In the Name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful

And bless be upon Muhammad and his pure Household, and may Allah's curse be on his enemies from now until the Day of Resurrection! And there is no power or strength except for the Lofty Glorious Allah.

The Wise Allah has stated in His Glorious Book:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا ^[1]

'… O you who believe, obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Then if you have any dispute over anything, refer to Allah and the Messenger if you believe in Allah and the Last Day – for that is better and becoming in the end, (Qur'an: 4/59).'

That which, in the point of intelligence and belief, considering the Imam, should be taken into account is that the 'Imamate' is a position similar to the 'prophet-hood' honoured by Allah, the most High, to His worshippers. However, the task of a messenger is to legalize the laws and commands by the revelation of Allah, the most High, but the position of the Caliph is to pass on the commands, to clarify and explain the rules and traditions, to comment on the problems, to compare the Verses and statements according to the related objects. And then, trying to announce them as it is the task of the messenger. And also the significant mission of the Imam is to clarify and explain some of the rules and commands that, for any reason, at the time of the Messenger of Allah there was not good occasion to declare them – or it was because of the people's low opinion or misunderstanding.  And above all, as the Verses and the Commands of the Book have been sent down to man gradually and they have naturally reached the people in small quantities, so the nature and sense of the Verses and their interpretations must be explained to the people little by little – thus, this is the responsibility of the Caliph and Imam. 

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The Necessity of Assigning the Imam on the Base of the Divine Favour

For the same reason that the Divine Favour instructed the messengers to teach the creatures to obey Allah and to keep them away from committing sins and lead them to the straight path to get closer to Allah, to teach them how to worship Him, and to let them know what they did not know before – because He had not created them as animals to sit idle, to eat and rest – He created them to search to find His way, and it was why He made the path easy to reach Him. And by sending His Book and messengers, and by gradually send down the Divine Revelations, He completed His argument with the creatures, and by the means of the messengers He lead them to the blissful destination, for the very reason, the Divine Favour necessitates the Imam presence after the Messenger so that to look after the religion. There should be a virtuous, the most learned, aware of the facts, expert in religion so that to guide people to the straight path. There must be such an Imam that to be able to clarify the untold things in the time of the Messenger. He must convey the message of the Messenger to the new born and the generation after the Messenger. It is not wise to leave the people in nowhere; while they need someone most learned one to guide them to Allah.

Therefore, it is integral that Allah, the most High, to assign someone upon the people to complete their religion, to remove the doubts of the disbelievers, to illuminate the dark part of the world, to clarify the secrets of the religion for the people, and to repel the enemies of the religion with the swords and with his powerful hands to correct the wrong the to bring forth abundance.

As there has always been long span between the advent of two messengers, and after Muhammad, the Seal of the prophets, there has been no messenger or any new laws, therefore the Imam's being after the Messenger of Allah is necessary to guide and lead the people. As Allah, the Glorified, has favour upon His creatures, and He guides them to the righteousness, and He never desires anything bad but goodness for them, so it is with Him not to let the religion of the creature defected after the demise of the Messenger. However, to assign one as the only one to bear the responsibility of the people and their religion, and in attributions to be similar to the Messenger, He chose the Leader to guide the people. Thus, assigning a Guardian by the former Messenger is necessary, so by means of His Messenger, Allah nominated Ali bin Abī Tālib upon him be peace as the certain Guardian for the nation. Apart from his twenty-three years of advice and recommending Ali as his inheritor and Caliph – both in Mecca and Medina – closely to his demise, when he was returning from his Pilgrimage, he introduced Ali as his deputy to more than a hundred thousand pilgrims with him.

However, when the Messenger of Allah passed away, some disguised people, who pretended feeling sorry for Islam, in Saghifa Bani Saeeda, rose up against the clear utterance of the Messenger of Allah, and while ignoring the right deputy of the Messenger, they invited the people to swear allegiance with them. In this way, they did what they wanted to do. Later on, however, when they climbed the pulpit of the Messenger, they could not answer the questions of the people and solve their problems. They were unable to help the people. Time and again they turned to Ali, the Master of the masters, for his help. Therefore, the verdicts of the Sunnite's scholars and their followers were that the virtue or privilege was not necessary for the Imam, in their opinion, it was possible to choose the least virtuous instead of the virtuous one, and the assignment of the Imam was not needed to be by Allah.

They said the choice of  the Imam was in the hands of the people and they could choose anyone they wanted. When it is discussed with them and the Verses of the Qur'an or the authentic narratives in their own books are read for them they have no responses but to say: 'As the utterances of the predecessors were more correct therefore we have no right to interfere it – we have to accept their sayings without hampering them; so it is stated: 

إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِم مُّقْتَدُونَ ^[2]

'… In fact, we found our forefathers with such custom and community, and we are indeed following their tracks, (Qur'an: 43/23).'

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The excuses of the Sunnites for not criticizing the actions of the companions, looks like the excuses of the ignorant

This kind of excuse is similar to 'the Ignorance' response against the clear reasoning and the bright Verses when the Holiness Muhammad Bless be to him and his Descendants was reciting the Verses to them, and in the mean time, was logically avoiding them to go after disbelief  but advising them to obey only the Unique Allah, they kept saying:

إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِم مُّهْتَدُونَ ^[3]

',,, we indeed found our forefathers following a community, and we are [also] directed to follow their footsteps, (Qur'an: 43/22).'

And when they were told to follow the commands of Allah they would say, 'We will never forsake the customs and traditions of our ancestors.'

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ قَالُواْ بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا أَلْفَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءنَا أَوَلَوْ كَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ شَيْئًا وَلاَ يَهْتَدُونَ ^[4]

'… and when it is said to them, ‘Follow what Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘Never, but we just follow what our ancestors used to follow’ – what, [would they follow] their ancestors [even if they] were void of wisdom or were not guided, (Qur'an: 2/170).'

Therefore, we are also telling the Sunnite: 'Which one, is it the religion and the instructions of the Book of Allah or the actions of the Companions is important? If you say that the proof is that Book of Allah and the Nature of the Messenger of Allah, then you should not add the manners and actions of the Companions to it and then to bring it to account as rules and laws. On the whole, their actions and behaviors must be inspected to see if they are according to the rules and the Book – their bad actions must be considered bad and their good deeds good.

