al-Khwarizmi, a Sunni jurist and orator of the sixth century AH; and Ibn Abi l-Hadid, a Shafi'i scholar of the seventh century AH—have also cited these expressions as evidence of 'Ali's (a) preeminence in judgment, [9] jurisprudence, [10] and knowledge. [11]

Sadr al-Din al-Juwayni, a Shafi'i scholar and hadith master of the eighth century AH, argued in his work Fara'id al-simtayn (written on the virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt) that 'Umar's statements attest to the Imamate and Wilaya of Imam 'Ali (a), establishing that the Imam is independent of the people while the people remain in need of the Imam. [12]

Incidents

The phrase "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" is reported to have been spoken by the second caliph on numerous occasions. [13] According to Ibn Shahrashub, a Shia scholar of the sixth century AH, 'Umar b. al-Khattab deferred to 'Ali (a) in 23 specific legal matters, uttering this expression in response. [14] Qadi Nur Allah Shushtari, [15] a Shia scholar of the eleventh century AH, and Morteza Motahhari [16] state that the second caliph repeated the sentence 70 times. Shushtari compiled various instances in his book Ihqaq al-haqq wa izhaq al-batil. [17] Notable examples [18] include:

  • The second caliph ordered the stoning of a pregnant woman who had confessed to adultery. Imam 'Ali (a) intervened, prohibiting the punishment due to the presence of the fetus in the woman's womb, stating: "You have no right to punish that fetus!" Upon accepting 'Ali's (a) judgment and revoking the order, 'Umar declared: "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar." [19]
  • The second caliph sentenced an insane woman to stoning for adultery. However, Imam 'Ali (a) declared the sentence invalid due to her insanity, citing the Hadith al-Raf', which states that legal accountability is lifted from a sleeping person, an insane person, and a child. After deferring to 'Ali's (a) ruling, the second caliph remarked: "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar." [20]

Morteza Motahhari, analyzing the context of this admission, notes that 'Umar b. al-Khattab's spiritual disposition was characterized by hasty judgment, often followed by retraction and contradictory statements. Many such accounts exist, and the phrase "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" refers specifically to these errors and their rectification by 'Ali (a). [21]

Authenticity and Narrators

Prominent narrators of the statement "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" include Sa'id b. al-Musayyib, [22] Muhammad b. Abi 'Umayr, [23] and Zayd b. 'Ali. [24] Variations with similar content have also been narrated by figures such as Sa'id b. al-Musayyib, [25] 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas, [26] and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri. [27]

Muhammad b. Abi 'Umayr is counted among the Consensus Companions and is trusted by Shia scholars. [28] Likewise, 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas [29] and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri [30] are companions of the Prophet (s) and are deemed trustworthy.

Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, a scholar of Sunni biographical evaluation, regarded Sa'id b. al-Musayyib as trustworthy and a preeminent jurist whose mursal narrations are considered sahih. [31] Some researchers, after examining the chain of transmission of Sa'id b. al-Musayyib's report, have authenticated it as sahih according to Sunni standards. [32]

In Sharh Nahj al-balagha, Ibn Abi l-Hadid classified the quotation from the second caliph as a famous report. [33] Furthermore, 'Ayn Allah Hasani Urumawi, in his marginalia on 'Allama al-Hilli's Nahj al-haqq, asserted that the narration of "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" and similar expressions from 'Umar is mutawatir. [34] Muhammad Jamil Hammud (b. 1959), the commentator and researcher of the book Abha l-midad, also described the report as mustafid in his introduction to the work. [35]

In Poetry

The phrase "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" has appeared in Arabic poetry, such as the following lines:

Template:Poem

Template:Poem

Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka Abū Bakr wa 'Uthmān

Certain sources narrate phrases similar to "Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Umar" regarding Abu Bakr b. Abi Quhafa, the first caliph ("Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka Abū Bakr"), [36] and 'Uthman b. 'Affan, the third caliph ("Lawlā 'Alī la-halaka 'Uthmān"). [37] These statements were reportedly uttered in numerous instances where the caliphs were unable to resolve complex issues which were subsequently answered by Imam 'Ali (a). [38]

