CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE MUTUAL LOVE BETWEEN `ALÎ AND THE COMPANIONS
As we saw in the previous chapter, there is no support for the Shia claim that bitterness and hatred arose between `Alî and the Companions of the Prophet. `Alî used to praise them in death, and grieve for their loss saying:
“Where are those who were called to Islam and answered the call, who recited the Qur’ân and lived by the recitation, who drew their swords and went to the far corners of the earth? Where are those whose eyes were reddened from weeping, whose bellies were hollow from fasting, whose voices were hoarse from supplicating their Lord?
Where are those who were gaunt from lack of sleep, whose faces were drawn with the fear of Allah? These were my brothers and companions of the road who passed away.
Indeed, it is my right to long for them and to bite my lips at their loss.”1
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1 Al-Murtadâ, Nahjul-Balâghah, p. 235.
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What best shows the good relationship between `Alî and the Prophet's Companions is the marriage of his daughter, Umm Kulthûm,2 to `Umar Ibnul-Khattâb, as confirmed in the Shia books. Besides, when `Umar asked `Alî's advice on whether he should go himself on the campaign against the Byzantines, `Alî told him, "You are the citadel of the Arabs, their reference, their refuge, and the buttress of the Muslims. If the non-Arabs were to see you tomorrow, they would say, ‘This is the source of the Arab's (strength).
Should we get rid of him, we would relieve ourselves [from this threat].’"3 Thereon, `Umar did not accompany them on the campaign.
The Shia accounts also report that `Alî said:
“I saw the Companions of the Prophet. I know of no one else like them. They would greet the morning dust-faced and disheveled, having spent [part of] the night in prostration and standing in prayer, now faces to the earth, now faces uplifted. It was as if they were standing on hot coals when they recalled the approach of the Hour of Reckoning, and they were bleary-eyed from prostrating. When Allah was mentioned, their eyes would be welled up with tears and their cheeks sodden. From fear of Allah's punishment and in the hope of His reward they would rock like a tree in a tempest.”4
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2 This marriage gives the lie to the malicious fabrications of those who claim that `Umar Ibnul-Khattâb kicked Fâtimah until she miscarried. Would anyone agree that the man who beat one’s pregnant wife, causing her to miscarry should marry his daughter and become his son-in-law?
Would one then name one’s son after this man? Other Shia sources give the name of the man who did that to Fâtimah as Qunfudh, not `Umar. (see Bihâr Al-Anwâr, 43:197-200).
3 Al-Murtadâ, Nahjul-Balâghah, 2:18, 20.
4 Al-Murtadâ, Nahjul-Balâghah, pp. 182-189.
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`Alî used to say about `Uthmân, "[Some] people insulted him5, but I was one of the Muhâjirûn who sought to please him most."6

The Position of `Alî's Sons on the Companions
At-Tubrasî reports that Imam Muhammad Al-Bâqir said, "I do not deny the merits of `Umar, but Abû Bakr was greater."7
A woman came to Ja`far As-Sâdiq – the Six Imam – and asked him about Abû Bakr and `Umar; whether to give them her loyalty.
"Yes," he said.
"And when I meet my Lord, shall I say that you told me to follow them?" she inquired.
Again, he said, "Yes."8
Besides, once a man was astonished to hear Muhammad Ibn `Alî [a man from the Prophet's Household] call Abû Bakr "As-Siddîq" (the truthful). "Do you call him ‘truthful?’"
he asked. "Yes, ‘truthful’. May Allah not accept the truthfulness of whoever denies it, not in this world nor in the Hereafter,"9 said Muhammad Ibn `Alî.
Further, according to an account related by Al-Mas`ûdî, when `Uthmân was murdered, he was sitting reading from the Qur’ân. His wife jumped up and began to scream, "They have killed the Emir of the Believers!" Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn came
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5 As done nowadays by some Shias.
6 Al-Murtadâ, Nahjul-Balâghah, 2:3.
7 At-Tubrasî, Al-Ihtijâj, p. 230.
8 Al-Kulaynî Muhammad Ibn Ya`qûb Al-Kulaynî Ar-Râzî (d. 328/939), Al-Kâfî, Ar-Rawdah, 8:101.
9 Al-Arbilî, Bahâ’ud-Dîn Abul-Hasan `Alî Ibn `Îsâ Al-Arbilî Ibnul-Fakhr (d. 692), Kashful-Ghummah fî Ma`rifat Al-A’immah, 2:173.
