Imamology, Lessons 110-115: The absolute respond of ibn Abbas to Omar concerning the lack of unity between the Prophet-hood and Caliphate

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The absolute respond of ibn Abbas to Omar concerning the lack of unity between the Prophet-hood and Caliphate

Ibn Abbas says, I said: 'O the Emir of the faithful! If you let me speak and control your anger towards me, I can say something!' Omar said: 'O the son of Abbas, say what you want to.' So, I said: the answer to your claim that 'The Quraish chose their own Caliph and succeeded in what they wanted', is that:

'If the Quraish had chosen the same man that Allah, the Honorable and Exalted, had assigned for them, then, they had done the right thing and would succeed; and their action would not be rejected and envied by the people.' But the answer for your second claim that, 'the Quraish did not like to see the Prophet-hood and the Caliphate to be in our family at the same time' is that: in the Glorious Qur'an, Allah brands a group and attributes them to be displeased, as He states:

 ذَلِك بِأَنَّهُمْ كرِهُوا مَا أنزَلَ اللَهُ فَأَحْبَطَ أعْمَالَهُم‏ ^[87]

'…that is because they hated that which Allah has revealed, so (He) has [also] made their actions be frustrated,.'

'And this is because they disliked that which Allah sent for them; therefore, Allah annihilated and destroyed all their good actions.' 

'Far be it from you!' Omar said. 'O the son of Abbas, I wish you knew how ugly things they have reported me concerning you; if I reveal it^[88] you become humiliated and lose your respect in front of me!' I asked: 'Then, what is that, O the Emir of the faithful? If it is right then I deserve not to be disgraced in front of you, but if it is wrong, I am not such a person to commit wrong things!'

Omar said, 'I have heard that you say: They took away the Caliphate from us, the families of Bani Hashim, through envy and oppression! I said: 'O the Emir of the faithful! that which you said: 'by aggression', it is obvious and everyone knows that – it is crystal clear! But that which you said: 'through the envy', it is because the evil is always envy to man, and we too are the children of Adam and are targeted to envy!'

Omar said: 'Far be it from you! By Allah, there is such envy in the hearts of you, the Bani Hashim that will never wipe away; it is an everlasting ill will with you!' I said: 'Please keep quiet a bit, o the Emir of the faithful! Do not attribute the hearts of a tribe whom Allah has purified to be impure! It is because the heart of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, is the heart of the same Bani Hashim.'

Omar said: 'O son of Abbas! Keep away from me!' I answered: 'Okay, I'll keep away,' but as I wanted to stand up, he blushed and said: 'Keep sitting where you are, by Allah, I regard your right and I like that which pleases you!'

I said: 'O the Emir of the faithful, in fact, you are indebted to me, so has every Muslim indebted to me! Whoever considers that right, he benefits and wins, but he who ignores it, he ruins himself.' It was then that Omar stood up and left me.^[89]

Another witness to our claim is Ibn Abd-ar-Raba Qurtabi Ondolusi who was demised in the year of Hijra 328, who says:

وَ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسِ؛ مَا شَيتُ عُمَرَ بنَ الخَطَّابِ يوْماً فَقَالَ لِى: يا ابْنَ عَبَّاس! مَا يمْنَعُ قَوْمَكم مِنكمْ وَ أنتُم أهْلُ البَيتِ خَاصَّة؟! قلتُ: لا أدْرى! قَالَ: لَكنَّنِى أدرى؛ إنَّكمْ فَضَلْتُمُوهُم بِالنُّبُوَّة؛ فَقَالُوا: إن فَضَلُوا بالخلافَة مَعَ النُّبوة لَمْ يبْقُوا لَنَا شَيْئاً؛ وَ إنَّ أفْضَلَ النَّصِيبَينِ بِأيدِيكمْ، بَلْ مَا أخَالُهَا إلا مُجْتَمِعَة لَكم وَ إنْ نَزَلَتْ عَلَى رَغْمٍ أنْفِ قُرَيش.^[90]

Ibn Abbas says: 'once I was walking along with Omar, the son of Khttab, and he told me: "‏O son of Abbas, what made your tribe keep away from you the main member of the relatives of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants?" To his question, I said that I had no idea. Omar said: "But I know that! It is the question of the Messenger-hood! It happened to be in your family and it gave you priority over the Quraish. It was then the Quraish who thought if you had taken the Caliphate there would remain nothing for them. In fact, the better part, Messenger-hood, is already with you! Even I was thinking that you would receive the Caliphate, though it would be against the will of the Quraish."

