Part One : The incident of al-Aqabah and those who were involved in it
Part Two : Status of al-Walid Ibn Jumia’
Part Three : The Nifaq of Umar
Part Four : The Taqqiyyah of Hudayfah
Part Five : The Ahle Saqifah trying to get rid of this incident
Part Six : How could Umar do so?
Welcome to our blog! In this article, we shall demonstrate that Umar Ibn al-Khattab and the companions of Saqifah tried to kill the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the incident of al-Aqabah.
Part One : The incident of al-Aqabah and those who were involved in it
The Imam of Ahle Saqifah, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal narrated :
حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ، أَخْبَرَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنِ جُمَيْعٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الطُّفَيْلِ قَالَ: لَمَّا أَقْبَلَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ مِنْ غَزْوَةِ تَبُوكَ أَمَرَ مُنَادِيًا فَنَادَى: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ أَخَذَ الْعَقَبَةَ، فَلَا يَأْخُذْهَا أَحَدٌ. فَبَيْنَمَا رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُودُهُ حُذَيْفَةُ وَيَسُوقُ بِهِ عَمَّارٌ إِذْ أَقْبَلَ رَهْطٌ مُتَلَثِّمُونَ عَلَى الرَّوَاحِلِ، غَشَوْا عَمَّارًا وَهُوَ يَسُوقُ بِرَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ، وَأَقْبَلَ عَمَّارٌ يَضْرِبُ وُجُوهَ الرَّوَاحِلِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لِحُذَيْفَةَ: ” قَدْ، قَدْ ” حَتَّى هَبَطَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ، فَلَمَّا هَبَطَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ نَزَلَ وَرَجَعَ عَمَّارٌ، فَقَالَ: ” يَا عَمَّارُ، هَلْ عَرَفْتَ الْقَوْمَ؟ ” فَقَالَ: قَدْ عَرَفْتُ عَامَّةَ الرَّوَاحِلِ وَالْقَوْمُ مُتَلَثِّمُونَ. قَالَ: ” هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا أَرَادُوا؟ ” قَالَ: اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: ” أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَنْفِرُوا بِرَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ فَيَطْرَحُوهُ. فَقَالَ عَمَّارٌ: أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ الِاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ الْبَاقِينَ حَرْبٌ لِلَّهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْأَشْهَادُ
Yazid narrated from al-Walid Ibn Jumia’ that Abu Tufayl said : When Rasul-Allah ﷺ returned from Tabuk, he ordered that he is going through the pass of al-Aqaba and nobody else should take that route and with him were Hudayfah Ibn al-Yaman & Ammar Ibn Yasir.
Then a group of masked men approached them on their camels. So Ammar approached them and slapped the faces of their camels until Rasul-Allah ﷺ came off the valley and when Ammar returned, He ﷺ asked him ‘O Ammar, have you recognized them?’ He replied, ‘I recognized most of the camels and the men with their faces covered.’
Rasul-Allah ﷺ said ‘Do you know what they intended?’ Ammar replied, ‘Allah & His Messenger ﷺ knows best.’ He ﷺ replied : ‘They wanted to throw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ down the mountain.’
Ammar said : ‘I bear witness that the twelve who tried to throw Him ﷺ down are at war with Allah & His Messenger ﷺ in the world and on the day of resurrection.
~Musnad Ahmad vol 39:210-211
•Shaykh Shuayb al-Arnaut on the footnote said :
إسناده قوي على شرطة مسلم
The chain is strong upon the condition of Sahih Muslim.
• Allamah Nur ad-Deen al-Haythami said about this Hadith :
رواه أحمد، ورجاله رجال الصحيح.
This was narrated by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal with a narration of the narrators of al-Sahih.
