Did the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recommended the succession to Ali?
One of the readers asks:
What is the ruling on people who claim that the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, recommended the caliphate to Ali? And they say: The Companions plotted against him?
What is the ruling on people who claim that the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, recommended the caliphate to Ali? And they say: The Companions plotted against him?
Answer: This saying is not known about any of the Muslim sects except for the Shia sect, and it is a false saying that has no basis in the established hadiths from the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him. And on the authority of the rest of the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, but he, peace and blessings of God be upon him, did not explicitly stipulate that, nor did he recommend it in a definitive will, but he commanded what indicates that, as he commanded him to lead the people in his illness, and when the matter of the caliphate after him was mentioned to him, he said, peace and blessings be upon him: God and the believers refuse but Abu Bakr That is why the Companions pledged allegiance to him After the death of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, among them was Ali, may God be pleased with him, and they agreed that Abu Bakr was the best of them.
And it was proven in the hadith of Ibn Omar – may God be pleased with them – that the Companions They used to say: (In the life of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, the best of this nation after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman) and the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, endorsed them on that, and the reports were repeated on the authority of Ali he was saying: The best of this nation after its prophet is Abu Bakr, then OmarAnd he was saying He did not come to anyone who prefers me over them both, but I flogged him as the punishment for the fabricator, and he never claimed for himself that he was the best of the nation, nor did the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, recommend for him the caliphate, and he did not say that the Companions They wronged him and took his right, and when Fatima – may God be pleased with her – passed away, Al-Siddiq swore a second allegiance to confirm the first allegiance, and to show people that he was with the group and had nothing in himself from the allegiance of Abu Bakr. all.
And when he appealed to Umar and made the matter a consultation between six of the ten who were testified to be in Paradise and among them was Ali – may God be pleased with him – he did not denounce Umar for that, neither during his life nor after his death, and he did not say that he is more worthy than all of them, so how is it permissible for one of the people to lie to the Messenger of God? God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and he says that he recommended Ali for the caliphate? Ali himself did not claim that? And none of the companions claimed him? Rather, they agreed on the validity of the caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, and Ali recognized that He cooperated with all of them in jihad, consultation, and so on.
Then the Muslims after the Companions unanimously agreed on what the Companions agreed upon, so it is not permissible after this for any of the people or any sect, neither the Shiites nor others, to claim that Ali is the guardian, and that the caliphate before him is invalid, just as it is not permissible for any of the people to say The Companions wronged Ali and took away his rights. Rather, this is from the falsehood of falsehood and from having a bad opinion of the companions of the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and among them Ali, may God be pleased with him and all of them.
And God protected this nation of Muhammad and protected it from converging on misguidance, and it was authentically reported from him, peace be upon him, in the many hadiths that he said: A group of my nation will always be victorious It is impossible for the nation to gather in the most honorable of its centuries on falsehood, which is the caliphate of Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman, and this is not said by those who believe in God and the Last Day, just as those who have the slightest insight into the rule of Islam do not say it. God is the helper. There is no power except God Almighty.
The imam, the scholar, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, elaborated on this issue in his book (Minhaj al-Sunnah). Blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his companions[1].
And it was proven in the hadith of Ibn Omar – may God be pleased with them – that the Companions They used to say: (In the life of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, the best of this nation after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman) and the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, endorsed them on that, and the reports were repeated on the authority of Ali he was saying: The best of this nation after its prophet is Abu Bakr, then OmarAnd he was saying He did not come to anyone who prefers me over them both, but I flogged him as the punishment for the fabricator, and he never claimed for himself that he was the best of the nation, nor did the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, recommend for him the caliphate, and he did not say that the Companions They wronged him and took his right, and when Fatima – may God be pleased with her – passed away, Al-Siddiq swore a second allegiance to confirm the first allegiance, and to show people that he was with the group and had nothing in himself from the allegiance of Abu Bakr. all.
And when he appealed to Umar and made the matter a consultation between six of the ten who were testified to be in Paradise and among them was Ali – may God be pleased with him – he did not denounce Umar for that, neither during his life nor after his death, and he did not say that he is more worthy than all of them, so how is it permissible for one of the people to lie to the Messenger of God? God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and he says that he recommended Ali for the caliphate? Ali himself did not claim that? And none of the companions claimed him? Rather, they agreed on the validity of the caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, and Ali recognized that He cooperated with all of them in jihad, consultation, and so on.
Then the Muslims after the Companions unanimously agreed on what the Companions agreed upon, so it is not permissible after this for any of the people or any sect, neither the Shiites nor others, to claim that Ali is the guardian, and that the caliphate before him is invalid, just as it is not permissible for any of the people to say The Companions wronged Ali and took away his rights. Rather, this is from the falsehood of falsehood and from having a bad opinion of the companions of the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and among them Ali, may God be pleased with him and all of them.
And God protected this nation of Muhammad and protected it from converging on misguidance, and it was authentically reported from him, peace be upon him, in the many hadiths that he said: A group of my nation will always be victorious It is impossible for the nation to gather in the most honorable of its centuries on falsehood, which is the caliphate of Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman, and this is not said by those who believe in God and the Last Day, just as those who have the slightest insight into the rule of Islam do not say it. God is the helper. There is no power except God Almighty.
The imam, the scholar, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, elaborated on this issue in his book (Minhaj al-Sunnah). Blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his companions[1].
- Published in Al-Da`wah Magazine, Issue 1009, on Monday 16/1/1406. (Collections of Fatwas and Articles of Sheikh Ibn Baz 3/324)
Fatawi binbaz.org.sa