Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (8/227)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

And for them to have known the truth and turned away from it would be far graver still, for that would impugn their moral integrity and necessarily preclude their being the best of generations. Moreover, the Quran offers them praise (1) of the highest order, so it is impossible (2) for them unanimously to persist in an injustice that harms the entire community. This would not merely wrong the person denied office; it would wrong everyone deprived of the benefits of having the person most entitled to office govern them. If there are two shepherds, one of whom is suited to tending the flock and has the stronger claim to do so, preventing him from tending it deprives the sheep of their rightful share of the benefits of his care.

Furthermore, the Quran and Sunnah indicate that this community is the best of all communities, and that its earliest members are its best. If they persisted in such injustice, [it would follow] (3) that this community was the worst of all communities and that its earliest members were not its best.

Moreover, since (4) we know that later generations are not equal to the Companions, if those Companions were unjust and persisted in injustice, the entire community would be unjust and thus would not be the best of all communities.

When Ibn Masʿūd went to Kufa, he was asked, “Whom did you appoint?” He replied, “We appointed the one among us whose nocked arrow stood highest, and we spared no effort.” That which has a nock is an arrow (5); he meant the one among us with the greatest share in Islam.

If it is objected: “He may have been the most entitled to the caliphate, while ʿAlī was more excellent than he.”

(1) M: bi-thanā’in (“with praise”). (2) N, Sh, B: fa-yamna‘u (“so it prevents”). (3) Lazima (“it would follow”) is omitted from N. (4) M: fa-innā (“for we”). (5) Lisān al-‘Arab states: “Al-fūq (the nock) is the notch at the end of an arrow where the bowstring rests.”

وَكَوْنُهُمْ عَلِمُوا الْحَقَّ وَعَدَلُوا عَنْهُ أَعْظَمُ وَأَعْظَمُ ; فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ قَدْحٌ فِي عَدَالَتِهِمْ، وَذَلِكَ يَمْنَعُ أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرَ الْقُرُونِ بِالضَّرُورَةِ. وَلِأَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ أَثْنَى عَلَيْهِمْ ثَنَاءً (١) يَقْتَضِي غَايَةَ الْمَدْحِ، فَيَمْتَنِعُ (٢) إِجْمَاعُهُمْ وَإِصْرَارُهُمْ عَلَى الظُّلْمِ الَّذِي هُوَ ضَرَرٌ فِي حَقِّ الْأُمَّةِ كُلِّهَا ; فَإِنَّ هَذَا لَيْسَ ظُلْمًا لِلْمَمْنُوعِ مِنَ الْوِلَايَةِ فَقَطْ، بَلْ هُوَ ظُلْمٌ لِكُلِّ مَنْ مَنَعَ نَفْعَهُ مِنْ وِلَايَةِ الْأَحَقِّ بِالْوِلَايَةِ، فَإِنَّهُ إِذَا كَانَ رَاعِيَانِ: أَحَدُهُمَا هُوَ الَّذِي يَصْلُحُ لِلرِّعَايَةِ وَيَكُونُ أَحَقَّ بِهَا، كَانَ مَنْعُهُ مِنْ رِعَايَتِهَا يَعُودُ بِنَقْصِ الْغَنَمِ حَقَّهَا مِنْ نَفْعِهِ. وَلِأَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ وَالسُّنَّةَ دَلَّا عَلَى أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ خَيْرُ الْأُمَمِ، وَأَنَّ خَيْرَهَا أَوَّلُهَا، فَإِنْ كَانُوا مُصِرِّينَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، [لَزِمَ] (٣) أَنْ تَكُونَ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةُ شَرَّ الْأُمَمِ، وَأَنْ لَا يَكُونَ أَوَّلُهَا خَيْرَهَا. وَلِأَنَّا (٤) نَحْنُ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الْمُتَأَخِّرِينَ لَيْسُوا مِثْلَ الصَّحَابَةِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ أُولَئِكَ ظَالِمِينَ مُصِرِّينَ عَلَى الظُّلْمِ، فَالْأُمَّةُ كُلُّهَا ظَالِمَةٌ، فَلَيْسَتْ خَيْرَ الْأُمَمِ. وَقَدْ قِيلَ لِابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ لَمَّا ذَهَبَ إِلَى الْكُوفَةِ: مَنْ وَلَّيْتُمْ؟ قَالَ: " وَلَّيْنَا أَعْلَانَا ذَا فُوقٍ وَلَمْ نَأْلُ " . وَذُو الْفُوقِ هُوَ السَّهْمُ (٥) ، يَعْنِي أَعْلَانَا سَهْمًا فِي الْإِسْلَامِ. فَإِنْ قِيلَ: قَدْ يَكُونُ أَحَقَّ بِالْإِمَامَةِ، وَعَلِيٌّ أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ.

(١) م: بِثَنَاءٍ. (٢) ن، ش، ب: فَيَمْنَعُ. (٣) لَزِمَ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) . (٤) م: فَإِنَّا. . (٥) فِي " لِسَانِ الْعَرَبِ ": " وَالْفُوقُ ": مُشْتَقُّ رَأْسِ السَّهْمِ حَيْثُ يَقَعُ الْوَتَرُ ".