Ibn Khaldoun, in the very beginning of his discussion on the 'Shiite's Government' says:

وَ فيمَا نَقَلَهُ أهْلُ الأثَارِ أنَّ عُمَرَ قالَ يوْماً لابْنِ عَبَّاس: إنَّ قَوْمَكم- يعنى قُرَيشْاً- مَا أرادَ أن يجْمَعُوا لَكمْ- يعْنى بَنِى هَاشِم- بَينَ النُّبُوَّة و الخِلافَة فَتَحْمُوا عَلَيهِمْ! وَ إنَّ ابنَ عَبَّاسِ نَكر ذَلِك وَ طَلَبَ مِنْ عُمَرَ إذْنَهُ فِى الكلامِ؛ فَتَكلَّمَ بِمَا غَضِبَ لَهُ. وَ ظَهَرَ مِنْ مُحَاوَرَتِهِما أنَّهُمْ كانُوا يعْلَمُونَ أنَّ فِى نُفُوسِ أهْلِ البَيتِ شَيْئاً مِنْ أمْرِ الْخِلَافَة وَ الْعُدُولِ عَنْهُمْ بِهَا.^[91]

'And the outcome of what the narrators and the historians have related is that: Once Omar said to ibn Abbas: 'Your tribe, the Quraish, did not like to see both the Messenger-hood and the Caliphate to happen in your tribe, the Bani Hashim, so that you might get priority over them!' Ibn Abbas took Omar's suggestion as denying, so after asking for his permission to answer him, uttered something that injured Omar's feeling. It was quite clear in their discussion that Omar well knew that the relatives of the Messenger were trying to get the Caliphate back from the usurpers!'

Jorji Zeidan says:

 وَ الظَّاهِرُ مِنْ أقوالِ عُمَرَ وَ غَيرِهِ فِى مَواقِفَ مُختَلفَة أنَّهُمْ رَأوا بَنى هَاشِمٍ قَدِ اعْتَزُّوا بِالنُّبُوة لانَّ النَّبِى مِنْهُمْ، فَلَمْ يسْتَحْسِنُوا أنْ يضِيفوا إلَيهَا الخِلافَة^[92]

'whatever statements of Omar and the others that are found here and there proves that: they saw that the Bani Hashim had received power and respect through the Messenger-hood and also the Messenger's being among them, so they disliked seeing the Caliphate would be theirs, as well.'

Nonetheless, those we have mentioned so far are what Omar and Abu Bakr have stated about the Messenger-hood and the Caliphate. And the corrupt of what we have discussed about so far is quite clear and there is no need to explain it in a separate book. However, to make our claim explicit, we are to refer to the Four Reasons: the Book, the Tradition, Wisdom and Consensus.

Considering the Book, we recently noticed that: when Abu Bakr usurped the Caliphate, Boraida Aslami, was in Sham, and when he returned Medina and saw that Abu Bake had taken the control and authority in his hand, he objected him and said: 'Are you not the same person who, by the command of the Messenger, saluted the attributes of Ali bin Abī Tālib?'

Later, when he heard that the Messenger-hood and the Caliphate cannot be united, Boraida recited this verse in the mosque:

أَمْ يحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ فَقَد ءَاتَينَا ألَ إبْرَاهِيمَ الْكتَبَ وَ الْحِكمَة وَ ءَاتَينَاهُ مُلْكا عَظِيمًا.^[93]

'…or are they jealous of mankind whom Allah has bestowed out of His bounty?

We have certainly given Abraham’s family the Book and wisdom, and We have also given them a mighty sovereignty, (Qur'an: 4/54).'

In this verse, it is clearly observed that Allah has bestowed the Household of Abraham the Book and Wisdom which stand for the messenger-hood, and also He has bestowed the greatest Position, that is, the Caliphate.

However, in the Tradition, with his own documents, Abu Noaim Isfahani has said that Huzaifa Yamani has related:

قَالُوا: يا رسُولَ اللهِ أل تَسْتَخْلِفُ عَلِيا؟ قَالَ: إن تُوَلُّوا عَلِيا تَجِدُوهُ هَاديا مَهْدياً يسْلُك بِكمُ الطَّريقَ المُسْتَقِيم.^[94]

They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, do you not nominate Ali as your Successor?' The Messenger of Allah answered: 'If you take Ali as the Guardian you will find him to be the best Guided one and he will direct you to the straight path!'

And also Abu Noaim has related it by means of another document from Huzaifa saying that:

 قَالَ: رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عَلَيه (و آله) وَ سلّم: إن تَسْتَخْلُفُوا عَلِياً- وَ مَا أراكمْ فَاعِلينَ- تَجِدذوهُ هَادِياً مَهْدِياً يحْمِلُكمْ عَلَى المَحَجَّة البَيضاء^[95]

The Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, stated: 'If you take Ali as your Caliph – which I never believe you do so – you will find him a guided Leader who will direct you to the brightest path.'

And in the both SAHIHS (the SAHIH of Bukhari and the

HIH of Moslim) they have related it by ibn Abbas saying that:

لَمَّا احْتَضَرَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عَلَيهِ (و آلهِ) و سلّم و فِى البَيتِ رِجَالٌ، مِنهُمْ عُمَرُ بنُ الخَطَّاب؛ قَالَ النَّبِى- صلّى الله عليه- هَلُمَّ أكتُبْ لَكم كتَاباً لا تَضِلُّونَ بَعْدَهُ. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: إنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ- صلّى الله عليه- قَد غلَبَ الوَجَعُ؛ وَ عِندَكمْ القُرآنُ حَسْبُنَا كتَابُ اللهِ!