Notes

  1. ↑ For example, see: Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 7, p. 424; Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, 1413 AH, vol. 4, pp. 35–36; Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, 1407 AH, vol. 6, p. 306 and vol. 10, p. 50; Mufīd, al-Ikhtiṣāṣ, 1413 AH, pp. 111, 149.
  2. ↑ For example, see: Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, Taʾwīl mukhtalif al-ḥadīth, 1406 AH, p. 152; Khwārizmī, al-Manāqib, Islamic Publishing Institute, p. 81; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 3, p. 1103; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, 1404 AH, vol. 1, pp. 18, 141 and vol. 12, pp. 179, 205; Māwardī, al-Ḥāwī al-kabīr, 1419 AH, vol. 12, p. 115 and vol. 13, p. 213; Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, p. 394; Ḥammuʾī Juwaynī, Farāʾid al-simṭayn, Mahmudi Institute, vol. 1, pp. 337, 349–351.
  3. ↑ Ibn Ḥanbal, Faḍāʾil al-ṣaḥāba, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 647; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, p. 31.
  4. ↑ Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, pp. 397, 394; Khwārizmī, al-Manāqib, Islamic Publishing Institute, p. 101; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, p. 360.
  5. ↑ Ḥammuʾī Juwaynī, Farāʾid al-simṭayn, Mahmudi Institute, vol. 1, pp. 344, 446; Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, p. 395; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, pp. 31, 361.
  6. ↑ Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, 1414 AH, p. 477; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, p. 361; Munāwī, Fayḍ al-qadīr, 1356 AH, vol. 4, p. 356.
  7. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, p. 368; Shushtarī, Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq, 1409 AH, vol. 8, p. 203.
  8. ↑ Ṭabarī Āmulī al-Ṣaghīr, Dalāʾil al-imāma, 1413 AH, pp. 21–22; Ibn ʿAṭiyya, Abhā l-midād, 1423 AH, vol. 2, p. 304; Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Ithbāt al-hudāt, 1422 AH, vol. 3, p. 360; Shushtarī, Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq, 1409 AH, vol. 3, p. 102 and vol. 31, pp. 470–483.
  9. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 3, pp. 1102–1103; Khwārizmī, al-Manāqib, Islamic Publishing Institute, pp. 80–81.
  10. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, 1404 AH, vol. 1, p. 18.
  11. ↑ Khwārizmī, al-Manāqib, Islamic Publishing Institute, pp. 80–81; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, 1404 AH, vol. 1, p. 141; Qundūzī, Yanābīʿ al-mawadda, Dār al-Uswa, vol. 1, p. 216.
  12. ↑ Ḥammuʾī Juwaynī, Farāʾid al-simṭayn, Mahmudi Institute, vol. 1, p. 346.
  13. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, 1404 AH, vol. 1, p. 18; Qundūzī, Yanābīʿ al-mawadda, Dār al-Uswa, vol. 1, p. 216 and vol. 3, p. 146.
  14. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, p. 31. For awareness of the cases, see: Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, pp. 359–370.
  15. ↑ Shushtarī, Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq, 1409 AH, vol. 3, p. 102.
  16. ↑ Muṭahharī, Sayrī dar Nahj al-balāgha, 1379 Sh, p. 175.
  17. ↑ See: Shushtarī, Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq, 1409 AH, vol. 8, pp. 182–236; vol. 17, pp. 433–444; and vol. 31, pp. 470–483.
  18. ↑ For other cases, see: Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, pp. 390–399; Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, 1413 AH, vol. 4, pp. 35–36; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 AH, vol. 2, pp. 359–370.
  19. ↑ Māwardī, al-Ḥāwī al-kabīr, 1419 AH, vol. 12, p. 115 and vol. 13, p. 213; Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, p. 390; Khwārizmī, al-Manāqib, Islamic Publishing Institute, p. 81; Mufīd, al-Ikhtiṣāṣ, 1413 AH, p. 111.
  20. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 3, p. 1103; Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, p. 392; Qundūzī, Yanābīʿ al-mawadda, Dār al-Uswa, vol. 2, pp. 172–173; Mufīd, al-Ikhtiṣāṣ, 1413 AH, p. 111.
  21. ↑ Muṭahharī, Sayrī dar Nahj al-balāgha, 1379 Sh, p. 175.
  22. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 3, pp. 1102–1103.
  23. ↑ Mufīd, al-Ikhtiṣāṣ, 1413 AH, p. 111.
  24. ↑ Khwārizmī, al-Manāqib, Islamic Publishing Institute, p. 81.
  25. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 3, pp. 1102–1103; Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, pp. 395, 397; Ḥammuʾī Juwaynī, Farāʾid al-simṭayn, Mahmudi Institute, vol. 1, p. 344.
  26. ↑ Ḥammuʾī Juwaynī, Farāʾid al-simṭayn, Mahmudi Institute, vol. 1, p. 348.
  27. ↑ Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, p. 398.
  28. ↑ Kashshī, Rijāl al-Kashshī: Ikhtiyār maʿrifat al-rijāl, 1409 AH, p. 556.
  29. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 3, p. 933.
  30. ↑ Kashshī, Rijāl al-Kashshī, 1409 AH, p. 40.
  31. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Taqrīb al-tahdhīb, 1406 AH, p. 241.
  32. ↑ ["In which sources has the narration 'Lawlā 'Alī (a) la-halaka 'Umar' appeared?", Hazrat Wali-e-Asr (a) Research Institute].
  33. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, 1404 AH, vol. 1, p. 141.
  34. ↑ ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Nahj al-ḥaqq, 1982, p. 240 (footnote 1).
  35. ↑ Ibn ʿAṭiyya, Abhā l-midād, 1423 AH, vol. 1, researcher's introduction, p. 38.
  36. ↑ Amīnī, Aṣḥāb Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) wa-l-ruwātu ʿanhu, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, vol. 2, p. 375; Munāwī, Fayḍ al-qadīr, 1356 AH, vol. 4, p. 356.
  37. ↑ ʿĀṣimī, al-ʿAsal al-muṣaffā, Islamic Thought Assembly, vol. 1, p. 318; Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, 1428 AH, vol. 1, p. 395.
  38. ↑ Amīnī, Aṣḥāb Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) wa-l-ruwātu ʿanhu, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, vol. 2, pp. 375, 412.

