Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (5/349)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Abu Bakr remained silent and said nothing. ʿUmar then declared, “I had hoped that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would live on to direct our affairs—meaning that he would be the last of us to depart. Yet if Muḥammad has indeed passed away, Allah has placed among you a light by which you will be guided, just as He guided Muḥammad ﷺ. Abū Bakr is the Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the second of the two in the cave, and he is the one who has the greatest right among the Muslims to take charge of your affairs. Rise, therefore, and pledge allegiance to him.” A number of people had already pledged to him earlier in the Portico of Banū Sāʿidah, while the public oath was taken on the pulpit.

Al-Zuhrī relates—on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik—that he heard ʿUmar on that day say to Abū Bakr, “Climb the pulpit!” He kept at him until Abū Bakr ascended it, whereupon the general body of people offered their pledge.

Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq reports: Al-Zuhrī narrated to me, and Anas ibn Mālik narrated to him, that after the pledge in the Portico and on the following morning, Abū Bakr sat upon the pulpit. ʿUmar stood and spoke before him, praising Allah and extolling Him as He deserves, and then said:

“O people! Yesterday I told you something that I neither found in the Book of Allah nor was it a covenant made to me by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I had simply thought that the Messenger of Allah would attend to our affairs—that he would be the last of us to die. Allah, however, has left among you His Book by which He guided His Messenger ﷺ; if you hold fast to it, Allah will guide you as He guided him. And Allah has united your matter behind the best of you— the Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the second of the two when they were in the cave. Rise, then, and pledge allegiance to him.”

The people thereupon offered Abū Bakr the public pledge, following the pledge of the Portico. Abū Bakr then spoke, praising Allah and extolling Him as He deserves, and said:

“To proceed: O people! I have been placed in authority over you, though I am not the best among you. If I do well, help me; if I do wrong, correct me. Truthfulness is trustworthiness, and lying is treachery. The weak among you is strong in my sight until I secure for him his right, if Allah wills, and the strong among you is weak in my sight until I take from him what is due, if Allah wills. No people ever abandon striving in the way of Allah without Allah subjecting them to humiliation, and indecency never becomes widespread among a people without Allah encompassing them in affliction. Obey me so long as I obey Allah and His Messenger; but if I disobey Allah and His Messenger, no obedience is due to me. Now rise for your prayer—may Allah have mercy on you.”

This chain of transmission is sound.

His statement, “I have been placed in authority over you, though I am not the best among you,” was an expression of humility and self-effacement, for they were unanimously agreed that he was indeed the most virtuous and the best among them.

(1) Printed edition: “dhālik” (that). (2) Manuscript: “al-mu’minīn” (the believers). (3) Sīrat Ibn Hishām, vol. 2, pp. 660–661. (4) Printed edition: “ahdahā” (its covenant). (5) This phrase does not appear in the printed edition. (6) Manuscript: “alladhī huwa bihi hudā” (which is guidance). (7) Printed edition: “hadāhu Allāh lahu” (by which Allah guided him). (8) Printed edition: “minkum” (from you). (9) Printed edition reads “ḥattā uzīḥa ‘ilatahu in shā’ Allāh” (until, God willing, his ailment is removed); this reading contains two corruptions and omissions. The clause “wa arḥattu ‘alā al-rajul ḥaqqahu: idhā radadtuhu ‘alayhi” (and I relieved the man of his due: “if I return it to him”) appears; in the Lisān edition it is printed as “rūḥ” (rest). (10) Printed edition: “wa lā yashīʿa qawmun qatta l-fāḥisha illā” (and no people ever spread immorality except that…).