فَاختَلَفَ القَوْمُ وَ اخْتَصُوا؛ فَمِنهُمْ مَن يقُولُ: قَرّبُوا إليه يكتُب لَكم كتاباً لَن تَضِلُّوا بَعْدَهُ؛ وَ مِنهُم مَن يقُولُ: القَوْلُ مَا قَالَهُ عُمَرُ.

فَلَمَّا أكثَروا اللَّغوَ وَ الاخْتِلا فَ عِندَهُ عليه السّلام قَالَ لَهُمْ: قُومُوا، فَقَامُوا. فَكان ابنُ عبّاسٍ يقُولُ: إنَّ الرَّزِية كلَّ الرَّزِية مَا حَالَ بَينَ رَسولِ اللهِ- صلّى الله عليه- و بينَ أن يكتُبَ لَكمْ ذَلِك الْكتَاب.^[96]‏

[Ibn Abbas said:] When the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, was at the point of death, a few men and also Omar bin Khat‘tab were present in his room. The Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, stated:

'Let me write a letter, as my final will, for you so that you shouldn't face any problems after my demise!'

Omar said: 'Pain has overtaken the Messenger of Allah; see, there is a Qur'an by your side and it is enough for us to refer to!'

Due to what Omar said, different opinions and disputes erupted among those in the session. Some of them said: 'Bring a pen and paper for him to write his will so that not to be misled after him,' and a few of them said: 'That is what Omar declared!'

As in that session, in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, some of them uttered irrelevant and nonsense, and also caused differences among them, the Messenger of Allah told them: 'Now, stand up and leave the room.' They too stood up and left the session. Since then, ibn Abbas always kept saying: 'The agony, the worst disguised agony, apparently seems to be of no importance, was that they did not let the Messenger of Allah write that letter!'

And in some narratives, it has been related that Omar had said:^[97] لا نَأتُوهُ بِشَى‏ءٍ, or إنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيهجُر 'Leave him on alone, do not bring him anything, this man is talking nonsense!'

And in a separate narrative, it has been related that ibn Abbas has said:

 فَقَالَ بَعْضُ مَن كانَ عِندَهُ‏, ' إنَّ نَبِى اللَهِ لَيهْجُر'^[98]

"Some of them in his presence said: 'Indeed, the Messenger is talking nonsense!",

Now, we are trying to prove that, at that moment, when he was passing away, the main purpose of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, was getting a pen and a piece of paper so that to write and seal that the Caliph after him would be the Commander of the believers, Ali bin Abī Tālib, Upon Him be Peace. Because, apart from numerous certain clear texts, such as: the verse of the Guardianship, the narrative of Ghadir-e-Khum, the narrative of Thagha‘lain (the two most loved facts), the narrative of the Right, the narrative of the Position, the

opponent to the Guardianship, such as: Omar, Abu Bakr, Abu Obeida Jarrah, Moqirat bin Shaiba and some others; and on the other hand, they forced the army of Osama set out for an unknown destination – which they had already planned it and had put the true men in that army for this purpose – so that not to be in Medina when the Messenger was at the point of death. They wanted to furnish the situation for their own will and desire so that to stop the people paying allegiance to the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace. And also the news which was leaking out of the house of the Messenger by the agents of both Aisha and Hafasa, and the secrets of the Messenger were known by the people. And the case of the Guardianship was very important to the Messenger of Allah, he knew that the enemies were trying to stop it by all means; so he was trying to strengthen and fix the Caliphate in his life time. Because their secrets and tricks were revealed, they did not let Osama's army return Medina, every day they found a new excuse to keep the army wait far away the town. From the very beginning, Omar and Abu Bakr avoided joining the army, and each time when the Messenger asked them why they had not joined the army they created an unreasonable excuse to save them.

For the same reason, on the final days of the generous Messenger's illness, while some of the companions were in his presence, he stated: 'Fetch me a pen and a piece of paper so that I write something for you to show you your duty so that not getting lost after me.' Here, Omar says: 'Illness has overtaken him, he is saying nonsense; for us, the Book of Allah is enough!' However, as tumult raised among the meeting and everyone disagreed the other party, the Messenger of Allah commanded them to leave the meeting; because it was not pleasant to raise tumult in the presence of the messenger.^[99]

By considering the previous subjects, and regarding those people who, when the Messenger of Allah was at the point of death, prevented him writing his desirable letter and announce it to the nation it becomes clear that the main cause was the tricks of some people. It was all by the people who wanted to turn the direction of the Caliphate for their own benefit; finally they chose the Caliph out of the knowledge of Ali bin Abī Tālib, his companions and his close relatives, Bani Hashim – they did everything in secret. Now, do you doubt that the Messenger's aim was something else than assigning Ali for the Caliphate?

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The purpose of Omar by saying nonsense to the Messenger of Allah was to raise a raw and tumult

The fact of their saying, 'This man is talking nonsense,' and 'the illness has over dominated him,' was to cause tumult and to avoid the Messenger to carry out his plan – it was not that his talking was due of his illness.