However, if we take the manners and actions of the Companions along with the Book of Allah and the Nature of the Messenger of His then we will come across with a new religion which the result of the Companions actions and the good deeds of the Messenger of Allah. Of course this religion cannot be the Divine Religion, because due to the Companions will, some Commands of Allah and the traditions of the Messenger must be put aside and forgotten forever – thus, it suits the Companions' desire; there is no comparison between the two!

The Sunnite too have done similar to the ignorance,  they have followed their own ancestors and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah; in this way, they have wiped put their hands from the explicit Verses of the Qur'an and the immediate Guardianship of the Commander of the believers upon him be peace. Their reason is to account for their excuses; thus, it is stated:

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْاْ إِلَى مَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ وَإِلَى الرَّسُولِ قَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا مَا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءنَا أَوَلَوْ كَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَلاَ يَهْتَدُونَ ^[5]

'… and when it is said to them: ‘Come to what Allah has revealed, and to the Messenger, they say, ‘We are satisfied with what we found with our forefathers;’ What! If their forefathers did not know anything, and were not guided, (Qur'an: 5/104).'

The clause: 'and when it is said to them: ‘Come to what Allah has revealed, and to the Messenger,' Is the main basis of 'belief and deed', it says, 'Let's add nothing to our beliefs and avoid anything worthless in the religion. The balance is based on the right only, but not the deeds of the Companions. When it is said to them, the standard is the Word of Allah and the manner of the Messenger of Allah, but not the actions of the fallible people, they say: 'The manners of our predecessors and our grandfathers are enough for us;' to their false argument, Allah states: "What! If their forefathers did not know anything, and were not guided?"

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The dispute of the Shiite with the Sunnite is a historical dispute

It has been seen in many narrations and also it is seen in many manuscripts that why after a thousand of years we should refer to the utterances and the actions of the Companions, then to blame them by assessing their deeds with the rules and traditions of the Messenger of Allah and wiping out some for their invalidities. The time for these disputes has passed so what is the use of them to be good or bad, or true or not true? Nowadays, time is too short to dispute on such different subjects. Apart from that, these disputes cause for the rise of feeling about religion and it brings the most severe dispute forward …

However, with a little consideration it becomes clear that these objections are not out of place, because considering the manners of the Companions is not finding faults in them and making the followers angry, but our investigation is to prove the fact the most correct way. We must sit friendly together with our Sunnite brothers, putting aside our ignorance prejudices and discussing on these subjects clearly so that to make it clear which of our demands is correct and which of them is not reliable – that is the wisest way to save our lives and not waste our time on valueless things. If we do not know who the Companions are and what their manners are, and what is the standard of their belief, but still following them for years and doing whatever they do or command us to do, at that time, is our approach correct? Out discussion is never on their goodness or badness; the Commander of the believers upon him be peace has said:

والحِساب علي الله ^[6]

The reckoning is with Allah

Our dispute is in the point of view of the conflict of our deeds with their manners. This is the most important irritating pain in our own way desiring to be a Muslim and considering ourselves to be the righteous; relying on the Master of the masters' Divine Religion but doing something opposite. This way of living is for those whose sayings are different from what they act, but we try to keep our religion pure for the sake of Allah; as it is stated:

وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ ^[7]

'… and they were commanded just to worship Allah, dedicating their faith to Him only, (Qur'an: 98/5).'

But not to be impure in the end, in that case, it is a severe disaster:

فهذهِ هِي المصيبة العظمي

Then, according to this Verse, we are afraid to be involved:

وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا لَّيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَائِهِم بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ^[8]

'… and many lead [the others] astray through their own passions without having any sense to think, (Qur'an: 6/119).'

And also we are afraid to be the evidenced by this Verse:

أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّهِ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ ^[9]

'… have you noticed one who has taken his passion as his god, and Allah has led him go astray on purpose, and set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, and placed a covering over his eyesight?

Then who will guide him apart from Allah? Do you not take advice? (Qur'an: 45/23).'

We are afraid to accuse Allah and to pass over the limitations; for it is stated:

وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُوَ يُدْعَى إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ ^[10]

'… thus, who is the greater evildoer than one who fabricates a lie against Allah while he is being invited to Islam? And Allah does not guide such wrongdoers? (Qur'an: 61/7).'

We want not only ourselves but all the Muslims as well as the entire world to be in the line of the right religion, which is pure and free from any crockets and the tribal prejudice that has been attached to it in the span of time; for it is stated: 

 أَفَمَن كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ كَمَن زُيِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ وَاتَّبَعُوا أَهْوَاءهُمْ ^[11]

'… is one who has an evident proof from his Lord like someone whose evil action seems attractive, and they have followed their own desires? (Qur'an: 47/14).'

And above all, the Islam is religion of wisdom, knowledge and insight; it is the religion of thoughts and reflection and accuracy. For this reason, we must have enough knowledge of the nature, attributes of the Messenger of Allah and the immaculate Imams, peace be upon them all. Apart from these, we must be quite acquaintance with the manners and the way of thinking of the Companions – nor to stick to our suspicion and conjectures; as it is stated:

وَلاَ تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولًا ^[12]

'… and do not engage in what you have no knowledge of, for all your hearing, eyesight and heart will be questioned about, (Qur'an: 17/36).'

وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا ^[13]

'… and surely conjecture does not help in any way against the Truth, (Qur'an: 53/28).'

بَلِ اتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَهْوَاءهُم بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَمَن يَهْدِي مَنْ أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن نَّاصِرِينَ ^[14]

'… rather the wrongdoers follow their own desires without having any knowledge. So, who will guide someone whom Allah has let go astray? They will have no supporters, (Qur'an: 30/29).'