~Majmaa’ al-Zawa’id vol 6:195
Here, we see the sanad upon the authenticity of Sahih Muslim through the chain of Walid Ibn Jumia’ to Abu Tufayl narrating this incident but the names of those who tried to kill Rasul-Allah ﷺ are censored as it invalidates the policies of the Ahle Saqifah. However, we find their names in a different book mentioned by Walid Ibn Jumia, the narrator, as Allamah Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi mentioned :
وَأَمَّا حَدِيثُ حُذَيْفَةَ فَسَاقِطٌ، لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ جُمَيْعٍ – وَهُوَ هَالِكٌ – وَلَا نَرَاهُ يَعْلَمُ مَنْ وَضَعَ الْحَدِيثَ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ رَوَى أَخْبَارًا فِيهَا أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ، وَعُمَرَ، وَعُثْمَانَ، وَطَلْحَةَ، وَسَعْدَ بْنَ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ رضي الله عنهم أَرَادُوا قَتْلَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وَإِلْقَاءَهُ مِنْ الْعَقَبَةِ
As for the Hadith of Hudayfah Ibn al-Yaman, it is invalid because it is narrated by al-Walid Ibn Jumia, who did not know who fabricated this Hadith as he narrated that Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Talha, and Sa’ad Ibn Abi Waqqas intended to kill the Prophet ﷺ in the incident of al-Aqabah.
~al-Muhalla bil-Athar vol 12:160
• al-Walid Ibn Jumia, the narrator of the incident, explicitly mentions that Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Talha & Sa’ad tried to kill the Prophet and as expected the writer has deemed al-Walid Ibn Jumia weak for what he narrated and called this narration invalid, but we shall see the status of al-Walid Ibn Jumia in the part below.
Part Two : Status of al-Walid Ibn Jumia’
1) He is a narrator of Sahih Muslim :
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أَحْمَدَ الْكُوفِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ جُمَيْعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الطُّفَيْلِ، قَالَ كَانَ بَيْنَ رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعَقَبَةِ وَبَيْنَ حُذَيْفَةَ بَعْضُ مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فَقَالَ أَنْشُدُكَ بِاللَّهِ كَمْ كَانَ أَصْحَابُ الْعَقَبَةِ قَالَ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْقَوْمُ أَخْبِرْهُ إِذْ سَأَلَكَ قَالَ كُنَّا نُخْبَرُ أَنَّهُمْ أَرْبَعَةَ عَشَرَ فَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنْهُمْ فَقَدْ كَانَ الْقَوْمُ خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ وَأَشْهَدُ بِاللَّهِ أَنَّ اثْنَىْ عَشَرَ مِنْهُمْ حَرْبٌ لِلَّهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأَشْهَادُ
Abu Ahmad al-Kufi narrated from al-Walid Ibn Jumia’ that Abu Tufayl said :
There was a dispute between Hudayfah and one of the people of Aqaba, he said ‘I ask you by Allah, O Hudayfah, tell me how many were the people of Aqaba?’ He replied ‘We have been informed they were fourteen and if you were one of them then they were fifteen and twelve amongst them are at war with Allah and His Messenger ﷺ in this world and on the day of the witness.
~Sahih Muslim, 2779 c
https://sunnah.com/muslim:2779c
• It is agreed by the Ahle Saqifah that all of the narrators of al-Sahihayn (Bukhari and/or Muslim) are trustworthy. Interestingly, even in Sahih Muslim we find Walid Ibn Jumia’ narrating about the people of al-Aqabah, and if you are curious as to who is this person from al-Aqabah quarreling with Hudayfah? Then it was Abu Musa al-Ashari, as Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated with the same Sanad as Sahih Muslim :
عن الوليد بن جميع عن أبي الطفيل قال: كان بين حذيفة وبين رجل منهم من أهل العقبة بعض ما يكون بين الناس، (فقال): أنشدك باللَّه، كم كان أصحاب العقبة؟ فقال القوم: فأخبره فقد سالك، فقال أبو موسى الأشعري: قد كنا نخبر أنهم أربعة عشر، فقال حذيفة: وإن كنت فيهم فقد كانوا خمسة عشر، أشهد باللَّه أن إثني عشر منهم حرب للَّه ورسوله في الحياة الدنيا ويوم يقوم الأشهاد،
al-Walid Ibn Jumia‘ narrated from Abu Tufayl that : There was an argument between Hudayfah and one of the men who was at al-Aqabah, the man asked ‘I ask you by Allah, how many were the companions of al-Aqabah?’ The people insisted Hudayfah.