Because, first of all, no one had heard a pointless word from the Holiness during his life, nor has the history recorded it. And, on the other hand, on the basis of the moral attitude in Islam, and according to his chastity and immunity that Allah has promised in His Book, no one can blame him saying a word of nonsense.

And secondly, if they have taken his utterance as "nonsense" then the following sentence:  حَسْبُنَا كتابُ اللهِ؛ عِندَنا كتَابُ الله‏'The Book of Allah is enough for us; we have the Book of Allah' has no meaning to be placed after that. There must be a reasonable reason to prove the Messenger's nonsense word, rather than: 'The Book of Allah is enough for us; we have the Book of Allah'!

Thirdly, the same Book of Allah has introduced the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, as a sincere obedience, and has announced his word to be as Allah's Own Word; and according to the vivid texts of the Qur'an, people have no choice in front of the command of Allah and the messenger. Thus, the proof for the Qur'an's rightfulness is the very proof for the Messenger's statements; it does not give way for his word being nonsense. And the claim of a single companion against the statement of the Messenger of Allah is nothing but raising commotion.

Fourthly, similar to this event also occurred at the death point of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr; he made his will for the benefit of the second Caliph, Omar. Othman, who was present there, was writing Abu Bakr's will. During the event, Abu Bakr became unconscious and a bit later recovered. In the mean time, the second Caliph Omar, accused Abu Bakr for his nonsense as he had done with the Messenger of Allah; however, he considered the will to be effective, and consequently he took the power to rule the Muslims after the demise of Abu Bakr. So, it becomes clear that the purpose of declaring 'nonsense' was a meaningless word concerning the messenger; similar to the utterance of Abu Bakr that was not so serious to annihilate the entire will. But Omar's action in the presence of the Messenger of Allah caused the will not to be written and sealed.

In the narrative of Omar and the son of Abbas which is concerning the Caliphate, Omar clearly says that: 'as your tribe, (the Quraish, your own), did not want the Caliph be among you, they kept Ali away from the Caliphate.'

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Omar's confession that the Commander of the believers was right to take the Caliphate

Ibn Abi al-Hadid, concerning this discussion, quotes Omar' statement saying:

يا بْنَ عَبَّاسٍ! إنَّ أوّلَ مَنْ رَبَّئكمْ عَنْ هَذَا الأمْرِ أبو بَكْرٍ! إنَّ قَوْمَكمْ كرِهُوا أنْ يجْمَعُوا لَكمُ الخِلافَة وَ النُّبوُة.^[100]

'O son of Abbas, the first man who kept you away from the Caliphate, and retarded the process of the Caliphate, was Abu Bakr. Your tribe considered it unpleasant seeing the Caliphate being within your tribe.'

And also by the means of his documents, ibn Abi al-Hahid has quoted Imam Bāqir, Upon Him be Peace:

قَالَ: مَرَّ عُمَرُ بِعَلِّىٍّ وَ عِنْدَهُ ابْنُ عَبَّاس بِفَنآءِ دَارِهِ، فَسَلَّمَ، فَسَألاهُ: أينَ تُريدُ؟! فَقَالَ: مَا لِى بِينبُعٍ، قَالَ عَلِى: أفَلا نَصِلُ جَنَاحَك وَ نَقُومُ مَعَك؟! فَقَالَ: بَلَى! فَقَالَ لِاْبنِ عَبَاسٍ‏ قُمْ مَعَهُ قَالَ: فَشَبَّك أصَابِعَهُ فِى أصَابِعِى وَ مَضَى، حَتَّى إذَا خَلَّفْنَا الْبَقِيعَ، قَالَ: يا بْنَ عَبَّاسٍ، أمَا وَ اللَهِ أنْ كانَ صَاحِبُك هَذَا أوْلَى النَّاسِ بِالْأمْرِ بَعْدَ وَفَاة رَسُولِ اللهِ، إلَّا أنّا خِفْتَاهُ عَلى اثْنَتَينِ.

قَالَ ابْنُ عَبّاسٍ: فَجَاء بِمَنْطِقٍ لَمْ أَجِد بُداً مَعَهُ مِن مَسألَتِهِ عَنْهُ، فَقُلْتُ: يا أمِيرِالْمُؤمِنِينَ، مَا هُمَا؟! قَالَ: خَشِينَاهُ عَلَى حَدَاثَة سِنِّهِ وَ حُبِّهِ بَنِى عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِب.^[101]

He, (Imam Bāqir, Upon Him be Peace), said: Ali bin Abī Tālib was sitting in the veranda of his house, with son of Abbas when Omar passed by and saluted them. They both asked him: 'Where are you heeding for?' Omar said: 'I am going over my property at Yanbow.'^[102] Ali asked him: 'Do you mind our coming with you?' Omar answered: 'Not at all.' The Holiness told Abbas: 'Okay, Abbas, let's go with him.'

Ibn Abbas says: 'Omar was walking alongside with me, we were hand in hand, walking and talking. We walked forward a good distance and passed by the Baqi‘ Graveyard. Then, Omar told me: 'O son of Abbas, by Allah, this companion of you was the most deserving man to be the Caliph after the demise of the Messenger of Allah, but it was only two attributes that we avoided him.'