References

  • ʿĀṣimī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad-ʿAlī. al-ʿAsal al-muṣaffā min tahdhīb Zayn al-fatā fī sharḥ sūrat Hal Atā. Islamic Thought Assembly, n.d.
  • ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Ḥasan b. Yūsuf. Nahj al-ḥaqq wa kashf al-ṣidq. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Lubnānī, first edition, 1982.
  • Amīnī, Muḥammad-Hādī. Aṣḥāb Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) wa-l-ruwātu ʿanhu. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, n.d.
  • Ḥammuʾī Juwaynī, Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad. Farāʾid al-simṭayn. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir al-Maḥmūdī. Mahmudi Institute, n.d.
  • Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Ithbāt al-hudāt. Beirut: al-Aʿlamī Institute, first edition, 1422 AH.
  • Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. Hibat Allāh. Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha. Edited by Muḥammad Abū al-Faḍl Ibrāhīm. Qom: Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi, first edition, 1404 AH.
  • Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh. al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bijāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, first edition, 1412 AH.
  • Ibn ʿAṭiyya, Muqātil. Abhā l-midād fī sharḥ muʾtamar ʿulamāʾ Baghdād. Edited by Jamīl Ḥammūd. Beirut: al-Aʿlamī Institute, first edition, 1423 AH.
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Taqrīb al-tahdhīb. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAwwāma. Syria: Dār al-Rashīd, 1406 AH.
  • Ibn Ḥanbal, Aḥmad. Faḍāʾil al-ṣaḥāba. Edited by Waṣī Allah Muḥammad ʿAbbās. Beirut: al-Risāla Institute, 1403 AH.
  • Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Muslim. Taʾwīl mukhtalif al-ḥadīth. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1406 AH.
  • Ibn Shahrāshūb Māzandarānī, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Qom: Allameh Publications, first edition, 1379 AH.
  • Kashshī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar and Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī. Rijāl al-Kashshī: Ikhtiyār maʿrifat al-rijāl. Edited by Ḥasan Muṣṭafawī. Mashhad: University of Mashhad, first edition, 1409 AH.
  • Khwārizmī, Muwaffaq b. Aḥmad. al-Manāqib. Qom: Islamic Publishing Institute, n.d.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb. al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī and Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
  • Māwardī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. al-Ḥāwī al-kabīr fī fiqh madhhab al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī wa huwa sharḥ mukhtaṣar al-Muzanī. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad Muʿawwaḍ and ʿĀdil Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Mawjūd. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1419 AH.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad. al-Ikhtiṣāṣ. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī and Maḥmūd Muḥarramī Zarandī. Qom: al-Muʾtamar al-ʿĀlamī li-Alfīyyat al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, first edition, 1413 AH.
  • Munāwī, Zayn al-Dīn Muḥammad. Fayḍ al-qadīr sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-ṣaghīr. Egypt: al-Maktabat al-Tijāriyat al-Kubrā, 1356 AH.
  • Muṭahharī, Murtāḍā. Sayrī dar Nahj al-balāgha. Tehran: Sadra Publications, 1379 Sh.
  • Qundūzī, Sulaymān b. Ibrāhīm. Yanābīʿ al-mawadda li-dhawī l-qurbā. Qom: Dār al-Uswa, n.d.
  • ["In which sources has the narration 'Lawlā 'Alī (a) la-halaka 'Umar' appeared?"]. Hazrat Wali-e-Asr (a) Research Institute website. Posted June 1, 2018. Accessed January 29, 2026.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Islamic Publishing Office, second edition, 1413 AH.
  • Shushtarī, Qāḍī Nūr Allah. Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq wa izhāq al-bāṭil. Qom: Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi, first edition, 1409 AH.
  • Ṭabarī, Muḥibb al-Dīn. Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā fī manāqib dhawī l-qurbā. Qom: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, first edition, 1428 AH.
  • Ṭabarī Āmulī al-Ṣaghīr, Muḥammad b. Jarīr b. Rustam. Dalāʾil al-imāma. Qom: Bi'that, first edition, 1413 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan. al-Amālī. Qom: Dār al-Thaqāfa, first edition, 1414 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan. Tahdhīb al-aḥkām. Edited by Ḥasan Mūsawī al-Kharsān. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Draft:Lawlā_%27Alī_la-halaka_%27Umar&oldid=205508"