Q22: Why did Imam Ali (as) not fight for the leadership after the death of the Holy Prophet?
It is true to state that Imam Ali (as) never took up arms or retaliated against Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman whilst they were the caliphs of the Muslim world. Some Sunnis have argued that this proves he was not opposed to them and that he was satisfied with them as leaders. However, this is simply not the case.
The main reason Imam Ali (as) did not fight after the death of the Holy Prophet is because he did not want to dived the nascent, infant Muslim community. He did not want innocent Muslims to die in battle, killing each other in order to take power. Historians record how Abu Sufyan even offered him troops but Imam Ali (as) turned him down and criticised his divisive offer.
Imam Ali's (as) caliphate, succession to the Holy Prophet was given from Allah. He was not then expected to go and chase and force people to follow him, it was their job to do so of their own free will. His position of Imamat was not an elected position, he was divinely appointed. Sunni scholar Ali ibn Abd-al-Malik al-Hindi in his book, Kanz al-Ummal, narrates a tradition in which the Holy Prophet told Imam Ali (as): "[O Ali], You are like the Kabah, people go to the Kabah, the Kabah does not come to the people..."
During the rules of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, not once did Imam Ali (as) fight in their armies. He also refused to give allegiance to Abu Bakr for at least six months after the death of the Holy Prophet and his wife Bibi Fatima (as). When he did, it was against his will with the threat of force. What was his problem with them to show such resistance?
In Nahjul Balagha, Imam Ali (as), questions how Abu Bakr and others robbed him of his right to the caliphate but he chose to remain quiet. This has been narrated in the famous sermon of ash-Shiqshiqiyya (the roar of the camel) where Imam Ali (as) states:
"Beware! By Allah the son of abu Quhafah (abu bakr)dressed himself with it (the caliphate) and he certainly knew that my position in relation to it was the same as the position of the axis in relation to the hand-mill. The flood water flows down from me and the bird cannot fly upto me. I put a curtain against the caliphate and kept myself detached from it.
Then I began to think whether I should assault or endure calmly the blinding darkness of tribulations wherein the grown up are made feeble and the young grow old and the true believer acts under strain till he meets Allah (on his death). I found that endurance thereon was wiser. So I adopted patience although there was pricking in the eye and suffocation (of mortification) in the throat. I watched the plundering of my inheritance till the first one went his way but handed over the Caliphate to Ibn al-Khattab after himself." (Sermon 3)Umar appointed a six-man committee on his deathbed to decide who would be the next caliph. The position was then offered to Imam Ali (as) on the condition that he abides with 1) the Holy Quran, 2) the Holy Prophet's traditions and 3) the laws and regulations, the 'sunnah', introduced by the first two caliphs. Imam Ali (as), as narrated by various Sunni books, refused the offer because he could not accept the third condition. Why would he do that if he accepted the legitimacy of their leadership?
Q23: Why do Shias refuse to accept that the Holy Prophet did not appoint a successor?
This is a crucial question. I simply do not accept those who try to argue that the Holy Prophet did not appoint a successor and just left it for the community to decide. It just does not make sense. The Holy Prophet introduced the religion of Islam to a completely ignorant, backward class of people in the Arab world. He had only 23 years of Prophethood in which he introduced a whole new way of life that went against everything the people believed in. From minute details such as how to eat food or wash to major life events, everything was changed for the people. The idea of worshipping only one God, stopping idol-worship was all introduced and people were extremely resistant to this new religion.
The idea that after all his struggles and achievements, with the guidance of Allah and support of Imam Ali (as), he would simply leave it to the people to decide the next leader is ridiculous. The Holy Prophet never left Madina without appointing someone to take charge of the city in his abscence, how could he leave the Islamic world without appointing a successor or even lay out the rules to how to appoint a successor. It is illogical to believe such a thing.
People try to argue that the Holy Prophet did not leave a will and therefore couldn't have appointed a successor, but of course he tried to write a will in his last days but was prevented from doing so by a group of his companions. As I have mentioned before, Umar was amongst those companions who prevented the Holy Prophet from writing his last public will. Despite that, according to Sahih Bukhari, the Holy Prophet sill managed to order three things on his death bed:
"Narrated Said bin Jubair: that he heard Ibn 'Abbas saying, "Thursday! And you know not what Thursday is? After that Ibn 'Abbas wept till the stones on the ground were soaked with his tears. On that I asked Ibn 'Abbas, "What is (about) Thursday?" He said, "When the condition (i.e. health) of Allah's Apostle deteriorated, he said, 'Bring me a bone of scapula, so that I may write something for you after which you will never go astray.'