Ibn Abbas says: 'It was Omar who started talking and I have nothing to do but just asking him something, therefore, I asked: 'O the Emir of the faithful, what are those two attributes?' Omar answered: 'We were only worried that Ali was too young for the position of the Caliphate, and another one was that he was towards the children of Abd-ul-Mot‘talib.'

After it became clear that Omar and his followers had confessed Ali bin Abī Tālib was the right person for the Caliphate, then, according to the religious law and command, the violator must be kicked out; or he must be volunteer to leave his position and give way to the righteous one. And if those who had supported the previous Caliph were not opponent to Ali bin Abī Tālib, their religious duty and responsibility was that: as soon as the demise of the Messenger of Allah to turn to the right path, to Ali, and all together to become under the banner of the real Islam. This was the only right thing to do, but not that they united with the opponent Quraish and stood against Ali bin Abī Tālib. They usurped the Caliphate and forced Ali and his companions to pay homage to their fake government! And then, (‘فَلْتَة’ means a sudden and accidental happening, without the earlier noticing and plan), for the satisfaction of the Quraish, they broke the ribs of Fatima, and even by the command of Omar, Abu Bakr's slave lashed Fatima so hard on the arm that the marks of wiping remained on her arm until her demised.

Abu Bakr, who has sent Omar and Khalid bin Walid to Ali's house, had ordered them that: 'If Fatima holds Ali and prevents him to be taken away, they must keep her aside by force. So they did separate her from Ali in this way. And Omar took Ali's sword away and throw it in a distance and then, delivered Ali to Khalid bin Walid and his men to take him to the mosque. Ali bin Abī Tālib, avoided going with them to the mosque but they dragged him by force.^[103]

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The chosen Caliphs, after the Messenger of Allah, are condemned in the court of the history

Anyhow, I wish these historical events, which put them in shame, were only in Shiite's books, the Sunnite's books are also full of them. Whoever refers to the 'History of Tabari, ibn Athir, ibn Ghotaiba in "Al-Imamate and Politics" and ibn Abi al-Hadid and even some more books, he will find their aggressions against Islam.

It is crystal clear that for saving those aggressive governments, the Sunnite did their best. Their untimely cooperation caused the governments of the Omavid and the Abbasid to rise and not only govern the Muslim world like slave, but dominated the poor people of the other countries. For six centuries, they had their Pharaoh-type of government afflicting the poor people.

There have written numerous books concerning their corrupt and the worldly passions. But nowadays, such tyrannical governments have been ruined and forgotten, and it is time they returned to the history and changed their way of thinking and living. It is right time they would stop opposing the narrative of the two loved facts, the event of Ghadir, the Ashirah narrative, the narrative of the Guardianship and many more the other narratives which their books are full up with them. It is time they would stop making excuses and reveal the fact to the world; and all of them, according to the command of the Qur'an, not to separate the Guardianship with the true laws and religion, and then, all to embrace the Holy Ja‘far's school.

I call Allah to bear witness that this is the advice of a well-wisher man who has studied for a long period of time, and investigated the facts to find out the right from wrong and then offer him to the young generation as well as the ignorant people just for the sake of Allah. By the power and the might of Allah, I have tried to make them feel the illumination of the Fact, and by reading these pages, to choose their way which is the straight path of Ali's Guardianship

 وَفقهم الله جميعاً و هَداهُم إلى صِراطِهِ المستقيم و مَنهجِهِ القويم، امين يا ربَّ الْعَالَمين‏

'May Allah succeed them all and guide them to the straight path.'

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The sermons of the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, in the necessity of the Caliphate in his blissful personality

In his second sermon, in "Nahj-ul-Balagha", the Commander of the believers, states:

زَرَعُوا الْفُجُورَ، وَ سَقَوهُ الغُرُورَ، وَ حَصَدُوا التُّبُورَ لَا يقَاسُ بِآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم مِنْ هَذِهِ الْامَّة أحَدٌ، و لا يُسَوَى بِهِمْ مَنْ جَرَتْ نِعْمَتُهُمْ عَلَيهِ أبَداً. هُمْ أسَاسُ الدينِ، وَ عِمَادُ الْيقِينِ؛ إلَيهِمْ بَقِئُ الْغالِى، وَ بِهِمْ يلْحَقُّ التَالِى، وَ لَهُمْ خَصَائِصُ حَقِّ الْوِلَاية، وَ فِيهِمُ الوَصِية وَ الوِرَاثَة. الانَ إذْ رَجَعَ الْحَقُّ إلَى أهْلِهِ، وَ نُقِلَ إلَى مُنْتَقَلِه.^[104]

They sowed vices, watered them with deception and harvested destruction.

None in the Islamic community can be taken at par with the Household of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, bless be to Him and his Descendants. One who was under their obligation cannot be matched with them. They are the foundation of religion and pillar of Belief. The forward runner has to turn back to them while the follower has to overtake them. They possess the chief characteristics for the Guardianship. In their favour exists the will and succession (of the Prophet); it is the time when right would return to its owner and diverted to its centre of return.