The Sunnite's scholars says, as the responsibly of the Caliph is only managing the social affairs and looking after the nation so it is not necessary for an Imam to be innocent and virtuous. They say that the task of a Caliph is only to establish the [Islamic] limitations: chopping off the thieves' hands, killing the murderers, protecting the security, collecting the welfare taxes, protecting the boarders of the country, occupying the army, repelling the oppressors, sharing the spoils among the related citizens and sending the Muslims to the Hajj Pilgrimage and jihad.

They say: "One needs no superiority to handle these affairs; they can be carried out by any ordinary virgules person who has more ability and power than one with virtue. Therefore, it is more correct for the nation to ignore the superiority and virtue of the Caliph and choose one with enough power and ability to run the affairs of the nation.'

They say: 'The Caliphate is assigned by the predecessor Caliph or by the choice of the Board of Management, as the case of Abu Bakr who transferred the Caliphate to Omar, or similar to the Muslims' homage with the next Caliphs. There is no need all the members of the Board of Management to pay allegiance, one of them, or two or the maximum five of them are enough. It is because on the Day of Saqifa, one, or two or the highest number was five who voted for Abu Bakr's benefit; they were Omar, Abu Abidah, Jarrah, Osaid bin Hazir, Bashir Bin Sa'd and Salim Mula Abi Hozaifah.'

Mawardi says: 'The Sunnite's scholars are in diversity of opinions concerning the numbers of those who appoint the Caliphate. Some of them have said the ceremony of 'paying homage' is not accepted unless all the members of the Board of Management in the town prove it, it is because they too must freely follow the nominated Caliph.' This claim cannot be correct because 'swearing allegiance' with Abu Bakr was agreed by the people present at the ceremony; they did not wait for those who were absent.

However, those who say 'in swearing allegiance only five persons are needed', firstly they have reasoned that they are five persons apart from Abu Bakr, and another reason is that Omar divided the council among six people and then five of them to vote for the sixth's benefit. And some other say: 'Two persons' swearing allegiance' is enough to choose a Caliph – here, the two stand as the witnesses – similar to the wedding ceremony when two witnesses stand by the saint.' Some other have said, 'The allegiance of one person is enough, because when the Messenger of Allah was resigning his last breaths, Abbas told Ali bin Abī Tālib upon him be peace:

امدد يدک ابايِعک فيقول الناس عمّ رسولِ اللهِ بايع ابن عمِّهِ فلا يختلِف عليك اثنانِ

'Let me take your hand and pay homage to you and let the people say, "The Messenger's uncle swore allegiance with the cousin of the Messenger of Allah, then, never two men dare opposing you."'

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The exclamation of the Sunnites for Imam is not necessary

And another reason is that: 'allegiance' is a command, and a single person's command is influence.^[15]

And on this basis that: 'the command of one of the members of the Board of Management is enough' the Imam of 'the Both Shrine' Jawini, in his book 'Irshad' has given his opinion similar to Al-Imam Ibn Al-Arabi Al-Maliki in the 'commentary of 'Sahih Al-Bukhari', and Ghortabi in his own commentary , and Al-Imam Abul Moali and some others.^[16] Apart from them, Taftazani in the "Sharh-e-Maghasid" says: 'If a Caliph dies, then, one who has the ability of the Caliphate can take his place.' He goes further and says: 'Even if no one swears allegiance with him, and even if he is a lewd person; and until such Caliph has not commanded against the religion his obedience is incumbent – whether he is just or unjust.^[17]

However, the attributes and qualities of the Caliph is that he must be from the Ghuraish, to be able to judge, to be aware of his army and the rules of fighting, to secure the boarders of the country, to take his revenge from the enemy, to be kind in the establishing the limitations, being not anxious in killing and giving lashes. He needs not to be the superior among the nation, and in the time of inevitability an inferior can be chosen as the Caliph. Nor is it necessary neither to be innocent nor to know the secrets and Unseen. He is not needed to be the most intelligent nor is he needed to be the bravest – or to be chosen from Bani Hashim.

In the point of view of knowledge, the Imam is equal to the nation; there is no need for him to be more knowledgeable. Then, when they are asked: 'Who should people refer to in difficulties?'  They say: 'The Imam is not responsible for the individual's question, ' That is, the only responsibility of the Imam is to govern the very social affairs we already mentioned.

The majority of the Sunnite whose statements can be paid attention to say: 'An Imam does not lapse by his debauchery and oppression, usurping the properties, lashing the innocent people with no reason, killing the people with no excuse, spoiling the rights of the people, doing away with the limitations and by damaging rules and laws.' They claim that such a Leader is still Caliph and he must be obeyed, it is against the religion to stand against him – the only possible thing to do is letting him know his shortcomings. Obeying the Caliph is incumbent even if he takes away the property of one person or lashes an innocent one. It is because it has been narrated by the Messenger of Allah and the Companions:

اِسمعوا و اطيعوا و او لِعبدٍ اجدع، و لو لعبدٍ حبشيٍّ، و صلّوا وراء كلِّ برٍّ و فاجِرٍ. و روِي انّه قال: اطِعهم و اِن اكلوا مالك وضربوا ظهرك و اطيعوهم ما اقاموا الصّلاة 

O you! Listen and obey, even if your Leader is a tortured slave, or he is a coloured Abyssinian slave; do follow any righteous and debauchery person in prayer. And it has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah has said: 'Obey them even if they have usurp your properties, although they have given you offensive lashes, obey they and follow them when they are praying.'

All these, we have narrated for you, are the subjects from Abu Bakr Baghlani, the author of the "Jamhid al-Ghawaid" which is written under the title of 'According the Opinions of the Sunnite'. ^[18]

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The Fake Narratives on the Necessity of Obeying the Tyrannical Ruler

Similar to what Abu Bakr Baghlani has said, the majority of the people have their reasons to follow the tyrannical rulers; therefore, we are going to explain some of them for you.

