Shia view of Abu Bakr
|
|---|
 |
| Shia Islam portal |
Death of Muhammad
Abu Bakr returned to Medina after the news of Muhammad's death reached him. At that point, Umar stopped threatening people for spreading the news of Muhammad's death. While Abu Bakr was in the house where Muhammad's body was kept, accompanied with the rest of Banu Hashim, Umar informed him of the meeting at Saqifah. Shi'a believe that Abu Bakr leaving the house without informing anyone of the meeting, proves that he went there in bad faith.
If Muhammad had predicted the four caliphs as Rashidun (Rightly Guided Caliphs), then there was no need for the meeting at Saqifah to decide the first caliph and the later three caliphs. Even though Hasan ibn Ali ruled the Muslims, he is not included in the Rightly Guided Caliphs, despite being declared as the Chief of the Youth of Paradise by Muhammad.
Abu Bakr and Fatimah
Shi'a criticize the Sunnis for refusing to take part in the dispute between Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah, the wife of Ali. The dispute resulted in Fatimah becoming angry with Abu Bakr and refusing to talk with him for the rest of her life, six months, according to the most reliable Sunni sources including Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and her being buried in a secret location, still unknown, instead of with her father. Shi'a believe that Fatima being angry at Abu Bakr was enough to stop him from taking the caliphate. They quote the hadith:
Narrated Miswar bin Makhrama:Allah's Apostle said, "Fatima is a part of me, and he who makes her angry, makes me angry."
— Collected by Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari[1]
The Shi'a believe that if Abu Bakr angered Fatima, he also angered Muhammad, therefore he did not have any right to the caliphate. Fatimah openly refused to recognize the first caliph as Ulul-Amr, the one with authority and to be obeyed as per the Qur'an. Many other Muslims also refused to obey Abu Bakr, who they saw as a hastily installed caliph, after the bitter dispute and turmoil at Saqifah.
Caliphate
Shi'a believe the armies Abu Bakr sent against the Muslims that did not want to give him Zakat was part of his coup d'état. There were many Muslims that refused to give allegiance to Abu Bakr, let alone give him taxes, but they did not deny the need to pay Zakat, nor any other Muslim principle. As soon as Abu Bakr came into power, he sent the former champion general of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Muhammad's former arch enemy, Khalid ibn al-Walid to collect Zakat. Khalid ibn al-Walid's tactical decision making had been the reason for the Muslim's loss in the second Battle of Uhud. He became a Muslim at the hand of Muhammad, and was sent by him as a commander on various military missions prior to his death. Shi'a refer to several hadith that mention three conditions where a Muslims blood may be shed, and not paying Zakat is not one of them.
Khalid ibn al-Walid killed several people, including Malik ibn Nuwayrah. Khalid then married Malik's wife, Layla bint al-Minhal, in the same night he ordered the death of her husband. Shi'a believe that Khalid raped her because he did not wait for the full waiting period. Shi'a consider Abu Bakr a persecutor for employing one of the former arch-enemies of Islam as his highest generals, and protecting him when he committed murder and rape.
Qur'an
Shi'as reject the idea that Abu Bakr and Umar were instrumental in the collection or preservation of the Qur'an, but that they refused to accept Ali's compiled Qur'an.[2]
Later life
Umar helped Abu Bakr to come into power as Muhammad's successor. As a reward Abu Bakr appointed Umar to succeed him.
Legacy
Shi'a claim that the history of Abu Bakr's life was whitewashed by the Umayyad Caliphate, fabricating hadith where possible and using black propaganda and spin on events that were regarded as established history. The Shi'a back up their claim that Abu Bakr was not a worthy caliph from Ali's refusal to give allegiance to Abu Bakr,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Shi'a conclude that they had no motivation to give taxes to Abu Bakr, since 100,000 of them heard Muhammad say in the hadith of the pond of Khumm that Ali was every Muslim's mawla. Shi'a consider anyone going against the wishes of every Muslim's mawla and Muhammad's daughter can not be on the right path.
See also
References
- ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 5:57:61
- ↑ The Qur'an Compiled by Imam Ali (AS)
- ↑ Shaikh, Asif. Sahaba: The Companion. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Pg. 42-45
- ↑ A Shi'i-Sunni dialogue on al-Islam.org
- ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 5:59:546
- ↑ Sahih Muslim, 19:4352
- ↑ Ibn Qutaybah, vol. 1, p.29; quoted in Ayoub, 2003, 18
- ↑ Imamate: The Vicegerency of the Prophet by Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi, quoting Ibn Qutaybah on Al-islam.org
- ↑ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, vol. 3, p.208; Ayoub, 2003, 21
- ↑ Shi'a encyclopedia quoting from Ibn Qutaybah,, Massudi, Ibn Abu al-Hadid