The people differed in their opinions although it was improper to differ in front of a prophet, They said, 'What is wrong with him? Do you think he is delirious? Ask him (to understand).
The Prophet replied, 'Leave me as I am in a better state than what you are asking me to do.' Then the Prophet ordered them to do three things saying, 'Turn out all the pagans from the Arabian Peninsula, show respect to all foreign delegates by giving them gifts as I used to do.' "
The sub-narrator added, "The third order was something beneficial which either Ibn 'Abbas did not mention or he mentioned but I forgot.'" (Vol 4, Book 53, No. 393)How can it be that people who had memorised the entire Holy Quran, forgot the last, dying instruction of the Holy Prophet? According to traditions in Sahih Bukhari, Umar ibn Khattab led the group of companions who prevented the Holy Prophet from writing his last will, defied the Quranic injunction of raising one's voice in front of the Holy Prophet and accused the Holy Prophet of being delirious, of having lost his mind. Then, when the Holy Prophet tried verbally telling them the contents of his will, his final commands, they claim to have forgotten what he said.
Abu Bakr had the foresight to leave a will and appoint a successor, Umar appointed a six-man committee to elect the next leader, but the Holy Prophet? He died without any guidance or will - does that make any sense? The companions knew that the Holy Prophet wanted to write down what he had announced at Ghadeer-e-Khum and they stopped him from doing so.
Q24: Why is Imam Ali's (as) name not mentioned in the Holy Quran?
Whilst Imam Ali's (as) name is not directly stated in the Holy Quran, there are countless verses devoted to the praise of Imam Ali (as) and announcing his position, proving his leadership and Imamat. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki quotes the cousin of the Holy Prophet, Abdullah ibn Abbas, saying that he heard from the Holy Prophet that 300 verses of the Holy Quran were revealed specifically in praise of Imam Ali (as).
"Only Allah is your Vali and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow." (Surah 5, Verse 55)Sunni and Shia commentators of tafsir unanimously agree that the above verse refers to Imam Ali (as), who gave his ring to a beggar while in the state of ruku in the middle of his prayer.
The fact that Imam Ali's (as) name is not mentioned in the Quran does not detract from his status. If we are to go by the number of mentions then consider the fact that the Holy Prophet is only mentioned by name four times in the Holy Quran, whereas Prophet Musa is mentioned 136 times, Prophet Yusuf is mentioned 27 times and Prophet Isa is mentioned 25 times. Are we to then take that to mean they are more important than the Holy Prophet?
What if Imam Ali's (as) name was mentioned in the Holy Quran? Would that change anything? Would it change his opponents' minds about the vailadity and legitimacy of his Imamat? If the statement by the Holy Prophet at Ghadeer Khum: "Of whomsoever I am mawla, Ali is also his mawla," had been in the Holy Quran, would it make any difference? The arguements would still exist about what 'mawla' means and people would still try to deliberately misrepresent and misinterpret it, or simply ignore it. Having Imam Ali's (as) name in the Holy Quran would unfortunately change very little. Allah in his infinite wisdom decided not to refer to Imam Ali (as) by name, but made numerous impilicit or indirect references to him.
Lastly, it is not sensible to make the argument that because Imam Ali's (as) name is not mentioned in the Holy Quran, therefore he was not appointed as a leader after the Holy Prophet. If we extend that further, how do we derive the rest of our religious principles, beliefs and obligations which are not specifically mentioned in the Holy Quran? For example, there is no mention of how many rakats are in the Fajr prayers or in Maghrib prayers in the Holy Quran, that information has come from the Holy Prophet. Similarly it was the Holy Prophet who announced the status of Imam Ali (as) as his successor.
The sixth Shia holy Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq (as) famously told his companions: "The Quran says to pray Fajr salah but it is the Prophet who tells us that Fajr is two rakats. The Quran tells us to pay Zakat, but it is the Prophet who tells us how to calculate it. In the same way, the Quran tells us to obey the "ulul-amr," the people charged with authority, and it is the Prophet who tells us that they are Ali ibn Abu Talib and the Ahlul-Bayt."
"O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you." (Surah 4, Verse 59)That concludes section 3 about Imam Ali (as). I hope it has cleared some misconceptions and clarified where we Shias stand on Imam Ali (as). His status has been maligned and degraded by people who are either confused, ignorant or malicious. Not much can be done about the later, but inshallah some will realise why we revere Imam Ali (as) so much and why he is so important. However, I must reiterate that we do not elevate him above the status of the Holy Prophet. Next time I hope to discuss some questions about the Ahlul-Bayt in general.
I think you need to be more specific.
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