Allama Amini,^[19] says: 'It has been put in 'Sahih Muslim' and 'Sonan -e- Beihaghi' that Hozaifi has narrated:

قال: قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا كُنَّا بِشَرٍّ فَجَاءَ اللَّهُ بِخَيْرٍ فَنَحْنُ فِيهِ فَهَلْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ هَذَا الْخَيْرِ شَرٌّ قَالَ نَعَمْ قُلْتُ هَلْ وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ الشَّرِّ خَيْرٌ قَالَ نَعَمْ قُلْتُ فَهَلْ وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ الْخَيْرِ شَرٌّ قَالَ نَعَمْ قُلْتُ كَيْفَ قَالَ يَكُونُ بَعْدِي أَئِمَّةٌ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ بِهُدَايَ وَلَا يَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَّتِي وَسَيَقُومُ فِيهِمْ رِجَالٌ قُلُوبُهُمْ قُلُوبُ الشَّيَاطِينِ فِي جُثْمَانِ إِنْسٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ كَيْفَ أَصْنَعُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَدْرَكْتُ ذَلِكَ قَالَ تَسْمَعُ وَتُطِيعُ لِلْأَمِيرِ وَإِنْ ضُرِبَ ظَهْرُكَ وَأُخِذَ مَالُكَ فَاسْمَعْ وَأَطِعْ

'I told the Messenger of Allah, "O Messenger of Allah, we were living in a devilish time until Allah brought us the blessing era, so praise be to Allah that our time is blissful, now is there again a devilish time for us after this welfare?'

He said, 'Yes, there is.' Then, I asked, 'So is there again relief after that bad time?'

He said, 'Yes, there is.' I asked, 'How?'

He said, 'After I pass away, some rulers who have not trained by me will take the leadership; they will not follow my laws and traditions, among them are men whose hearts are alike the devils' hearts while disguised as human beings.'

I asked, 'What should I do if I am alive at that time?'

He said, 'Listen and obey the ruler – obey him even if he gives you lashes and usurps your properties.'

There is another narrative from Auf bin Malik Ashjaee in “Sahih Muslim” and “Sonan Beihaghi” that Messenger of Allah has stated:

خِيَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمُ الَّذِينَ تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَكُمْ وَيُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَتُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَشِرَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمُ الَّذِينَ تُبْغِضُونَهُمْ وَيُبْغِضُونَكُمْ وَتَلْعَنُونَهُمْ وَيَلْعَنُونَكُمْ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَفَلاَ نُنَابِذُهُمْ بِالسَّيْفِ فَقَالَ لاَ مَا أَقَامُوا فِيكُمُ الصَّلاَةَ وَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ مِنْ وُلاَتِكُمْ شَيْئًا تَكْرَهُونَهُ فَاكْرَهُوا عَمَلَهُ وَلاَ تَنْزِعُوا يَدًا مِنْ طَاعَةٍ

‘The best Leaders of you are those whom you like and respect and also they have affection to you; you pray for them and so do they pray for you. However, you bad Leaders are those whom you hate and so do they hate you; you curse them and they also curse you.’ He adds: I asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, so should we rise against them and wipe their hands away from that position?’ He answered: “No, but until you see them pray among you; but be aware, when a Leader governing you and you notice him committing a sin, although you dislike him, you shouldn’t rise against him.’

And it is also narrated in from Salama bin Yasid  Ha’fi in “Sahim Muslim” and “Sonan Beihaghi” that he says I said:  

يا رسول اللهِ إن قامت علينا أمراء يسألوننا حقهم ويمنعوننا حقنا ، فما تأمرنا ؟ قال: فأعرض عنه رسول صلي اللهِ عليه و آله ، ثم سأله فقال: اسمعوا وأطيعوا، فإنما عليهم ما حملوا وعليكم ما حملتم.

‘O Messenger of Allah, if some Leaders governing us took our rights away but did not give our own rights to us then what must we do?” He says, the Messenger of Allah avoided answering to my question and he put forward his question twice, then the Holiness said: Listen to them and obey them; they are responsible for what they do and you are responsible for whatever you do.’

It is also narrated from Meghdam in “Sonan Beihaghi” that the Messenger of Allah said:^[20]

أطيعوا اُمَرَآءَكُمْ ما كانَ؛ فَإنْ أمَروكُمْ بِما حَدَّثْتُكُمْ بِهِ فَإنَّهُمْ يُؤْجَرونَ عَلَيْهِ وَ تُؤْجَرونَ بِطاعَتِكُمْ. وَ إنْ أمَروكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِمّا لَمْ ءَامُرْكُمْ بِهِ فَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَ أنْتُمْ مِنْهُ بُرَءَآءُ. ، ذَلِكُ  بِأَنَّكُمْ إِذَا لَقِيتُمُ اللَّهَ قُلْتُم : رَبَّنَا لا ظُلْمَ . فَيَقُولُ : لا ظُلْمَ . وَتَقُولُونَ : رَبَّنَا أَرْسَلْتَ إِلَيْنَا رَسُولا فَأَطَعْنَا وَاسْتَخْلَفْتَ عَلَيْنَا خُلَفَاءَ فَأَطَعْنَاهُمْ بِإِذْنِكَ ، وَأَمَّرْتَ عَلَيْنَا أُمَرَاءَ فَأَطَعْنَاهُمْ بِإِذْنِكَ . فَيَقُولُ : صَدَقْتُمْ , هُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مِنْهُ بَرَاءٌ .

Follow your Leader at whatever they command you to do. If they command you as what I have commanded you they will receive reward for that, and too will be reared for your obedience; but if they command you at what I have not commanded you then the sin will lie upon their shoulders and you are blameless. It is because when you meet Allah you will say: ‘O Allah is there any oppression on us today? Allah states: “No, there is not oppression on you. Then, you will say, ‘O Allah You sent Your Messengers and we obeyed them with Your permission, then You assigned the Caliphs for us ^[21] and we followed them.’ Allah states: “You are right, they are responsible for the sins they committed, not you, you are free from any sins.”

