teologi

                                                                      Chapter 4
                                The Companions of the Prophet

34577: Who is better and more knowledgeable – Abu Bakr
and ‘Umar, or ‘Ali?
Question:
When one analyze as a neutral person contribution of
hazrat ali is far more then other sahaba so are the hadith
in favour of hazrat ali,not only as a warrior but as a
visionary person, his knowldge,as a faqih , his command
on quran, hazrat abu baker and specialy hazrat ummer
always consulted him when they dont know the answer
of anything then how come they rated superior to hazrat
ali.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly the noble Sahaabi ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib was
one of the wisest and most determined of people. He is
well known for his courage and bravery. He was the first
youth to enter Islam, then he stayed close to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) before the
Hijrah. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) left Makkah, accompanied by Abu Bakr, he
stayed behind and slept in the Prophet’s bed (thus fooling
the mushrikeen who wanted to kill the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). Among his virtues
are those mentioned in the hadeeth narrated by Sahl ibn
Sa’d (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that he
heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
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him) say, on the day of Khaybar, “I will give the flag to a
man at whose hands Allaah will grant victory.” They got
up, wishing to see to whom the flag would be given, each
of them hoping that he would be given the flag. Then he
said, “Where is ‘Ali?” He was told that he was suffering
from eye-trouble. He ordered that ‘Ali should be called
to him, then he spat in his eyes and he was healed
immediately, as if he has never had any problem in his
eyes.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2942; Muslim, 2406.
Just as ‘Ali had many virtues and good characteristics,
other Sahaabah also had other virtues and good
characteristics. Among the virtues of Abu Bakr (may
Allaah be pleased with him) is that which was narrated
from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, who said: The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) delivered a khutbah
and said: “Allaah has given a slave the choice between
this world and what is with Him, and he chose what is
with Him.” Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased
with him) began to weep, and I said to myself, “What is
making this old man cry if Allaah has given a slave the
choice between this world and what is with Him, and he
chose what is with Him?” The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was that slave, and
Abu Bakr was the most knowledgeable of us. He said,
“O Abu Bakr, do not weep. Abu Bakr has favoured me
greatly with his companionship and his wealth. If I were
to have taken a close friend among my ummah, I would
have chosen Abu Bakr, but the brotherhood of Islam is
sufficient. Do not leave any door to the mosque without
closing it off, apart from the door of Abu Bakr.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 466; Muslim, 2382
Another of his virtues is that he accompanied the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) during the
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Hijrah (migration to Madeenah), as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“If you help him (Muhammad) not (it does not matter),
for Allaah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove
him out, the second of the two; when they (Muhammad
and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, he said to his companion
(Abu Bakr): ‘Be not sad (or afraid), surely, Allaah is with
us.’ Then Allaah sent down His Sakeenah (calmness,
tranquillity, peace) upon him, and strengthened him with
forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of
those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word of
Allaah that became the uppermost; and Allaah is All-
Mighty, All-Wise”
[al-Tawbah 9:40]
And ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with him)
narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) appointed him as the commander of the
army of Dhaat al-Salaasil. He said: So I came to him and
said, “Which of the people is dearest to you?” He said, “
‘Aa’ishah.” I said, “Who among men?” He said, “Her
father.” I said, “Then who?” He said, “Then ‘Umar ibn
al-Khattaab,” and he mentioned some other men.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3662; Muslim, 2384.
Another of his virtues is the fact that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) appointed him to
lead the prayers in his stead at the end of his life, when he
fell sick with his final illness, and he rebuked those who
objected to this and said, “Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people
in prayer.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 683; Muslim 418.
And it was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah
be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) climbed Uhud with Abu Bakr,
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‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan, and it trembled beneath them. He
said, ‘Stand firm, O Uhud, for there is no one on you but
a Prophet, a Siddeeq and two martyrs.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3675.
With regard to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be
pleased with him), he also had many virtues and good
characteristics which were proven in many reports. For
example it was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whilst I was sleeping, I saw the people were shown to
me, and they were wearing shirts. Some shirts came down
to the chest, and some were shorter than that. ‘Umar ibn
al-Khattaab was shown to me and he was wearing a shirt
that dragged along the ground.” They said, “How did you
interpret that, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said,
“Religious commitment.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 23; Muslim, 2390.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar said: I heard
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) say: “Whilst I was sleeping, a cup of milk
was brought to me and I drank until I saw its wetness
coming out of my nails. Then I gave the rest to ‘Umar ibn
al-Khattaab.” They said, “How did you interpret that, O
Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “(It is) knowledge.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 82; Muslim, 2391.
