Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

This opinion is not known among any of the Muslim groups

apart from the Shi’ah, and it is a false view which has no basis in the

ahaadeeth that have been proven from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him). On the contrary, a great deal of evidence

shows that the khaleefah after the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) was Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him

and with all the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him)). But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) did not state that clearly and he did not appoint him in any

definitive sense; rather he gave commands which indicated that, when he told

him to lead the people in prayer when he (the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him)) was sick, and when he told him about the

leadership of the Muslim community after his death, saying, “Allaah and the

believers will only accept Abu Bakr.” Hence the Sahaabah (may Allaah be

pleased with them) gave their allegiance (bay’ah) to Abu Bakr and they were

unanimously agreed that Abu Bakr was the best among them. It was reported in

the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Sahaabah

(may Allaah be pleased with them) used to say during the Prophet’s life:

“The best of this ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then

‘Uthmaan,” and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

approved of their saying that. Mutawaatir reports from ‘Ali (may Allaah be

pleased with him) show that he used to say, “The best of this ummah after

its Prophet is Abu Bakr then ‘Umar.” And he (may Allaah be pleased with him)

used to say, “No one is brought to me who prefers me over them, but I will

whip him with the hadd punishment for telling lies.” He never claimed that

he was the best of this ummah, or that the Messenger of Allaah (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had appointed him as khaleefah. He

never said that the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) had wronged

him and taken away his rights. When Faatimah (may Allaah be pleased with

her) died he gave a second pledge of allegiance (bay’ah) to Abu Bakr, as

confirmation of his first pledge and to demonstrate to the people that he

was with the jamaa’ah (the main group of Muslims) and that he had no

reservations in his heart against giving his allegiance to Abu Bakr (may

Allaah be pleased with them all). When ‘Umar was stabbed, he appointed six

of those whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

had testified were guaranteed Paradise, for them to appoint one of their

number as ‘Umar’s successor; among these six was ‘Ali, who never denounced

‘Umar, either whilst he was still alive or after his death. ‘Ali did not say

that he was more entitled than any of them to be khaleefah, so how can

anyone have the right to tell lies about the Messenger of Allaah (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and say that he appointed ‘Ali as

khaleefah? ‘Ali himself never made any such claim, and none of the Sahaabah

claimed that for him. Rather they were unanimously agreed that the caliphate

of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan was valid; ‘Ali acknowledged that and he

cooperated with all of them in jihad, shoora (consultation), etc. Moreover,

the Muslims after the Sahaabah were agreed upon that which the Sahaabah had

been agreed on. After all this, it is not permissible for anyone or for any

group, Shi’ah or others, to claim that ‘Ali was the appointed successor, or

that the caliphate before him was false. Similarly, no one has the right to

say that the Sahaabah wronged ‘Ali and took away his rights. Rather this is

the falsest of falsehoods, and it is thinking badly of the Companions of the

Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),

including ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him and with them all).

Allaah has protected the ummah of Muhammad (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) and kept it from agreeing on misguidance.

It was narrated in a saheeh report in many ahaadeeth that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A group of my ummah will

continue to adhere to the truth and to prevail.” It is impossible that the

noblest generation of this ummah could agree on falsehood, supposedly the

caliphate of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan. No one says this who believes in

Allaah and the Last Day, and no one says this who has the slightest insight

into the rulings of Islam.