Abu Musa al-Ashari said ‘We were told that they were fourteen.’ Hudayfah replied ‘If you were amongst them then they were fifteen and I swear by Allah that twelve amongst them are at war with Allah and His Messenger ﷺ in this world and the day of resurrection.’
~Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah vol 7:445
P.s : We have more evidence on the Nifaq of Abu Musa al-Ashari but that is for a different article. For now, let us continue with al-Walid Ibn Jumia’
2) Hafidh Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani mentioned :
الوليد بن جميع, قال أحمد، وأبو داود: ليس به بأس. وقال ابن معين، والعجلي: ثقة. وقال أبو زرعة: لا بأس به. وقال أبو حاتم: صالح الحديث. وقال عمرو بن علي: كان يحيى بن سعيد لا يحدثنا عنه، فلما كان قبل موته بقليل حدثنا عنه. وذكره ابن حبان في الثقات.
al-Walid Ibn Jumia –
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal & Abu Dawood al-Sijastani said : ‘There is no problem with him.’
Yahya Ibn Ma’in and al-Ijli said : He is Thiqah (trustworthy)
Abu Zura’a al-Raazi said : ‘There is no problem in him.’
Abu Haatim al-Raazi said : ‘He is good in Hadith.’
Amr Ibn Ali said : Yahya Ibn Sa’eed al-Qattan wouldn’t narrate from him but before he passed away he started to tell us his hadiths.
Ibn Hibban mentioned him in his al-Thiqat (The book on trustworthy narrators)
~Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb vol 4:318
Part Three : The Nifaq of Umar
1) Abu Yusuf Ya’qoub Ibn Sufyan al-Fasawi mentioned :
حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ نُمَيْرٍ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الصَّلْتِ حَدَّثَنَا مَنْصُورُ بْنُ أَبِي الْأَسْوَدِ عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ وَهْبٍ ..رَوَى عَنْ عُمَرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِحُذَيْفَةَ: أَنَا من المنافقين
Ibn Numayr narrated from Muhammad Ibn al-Salt who narrated from Mansoor Ibn Abi al-Aswad that al-Amash narrated from Zayd Ibn Wahb that :
Umar Ibn al-Khattab said to Hudayfah ‘I am amongst the Munafiqeen.’
~al-Ma’arifat wa al-Taarikh vol 2:769
In the commentary Abu Yusuf al-Fasawi said :
وَهَذَا الْمَحَّالُ وَأَخَافُ أَنْ يَكُونَ كَذَبَ
‘This is impossible, and I fear that it is a lie.’
~Ibid vol 2:769
• al-Fasawi called it a lie accusing Zayd Ibn Wahb of it but he is a narrator of al-Sahihayn for example – Sahih al-Bukhari 535 and Hafidh Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani wrote in al-Fasawi’s refutation :
قال الفسوي: وهذا محال. قلت: هذا تعنت زائد، وما بمثل هذا تضعف الإثبات، ولا ترد الأحاديث الصحيحة، فهذا صدر من عمر عند غلبة الخوف، وعدم أمن المكر، فلا يلتفت إلى هذه الوساوس الفاسدة في تضعيف الثقات
al-Fasawi said ‘This is impossible.’ I say : This is stubbornness from al-Fasawi and proofs aren’t weakened by such arguments nor are authentic hadiths rejected like this.
This was said by Umar because of overwhelming fear. Hence, no attention should be paid to such corrupt thoughts in weakening trustworthy narrators (Zayd Ibn Wahb).
~Hadi al-Saari Muqadammah Fath al-Baari page 404.