وأبو بكر صامتٌ لا يَتكَلَّمُ، قال: كنت أرجو أن يعيشَ رسولُ اللَّه ﷺ حتى يَدْبُرَنا -يريد بذلكَ (١) - أن يكون آخرهم - فإنْ يَكُ محمدٌ قد مات فإن اللَّه تعالى قد جعل بينَ أظْهُرِكُم نورًا تهتَدُون به، هدى اللَّه محمدًا ﷺ وإن أبا بكر صاحبُ رسول اللَّه ﷺ وثاني اثنين، وإنه أولى المسلمين (٢) بأموركم، فقوموا فبايعوه، وكانت طائفة قد بايَعوه قبل ذلك في سَقيفة بني ساعدة، وكانت بيعة العامة على المِنْبَرِ. قال الزُّهريّ: عن أنس بن مالك: سمعتُ عمر يقول يومئذ لأبي بكر: اصْعَدِ المِنْبَرَ! فلم يزل به حتى صعد المنبر فبايعه عامة الناس. وقال محمد بن إسحاق (٣) : حدّثني الزُّهْري، حدّثني أنس بن مالك، قال: لما بُويعَ أبو بكر في السَّقيفةِ، وكان الغدُ، جلسَ أبو بكرٍ على المنبر، وقام عمر فتكلَّم قبلَ أبي بكر، فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ، وأثْنَى عليه بما هو أهله، ثمَّ قال: أيُّها النّاسُ، إني قد كنتُ قلتُ لكم بالأمس مقالةً ما كانت مما وجدتُها في كتاب اللَّه، ولا كانت عهدًا عَهِدَهُ (٤) إليَّ رسولُ اللَّه ﷺ ولكني كنتُ أرى أن رسولَ اللَّه سيَدْبُرُ أمرنا - يقول: يكون آخرنا- وإنَّ (٥) اللَّهَ قد أبْقَى فيكم كتابَهُ الذي هَدَى به (٦) ، رسول اللَّه ﷺ فإن اعْتَصَمْتُم به هداكم اللَّه، لما كان هداه له (٧) . وإن اللَّه قدْ جَمَعَ أمْرَكُم على خيركم، صاحبِ رسولِ اللَّه ﷺ وثاني اثنين إذ هما في الغار، فقوموا فَبايعُوه، فبايع الناسُ أبا بكر بيعةَ العامةِ بعد بيعةِ السَّقيفة، ثمَّ تَكلَّم أبو بكر، فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ وأثْنَى عليه بما هو أهلُه. ثم قال: أما بعدُ، أيُّها الناسُ، فإِنّي قد وُلِّيتُ عَلَيْكم ولستُ بخَيْرِكُم، فإن أحْسَنْتُ فأعينوني، وإن أسأتُ فقوِّموني، الصدقُ أمانةٌ، والكَذِبُ خيانةٌ، والضَّعيفُ فيكم (٨) قويٌّ عندي حتى أُريحَ عليه حقّه (٩) إن شاء اللَّه، والقويّ فيكم ضعيفٌ حتى آخذَ منه الحقّ، إن شاء اللَّه، لا يَدَعُ قومٌ الجِهادَ في سبيلِ اللَّه إِلَّا ضَرَبَهُم اللَّهُ بالذُّلِّ، ولا تَشيعُ الفاحشَةُ في قوم قط (١٠) إلَّا عَمَّهُمُ اللَّهُ بالبلاء، أطيعوني ما أطَعْتُ اللَّهَ ورسولَه، فإذا عَصَيْتُ اللَّهَ ورسوله فلا طاعة لي عليكمِ، قوموا إلى صلاتكم يرحمكم اللَّه. وهذا إسنادٌ صحيحٌ. فقوله: (رضي الله عنه) : -وَلِيْتكُم ولستُ بخيْركم- من باب الهَضْم والتَّواضعِ، فإنَّهم مُجْمِعون على أنه أفْضلُهم وخَيْرُهم (رضي الله عنها) .

(١) ط: (ذلك). (٢) أ: (المؤمنين). (٣) سيرة ابن هشام (٢/ ٦٦٠ - ٦٦١). (٤) ط: (عهدها). (٥) ليس اللفظ في ط. (٦) أ: (الذي هو به هدى). (٧) ط: (هداه اللَّه له). (٨) ط: (منكم). (٩) ط: (حتى أزيح علته إن شاء اللَّه) وفيها تحريفان ونقص. وأرحتُ على الرجل حقّه: إذا رَدَدْتُه عليه (اللسان: روح). (١٠) ط: (ولا يشيع قوم قط الفاحشة إِلَّا).