Chapter 29 : Hijra II - Abu Bakr, Ali and Muhammad Flashcards
What was Imam Ali’s role during The Prophet’s Migration to Madinah
1) To sleep in The Prophet’s bed to act as a decoy so that The Prophet can escape to Madinah from the assassination attempts by The Pagans
2) To return all the trusts that had been deposited with The Prophet [ Despite The Pagans planning to assassinate him, The Prophet still did not take their money and returned their money back to them ]
3) To bring the Fawatim and any other Hashimi that had been left behind such as Umm Ayman [ Slave of Prophet’s Parents But Later Freed And Became A Mother Figure To The Prophet ] :-
A. Fatimah Bint Muhammad [ Fatimah Al Zahra ] [ The Prophet’s Daughter And Future Wife of Imam Ali ]
B. Fatimah Bint Asad [ Imam Ali’s Mother ]
C. Fatimah Bint Al Zubayr
D. Fatimah Bint Hamza
- C and D is debatable as either none, one of them or both followed Imam Ali
- When their assassination attempt failed, The Quraysh offered 100 camels to anyone who brings Muhammad back to Makkah
Why was Abu Bakr with The Prophet
- This is one of the mysteries of The Seerah and our scholars have tried to come to a conclusion based on the analysis of some reports :-
1) When he discovered that Imam Ali was in the bed of The Prophet, he asked where The Prophet was and The Imam said he was near the wells of Maymoona [ Vague Answer ]
2) It was a pure coincidence and The Prophet took him with him
Regarding The Prophets Migration to Madinah
- Regarding The Prophet’s Migration to Madinah :-
” [ Remember ] when those who rejected faith plotted against you [ yamkuru bika ], to capture you [ li-yuthbika ] or kill you or expel you. They plotted and Allah plotted and Allah is the best of plotters. “
Al Quran [ 8 : 30 ]
- Ibn Ishaq states :-
” No one knew about The Prophet’s escape from Makkah other than Ali Ibn Abu Talib, Abu Bakr and The Family of Abu Bakr. As for Ali, The Prophet informed him and commanded him to remain behind so that he could return the trusts that the people would deposit with him. As the assassins surrounded The Prophet’s house, someone [ An unknown unnamed person ] came to them who was not one of them and asked ‘ What are you waiting for ? ‘ They said ‘ Muhammad. ‘ He said ‘ By God, he has escaped ! And he has not left a single one of you without having dirt on your head. Do you not see ?! What is the matter with you ?! ‘ So every man placed his hand on his head and found it covered with dirt … “
- Based on the above reports, The only people who would have known that The Prophet had already left is Imam Ali, Abu Bakr and His Family. Thus, regarding the unknown unnamed individual, put the pieces together and make of it what you will.
- Rather than taking the usual Northern Route to Madinah, The Prophet travels 5 miles South of Makkah to a Cave in Mount Thawr
- One of the search parties ascends Mount Thawr and approaches the Cave where The Prophet and Abu Bakr was hiding
- Their presence however goes unnoticed thanks to the following which lends the area as deserted and undisturbed :-
1) A branch covering The Mouth of The Cave
2) A freshly spun spider web over The Mouth of The Cave
3) A Nesting Dove perched overhead
- Near the Cave of Thawr, The Prophet asks The Shepherd Abdullah Ibn Urayqit to gude them to Madinah in secrecy
- There is a narration in Sahih Bukhari :-
” I [ Abu Bakr ] said to The Prophet when he was in the cave ‘ If any of them were to look down towards their feet, they would see us. ‘ The Prophet replied ‘ O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two of whom Allah is the third. ‘ “
- Sahih Bukhari
The Verse of The Cave and why it was not a virtue of Abu Bakr
” If you do not help him then Allah has already helped him when the faithless expelled him as the second of two [ thanialithnayn ], when the two of them were in the cave [ ghar ] he [ The Prophet ] said to his companion ‘ Do not grieve, Allah is indeed with us. ‘ Then Allah sent down His composure upon him [ The Prophet ] and strengthened him [ The Prophet ] with hosts you did not see and He made the word of the faithless the lowest and the word of Allah is the highest and Allah is All Mighty, All Wise. “
Al Quran [ 9 : 40 ]
Why this verse is not a virtue of Abu Bakr
1) The idea that Abu Bakr was the only one in The Cave with The Prophet is a distinction is false. Being physically present with The Prophet in a place is not a sign of distinction. Many verses highlight that The Hypocrites were often sitting with The Prophet
2) The idea that The Prophet called Abu Bakr his companion is a distinction is false. This also does not denote merit because The Quran employs the term companion for both Disbelievers and Believers
” O [ My ] two companions of prison, are separate Lords better of Allah, The One, The Prevailing ? “
Al Quran [ 12 : 39 ]
” His companion said to him while disputing with him ‘ Do you disbelieve in He who created you from dust then from a small seed then He made you a perfect man ? ‘ “
Al Quran [ 18 : 37 ]
” Then be patient for the decision of your Lord [ O Muhammad ] and be not like the companion of the fish when he called out while he was distressed. “
Al Quran [ 68 : 48 ]
3) Why did The Prophet say to Abu Bakr ‘ Don’t grieve … ‘ Normally you would tell someone not to fear in such a situation. This could indicate that Abu Bakr knew that the disbelievers wouldn’t kill him. He wasn’t afraid and was probably grieving or something that he lost or missed
4) The Prophet’s Statement ‘ God is with us ‘ is not a merit for Abu Bakr because God is with everyone. In addition, The pronouns ‘ Us ‘ could be a reference to The Prophet himself
5) The verse clearly states that only one person in the cave received tranquility from God. The context indicates that it was only The Prophet who received tranquility and it was denied to Abu Bakr. The Quran in other verses highlights that God sends down tranquility upon The Prophet and The Believers during moments of great hardship.