And  there is a narrative from Sawid bin Ghafla in “Sonan Beihaghi” which goes as:

قال لي عمر بن الخطاب: يَا أَبَا أُمَيَّةَ! لَعَلَّكَ أنْ تَخْلِفَ بَعْدي‌؛ فَأَطِعِ الإمَامَ وَإنْ كَانَ عَبْداً حَبَشِيَّاً! إنْ ضَرَبَكَ فَاصْبِرْ، وَإنْ أمَرَكَ بِأَمْرٍ فَاصْبِرْ، وَإنْ حَرَمَكَ فَاصْبِرْ، وَإنْ ظَلَمَكَ فَاصْبِرْ؛ وإنْ أمَرَكَ بِأَمْرٍ يُنْقِصُ دينَكَ فَقُلْ: سَمْعٌ وَطَاعَةٌ، دَمِي‌دُونَ ديني. ^[22]

So does Seiouti narrates from bin Jarir who says of bin Zeiad quoting He says:

‌"وأُولي الأمْرِ مِنْكُمْ" قال: قال أبي : هم السّلاطين، قال: و قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآلهِ و سلم: « الطّاعة وفي الطّاعَةِ بلاءٌ». وقال: «ولو شَاء اللّه لَجَعَلَ الأَمْرَ في الأنْبِيَاءِ», يعني: لقد جعل إليهم والأنبياء معهم، ألا ترى حين حكموا في قتل يحيـى بن زكريا؟ ^[23]

He says, Obaiiah has said: ‘The real meaning of “those in authorities” here, is the Rulers;’ and he says, ‘The Messenger of Allah stated: “Do obey the Rulers, ignoring obedience is the calamity. If Allah so desired He would assigned the Government-ship for the messengers only, but He did not. He did assign it for the rulers and the governors though the messengers were there: do you not see that they commanded to kill Yahia bin Zakareiia?’

And he narrates from Anas in Bokhari,

قال: قال رسول اللهِ صليّ الله عليهِ و آلِه و سلّم: اِسمعوا و اطيعوا واِن استعمل عليكم حبشِّيٌ كانّ رأسه زبيبة ^[24]

he says: ‘the Messenger of Allah Bless be to him and his Descendants said: “ Listen and obey him who is even an Abyssinian slave and is governing you – even if he has ruined his mind!”

And he narrates from Abi Horairah that the Messenger of Allah had said:   

سَيَلِيكُمْ بَعْدِي وُلَاةٌ فَيَلِيكُمْ الْبَرُّ بِبِرِّهِ ، والْفَاجِرُ بِفُجُرِهِ ، فَاسْمَعُوا لَهُمْ وَأَطِيعُوا فِي كُلِّ مَا وَافَقَ الْحَقَّ ، و صلّوا وراءهم، فَإِنْ أَحْسَنُوا فَلَهمْ وَلَكمْ ، وَإِنْ أَسَاءُوا فَلَكُمْ وَعَلَيْهِمْ ^[25]

Abu Horairah says: ‘The Messenger of Allah said: “Before long, after I am away, some rulers will govern you, good and benevolent rulers, as well as the bad and corrupt rulers. So listen to them and obey the right commands of them that conform to the fact – do follow them in the prayer. If they are good, then it benefits them, that is, if they are benevolent it is good both for you and for themselves, but if they are bad, it is good for you but they harm themselves.

Anyhow, these are the narratives that they have printed in their books, and they have based the case of ‘those in the authorities’ on it. They believe that the obedience of the Rulers is incumbent so far as the Rulers perform their prayers - no matter who the Ruler might be. Of course, it is quite clear that all these narratives are void of facts.

After the tyrannical Rulers came to power, especially at the time of Mua‘wiyah, everything changed. To keep secret their ugly affairs, the so-called clergymen of their time, invented some narratives to suit their misbehaviors. They publicized them among the people. Contrary to the clear Verses of the Qur’an and the laws and traditions of the Holy Messenger Bless be to him and his Descendants they published some fake narratives and distributed them among the people. Prior to it, the Messenger of Allah had reported the very tragic event; he had said: ‘After my demise, there will be scattered some false sayings among the people, so if you come across a narrative against the Book of Allah, do hang it on the wall;’ he had sarcastically said: ‘Throw it away, do not take care of it, because a few narrators have related it to mislead the people.’

Therefore, before checking the base of those narratives, we must compare them with the Book of Allah.     

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The Verses which express the reverence of the obedience of the sinners

Here, we are to explain some Verses from the Holy Qur’an

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ ^[26]

‘… so do not obey the deniers, (Qur’an: 68/8).’

وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَّهِينٍ ^[27]

‘… and do not obey any vile oath monger, (Qur’an: 68/10).’

وَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَدَعْ أَذَاهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ^[28]

‘… ao not follow the disbelievers and hypocrites. Disregard their annoyance and rely on Allah, (Qur’an: 33/48).’

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَجَاهِدْهُم بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا ^[29]

‘… so do not obey the disbelievers but fight with them seriously [about this], (Qur’an: 25/52).’

وَلَا تُطِيعُوا أَمْرَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ ^[30]

‘… and do not follow the order of extravagant people, (Qur’an: 26/151).’ 

فَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تُطِعْ مِنْهُمْ آثِمًا أَوْ كَفُورًا ^[31]

‘… so be patient concerning your Lord’s command and do not obey any sinners or ungrateful among them, (Qur’an: 76/24).’

وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا ^[32]

‘… and obey not one whose heart We have made unaware of Our remembrance, so that he pursues his caprice, therefore, his affair has been lost, (Qur’an: 18/28).’

يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِي النَّارِ يَقُولُونَ يَا لَيْتَنَا أَطَعْنَا اللَّهَ وَأَطَعْنَا الرَّسُولَا ﴿66﴾

وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّا أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَاءنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلَا ﴿67﴾

رَبَّنَا آتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ وَالْعَنْهُمْ لَعْنًا كَبِيرًا ^[33]

‘… The Day when their faces will be twisted by the Fire, they will say, ‘If we had only obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger!’ 

And they will say, ‘Our Lord, we obeyed our superiors and our great men, but they led us astray from the Path.

O our Lord! Let them have double chastisement and afflict them with a mighty curse, (Qur’an: 33/68, 67, 68).’