• Allamah Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Adam said :
زيد بن وهب من أجلة التابعين وثقاتهم، متفق على الاحتجاج به، إلا ما كان من يعقوب الفسوي، فإنه قال في “تاريخه”: في حديثه خلل كثير، ولم يصب الفسوي، ثم إنه ساق من روايته قول عمر: “يا حذيفة بالله أنا من المنافقين”، قال: وهذا محُال أخاف أن يكون كذبًا فهذا الذي استنكره الفسوي من حديثه، ما سُبِق إليه، ولو فتحنا هذه الوساوس علينا، لرددنا كثيرًا من السنن الثابتة بالوهم الفاسد
Zayd Ibn Wahb was amongst the foremost Tabiun and he was trustworthy and was considered an authority unanimously except Ya’qoub al-Fasawi who said in his ‘Taarikh’ there are many errors in Zayd’s Hadith and al-Fasawi was not correct in saying this and then he cited from Zayd a narration with the saying of Umar :
‘O Hudayfah, I am amongst the Munafiqeen.’
al-Fasawi said : This is impossible and I fear it is a lie. This is how Al-Fasawi denounced Zayd’s hadith. It has not been done before. If we were to open up these obsessions to ourselves, we would reject many established traditions with corrupt illusions.
~Mashariq al-Anwar vol 2:412
2) Allamah adh-Dhabhi mentioned :
ﻭﻛﺎﻥ اﻟﻨﺒﻲ ﷺ ﻗﺪ ﺃﺳﺮ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺣﺬﻳﻔﺔ ﺃﺳﻤﺎء اﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﻘﻴﻦ، ﻭﺿﺒﻂ ﻋﻨﻪ اﻟﻔﺘﻦ اﻟﻜﺎﺋﻨﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻷﻣﺔ, ﻭﻗﺪ ﻧﺎﺷﺪﻩ ﻋﻤﺮ: ﺃﻧﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﻘﻴﻦ؟ ﻓﻘﺎﻝ: ﻻ، ﻭﻻ ﺃﺯﻛﻲ ﺃﺣﺪا ﺑﻌﺪﻙ
The Prophet ﷺ told the names of the munafiqeen to Hudayfah, so Umar asked him ‘Am I one of the hypocrites?’ He replied : ‘No, I will not tell anyone about it after you.’
~Siyar Alam an-Nubala vol 2:364
• Why was Umar so worried if he was not present in the incident of al-Aqabah? Something seems fishy, anyway, later in this article, we will mention that Hudayfah Ibn al-Yaman was practicing Taqiyyah in front of Umar fearing death, when he said ‘No’ to him.
3) Ahmad Ibn Hanbal mentioned :
عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ قَالَ: دَخَل عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ عَلَى أُمِّ سَلَمةَ فَقَالَتْ: سَمِعْتُ النَّبِىَّ ﷺ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ مِنْ أَصْحَابِى لَمَنْ [لَا] يَرَانِى بَعْدَ أَنْ أَمُوتَ أَبَدًا فَخَرَجَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ مِنْ عِنْدهَا مَذْعُورًا حَتَّى دَخَلَ عَلَى عُمَرَ فَقَالَ [لَهُ]: اسْمَعْ مَا تَقُولُ أُمُّكَ، فَقَامَ عُمَرُ يَشْتَدُّ حَتَّى دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا فَسَأَلَهَا ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَنْشُدُكِ اللَّه أَمِنْهُم أَنَا؟ قَالُتْ: لَا، وَلَنْ أُبَرِّئَ بَعْدَكَ أَحَدًا
Masrooq said : Abd al-Rahman Ibn Awf visited Umm Salamah and she told him “I heard the Prophet ﷺ say ‘Amongst my companions are those who will never see me after I die.”‘
Hearing this, Abd al-Rahman left, terrified and went to Umar and said ‘Listen to what your mother is saying!’ Umar stood up and hurried towards Umm Salamah’s house and asked ‘I ask you by Allah, am I one of them?‘ She replied, ‘No, but I will not tell anyone about this after you.’
