Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/520)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

and that they mentioned this to ʿUthmān and ʿAlī (1), but neither of them paid any heed (2) to those who said it, for they and all the other Muslims knew that there was no one among them comparable to Abū Bakr.

In sum, none of the Ansār or Banū ʿAbd Manāf (3) who was reported to have sought the appointment of someone other than Abū Bakr offered any religious argument grounded in the revealed law, nor did he claim that anyone was more entitled to the office or more excellent than Abū Bakr. Rather, his words arose from love for his own people and tribe and from a desire that the leadership (4) should belong to his tribe.

It is well known that considerations of this kind are neither proofs of the revealed law nor ways sanctioned by religion, nor are they something that Allah (5) and His Messenger commanded the believers to follow. Rather, they are a vestige (6) of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance and a form of partisan attachment to lineages (7) and tribes. This is among the things that Allah sent Muhammad (8) [may Allah bless him and grant him peace] (9) to renounce and abolish.

It is reported from him in the Sahih that he (10) said:

“Four practices from the pre-Islamic age of ignorance will remain among my nation and will not be abandoned: boasting of ancestry, disparaging people’s lineages, wailing over the dead, and seeking rain through the stars.” (11).

(1) “And ʿAlī” is omitted from N and M. (2) N and M read: “he paid no heed,” which is erroneous. (3) A and B read: “from Banū ʿAbd Manāf.” (4) N reads: “al-imāra (rule).” (5) N and M read: “Allah commanded it…” (6) N and M read: “a faction (shīʿa).” (7) N and M read: “to the person”; A reads: “the person.” The adopted reading is from B. (8) N and M read: “with which Allah sent Muhammad…” (9) “May Allah bless him and grant him peace” is an addition in A and B. (10) A and B read: “It is established that he said in the two Sahīhs…” (11) The hadith, with differences in wording, is narrated from Abū Mālik al-Ashʿarī—may Allah be pleased with him—in Muslim, 2/644 (Book of Funerals, chapter “The Stern Warning against Wailing”); al-Musnad (Halabi ed.), 5/342–344; al-Hākim, al-Mustadrak, 1/383; and al-Albānī, al-Ahādīth al-Sahīha, 2/299, hadith no. 734.

وَأَنَّهُمْ ذَكَرُوا ذَلِكَ لِعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ (١) فَلَمْ يَلْتَفِتَا (٢) إِلَى مَنْ قَالَ ذَلِكَ، لِعِلْمِهِمَا وَعِلْمِ سَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي الْقَوْمِ مِثْلُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ. فَفِي الْجُمْلَةِ جَمِيعُ مَنْ نُقِلَ عَنْهُ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ وَبَنِي عَبْدِ مَنَافٍ (٣) أَنَّهُ طَلَبَ تَوْلِيَةَ غَيْرِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، لَمْ يَذْكُرْ حُجَّةً دِينِيَّةً شَرْعِيَّةً، وَلَا ذَكَرَ أَنَّ غَيْرَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ أَحَقُّ وَأَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، وَإِنَّمَا نَشَأَ كَلَامُهُ عَنْ حُبٍّ لِقَوْمِهِ وَقَبِيلَتِهِ، وَإِرَادَةٍ مِنْهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ الْإِمَامَةُ (٤) فِي قَبِيلَتِهِ. وَمَعْلُومٌ أَنَّ مِثْلَ هَذَا لَيْسَ مِنَ الْأَدِلَّةِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ وَلَا الطُّرُقِ الدِّينِيَّةِ، وَلَا هُوَ مِمَّا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ (٥) وَرَسُولُهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِاتِّبَاعِهِ، بَلْ هُوَ شُعْبَةٌ (٦) جَاهِلِيَّةٌ، وَنَوْعُ عَصَبِيَّةٍ لِلْأَنْسَابِ (٧) وَالْقَبَائِلِ. وَهَذَا مِمَّا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدًا (٨) [صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ] (٩) بِهَجْرِهِ وَإِبْطَالِهِ. وَفِي الصَّحِيحِ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ (١٠) قَالَ: " «أَرْبَعٌ مِنْ أَمْرِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ فِي أُمَّتِي لَنْ يَدَعُوهُنَّ: الْفَخْرُ بِالْأَحْسَابِ، وَالطَّعْنُ فِي الْأَنْسَابِ، وَالنِّيَاحَةُ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ، وَالِاسْتِقَاءُ بِالنُّجُومِ» " (١١) .

(١) وَعَلِيٍّ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٢) ن، م: فَلَمْ يَلْتَفِتْ، وَهُوَ خَطَأٌ. (٣) أ، ب: مِنْ بَنِي عَبْدِ مَنَافٍ. (٤) ن. الْإِمَارَةُ. (٥) ن، م: أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ. . . (٦) ن، م: شِيعَةٌ. (٧) ن، م: لِلْإِنْسَانِ؛ أ: الْإِنْسَانِ. وَالْمُثْبَتُ مِنْ (ب) . (٨) ن، م: اللَّهُ بِهِ مُحَمَّدًا. . . (٩) صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: زِيَادَةٌ فِي (أ) ، (ب) . (١٠) أ، ب: وَثَبَتَ عَنْهُ فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ أَنَّهُ. . (١١) الْحَدِيثُ مَعَ اخْتِلَافٍ فِي الْأَلْفَاظِ عَنْ أَبِي مَالِكٍ الْأَشْعَرِيِّ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - فِي مُسْلِمٍ ٢/٦٤٤ (كِتَابُ الْجَنَائِزِ، بَابُ التَّشْدِيدِ فِي النِّيَاحَةِ) ؛ الْمُسْنَدِ (ط. الْحَلَبِيِّ) ٥/٣٤٢، ٣٤٣، ٣٤٤؛ الْمُسْتَدْرَكِ لِلْحَاكِمِ ١/٣٨٣؛ الْأَحَادِيثِ الصَّحِيحَةِ لِلْأَلْبَانِيِّ ٢/٢٩٩ حَدِيثٍ رَقْمِ ٧٣٤.