وَذَرُواْ ظَاهِرَ الإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْسِبُونَ الإِثْمَ سَيُجْزَوْنَ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَقْتَرِفُونَ ﴿120﴾

وَلاَ تَأْكُلُواْ مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ اسْمُ اللّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَى أَوْلِيَآئِهِمْ لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ ^[34]

‘… And keep away from the outward and the inward sins; those who commit sins will have retribution for what they have committed.  

And do not eat any of the things over which the name of Allah has not been mentioned; for it is indeed transgression! Surely, the devils inspire their companions to dispute with you; and if you obey them, you [too] become idolaters, (Qur’an: 6/120-121).’

كَلَّا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْ ^[35]

‘… No, obey him not, but prostrate yourself and get closer [to Allah], (Qur’an: 96/19).’

Nevertheless, these are the Verses that avoid people obeying and following the oppressive in anyway – they absolutely avoid supporting them.

Therefore, as these narratives are against the manifest Verses of the Qur’an they are absolutely unreliable; and it is a crime referring them to the Messenger of Allah. Whoever is familiar with the Book of Allah and the laws and traditions of the Messenger, as well with the spirit of the religion, immediately knows that such narratives are baseless. ^[36]

When Allah avoids a man obeying his sinful parents then how He commands people to obey the corrupt and oppressive? As He states:

وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ لِتُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا ^[37]

‘… but if they should urge you to associate with Me, one that you have no knowledge about, then do not obey them], (Qur’an: 29/8).’

وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ عَلى أَن تُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا ^[38]

‘… but if they should urge you to associate with Me, which you have no knowledge about, then do not obey them, (Qur’an: 31/15).’

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The Imam must be the most virtuous over the affairs of the nation

That which they have said ‘Although there may be a superior among the nation yet a lowly may govern the nation better’ is nonsense. It is because as long as people have not reached to the boarder of the Monotheism there are still, in some extinct, differences between them in superiority and quality. It is possible that a certain man may be superior in some way, and the next one has privilege in something else; however, when one reaches to the state of the absolute submission then he will see everything and everyone is at the same level. However, it is only the Creature, Who is away from the attributes of His creatures, and is at the state of ‘Being’ that is beyond the imagination of all. There exists no creature to be superior at the presence of Him, the absolute Creator.

The attributes of the Guardian of Allah is directly from Him and his virtues are beyond being counted and assessed, and so is He everlasting. Therefore, without exception, His Guardian’s good attributes are the most among the whole nations. The Messenger of Allah, with no doubt, was superior and the most perfect man, as well as a good Leader. Although he personally did not fight in the battle, he was closer to the enemies than everyone else, that is, he was the back-up for his men in the battle. He pioneered in charity giving, generosity, faithfulness, and had many good attributes which made him superior to all people.

And so is the Imam upon him be peace who has reached the state of certainty and the absolute Monotheism, and he has giving the authority to educate, train and govern the nation – he is the owner of such superiority; the great men of the Sunnite and the most learned among them have accepted the fact.

Although when Imam himself is in the authority, he shares the different affairs among the nation and then he supervises them in fulfilling their tasks. Therefore, it is different from the claim of the Sunnite: ‘The Leaders do the works on their own and they have nothing to do with the people’; the main objection of us is only this that they are far away from the truth.

If they do their jobs under the supervision of the Imam, first of all, then, first the Imam dismisses those who are clumsy and unskilled in their jobs, similar to the Holiness Commander of the believers upon him be peace did so with the governors of the false Caliphate of Othman, and he dismissed Mua‘wiyah from his post, governing Sham.

Secondly, if they are under the direct supervision of the Imam, they are immune from trespassing and oppression, because with a tiniest mistake of them the Imam warns and stops them to do so. It is clearly gathered by the communication of the Holiness with Othman bin Hanif who was chosen as the governor to Basra by him, and also his another communication with Abdullah bin Abbas who was the governor there after that. As in this occasion Imam is the kernel in this case and he corrects the mistakes and oppressions, in the time of necessity he changes the ruler and the governor, therefore, he cuts off any withered branches from the trunk. But if the Imam is not innocent he does everything in guilt. He even chooses his governors to suit his taste. In this how awful crimes and corrupts end in! Apart from these, a leader may be an honest person in the beginning, he may not be a tyrannical and oppressive person at all, but later on, by falling in love with the chairmanship it becomes difficult for him to remain impartial.       

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Leaving the affairs of the society to other than the infallible Imam is falling off the course

Who is he, except the Imam, to have a narrow escape within the hazard of the governorship? The title, esteem and the chairmanship and the people’s flattering gradually increases one’s dignity and pride, then slowly but surely, his pure soul contaminates, his light heart changes into solid and senseless object, his mercy alters to mercilessness, tears dry out in his eyes, his delightful occasions in prayers changes into ignorance until he becomes similar to those corrupts and criminal gang.

In the point of psychology, this problem has been approved, and the theologians have discussed it in their books and apart from them, there are endless proofs and witnesses in this field. Therefore, according to these documents, how is it possible to give authority to such defected people by Decree of Allah, whereas, first of all, he himself becomes disposed to fatality, and secondly, he destroys a nation through his bad manner; as it is stated:              

يَقْدُمُ قَوْمَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَأَوْرَدَهُمُ النَّارَ ^[39]

‘… [on the Day of Resurrection Pharaoh will march in front of his folk] and he will lead his followers to the Fire, (Qur’an: 11/98).’

Then, most of the people of Sunnite believe in the Caliphs’ opinions and the absolute authorities of his, and they say: ‘If a Caliph considers a command to be good for the nation, though it is against the will of Allah and the religion, he can put it in performance.^[40] As it has been seen, so often, that many of the Caliphs have done when involving in the problems.

Omar banned the concubine with the women in Hajj Pilgrimage, and he cut this part: ‘Haste Doing Good Deeds’ from the ‘the call for prayer’ and some more. For the necessity of obeying “those in authority”, they Sunnite perform whatever commands are issued by the Caliphs. 

Similar to that Siyu:ti who narrates from Akrama that when he was asked about the ‘mother of a child’ he answered: ‘She is free; that is, whenever a slave girl becomes pregnant by his master and gives birth to a child, then she is no more a slave and is freed.’ Some people asked him what for he was saying so, he answered: ‘By referring to the Qur’an.’ They said, ‘Which Verse of the Qur’an do you mean?’ He said:  

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ^[41]

‘… O you who believe, obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you, (Qur’an: 4/59).’