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running but found `Uthmân had already passed away, and they began to weep.10 `Alî, Talhah, Az-Zubayr, Sa`d, and other Muslims from the Muhâjirûn and the Ansâr (Supporters) were informed about that, and when `Alî arrived at `Uthmân's house, he was driven to distraction with grief. He said to Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn, "How come that the Emir of the Believers was killed while you were guarding his door?" Then he slapped Al-Hasan on the face, struck Al-Husayn in the chest, and sharply reproached Muhammad Ibn Talhah and `Abdullâh Ibn Az-Zubayr.11
The Bond between the Household of the Prophet and the Companions `Alî showed his great love for the three Rightly-guided Caliphs who preceded him by naming three of his sons after them. The Shia books mention Abû Bakr Ibn `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib, `Umar Ibn `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib, and `Uthmân Ibn `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib.12 Further, Alî married his daughter, Umm Kulthûm, to `Umar Ibnul-Khattâb. Besides, Al-Husayn named his sons Abû Bakr and `Umar, and his sons did the same after him. This is an obvious expression of love for and affection for the Companions of the Prophet. This,
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10 This was reported by "`Alî and Talhah and Az-Zubayr and Sa`d and other Companions of the Prophet.
11 Al-Mas`ûdî, Abul-Hasan `Alî Ibnul-Husayn Al-Mas`ûdî (d. 345/956), Murûj Adh-Dhahab wa Ma`âdin Al-Jawhar, 2:344.
12 See At-Tubrasî, I`lâm Al-Warâ, p. 203, Al-Mufîd, Al-Irshâd, p. 186, Al-Ya`qûbî, Târîkh  ,2:213, Abul-Faraj Al-Asfahânî, Maqâtil At-Tâlibiyyîn, p. 142, Al-Arbîlî, Kashful-Ghummah,2:64, and Al-Majlisî, Jalâ’ Al-`Uyûn, p. 182.
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too, is recorded in the Shia books.13 As for Imam Mûsâ Ibn Ja`far, the Seventh Imam, one of his sons was also named Abû Bakr,14 and he named one of his daughters `Â’ishah,15 just as his grandfather, `Alî Ibnul-Husayn Ibn `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib had done before him.16 Likewise, the Tenth Imam, `Alî Ibn Muhammad Al-Hâdî, named a daughter `Â’ishah and a son Al-Hasan.17 By the same token, `Abdullâh Ibn Ja`far Ibn Abû Tâlib had a son named Abû Bakr,18 and Al-Hasan Ibn `Alî named one of his sons `Umar.19 Ja`far As-Sâdiq, the Sixth Imam, used to say, “Abû Bakr begot twice.”20 This is because the name Abû Bakr appeared in the names of both his mother, Fâtimah Bint Qâsim Ibn Abû Bakr, and his maternal grandmother, Asmâ’ Bint `Abdur-Rahmân Ibn Abû Bakr21.
This confirms that the Shias differ with the Prophet's Household over the Companions. Are there any Shias who are proud to name their children after Abû Bakr
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13 See At-Tubrasî, I`lâm Al-Warâ, p. 213, Al-Ya`qûbî, At-Târîkh (History), 2:228, Abul-Faraj Al-Asfahânî, Maqâtil At-Tâlibiyyîn, pp. 78, 119, Al-Mas`ûdî, At-Tanbîh wal-Ishrâf, p.263, and Al-Majlisî, Jalâ’ Al-`Uyûn, p. 582.
14 Al-Arbîlî, Kashful-Ghummah, 2:217, and Abul-Faraj Al-Asfahânî, Maqâtil At-Tâlibiyyîn, p. 561.
15 Al-Arbîlî, Kashful-Ghummah, 2:90.
16 Al-Arbîlî, Kashful-Ghummah, 2:334, Muhammad Ibnul-Hasan Ibn `Alî Al-Mashgharî, Al-Fusûl Al-Muhimmah fî Usûl Al-A’immah, p. 283.
17 Al-Arbîlî, Kashful-Ghummah, 2:334 and Al-Mashgharî, Al-Fusûl Al-Muhimmah, p. 283.
18 Abû Faraj Al-Asfahânî, Maqâtil At-Tâlibiyyîn, p. 123.
19 Al-Ya`qûbî, Târîkh, 2:228, Jamâlud-Dîn Ahmad Ibn `Alî Ibn `Inabah (d. 828/ 1424), `Umdat Al-Tâlib fî Nasab Âl Abû Tâlib, p. 81, Al-Qummî, Muntahâ Al-Âmâl, 1:240, and Al-Mashgharî, Al-Fusûl Al-Muhimmah, p. 166.