~Musnad Ahmad Vol 44:263
•Shaykh Shuayb al-Arnaut said on the footnote : The Hadith is Sahih (حديث صحيح)
• Why would Umm al-Mu’meenin be saying something like that to Abd al-Rahman Ibn Awf? Is this how one treats a companion of Rasul-Allah? And why did Ibn Awf hurry to Umar after hearing what he heard? Were’nt they both already promised “Jannah” by the Prophet then why the worry?
Part Four : The Taqqiyyah of Hudayfah
1) Shams al-Aimmah al-Sarakhshi said :
وقد كان حذيفة ممن يستعمل التقية
Hudhayfah was one of those who used Taqiyya
~al-Mabsoot vol 24:46
2) Abu Yusuf al-Fasawi mentioned :
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو هِلَالٍ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: لَوْ كُنْتُ عَلَى شَاطِئِ نَهْرٍ وَقَدْ مَدَدْتُ يَدِي لِأَغْرِفَ فَحَدَّثْتُكُمْ بِكُلِّ مَا أَعْلَمُ مَا وَصَلَتْ يَدِي إِلَى فَمِي حَتَّى أُقْتَلَ
Abu Hilal narrated from Qatadah that Hudayfah said :
If I were on the bank of a river and stretched my hand to drink water, in that time span, I could tell you everything I know but my hand wouldn’t reach my mouth and I would be killed before that.
~al-Ma’arifat wa al-Taarikh vol 1:486
•The Prophet ﷺ told the secret names of the munafiqeen to Hudayfah. Why is it that Hudayfah, a companion of Rasul-Allah ﷺ would be killed for naming the Munafiqeen? Unless the Munafiqeen were in power and authority. Here’s why Hudayfah practiced Taqiyyah against Uthman Ibn Affan as well during his caliphate :
3) Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shaybah mentioned :
عن النزال بن سبرة قال: دخل ابن مسعود وحذيفة على عثمان فقال عثمان لحذيفة: بلغني أنك قلت كذا وكذا؟ قال: لا واللَّه ما قلته، فلما خرج قال له عبد اللَّه: (سألك) فلم (تقر له) ما سمعتك تقول؟ (قال): إني أشتري ديني بعضه ببعض مخافة أن يذهب كله
al-Nazzal Ibn Sabra said : Ibn Masood & Hudayfah visited Uthman and Uthman said to Hudayfah: ‘I have heard that you said such and such?’ He replied ‘No, I swear by Allah, I didn’t say it.’
When we left, Ibn Masood said to Hudayfah ‘Why did you not admit it when he asked you? When we have heard you saying it.’ he replied : ‘I saved some of my religion by giving some of it for the fear of losing all of it.’
~Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah vol 6:474
4) The Prophet ﷺ forbade Hudayfah from telling them their names as Allamah Ibn Kathir mentioned :
وأعلم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حذيفة وعمارا بأسمائهم وما كانوا هموا به من الفتك به صلوات الله وسلامه عليه وأمرهما أن يكتما عليهم
Rasul-Allah ﷺ told Hudayfah & Ammar their names and their intentions to kill the Prophet ﷺ and ordered them to keep it a secret from them.
~Tafsir Ibn Kathir vol 4:160
• This was the reason why Hudayfah refused to mention it to Umar in the Hadith we saw above. The Prophet ﷺ also forbade Hudayfah from going against them :
5) Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj mentioned :
عَنْ أَبِي سَلاَّمٍ، قَالَ قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ بْنُ الْيَمَانِ… (النبي ﷺ) قَالَ ” يَكُونُ بَعْدِي أَئِمَّةٌ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ بِهُدَاىَ وَلاَ يَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَّتِي وَسَيَقُومُ فِيهِمْ رِجَالٌ قُلُوبُهُمْ قُلُوبُ الشَّيَاطِينِ فِي جُثْمَانِ إِنْسٍ ” . قَالَ قُلْتُ كَيْفَ أَصْنَعُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَدْرَكْتُ ذَلِكَ قَالَ ” تَسْمَعُ وَتُطِيعُ لِلأَمِيرِ وَإِنْ ضُرِبَ ظَهْرُكَ وَأُخِذَ مَالُكَ فَاسْمَعْ وَأَطِعْ ” .”