He added, ‘As this Verse denotes the necessity of the obedience of “those in authority”, and Omar is also the member of “those in authority”, and according to the command of the Qur’an, he has pronounced a judgment on freeing ‘the mother of a child’, then I have done so.’^[42]

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‘Those in the authorities’ have no right to change the religion

This is wrong for two reasons: first – we said that “those in authority” are the infallibles, not anyone else, and the second is – we said that ‘the principal of laws and commands are only specified to the Book of Allah, but making them explicit and explaining them to the people is with the Messenger of Allah. Therefore, “those in authority”

‘… Refer it to the Messenger.’

Therefore, whatever, significant or the trivial judgments the Caliphs have issued are not approved.

Anyhow, this group of the people believes that whenever something is for the benefit of the society and the people who live at that time, the Caliph can issue his command even it is against the Verses of Allah and the laws and traditions of the Messenger – and the people have to obey it. This command is also similar to the Verse of “those in the authorities” and it is approved in the religion; it is because the religion is only for the benefit of the people and has been established for their advantage. As the Caliph rules according to the Verse “refer to those in authorities”, then he carries out this ‘contrary to the religion’ command, therefore it must be controlled by the religious law-makers.

When one refers to the history, he notices that from the start of the Islam many rulers have taken the control of the people to govern them, thus, at the time of the Omayyad and the Abbasides too many commands have been issued by the rulers, governors and judges. According to what they say, then, the religion means nothing, because in their opinion the religion is included the policies and interests of the society that whenever a Caliph desires can add something to it or cut it from the root. They can change the Command of Allah and His Messenger according to the desire of them. It is similar to the immediate ruler- ship of the Board of Management who cut and tailored according to what they were interested in. In this theory, the religion is a social tradition which, in the past, it was in the structure of the religion and the tool of revelation which the messengers used it to train the people. It is so that some have stipulated the religion is a social tradition molded in the revelation, and bearing in mind the Gabriel, the existence of heaven and hell and the narrow path to cross and also the Book are all to make the common people understand the case; now that the science has improved there is no need to educate the people by the means of religion. Religion used to be a loop of a chain among many loops to instruct the people of the bygones.  It was similar to our time, but the modern scientists investigate the earth and discover something of the past and then after investigating it they get to know of their history and way of life. The scholars if the society too must probe the religious questions in that way.

If the expectation of the Sunnite is ‘the necessity of the obedience of the Caliphs’ is right, then our connection with them is severed, because the root of this claim is to denying Allah, ignoring the being, rejecting the Resurrection and connection of the messengers hears to the angels.

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The laws and rules of the religion govern the social customs and traditions

However, if their opinion is that apart from the belief of the Caliphs to Allah and the Messenger of Allah they have the social rights to change the laws and commands according to the need and the necessity of the crucial time, then, there rise another question. That is, the religion is the main concern, and the commands of the religion is for the benefit of that religion, that is, the people of a certain society must be instructed by that religion, and the people must be educated through the Divine orders. A society must be trained and directed to the straight path according the laws and commands of the religion; the religion must not lose its genuineness, a separated-from-the-religion-society cannot stand on its feet – the religion commands for something but it acts upon something else and in the end, it collapses.

Now, to prove our say, we are to bring some Verses as the witnesses; it is stated: 

إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلاَّ لِلّهِ يَقُصُّ الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْفَاصِلِينَ ^[43]

 ‘…  Judgement belongs only to Allah – and He is the Supreme Decider, (Qur’an: 6/57).’

فَمَاذَا بَعْدَ الْحَقِّ إِلاَّ الضَّلاَلُ فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ ^[44]

‘… What is there after the Truth except error? So why do you turn away from the Truth, (Qur’an: 10/32).’

وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ

‘… and one who does not judge according to what Allah has sent down is of the disbelievers, (Qur’an: 5/44).’

وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

‘… and whoso does not judge according to what Allah has sent down: they are the wrongdoers, (Qur’an: 5/45).’

وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

‘… but those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down are the corrupt, (Qur’an: 5/47).’

فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءهُمْ عَمَّا جَاءكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجًا

‘… So judge among them according to what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their desires concerning any Truth that has come to you. We have given every one of you a code of law and a course, (Qur’an: 5/48).’

 وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءهُمْ ^[45]

‘… then, judge among them according to what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their desires, (Qur’an: 5/49).’

And He also states:

وَكَذَلِكَ أَنزَلْنَاهُ حُكْمًا عَرَبِيًّا وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءهُم بَعْدَ مَا جَاءكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلاَ وَاقٍ ^[46]

‘… Thus We have sent this [Qur'an] down as a judgment of authority in Arabic. If you followed their desires, after the knowledge has come to you, you would have neither a protector nor any supporter against Allah, (Qur’an: 13/37).’

يَا دَاوُودُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ الْهَوَى فَيُضِلَّكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا نَسُوا يَوْمَ الْحِسَابِ ^[47]

‘… ‘O David, We placed you as a Vicegerent on the earth, so judge among men according to justice and follow not the desires that will lead you away from Allah's path. Surely those who stray from the path of Allah will have severe chastisement because they have forgotten the Day of Reckoning! (Qur’an: 38/26).’

وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوْ يُطِيعُكُمْ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ ^[48]

‘… and know that the Messenger of Allah is among you, if he obeys you in many matters, you will surely face troubles, (Qur’an: 49/7).’

Anyhow, the cause of all these untrue commands that have been given is that after the demise of the Messenger of Allah they distracted the religion from its straight way and started giving false commands to satisfy their desires. And consequently after them the Caliphs followed their newly established way of ruling and also adding his own opinions to it and then calling it ‘for the interest of the nation!’ 