Here, we notice that the Holiness Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, has mentioned it in the beginning of his government. First of all, he says: 'None among this nation is at the same rank and level of the Household.' And then, after explaining their characters and attributes, he states: 'Now, the right has turned to the right owner; it is now at the very beginning station.'

Are these clear statements not that both the Prophet-hood and the Guardianship belonged to the family of Bani Hashim? Are these clear sentences not showing the corruption in the government of the previous chosen Caliphs, which has now found its true course; and that the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, is the all-inclusive Messenger-hood and the Guardianship?

In his sixth sermon, in "Nahj-ul-Balagha", he states:

وَ اللهِ لا أكونُ كالضَّبعِ تَنَامُ عَلَى طُولِ اللَّدَمِ، حَتَّى يصِلَ إلَيهَا طَالِبُهَا، وَ يخْتِلُهَا رَاصِدُهَا، وَ لَكنِّى أضْرِبُ بِالْمُقْبِل إلَى الحَقِّ المُدبِرَ عَنْهُ، وَ بِالسَّامِعِ الْمُطِيعِ الْعَاصِى الْمُرِيبَ أبداً حَتَّى يأتِى عَلَى يؤْمى. فَوَ اللهِ مَازِلْتُ مَدْفُوعاً عَنْ حَقِّى مُستَأثَراً عَلَى مُنذُ قَبَضَ اللهُ نَبِيهُ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيهِ (و آلهِ) وَ سَلَّمَ حَتَّى يَؤْمَ النَّاسَ هَذَا.^[105]

'By Allah I shall not be like the pestered which feigns sleep on continuous (sound of) stone-throwing till he who is in search of it finds it or he who is on the lookout for it overpowers it. Rather, I shall ever strike the deviators from truth with the help of those who advance towards it, and the sinners and doubters with the help of those who listen to me and obey, till my day (of death) comes. By Allah, I have been continually deprived of my right from the day when the Prophet, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, died till today.'^[106]

(The Holiness delivered this sermon after his son, the Holiness Imam Hassan, Upon Him be Peace, had asked him not to go after Talha and Zubair, who had broken their allegiance and were prepaid to fight them).

In this sermon, the Holiness clearly states: 'Since the demise of the Messenger of Allah, the Caliphate has been our own right.'

Randleson, whose book has been translated in Arabic, says:

وَ يرِى أحْمَدُ بنُ حَنبَلِ أنَّهُ بَعْدَ مَقتلِ عِلِى خَطَبَ الحَسَنُ بِالنَّاسِ، فَقَالَ: لَقَدْ قُبِضَ فِى هَذِهِ اللَّيلَة رَجُلٌ لَمْ يسْبِقُهُ الاوَّلُونَ بِعَمَلٍ، وَ لا يدْرِكهُ الاخِرُونَ بِعَمَلٍ، وَ قَدْ نَصَبَهُ رَسُولُ لله.^[107]

'Ahmad Hanbal relates that after Ali was killed, [his son] Hassan addressed the people saying: "At this night, the soul of such a man has passed away that none of the predecessors could take precedence in their actions of him, nor can the oncoming be similar to him in their good actions – and the Messenger of Allah had assigned him."'

Then, he says: وَ قَدْ فَقَشْنَا صِحَّة هَذِهِ القَضِية آنِفا 'and, [in the forgoing subject], we discussed over this case.' However, this discussion does not damage our purpose which is the quotation of Ahmad Hanbal and the statement of the Holiness Imam Hassan, Upon Him be peace, it is because the disputation is his personal opinion and has nothing to do with the narrative.

Anyhow, these all these forgoing subjects were some of the narratives concerning the togetherness of the Prophet-hood and Guardianship in the dynasty of Bani Hashim; if one refers to the authentic history books he finds the fact is what we say.

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The wisdom's command to the invalidity of the necessity of the lack of unity between the prophet-hood and caliphate in a single household

But to the question of wisdom: that is the command of wisdom to the invalidity of the lack of togetherness of the Prophet-hood and the Guardianship in a single family, we say: the intellect commands that whoever can govern the nation in the best way, and is the most compassion towards them, so is the brave, and generous, the wisest and more knowledgeable about the religious affairs and the traditions, and so is aware and believes the essence of the Unity, and controls his internal and external passions, and is familiar with the illuminating world is the best one to the position of the government to govern the nation. Then, the affairs of the nation to be solved by the board of council, and in a time serious problem to refer to him so that to be solved by his vast knowledge; in this kind of government – the intellect command – there is no difference whether the chosen one is from among a prophet dynasty or any common families. The standard is his vast knowledge in all aspects of life, to govern the nation in the best way and protect them against the enemies and the dangers; to direct the whole nation towards the perfection and the spiritual state and in the mean time, to train them to earn and run their daily lives – in short, to train them to appreciate the blessings while they are enjoying them.

In case, if this process is a in family that the prophet-hood is also therein – similar to the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace – in that case he alone means the intellect command to see to the necessity of the government and the Caliphate. However, if these meanings are not found in the dynasty of the prophet-hood, like the son of Noah, the messenger of Allah may peace and salutation be upon him, the intellect does not command to follow him, but it commands to follow someone who is the standard of the perfection.

