Hadith of the pen and paper

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Arabic

رزية يوم الخميس

Transliteration

Raziyat Yawm al-Khamis

Translation

"The Calamity of Thursday"

This is a sub-article to the Succession to Muhammad.

The Hadith of the pen and paper is a famous Hadith in Islam about an event when the prophet Muhammad was prevented from writing out his will. The hadith is referenced in both Shi'a and Sunni traditions.

Shi'as also refer to it as "The Calamity of Thursday" (Arabic Raziyat Yawm al-Khamis)

1 Narration
2 Views
- 2.1 Sunni view
- 2.2 Shi'a view
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Narration

Muhammad became ill in the year 632 and his health took a serious turn on a Thursday. He summoned his companions and announced that he wanted to write a will. It is reported that Muhammad asked for writing materials to write a statement that would prevent the Muslim nation from going astray forever. The first person to reply was Umar, answering that the is no need for the statement, arguing that Muhammad was ill and that Umar had the Qur'an which was sufficient for him. In another report it is stated that the first person replying, Umar by implication, said that Muhammad was delirious and talking non-sense.

This reply caused a great commotion resulting in Muhammad rebuking Umar for calling him ill and sending him and his partisans out of the house. When ibn Abbas recalled Umar's behavior sixty years later it agonized him so gravely that it caused him to cry ^[1].

Ibn Abbas:

"The Messenger of God said bring me a tablet (lawh) and an inkpot (dawat), so that I can write for you a document, after which you will not go astray". Some people said that the Messenger of God was talking deliriously". ^[2]

But, even though the prophet was unable to write his will because of the commotion, he did get three statements out:

"Then the Prophet ordered them to do three things saying, 'Turn out all the pagans from the Arabian Peninsula, show respect to all foreign delegates by giving them gifts as I used to do.' " The sub-narrator added, "The third order was something beneficial which either Ibn 'Abbas did not mention or he mentioned but I forgot.(see second link from reference 1)

Umar said, "The Prophet is seriously ill and you have the Qur'an; so the Book of Allah is enough for us.^[3]

When Umar claimed that there was no need for Muhammad's statement since Umar had the Qur'an, Ibn Abbas rushed out crying, there he met Ubaidullah ibn Abdullah. According to him, Ibn Abbas used to say,

'"No doubt, it was a great disaster that Allah's Apostle was prevented from writing for them that writing because of their differences and noise." ^[4]

[edit] Views

The first level narrator of this narrative is ibn Abbas, and at that time he was ten to fifteen years old ^[5].

[edit] Sunni view

Sunni Muslims refer to this episode as the "Event of Thursday". It is generally seen as a minor event and a test by Muhammad of his "Companions". The Companions are considered to have chosen to do the right thing and passed the test, having remained free from criticism by Muhammad for the rest of the days he remained with them. This period (from Thursday to Monday) during which Muhammad remained with the Companions after this incident was also not utilized to make a will - which, Sunnis argue, confirms that it was not an important document to be written but rather a simple test to know whether the Ummah is aware of the message of the Qur'an. The following passage is cited as evidence: "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (5:3).

Sunnis further maintain that the arguments of those who place a greater significance on these events have been refuted by scholars such as al-Bayhiqi in Dala'il al-Nubuwwah, al-'Ayni in 'Umdat al-Qari, Ibn Taymiyyah in Minhaj al-Sunnah, Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani in Fath al-Bari, al-Nawawi in Sharh Sahih Muslim, al-Dhahabi in Tarikh al-Islam, and others.

Sunni view that Ibn Abbas though did not witness this event personally. (see note from Sahih Bukhari 1:3:114)

[edit] Shi'a view

This event is the source of much controversy between Shi'as and Sunnis. Shi'as believe that Umar prevented Muhammad from confirming in writing that Ali was the chosen successor. They further speculate that Muhammad refrained from a public written will, seeing the extent of contempt Umar allegedly showed while he was still alive; future rulers might discredit the written will by repeating Umar's words, causing enormous damage to people's ability to take Muhammad seriously on other matters.

Husain Mohammad Jafri, a 20th century Shi'a Islamic scholar writes:

No one can be sure of what it was the Holy Prophet wanted to write. But the phrase he used gives us an idea. On several occasions the Holy Prophet had declared:

O People! Verily, I am leaving behind among you Two Precious Things, the Book of Allah and My Descendants who are my family members. So long as you keep hold of them sincerely, you will never go astray after me.

When he used the same phrase five days before his death (".. Let me write something for you by way of a will so that you are not misled after me" ), it was easy enough to understand that the Holy Prophet was going to write what he had been telling them all along about the Qur'an and his Ahlu 'l-bayt (as).

Perhaps 'Umar guessed as much; as is apparent from his claim: "The Book of Allah is sufficient for us." He wanted to make it known to the Prophet that he would not follow 'the Two Precious Things '. One was enough for him.

And he himself admitted it in a talk with 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, in which he, inter alia said: "And surely he (the Prophet) intended during his illness to declare his ('Ali's) name, so I prevented it. ^[6]"

Perhaps the word "delirium" would have served his purpose even if the Prophet had written the directive. 'Umar and his partisans would have claimed that as it was written "in delirium" it had no validity ^[7].

Husain Mohammad Jafri also makes remarks that Umar did not raise objection in the Hadith of the succession of Abu Bakr.

Ali Asgher Razwy, a 20th century Shi'a Islamic scholar writes:

In the summer of A.D. 632, Muhammad, the Messenger of God, lay on his deathbed in his house in Medina. His last wish was to comply with the commandment in the Book of God to write his will and testament. But Umar did not countenance this idea. In his opinion, writing a will was not the right thing for the Prophet of Islam to do. At Hudaybiyya, he had opposed the Prophet but had failed in his opposition; this time, however, he had no intention of failing. He opposed the dying Prophet, and he scored a brilliant success in his opposition. The will the Prophet wished to write, was never written.

If Umar was right in his attempts to inhibit the freedom of action of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, then it means that the latter was "wrong." And if he (Muhammad) was "wrong," then it means that Al-Qur’an al-Majid was also "wrong" because it claimed that:

Nor does he (Muhammad) say (anything) of (his own) desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him. (Chapter 53; verses 3 and 4)

If Umar was right, then Muhammad and Qur’an were "wrong." This is the only conclusion to which such a line of argument can lead. It is now for the Muslims to decide if this is the "logic" which appeals to them, and therefore, is acceptable to them ^[8].