And it was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used to say, “Among the nations
who came before you there were muhaddathoon (men
who were inspired) and if there are any such men among
my ummah, then ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab is one of them.”
Narrated by Muslim, 2398
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And there is other evidence which points to the virtues of
the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them). But the
fact that some of them were superior to others is something
that makes sense and is proven in sharee’ah. It is not the
matter of whims and desires, rather it should be referred
to sharee’ah, as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses,
no choice have they (in any matter). Glorified is Allaah,
and exalted above all that they associate (as partners
with Him)”
[al-Qasas 28:68]
So we should refer to the shar’i evidence in order to find
out the status of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased
with them). It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah
be pleased with him) said: “We used to compare the people
as to who was better at the time of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We used to
regard Abu Bakr as the best, then ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab,
then ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan (may Allaah be pleased with
them).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3655. According to
another report he said: “At the time of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) we did not regard
anyone as equal with Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then
‘Uthmaan, then we left the companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and we did
not differentiate between them.” Al-Bukhaari, 2679.
This is testimony of all the Sahaabah, narrated by ‘Abd-
Allaah ibn ‘Umar, that Abu Bakr was superior to all the
Sahaabah, followed by ‘Umar, then ‘Uthmaan.
Now let us turn to ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be
pleased with him) himself, and he see what he said. It
was narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (who
was the son of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib) said: “I said to my
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father, ‘Which of the people was the best after the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him)?’ He said, ‘Abu Bakr.’ I said, ‘Then who?’ He
said, ‘Then ‘Umar.’ I was afraid that he would say
‘Uthmaan. I said, ‘Then is it you?’ He said, ‘I am only
one of the Muslims.’”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3671.
It was narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: “No one is brought to me who regards me as superior
to Abu Bakr and ‘Umar but I will punish him with a
beating like a fabricator.” Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
said: It was narrated that he used to speak from the minbar
of Kufa and say that the best of this ummah after our
Prophet was Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar. This was narrated
from him via more than eighty isnaads, and it was narrated
by al-Bukhaari and others. Hence the earlier Shi’ah all
used to agree that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were superior, as
has been mentioned by more than one. Manhaaj al-
Sunnah, 1/308
It was narrated from Abu Juhayfah that ‘Ali (may Allaah
be pleased with him) ascended the minbar and praised
and glorified Allaah and sent blessings upon the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then he said:
“The best of this ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr.
The second is ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him),
and after that, whoever Allaah wants to be good will be
good.”
Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, 839. And
Shaykh Shu’ayb al-Arna’oot said: its isnaad is qawiy.
These ahaadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and these reports from the Sahaabah
(may Allaah be pleased with them) all testify to the belief
of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, amongst whom there is
no dispute concerning it, that the best of this ummah after
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its Prophet is Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased
with him), then ‘Umar. May Allaah be pleased with all of
the Sahaabah.
With regard to the idea that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar always
used to ask ‘Ali questions and that they did not have
knowledge, this is not proven in any report whatsoever.
Rather it is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) ordered that Abu Bakr (may Allaah
be pleased with him) should lead the people in prayer
when he was sick with his final illness. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would not have
delegated this task except to one who had knowledge of
the rulings on the prayer. And it was proven that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
appointed Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) to
lead the Hajj before the Farewell Pilgrimage, and the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
would not have appointed a man to such a position unless
he was the most knowledgeable of them concerning it
(the Hajj). Indeed it is narrated that ‘Ali learned some
ahaadeeth from Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with
them both) concerning some issues. It was narrated that
Asma’ bint al-Hakam al-Fazaari said: “I heard ‘Ali say: I
was a man who, if I heard a hadeeth from the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
Allaah would benefit me thereby as much as He willed to
benefit me. If a man from among his companions told me
a hadeeth I would ask him to swear to it; if he swore to it
then I would believe him.” He told me that Abu Bakr
said, and Abu Bakr spoke the truth, “I heard the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
say, ‘There is no man who commits a sin then he gets up
and purifies himself and prays, and seeks the forgiveness
of Allaah, but Allaah will forgive him.’ Then he recited
this verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those who, when they have committed Faahishah
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