” When the faithless put belligerence into their hearts, The belligerence of pagan ignorance, God sent down His tranquility / composure upon His Messenger and upon the faithful and made them abide by the word of Godwariness for they were the worthiest of it and were its people and God has knowledge of all things. “
Al Quran [ 48 : 26 ]
” Then Allah sent down His tranquility / composure upon His Messenger and upon the faithful and He sent down hosts you did not see and He punished the faithless and that is the requital of the faithless. “
Al Quran [ 9 : 26 ]
” It is He who sent down tranquility / composure into the hearts of the faithful that they might enhance their faith. To God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth and God is Almighty, All Wise. “
Al Quran [ 48 : 4 ]
Hijrah in the words of Imam Al Sajjad [ Ali Ibn Hussain Al Sajjad - 4th Imam ]
- From Sa’id Ibn Al Musayyab who said :-
” I asked Ali Ibn Hussain ‘ How old was Ali on the day he became a Muslim ? ‘ “
- Imam Zayn Al Abidin said :-
” What ? Was he ever a disbeliever [ To begin with ] ?! But rather when God sent His Messenger, Ali was 10 years old and he was never a disbeliever on that day. And he had believed in God and in His Messenger and preceded all of the people to the faith in God and by His Messenger and to the prayer by 3 years. And the first prayer that he offered with The Messenger of God was the Midday Prayer of 2 Units and that is what Allah had obligated it as upon the one who became a Muslim at Makkah. 2 Units, 2 Units and The Messenger of God had prayed 2 Units in Makkah and Ali had prayed it with him as 2 Units for a period of 10 years until The Messenger of God emigrated to Madinah and left Ali behind regarding the matters which no one other than him could have dealt with. And the departure of The Messenger of God from Makkah was during the 1st Rabi Ul Awwal and that was the day of Thursday in The year 13 AB. And he arrived at the outskirts of Madinah after 12 Nights from The Month of Rabi Ul Awwal with the sun reaching its zenith [ Highest Point / Peak ]. So he descended at Quba [ Outskirts of Madinah ] and prayed Zuhr 2 Units and Asr 2 Units. Then he remained there awaiting Ali. He prayed 5 prayers of 2 cycles, 2 cycles. And he stayed at [ The House of ] Amr Ibn Awf for about 10 days. They were saying to The Prophet ‘ Stay with us so we will build for you A House and A Masjid. ‘ So The Prophet said ‘ No, I am awaiting Ali Ibn Abu Talib and have ordered him to meet me and I will not settle in a house until Ali comes and he will not be long, God Willing. ‘ “
- Sa’id Ibn Al Musayyab then asked :-
” Abu Bakr was with The Messenger of God when he arrived in Madinah. So when did he separate from him ? “
- Imam Zayn Al Abidin said :-
” Abu Bakr was with him when The Messenger of God proceeded to Quba and he [ The Prophet ] decided to wait for Ali. Abu Bakr said to him [ The Prophet ] ‘ Come with us to Madinah for the people would rejoice at your arrival there and are eager to welcome you. So come with us and do not stay over here waiting for Ali. From what I can see, it would take him a month to come to you. ‘ So The Messenger of God said to him ‘ Never ! He will not be long and I will not move until my cousin and my brother for the sake of God and the most beloved to me of my family comes over for he saved me from the Polytheist by being in my place. ‘ So Abu Bakr was angry and was disgusted by it and envy for Ali entered into him due to that and that was the first enmity initiated from him to The Messenger of God. So he went until he entered Madinah and left The Messenger of God at Quba waiting for Ali. “
Al Kafi [ Volume 8 ]
Practical Lessons Learned in this Chapter
1) Imam Ali’s willingness to sacrifice his life for the protection of The Prophet and Islam reminds us of how precious Islam is and we should not take this religion for granted
2) The importance of trustworthiness in delivering the Amanat [ Thing / Property committed to the trust and care of a person or a group of people ] entrusted to us :-
” Fear Allah ! And return the entrusted thing to the owner. Even if the murderer of Ali entrusts me with something, I shall deliver it to him when he desires. “
Imam Jafar Al Sadiq [ 6th Imam ]
” You must return the trusts when required. By the One who has sent Muhammad as a Messenger with trust, even if the killer of my father Husayn had entrusted me with the sword with which he had slain him, I would have delivered it back to him. “
Imam Zayn Al Abidin [ 4th Imam ]
