Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (4/163)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

to one of them while excluding the three who preceded him, whose caliphate was more complete and whose conduct was superior. Likewise, Abu Musa was criticized for mentioning Umar but not Abu Bakr, even though Umar was then alive and was the caliph of the time.

The fifth point:

Not all Sunni preachers mention the caliphs in the sermon. Rather, many Sunni preachers in the Maghreb and elsewhere(1) do not mention any caliph by name. Many preachers in the Maghreb used to mention(2) Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, and then name Muawiyah as the fourth(3), without mentioning Ali.

They said: “This is because(4) the Muslims unanimously accepted the leadership of these men, unlike that of Ali.” If mentioning the caliphs by name is commendable, then some Sunnis [do so; and if it is not commendable, then some Sunnis](5) omit it. Thus, under either assumption, the truth does not lie outside Ahl al-Sunnah.

The sixth point:

It may be said that those who chose to mention the Rightly Guided Caliphs from the pulpit on Friday did so only to counter those who reviled them(6) and impugned them. That entailed manifest harm to Islam(7), so they publicly proclaimed(8) their names, praised them, and supplicated for them, in order to safeguard Islam by openly affirming loyalty to them and praising

(1) A and B read: “and elsewhere.” (2) The passage marked (2–2) is omitted from A and B. (3) N and W read: “and name Muʿāwiyah as the fourth.” (4) “Because” is omitted from A and B. (5) The passage in square brackets is omitted only from N. (6) B alone reads: “to counter the reviling by those who revile them.” (7) A and B read: “And in that there was…” (8) “So they publicly proclaimed” appears thus in B and W. All other manuscripts read: “And they publicly proclaimed.”

عَلَى وَاحِدٍ دُونَ الثَّلَاثَةِ السَّابِقِينَ، الَّذِينَ كَانَتْ خِلَافَتُهُمْ أَكْمَلَ، وَسِيرَتُهُمْ أَفْضَلَ. كَمَا أُنْكِرَ عَلَى أَبِي مُوسَى ذِكْرُهُ لِعُمَرَ دُونَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، مَعَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ كَانَ هُوَ الْحَيَّ خَلِيفَةَ الْوَقْتِ. الْوَجْهُ الْخَامِسُ: أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ كُلُّ خُطَبَاءِ السُّنَّةِ يَذْكُرُونَ الْخُلَفَاءَ فِي الْخُطْبَةِ، بَلْ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ خُطَبَاءِ السُّنَّةِ بِالْمَغْرِبِ وَغَيْرِهِ (١) لَا يَذْكُرُونَ أَحَدًا مِنَ الْخُلَفَاءِ بِاسْمِهِ، وَكَانَ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ خُطَبَاءِ الْمَغْرِبِ يَذْكُرُونَ (٢) أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ، وَيُرَبِّعُونَ بِذِكْرِ مُعَاوِيَةَ (٣) لَا يَذْكُرُونَ عَلِيًّا. قَالُوا: لِأَنَّ (٤) هَؤُلَاءِ اتَّفَقَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ عَلَى إِمَامَتِهِمْ دُونَ عَلِيٍّ. فَإِنْ كَانَ ذِكْرُ الْخُلَفَاءِ بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ حَسَنًا فَبَعْضُ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ [يَفْعَلُهُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ حَسَنًا فَبَعْضُ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ] (٥) يَتْرُكُهُ، فَالْحَقُّ عَلَى التَّقْدِيرَيْنِ لَا يَخْرُجُ عَنْ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ. الْوَجْهُ السَّادِسُ: أَنَّهُ يُقَالُ: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَارُوا ذِكْرَ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ إِنَّمَا فَعَلُوهُ تَعْوِيضًا عَمَّنْ يَسُبُّهُمْ (٦) وَيَقْدَحُ فِيهِمْ، وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ فِيهِ (٧) مِنَ الْفَاسِدِ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ مَا لَا يَخْفَى، فَأَعْلَنُوا (٨) بِذِكْرِهِمْ وَالثَّنَاءِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَالدُّعَاءِ لَهُمْ؛ لِيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ حِفْظًا لِلْإِسْلَامِ بِإِظْهَارِ مُوَالَاتِهِمْ وَالثَّنَاءِ

(١) أ، ب: وَغَيْرِهَا. (٢) (٢ - ٢) ؛ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (أ) ، (ب) . (٣) ن، و: وَيَرْفَعُونَ بِمُعَاوِيَةَ. (٤) لِأَنَّ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (أ) ، (ب) . (٥) مَا بَيْنَ الْمَعْقُوفَتَيْنِ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (ن) فَقَطْ. (٦) ب (فَقَطْ) : عَنْ سَبِّ مَنْ يَسُبُّهُمْ. (٧) أ، ب: وَكَانَ فِي ذَلِكَ. (٨) فَأَعْلَنُوا: كَذَا فِي (ب) ، (و) . وَفِي سَائِرِ النُّسَخِ: وَأَعْلَنُوا.