What happened After Prophet Muhammad (S)

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“In the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful”

What happened After Prophet Muhammad (S)

Let’s retell the history of Islam for those who came in later generations and were not present in the beginning of Islam like us.

Is there a way to reach the truth of Islam? We mean the principles and basics of Islam. Otherwise, Shia jurisprudence is not much different from Sunni jurisprudence.

The prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (S) was twenty-three years. That is, he becomes a prophet by God at the age of forty. He was in Mecca for thirteen years. Then he and a few of his followers emigrated to Medina and stayed in Medina for ten years, and at the age of sixty-three, he died (was martyred).

Some Surahs of the Holy Quran were revealed in Mecca, which we call “Meccan surahs”, and some surahs were revealed in Medina, which is called “Medina surahs”. Now one may ask, is Mecca much different from Medina? Yes, there were differences. That is, during the thirteen years that the Holy Prophet (S) was in Mecca, Islam had not become a dominant religion and only a few people had accepted Islam. That is, there was no Islamic government. Many Muslims were tortured and beaten to death. So much so that some people, led by Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, were forced to emigrate to Abyssinia.

Many people have asked questions, but they do not know the answer. The question is: Before reaching the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (S), were all the people of Mecca polytheists? Were Abd al-Muttalib (grandfather of the Holy Prophet), Khadijeh (A) (wife of the Holy Prophet), and Abu Talib and his children, or the uncles of the Prophet, idolaters? We have a narration from the Sunni scholars that Umar, Abu Bakr, and Uthman were idolaters and among the polytheists. But what about the family of the Prophet?

Let’s go a bit farther back in history. Prophet Ibrahim (A), the grandfather of monotheism, had two children. Ismail and Isaac. Isaac was in the region of Syria, where Prophet Ibrahim (A) built “Bit Al-Maqdis” there. And he brought Ismail to the region of Hejaz (Saudi Arabia) by divine revelation. Later, Prophet Ibrahim (A) and Prophet Ismail (A) built the house of the “Kaaba” in Mecca. “And when Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundations of the House (supplicating): ‘O our Lord, accept this from us, You are the Hearer, the Knower” (Al-Baqarah:127). So, Prophet Ibrahim (A) built both Jerusalem and the Kaaba. Jerusalem was the base of Prophet Isaac (A) and Isaac’s children (the Jews – Children of Israel) and Mecca became for the children of Prophet Ismail (A).

The religion of Ismail’s children was the religion of Prophet Ibrahim (A). They were called “Hanifs” (monotheists). Throughout history, deviations in the Hanif religion gradually emerged. And some turned to polytheism and idolatry. They also performed the Hajj of the time of Prophet Ibrahim (A) with deviations. But they also did some polytheistic deeds. For example, men and women were naked and circumambulating around the Kaaba. But did everyone become polytheists? No, some people in Mecca still kept their true religion and called “Honafa”. As the family of the Prophet Abd al-Muttalib, Abu Talib, Abdullah were monotheists. Of course, Jews and even Zoroastrians were there. Some people also came there to visit “Kaaba”. But Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman were polytheists before Islam. The ancestors of our Prophet had miracles and even people came to their house to pray for rain.

When Muslims were in Mecca, the Holy Prophet was very much persecuted and disrespected and Islam was very secretive. For example, Abu Dharr, who was a very honest guy, said to the Messenger of God, I want to go and declare monotheism. The Holy Prophet said, “Your life would be in danger”. He said there is no problem. Abu Dharr went to the Kaaba and said La ilaha illa Allah. They attacked him and broke his head and hit him badly if Abbas (one of the uncles of prophet Muhammad (S)) had not arrived.

There were many Jews in Medina. What is the Jew doing there in the time of Prophet Muhammad (S)? The Jews must be in Jerusalem. The verse of the Quran says, “They knew the Prophet as they knew their own child”. That is, they had prophecies in their books that a prophet would come from this region, and …, they had come here for the prophet to come from Jews. They thought that prophethood just belongs to Isaac’s children. They forgot that Prophets come from God to mankind. They were waiting for the known Prophet to come. When Prophet Muhammad (S) came, the same Jews who were waiting for him rose up to fight him.

The situation changed when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) migrated to Medina. In Mecca, they were under pressure and persecution, but in Medina, they were welcomed. They (people of Medina) sheltered the Muslims, many converted to Islam. Later, a small Islamic government was being formed. In Medina, the Holy Prophet (S) sent some people to religious missionaries. They were sent to other cities and tribes, whose leaders said that we would convert to Islam, but on the condition that the government would be in our hands after you. The Holy Prophet said, “It is not up to me to give it to you or to anyone else.” This is determined by God (successor must be nominated by God). We listen to the words of the Prophet because he speaks from God.

Did God determine the successor of the Prophet Muhammad (S) after him? Yes.

Ghadir Khum

The Holy Prophet had announced to everyone during the farewell pilgrimage (about two months before he passed away) that every Muslim should come to Hajj this year. He aimed to teach Hajj to Muslims. The Holy Prophet performed Hajj for the last time. On the way back to Medina, Muslims reached the Ghadir Khum area. He ordered the caravans that had left the area to return. They made a pulpit out of camel pack saddles. Prophet Muhammad (S) stood up and read the sermon. He introduced Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) as his successor. Muslims stayed there for three days and nights. He ordered that everyone should come and pledge allegiance to Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A). The women also pledged allegiance (they touched water to show their allegiance). Everyone must have an Imam including women. They did not take allegiance from the children except from Imam Hassan (A) and Imam Hussain (A).