Hudayfah Ibn al-Yaman said that Rasul-Allah ﷺ said : ‘There shall be leaders who will not be guided and not be on my Sunnah, there will be among them men who will have hearts of Shaytaan but body of a Human.’
I asked ‘What should I do, Ya Rasul-Allah, if I reach that time?’ He ﷺ replied ‘You shall listen to them even if your back is flogged and wealth is snatched.’
~Sahih Muslim, 1847 b
https://sunnah.com/muslim:1847b
6) Why didn’t the Prophet ﷺ punish those who tried to kill him in al-Aqabah? Allamah Nur ad-Deen al-Haythami quoted :
قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَلَا تَبْعَثُ إِلَى كُلِّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ فَتَقْتُلُهُ؟ فَقَالَ: ” أَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَتَحَدَّثَ النَّاسُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا يَقْتُلُ أَصْحَابَهُ،
Hudayfah said : Ya Rasul-Allah ﷺ, will you not command to kill each of the Munafiq?
He ﷺ replied : ‘I hate that people will say ‘Muhammad kills his companions.’
~Majmaa’ al-Zawa’id vol 1:109
Allamah Nur ad-Deen al-Haythami said :
قُلْتُ: فِي الصَّحِيحِ بَعْضُهُ. رَوَاهُ الطَّبَرَانِيُّ فِي الْأَوْسَطِ، وَفِيهِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، وَثَّقَهُ جَمَاعَةٌ
Some of it is mentioned in al-Sahih (Bukhari/Muslim) and it was narrated by al-Tabarani in his al-Awsat and in it is Abd-Allah Ibn Salamah who was deemed trustworthy by a group.
Part Five : The Ahle Saqifah trying to get rid of this incident
Allamah al-Mizzi mentioned :
وَقَال أيضا: سمعت علي بْن عثام، وَقَال لَهُ رجل: كيف حديث العقبة؟ قال: كيف يصح وهو كذب، من حدث بِهِ فهو فاسق فاجر كاذب. ثُمَّ قال لي: يزعم الرافضة أن عُمَر نفر برسول اللَّه صلى الله عليه وسلم نَاقَتَهُ، يعني ليلة العقبة
A man said to Ali Ibn Atham (d.228 H) : ‘How is the Hadith of al-Aqabah?’ He replied ‘How can it be Sahih when it is a lie? Whoever narrates it is a sinner, a liar.’ Then he said : ‘The Rafidah claim that Umar tried to kill Rasul-Allah ﷺ on the night of al-Aqabah.’
~Tahdheeb al-Kamal fee Asma al-Rijal vol 21:61-62
• It is an Umari Sunnah to call anyone a Rafidhi who praises the Ahl al-Bayt or narrates against the so called Sahabah, a particular article on this topic will be posted soon. In this Athar, we find that there were people who were narrating that Umar tried killing Rasul-Allah on the night of al-Aqabah but it was rejected by accusing them of Rifdh.
Part Six : How could Umar do so?
After reading all this, People still won’t accept it and bring the lamest fallacy ‘How could Umar do something like this?’ While it is the same Umar who tried to kill Rasul-Allah before his apparent conversion to Islam, or threatened to attack the house of Sayyida al-Zahra and Imam Ali, or issuing a fatwa to kill people from the Muhajireen and Ansar.
1) Ibn Hisham mentioned :
فَلَقِيَهُ نُعَيْمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: أَيْنَ تُرِيدُ يَا عُمَرُ؟ فَقَالَ: أُرِيدُ مُحَمَّدًا هَذَا الصَّابِئَ، الَّذِي فَرَّقَ أَمْرَ قُرَيْشٍ، وَسَفَّهُ أَحْلَامَهَا، وَعَابَ دِينَهَا، وَسَبَّ آلِهَتَهَا، فَأَقْتُلَهُ
Then Nu’aym Ibn Abd-Allah met Umar and asked ‘Where are you going, O Umar?’ He replied : ‘I want this Sabean – Muhammad, who divided the Quraysh, made fun of their dreams, criticized their religion and abused their gods, I will kill him.’
