Abu Bakr: Difference between revisions

Reports on avoidance of [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] from giving allegiance and the manner and time of his allegiance with Abu Bakr are different and sometimes contradictory.  

In ''al-Imama wa l-siyasa'', two hadiths are cited about the event, which are more detailed than other hadiths:

According to the first hadith: 'Umar and group of people including [[Usayd b. Hudayr]] and Salama b. Aslam went to 'Ali's house and asked him and other people from [[Banu Hashim]] to go to the mosque to pledge their allegiance to Abu Bakr. They rejected the request and [[al-Zubayr b. 'Awwam]] went out with a sword. At the command of 'Umar, Salama jumped, drew his sword, and hit the wall with it. They took al-Zubayr with them and he and other people of Banu Hashim pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr. However, 'Ali (a) stood before Abu Bakr and appealed to Abu Bakr's arguments and claims in his talks with [[Ansar]] and said that he himself has the right to caliphate. 'Umar said, "we will not leave you alone until you pledge the allegiance." 'Ali told him: "draw milk from the caliphate. For you will have a share from it. Solidify his government today so that he leaves it to you tomorrow." Abu Bakr told him, "if you do not pledge the allegiance, I will not force you to do so." Then [[Abu 'Ubayda al-Jarrah]] recommended 'Ali (a) to leave the caliphate to Abu Bakr. Then 'Ali (a) addressed the [[Muhajirun]] and made a speech to argue for his and [[Ahl al-Bayt]]'s right to the caliphate, and warned them not to follow their personal desires and deviate from God's path. [[Bushayr b. Sa'd al-Ansari]] told 'Ali (a): "if Ansar had heard these words before the allegiance to Abu Bakr, your right to caliphate would not be disputed even by two persons." At night, 'Ali (a) carried [[Fatima (a)]], the Prophet's daughter, with a mule to Ansar and asked them to help him gain the position of caliphate. However, they told her: "O the daughter of the messenger of God! If your husband asked us for allegiance before Abu Bakr, we would not have preferred him over 'Ali …"

In the second hadith which is probably a displaced part of the first hadith, it is reported that Abu Bakr asked about the group of people who refused to pledge their allegiance to him and gathered around 'Ali (a), and sent 'Umar to them. 'Umar went to 'Ali's house and called them, but they did not go out of the house. Then, 'Umar asked for pieces of firewood and said, "I swear to the One who has 'Umar's life in His hand! If you do not go out of the house, I will set the house on fire with everyone in it." He was told, "O Abu Hafs! What if Fatima is in the house?" He said, "even if she is in the house." Thus, everyone went out of the house and pledged their allegiance, except 'Ali … . Following these reports, details of the event are described, such as 'Ali's message, reprehensive remarks by Fatima (a), consecutive dispatching of groups of people to encourage 'Umar to force 'Ali (a) to pledge the allegiance, taking 'Ali (a) to the mosque, threatening him to murder, 'Ali's wrathful remarks, Fatima's curse, and finally, Abu Bakr's tears and his request to relinquish the allegiance.

 

 

Although 'Umar said about the [[Event of Saqifa]] in his sermon in the mosque of Medina, "'Ali, al-Zubayr, and some others turned away from us and gathered in Fatima's house," and thus, he admitted that 'Ali (a) and some others refused to pledge the allegiance, with few exceptions, Sunni historians never cited or pointed to the event. According to one hadith with Sayf in the chain of transmitters, when 'Ali (a) heard that Abu Bakr sat for allegiance, he hurried to pledge his allegiance to Abu Bakr and thus he went there without a rope and only with a shirt, and only when he sat beside Abu Bakr, he sent someone to his house to take his clothes from home.

 

There different or conflicting accounts of 'Ali's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Abu Bakr as well as how and when he did so. The event is reported here and there in sources. Since every account is separate from and irrelevant to other accounts, and thus, the order of events is not known, we do not know whether 'Ali (a) and his companions were asked to pledge the allegiance immediately after the congregation in Saqifa, or after the public allegiance, or after the burial of the Prophet (s). The hadiths can be classified into two major categories: according to one, with few differences in words and contents, 'Ali was coerced to pledge his allegiance to Abu Bakr a few hours after the public allegiance. According to other historical accounts, 'Ali (a) refused to pledge the allegiance to Abu Bakr for 6 months, and according to some hadiths, no person from Banu Hashim pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr before 'Ali's allegiance. Shortly after that or sooner, Banu Hashim and a group of 'Ali's followers, such as [[Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman]], [[Khuzayma b. Thabit]], [[Abu Ayyub al-Ansari]], Salman, [[Abu Dhar]], [[Khalid b. Sa'id]], and others, pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr.

 

'Ali's allegiance to Abu Bakr seems to be because of the rapid spread of apostasy, riots of tribes, and emergence of false prophets in the Arabian Peninsula. According to some sources, the pressures and life threats also forced him to pledge the allegiance. There is a hadith to the effect that one day [[Abu Hanifa]] asked [[Mu'min al-Taq]], "if the legitimate caliphate was 'Ali's right, then why did not he start an uprising to regain his right?" Mu'min answered: "he feared that people from jinn kill him just as they killed [[Sa'd b. 'Ubada]]!"