20 Ibn `Inabah, `Umdat Al-Tâlib, 195, Al-Mufîd, Al-Irshâd, p. 186, and Al-Kulaynî, Kitâb Al-Kâfî, 1:472. 21 Who at the same is the mother of Fâtimah Bint Qâsim.
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or `Â’ishah as the Household of the Prophet themselves have done? Or is this another mistake that the “infallible” Imams are guilty of? Is it an error like the oath of obedience to Abû Bakr and `Umar, or like Al-Hasan's abdication in favor of Mu`âwiyah?
In the light of this, we may put the Shia's “love” for the Prophet's Household to the test.
And a question rises: Do the Shias follow the example of the Prophet's Household regarding naming their children Abû Bakr, `Umar, `Uthmân, and `Â’ishah? If not, then what can we make of their claim to follow them?

The Unknown Martyrs of Karbala with Al-Husayn
Many Shias may be shocked to hear the news, normally kept from them, that Al-Husayn had a brother and a son, who were both named Abû Bakr, and he had a second brother called `Umar, and that all the three were martyred with him at Karbala. Many important Shia sources mention this.22 According to Al-Majlisî, for example, “`Umar Ibnul-Hasan Ibn `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib was martyred at Karbala along with Al-Husayn.” Al-Asfahânî contradicts him, though, maintaining that `Umar Ibnul-Hasan was not killed, but taken prisoner.23
Thereon, according to the Shia scholars, Al-Husayn's brother, Abû Bakr, and his son, also called Abû Bakr, and Al-Hasan's son, `Umar, were all martyred with Al-Husayn at Karbala.
All the three of them bore the names of men the Shias insist wronged the Household of the Prophet and usurped their rights.
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22 See Abul-Faraj Al-Asfahânî, Maqâtil At-Tâlibiyyîn, pp. 87, 142, 188, Al-Arbîlî, Kashful-Ghummah, 2:64, Al-Majlisî, Jalâ’ Al-`Uyûn, p. 582, Al-Mas`ûdî, and At-Tanbîh wa Al-Irshâd, p. 263.
23 Abul-Faraj Al-Asfahânî, Maqâtil At-Tâlibiyyîn, p. 119.
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It is strange that the names of these men are never heard during the dramatic reenactments of the martyrdom of Al-Husayn staged every year on `Âshûrâ’ (the tenth day of Muharram). These three bear the names of two men whom the Shias curse daily.
The Shia scholars try to keep these things quiet for fear that the deep bonds and profound love of the Prophet's Household for the Companions would be exposed. They especially fear the respect of the Prophet's Household for Abû Bakr and `Umar.

Imâm Mâlik’s Response to the Hatred of the Companions
A man once came to Imâm Mâlik and said:
“I hate so and so,” and mentioned some of the Companions of the Prophet. Imâm Mâlik quoted, in reply, the following verse:
{"For the poor emigrants who were expelled from their homes and their properties, seeking bounty from Allah and [His] approval and supporting Allah and His Messenger, [there is also a share]. Those are the truthful…"}24
Adding, “Are you one of these people [mentioned in the verse]?”
“No,” the man replied.
Then Imâm Mâlik recited another verse:
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24 Qur’ân (59: 8).
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{"And [also for] those who were settled in the Home [i.e. Medina] and [adopted] the faith before them. They love those who emigrated to them and find not any want in their breasts of what they [i.e. the emigrants] were given but give [them] preference over themselves, even though they are in privation."}25
“Are you one of these people?” asked the Imâm.
“No,” the man said.
Then Imâm Mâlik read the verse:
{"And [there is a share for] those who came after them, saying, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed."}26
“Are you one of these?” Imâm Malik asked.
“I hope so,” the man replied.
“You are not, if you curse one of the formers,” Imâm Mâlik said.
A similar debate is attributed to `Alî Ibnul-Husayn Ibn `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib, related by Al-Arbilî in his Kashful-Ghummah.27
Those who curse Abû Bakr and `Umar forget that they were not only the Prophet's Companions, but his relatives by marriage as well. The Prophet's daughters, Ruqaiyyah and Umm Kukthûm, were married to `Uthmân, and the Prophet's wife, `Â’ishah, was a
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25 Qur’ân (59: 9).
26 Qur’ân 59:10.
27 Al-Arbîlî, Kashful-Ghummah, p. 2:78.
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daughter of Abû Bakr. Another of his wives, Hafsah, was a daughter of `Umar. Can anyone say that the Prophet took bad people for friends, bad people for Companions, and bad people for wives, while he ordered the Muslims not to take bad people for friends, or for companions, or for wives?