And when we see that they put Ali bin Abī Tālib aside only for his good points, not bad points, while even the opponents say: after the demise of the Messenger of Allah Ali was the person for the position of the Caliphate, but the Quraish did not like to see the Prophet-hood and the Caliphate to be in a single family. And they said, 'he has excessive affection towards the sons of Abd-ul-Mot l‘talib,' or they said, 'he is too young!' Here, it is clear that they have acted against the command of wisdom and the needs of the nation. Instead, even in the opinions of the enemies, they have put the government in the disposal of one who is far behind Ali.

In this case, it is clear that the nation of Islam did not make progress after the demise of the Messenger of Allah; they inclined day after day. It is because if a nation gives his authority to someone less capable its situation always deteriorates.^[108] And we see that the progress of Islam after the demise of the Messenger was next to nothing except that overtaking few countries or towns. However, the authority and the affairs of the nation were in the hand of the commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, many countries would have been captured, people would have more spiritual souls, they would have found tendency towards Allah, everything would have accomplished according to the nature of the messenger, the Caliphate would not give way to the government-ship and the people of the world would enjoy the true Islam up to the Resurrection Day. But as the course of the invitation was changed, and the track of publicizing was altered, therefore, people all around the world could not taste the true Islam, and spiritual side of life, the brotherhood and equality, generosity and the lack of biasness among the different tribes. Therefore, they remained in the same system of the idolatry as they were before. The progress, Monotheism and justice ceased where it already were – they were all turned over to happen at the bright time and era of the Holiness Mahdi, the True Existing of the Household of Muhammad, the Eminence son of al-Hassan al-Askari, may our souls be sacrifice to him, and may Allah hasten his noble advent!

And, nowadays, this sect of the Shiites who are scattered around the world, and they are enough in number to establish their own governments, are all due to the trial of the Master of the martyrs, and the Holiness Imam Sādiq, Peace and salutation be upon them both, that each one in his turn, as well as the other Household, Peace be upon them all, have tried to reach the fact and the commands of Allah to the people of the world, and in the mean time, to save their lives and support Islam. Thus since that time up to now, comparing with the Sunnite, Shiite has increased in number, while the Sunnite has lost its initial number. This is not but the sense of Guardianship in the hearts of people – as well understanding the true meaning of it.

Altogether, the outcome of our discussion on the wisdom is that: the utterance of Omar which has been claimed: the main cause of our putting aside the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, from the government and Caliphate upon the Muslims was that the unity of the prophet-hood and the Caliphate in a single family at the same time, which is sheer nonsense! There is neither a religious commandment to confirm it nor wisdom commands it, it is a false statement and both are condemned in the court of religious and wisdom!

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The mass uprising to the lack of the prophet-hood and caliphate in a single household

And the next question is the gathering, that is, the unanimous opinions and verdicts of all nations in Islam against the prophet-hood and the Caliphate to be a single family at the same time. From the right beginning of Islam up to now, we have not seen a person in any history and traditional books to have a problem concerning the prophet-hood and the Caliphate. The rightfulness of Imams and the religious Leaders, peace be upon the all, after the demise of the Messenger are reliable proof for this question; even the pre-Islamic history proves the rightfulness of the messengers and their agreement about the unity of the messenger-hood and the Imamate. On the whole, as we mentioned it in the section of wisdom, we can say that this unity is the same as the reason of the intellect, and as the messengers have constantly are sent to guide the people, the worldly leadership, and the spiritual guardianship have been in their hands; otherwise, the messenger-hood without guardianship and governing the nations have no effect. Allah has sent the messengers to guide the people and direct them to the just and the straight pat, and to show them the standard way of living – so, this is not possible without the unity of the messenger-hood and the Guardianship; as is stated:

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلُنَا بِالْبَينَاتِ وَ أَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكتَابَ وَ الْمِيزَانَ لِيقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَ أَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهَ بَأسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَ مَنافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَ لِيعْلَمَ اللَهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ وَ رُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيبِ إِنَّ اللَهَ لَقَوىُ عَزِيز.^[109]

'…indeed We sent [Our] messengers with apparent proofs [and miracles] and We sent with them the Book and the Balance, so that people to conduct themselves with all fairness. And We sent iron laden with strength and having benefits for men, so that Allah may make it clear who supports Him and His messengers secretly. Surly Allah is the Invincible Almighty – [that is, He has endless power and relies on His Own], (Qur'an: 57/25).'

Here, we see that Allah is mentioning the benefit of His creating iron on the earth is for the believers to make weapons out of it, then, alongside of the messengers, to fight the enemies and teach them a good lesson.

By the way, can a messenger, without having authority to rule the people in their worldly affairs, fight the enemy?!