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The Criticism of the Commander of the Believers of the Usurpers of the Caliphate 

 حَتَّى إِذَا قَبَضَ اللهُ رَسُولَهُ صلى الله عليه وآله وسلّم رَجَعَ قَوْمٌ عَلَى الاْعْقَابَ، وَغَالَتْهُمُ السُّبُلُ، وَاتَّكَلُوا عَلَى الْوَلاَئِجِ وَوَصَلُوا غَيْرَ الرَّحِمِ، وَهَجَرُوا السَّبَبَ الَّذِي أُمِرُوا بِمَوَدَّتِهِ، وَنَقَلُوا الْبِنَاءَ عَنْ رَصِّ أَسَاسِهَ، فَبَنَوْهُ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْضِعِهِ. مَعَادِنُ كُلِّ خَطِيئَةٍ، وَأَبْوَابُ كُلِّ ضَارِبٍ فِي غَمْرَةٍ ^[49]

It was so that when the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, passed away, the people turned on their heels to the ignorance time and they gradually returned to the Satanic diverted courses, then their cardinal desires misled then and dragged them towards the destruction. They relied on their void and full- with-passions  memories and wiped put the mercifulness of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, from their minds and joined to the inferior ones. They kept aside from the friendships and kindness that the Messenger had enjoined them to. They uprooted the strong basis of the religion and rebuilt it in a way that to suit their own desires. They were the source of every single sin and were the cause of corrupt for everyone would come to live after them.

Then, he added:

قد ماروا في الحيرةِ  وذهلوا في السكرةِ على سنةٍ مِن آلِ فرعون مِن منقطعٍ إلى الدّنيا راكِنٍ أو مفارِقٍ لِلدّينِ مبايِنٍ. ^[50]

Certainly, they moved on in their perplexity, and being captured in their drunkenness, they forgot the Messenger of Allah and his religion and joined those in the line of Pharaoh. In other words, they totally relied on this world and trusted it; some of them wiped their hands off the belief and religion. 

The Holiness Commander of the believers had enough complaint about the usurpers; it is why he calls them the destroyers of the religion. In one of his sermons he says:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَعْدِيكَ  عَلَى قُرَيْش، فَإِنَّهُمْ قَدْ قَطَعُوا رَحِمِي، وَأَكْفَأُوا إِنَائِي ، وَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَى مُنَازَعَتِي حَقّاً كُنْتُ أَوْلَى بِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِي، وَقَالُوا: أَلاَ إِنَّ فِي الْحَقِّ أَنْ تَأْخُذَهُ، وَفِي الْحَقِّ أَنْ تُمْنَعَهُ، فَاصْبِرْ مَغْمُوماً، أَوْ مُتْ مُتَأَسِّفاً.

فَنَظَرْتُ فَإِذَا لَيْسَ لِي رَافِدٌ ، وَلاَ ذَابٌّ  وَلاَ مُسَاعِدٌ، إِلاَّ أَهْلَ بَيْتِي، فَضَنِنْتُ  بِهِمْ عَنِ الْمَنِيَّةِ، فَأَغْضَيْتُ عَلَى الْقَذى ، وَجَرِعْتُ رِيقِي عَلَى الشَّجَا ، وَصَبَرْتُ مِنْ كَظْمِ الغَيْظِ عَلى أَمَرَّ مِنَ العَلْقَمِ، وَآلَمَ لِلْقَلْبِ مِنْ خَزِّ الشِّفَارِ ^[51]

‘O Allah, I beg Your assistance concerning the tribe of the Quraish who disconnected the relationship with me, they caused my patience come to an end, they united to fight against my right which was truly mine but not theirs. They said: ‘It is right in both ways: you take the Caliphate or leave it; there is no difference between them – you can either live in sorrow and agony or better to die!’ I considered the matter and noticed that I had no one on my side to fight them except my own family whom I was not going to sacrifice for getting nothing. Therefore, I waited in that dark and awful stat, though as if my bones were breaking into pieces for what I was witnessing. I remained patient against that bitter life which seemed cutting my throat with a sharp knife.’

Ignoring the presence of the Holiness Ali, upon him be peace, they immediately carried out their trick. When the people were still busy preparing the burial ceremony of the Messenger of Allah at the Saqifa Bani Saeida, they started taking the allegiance of the people against the will of the Messenger of Allah Bless be to him and his Descendants When the burial ceremony ended, the Holiness noticed that they had carried out their tricks. Satan had prevailed upon them and they had diverted the religion from its straight course. Since then, they confined the Holiness at home and took the pulpit of the Messenger in their disposal and climbed on it. They took the Holiness helplessly to the mosque in front of Abu Bakr and made him to pay homage to him. When the Holiness reasoned and made them be aware of their perdition, and in the mean time pointing out of his dignity and loftiness it did not work.

و خرج عليٌّ عليهِ السّلام يحمِل فاطِمة بِنت رسولِ اللهِ علي دابّةٍ ليلاً في مجالِسِ الانصارِ تسألهم النّصرة  

At nights, the Holiness rode Fatima, upon her be peace, on the riding animal and took her to the sessions of the ‘Ansar’ and then she asked them for help.

فكانوا يقولون: يا بِنت رسولِ اللهِ قد مضت بيعتنا لِهذا الرّجل، و لوانّ زوجكِ وابن عمِّكِ سبق اِلينا قبل ابي بكرٍ ما عدلنا بِهّ.

They used to say: ‘O the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, ‘Our paying homage to this man has come to an end, it is now too late, if this husband and cousin of yours had called us to him earlier than Abu Bakr did, we would not turn him down but join to Abu Bakr.’

فيقول عليّ عليهِ السّلام: أفكنت أدع رسول اللهِ صلّ اللهِ عليهِ و آلِه في بيتِهِ لم أدفِنه و أخرج انازع النّاس سلطانه؟ فقالت فاطِمة: ما صنع ابوالحسنِ اِلاّ ما كان ينبغي له، و لقد صنعوا ما الله حسيبهم و طالِبهم.

The Commander of the believers used to tell them: ‘What! Do you expect me to leave the house to fight the people before ending up the burial ceremony of the Messenger of Allah?’ Then, Fatima would say: ‘Abu Al-Hasan did not do anything but what was needed, but it was the usurers who did the opposite – and you would better condemn them!’^[52]

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