~Seerat Ibn Hisham vol 1:344
2) Hafidh Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani mentioned :
فقال عمر: لا والله لا يخالفنا أحد إلا قتلناه،
Umar said (During the election of Saqifah Bani Saidah) :
‘No, by Allah, No one will oppose us but we kill him.’
~Fath al-Baari vol 7:31
3) Ibn Sa’ad narrated :
جعلها عمر شورى بين عثمان بن عفان وعلي بن أبي طالب والزبير وطلحة وعبد الرحمن بن عوف وسعد بن أبي وقاص. وقال للأنصار أدخلوهم بيتا ثلاثة أيام فإن استقاموا وإلا فادخلوا عليهم فاضربوا أعناقهم
Umar made a Shuraa’ between Uthman, Ali, Zubayr, Talha, Abd al-Rahman Ibn Awf & Sa’ad Ibn Abi Waqqas. Then he told the Ansar : ‘Leave them in a house for three days, if they agree to a Caliph (then fine) or else enter the house and strike off their heads.‘
~Tabqat Ibn Sa’ad vol 3:260
4) Abu Bakr al-Khallal mentioned :
عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ عُمَرُ لَمَّا حُضِرَ: ادْعُو لِي عَلِيًّا، وَعُثْمَانَ، وَطَلْحَةَ، وَالزُّبَيْرَ، وَعَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ عَوْفٍ، وَسَعْدًا، ثُمَّ قَالَ: ادْعُوا لِي صُهَيْبًا، فَقَالَ: صَلِّ بِالنَّاسِ ثَلَاثًا، وَلْيَجْتَمِعْ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ، وَلْيُخَلُّوا هَؤُلَاءِ الرَّهْطَ، فَإِنِ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى رَجُلٍ فَاضْرِبُوا رَأْسَ مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ “
Amr Ibn Maymoon said : Umar called for Ali, Uthman, Talha, al-Zubayr, Abd al-Rahman Ibn Awf & Sa’ad Ibn Waqqas (for the six council committee to decide the Caliph)
Then he called Suhayb and told him ‘Lead the people in prayer for three days and let these six people be left alone and if they agree to one of them then strike the head of whoever opposes.’
~al-Sunnah li-Abi Bakr al-Khallal vol 1:278
• The Muhaqqiq of the book, Dr. al-Zahrani said The Sanad is Sahih (إسناده صحيح)
• Fair election? More like a forced election, asking to chop off the head of whoever does not agree with each other and moreover, kill the one who goes against Abd al-Rahman Ibn Awf, so what is the point :
أن عمر قال للستة الذين خرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو عنهم راض، قال: بايعوا لمن بايع له عبد الرحمن بن عوف، فإذا بايعتم لمن بايع له عبد الرحمن، فمن أبى، فاضربوا، عنقه.
Umar said to the six men : ‘Pledge allegiance to the one Abd al-Rahman Ibn Awf pledge allegiance to, and whoever refuses, strike his neck.’
~Majmaa’ al-Bahrayn fee Zawa’id al-Majma’ayn al-Awsat wa al-Sagheer lil-Tabarani vol 4:302
• Allamah Nur ad-Deen al-Haythami said :
A part of this narration is in al-Sahih al-Bukhari (بعضه في الصحيح)
Basically, Umar was ordering people to kill Imam Ali if he went against Abd al-Rahman Ibn Awf or the Shura. If he could do so against the Nafs of the Prophet, then why not against the Prophet directly? And we have already mentioned in a previous blog that Umar planned an attack on the house of the daughter of Rasul-Allah ﷺ :
Thank you for reading!
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