Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/532)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

The Book makes clear what Allah has commanded and what He has forbidden, while the sword supports and reinforces it.

It is established by the Book and the Sunnah that Allah commanded that allegiance be pledged to Abū Bakr. Those who pledged allegiance to him were the men of the sword, who obeyed Allah in doing so. Thus, the Prophetic Caliphate was established in his person through the Book and iron.

As for Umar (1), Abū Bakr appointed him as his successor, and the Muslims pledged allegiance to him after Abū Bakr’s death. He therefore became imam when their pledge to him gave him effective power and authority (2).

As for his statement:

“Then Uthmān [ibn Affān] (3), through Umar’s designation of six men, of whom he was one, whereupon some of them selected him (4).”

[Uthmān’s pledge of allegiance was made by the consensus of the Muslims]

The response is likewise that Uthmān did not become imam merely because some of them selected him, but because the people pledged allegiance to him. All the Muslims pledged allegiance to Uthmān [ibn Affān] (5), and no one (6) withheld his pledge from him.

Imam Ahmad said in the narration of Hamdān ibn Ali (7): “There was no one among the group

(1) See Ibn Mutahhar’s discussion above, p. 126. (2) “To him” is an addition found only in N. (3) “Ibn Affān” is omitted from N and M. (4) See above, pp. 126–127. (5) “Ibn Affān” is an addition in A and B. (6) A and B read: “Ibn Affān; it did not fail to …” (7) Hamdān ibn Alī, Abū Jafar al-Warrāq, whose name was Muhammad ibn Alī ibn Abd Allāh ibn Mihrān ibn Ayyūb, was of Jurjānī origin and raised in Baghdad. When mentioning him, Abū Bakr al-Khallāl said: “He was of high standing and possessed a fine collection of legal questions transmitted from Abū Abd Allāh.” Hamdān died in AH 272. For his biography, see *Tabaqāt al-Hanābila*, 1:308–310; *Tārīkh Baghdād*, 3:61–62.

فَالْكِتَابُ يُبَيِّنُ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ وَمَا نَهَى عَنْهُ، وَالسَّيْفُ يَنْصُرُ ذَلِكَ وَيُؤَيِّدُهُ. وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ ثَبَتَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَ بِمُبَايَعَتِهِ، وَالَّذِينَ بَايَعُوهُ كَانُوا أَهْلَ السَّيْفِ الْمُطِيعِينَ لِلَّهِ فِي ذَلِكَ، فَانْعَقَدَتْ خِلَافَةُ النُّبُوَّةِ فِي حَقِّهِ بِالْكِتَابِ وَالْحَدِيدِ. وَأَمَّا عُمَرُ (١) فَإِنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ عَهِدَ إِلَيْهِ وَبَايَعَهُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، فَصَارَ إِمَامًا لَمَّا حَصَلَتْ لَهُ الْقُدْرَةُ وَالسُّلْطَانُ بِمُبَايَعَتِهِمْ لَهُ (٢) . وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ: ثُمَّ عُثْمَانُ [بْنُ عَفَّانَ] (٣) بِنَصِّ عُمَرَ عَلَى سِتَّةٍ هُوَ أَحَدُهُمْ، فَاخْتَارَهُ بَعْضُهُمْ (٤) . [كانت بيعة عثمان بإجماع المسلمين] فَيُقَالُ أَيْضًا: عُثْمَانُ لَمْ يَصِرْ إِمَامًا بِاخْتِيَارِ بَعْضِهِمْ، بَلْ بِمُبَايَعَةِ النَّاسِ لَهُ، وَجَمِيعُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ بَايَعُوا عُثْمَانَ [بْنَ عَفَّانَ] (٥) ، وَلَمْ يَتَخَلَّفْ (٦) عَنْ بَيْعَتِهِ أَحَدٌ. قَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ فِي رِوَايَةِ حَمْدَانَ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ (٧) : " مَا كَانَ فِي الْقَوْمِ

(١) انْظُرْ كَلَامَ ابْنِ مُطَهِّرٍ فِيمَا سَبَقَ، ص ١٢٦. (٢) لَهُ: زِيَادَةٌ فِي (ن) فَقَطْ. (٣) بْنُ عَفَّانَ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٤) انْظُرْ مَا سَبَقَ، ص ١٢٦ - ١٢٧. (٥) بْنَ عَفَّانَ: زِيَادَةٌ فِي (أ) ، (ب) . (٦) أ، ب: بْنَ عَفَّانَ لَمْ تَتَخَلَّفْ. . . (٧) حَمْدَانُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ الْوَرَّاقُ، وَهُوَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مِهْرَانَ بْنِ أَيُّوبَ الْجُرْجَانِيُّ الْأَصْلُ، الْبَغْدَادِيُّ الْمَنْشَأِ، قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْخَلَّالُ لَمَّا ذَكَرَهُ: رَفِيعُ الْقَدْرِ، كَانَ عِنْدَهُ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مَسَائِلُ حِسَانٌ. وَقَدْ تُوُفِّيَ حَمْدَانُ سَنَةَ ٢٧٢. تَرْجَمَتُهُ فِي طَبَقَاتِ الْحَنَابِلَةِ ١/٣٠٨ - ٣١٠؛ تَارِيخِ بَغْدَادَ ٣/٦١ - ٦٢.