وَ كمْ مِنْ نَبِى قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيونَ كثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُوا لِمَا أَصَابَهُم فِى سَبِيلِ اللَهِ وَ مَا ضَعُفُوا وَ مَا اسْتَكانُوا وَ اللَهُ يحِبُّ الصَّابِرِين.‏ ^[110]

'…and many a prophet has fought alongside with so many devoted men. They did not fail despite what afflicted them for the sake of Allah – they neither weakened nor gave in [enemies,] and Allah loves the patient, (Qur'an: 3/146).'

  فَقَدْ اتَينَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكتَابَ وَ الْحِكمَة وَ ءَاتَينَاهُمْ مُلْكاً عَظِيمًا.^[111]

'…We have certainly given Abraham’s family the Book and wisdom, and We have also given them a mighty sovereignty, (Qur'an: 4/54).'

فَهَزَمُوهُمْ بِإذْنِ اللَهِ وَ قَتَلَ دَاوُدُ جَالُوتَ وَ آتَاهُ اللَهُ الْمُلْك وَ الْحِكمَة وَ عَلَّمَهُ مِمَّا يشَآء^[112]

'…thus, they defeated them by Allah’s Leave; and David killed Goliath, and Allah bestowed him the kingdom and wisdom, and taught him what He wanted, (Qur'an: 2/251).'

قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَ هَبْ لِى مُلْكا لَا ينْبَغِى لِأحَدٍ مِن بَعْدِى إنَّك أنتَ الْوَهَّاب.^[113]

'…he, (Solomon), said: ‘O my Lord, forgive me, and bestow me such a kingdom that will not befall anyone after me; surely You are the Great Bounty-giver, (Qur'an: 38/35).' ‏

Anyhow, in these verses we see that Allah has assigned the Guardianship and authority for the messengers, but for the time being, we are pointing at it and are not mentioning those verses that confirm the unity between the messenger-hood and the Guardianship – even the events at the time of the previous messengers.

The outcome of our discussion: 'the dispatch of the messengers and the invitation of the society is not possible without the guarantor to execute the affairs of the divine commands and hold the position of the Caliphate; and all the messengers have the authority  and the status of the Guardianship to govern the people under their control.

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The separation of the prophet-hood, caliphate and the governing is the separation of the religion from the politics

On the basis of the holy Islamic judgment no one can imagine the separation of the messenger-hood from the Guardianship and ruler-ship! As the Islamic religion is comprehensive, and its laws, commands and rules are for all needs and necessities of human – including cardinal, spiritual, worldly needs and the Hereafter, the manifest and the unseen – apart from that they do not oppose one another, they even have harmony and agreement. This invites man to save the world, and the world too represents itself as the preliminary step of connecting to the denotation. The heart is the preserver and guard of the manifest; and the manifest is the mirror, the mirror of the heart. In fact, it is just one affair appearing in different shapes and ranks. Therefore, the announcement of the separation of the spirituality (religion) from politics is the acute sword in the hand of the usurper colonizers for the hermit of the religions of the people, and doing away with the justice and the rightfulness – these are all drown from the statement of Omar!

Does it mean anything else than the separation of the messenger-hood from the Caliphate in a single family?

Omar said: 'Let, after the Messenger of Allah, the prophet-hood be yours, the family of Bani Hashim – for Ali bin Abī Tālib – we have nothing to do with it. Let all inspirations and the Divine spiritual conditions be yours, we do not care it, blessed be it for you; however, the government and the ruler-ship cannot be yours. It must go to those other than the Household of the prophet-hood, those who lack the knowledge of the Book and are unaware of the path of the Messenger.'

'Although the Household are fully acquaintance with the Book of Allah and the traditions of the Messenger, they are of no use for us; we have the Book of Allah with us and it is enough! We can manage to run our daily affairs and the affairs of the society with it. Making mistakes are not so important to us. The Household, who are certain of the fact of the Qur'an, as it is stated:

 و لا يمَسُّهُ إلّا الْمُطَهَّرون‏ ^[114]

'…and none except the purified may touch it, (Qur'an: 56/79).' ‏ are assigned to be at the highest position, to be the spring of the religion and the laws and commands – for themselves and for their followers. So, we have nothing to do with that, however, having the authority to rule the nation and looking after their affairs and problems and directing them how to live and when to fight are all with us.'

This is an obvious manifestation for separating the religion from the politics.

On the ground that the Quraish would never tolerate Bani Hashim, and Bani Hashim must not govern the Quraish, Omar put forward the case of the separation of the Caliphate from the Household of the Messenger which it directly belonged to the Commander of the believers, Ali bin Abī Tālib, Upon Him be Peace.

We did not come across with anyone except Abu Bakr and Omar to claim such nonsense! His main aim of suggesting Quraish was he himself, he belonged to the tribe of the Quraish, but not of Bani Hashim!

Those, who consider themselves to be great, always ask for their personal desires in the name of the nation and the country – even if all the people, living in that country, are against his opinion and desire! For example, we read somewhere that the President of America says: 'Washington does not tolerate a certain word,' or the Queen Elizabeth of England says: 'London wants to do such and such,' or the Prime Minister of Russia says: 'Moscow has decided to do a certain thing.' In fact, those proud people take the whole nations and the country to be their property and slaves; as one of the France Rulers said: 'France means, 'Me' only.'

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