There are so many traditions from many Sunni scholars that narrated this event. Some people, like Ibn Taymiyyah and the followers of the Umayyads, said that this hadith was fabricated by the Shias; their kings have included them in the books and deceived the Shias in this way. Allameh Amini (Shia scholar) wrote the book of “Al-Ghadir”. He extracted many references of Hadith “Al-Ghadir” from the books of the Sunnis with one hundred and ten series of documentaries. We do not have a hadith in the Islamic world that has such strong references. It is not possible to reject this hadith.

The Holy Prophet of Islam ordered all the Muslims to allegiance to Imam Ali (A) publicly, this allegiance also happened to a small group of Muslims in Medina too. The Holy Prophet made his succession very clear for Muslims to not be deviated after him.

The Story of the Usurpation of the Caliphate

After Prophet Muhammad (S) passed away, some people met in a place called “Saqifeh Bani Sa’deh” to appoint a caliph (successor) while Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) was bathing the body of the Prophet Muhammad (S). Some people came to him and said, “Why are you here? Others are appointing a caliph”. He (Imam Ali (A)) replied, “Should I leave the body of the Prophet on the ground to pursue the caliphate? No way.”

There was a meeting to decide about the successor of Prophet Muhammad (S) without many of his key followers. The Ansar (one of the major tribes of the Medina Muslims) said, “We do not pledge allegiance except to Ali”. But “Sa’d ibn ‘Abadah”, the head of the Khazrajians (another major tribe of the Medina Muslims) claimed the caliphate for himself. The other Muslims in the meeting pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr quickly in order not to elect caliph from Khazrajians, (when Omar raise Abu Bakr’s hand). It was not a peaceful meeting. They drew their swords, came out, and raised the hand of Abu Bakr, and ordered all people to pledge allegiance to the Caliph of the Messenger of God forcefully!! They went and sat inside the main mosque. Their jealousy towards Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) was exposed in this situation.

A narration says, “The Messenger of God (S) was crying. Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) said, “O Messenger of God, why are you crying? Prophet replied, “The jealousy that is in the hearts of some people towards you will appear after I leave”.

The body of Prophet Muhammad (S) was buried with a few people to witness at night. A’yesha said that at night when the sound of shovels and pickaxes was heard, we found out that the body of the Messenger of God was being buried.

Why did Amir Al-Mu’menin Ali (A) not draw his sword during the usurpation of the Caliphate?

They wanted to get allegiance from Imam Ali (A), what should he have done?

In the book “Al-Gharat”, which is one of the oldest and most original books in history, it was narrated that during the battle of Safin, some Shias said, “O my Amir Al-Mu’minin, you have drawn your sword against Mu’awiyah, why did you not use your sword against Abu Bakr and Umar? Imam replied, “It was different at that time. After the Prophet of God passed away, the enemies of Islam decided to attack Muslims. Also, there were some new Muslims who, if there was a dispute in the capital of the Islamic government, the new Muslims would turn away from the religion. I saw that if I took up the sword and there was division, we could no longer form an army to defend ourselves. I realized that the principle of Islam is in danger, so I endured. In front of my eyes, they took my heritage, and I was silent”.

The role of Lady Fatimah Zahra (AS) (The only child of Prophet Muhammad (S)) in the usurpation of the Caliphate

She was martyred in defending of Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A).

If someone is fair, the true path is very clear. Why was the only child of Prophet Muhammad (S) martyred and buried secretly very soon after his father?

We refer to the Quran itself.

Indeed, God desires to remove all impurity from you, O People of the House (“Ahl Al-Bayt”), and to purify you thoroughly” (Al-Ahzab:33). Based on all Sunni and Shia Muslims, Ahl Al-Bayt are 5 people: Prophet Muhammad (S), Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A), Lady Fatimah Zahra (AS), Imam Hassan (A), and Imam Hussain (A).

Fatimah Zahra’s (A) house was attached to the Prophet’s mosque and only Fatimah Zahra’s house door was allowed to be open to the mosque directly. The Holy Prophet of God used to come in prayers time for six months and place his hand on the door and being said, “Pray, Pray O Ahl Al-Bayt, “Indeed, God desires to remove all impurity from you, O People of the House (“Ahl Al-Bayt”), and to purify you thoroughly”.

Some people might not understand from this verse that Fatimah is infallible.

There are narrations of the Prophet. The Messenger of God said, “Fatimah is a part of my body. Someone harassing her has harassed me”.

Another hadith:

The Messenger of God said, “O Fatimah, God is angry when you angry and pleased when you pleased”. This is a hadith narrated by Sunnis and Shias. God is angry when Fatimah (AS) is angry and is satisfied with her consent, can he/she be infallible?

The Sunnis have narrated that the Messenger of God said to Ahl Al-Bayt many times, “I am in peace and friend with whoever is in peace and friend with you. I am in fight and enemy with whoever is in fight and enemy with you”.

If we determine the caliph ourselves, is it from God? It must be clarified what has legitimacy and what does not. This is what we are talking about.

Lady Fatimah Zahra (AS) has two sermons, one for the Ansar and one for the women.

She went to the mosque. She began to read a historical sermon for everyone. What did the Prophet do from the beginning? What was Ali’s situation? What is our Imamat for? What did you do next? That is, she completely defined the principles, and because she was a woman and the daughter of the Prophet, no one could draw a sword on her.

The Story of Fadak’s Usurpation

When Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) became caliph, they said, “Will you not take back Fadak?” He said, “What do we do with Fadak?” If there was a discussion about Fadak after Prophet Muhammad (S), they wanted to tell the people about their oppression.

Fadak was a village close to Medina. Fadak was known for its water wells, dates, and handicrafts. The takeover of Fadak by Muslims in 629 CE was peaceful and Fadak was thus considered the personal property of Prophet Muhammad (S). Prophet Muhammad (S) gave it to his daughter Fatimah before he passed away. Fadak was confiscated from his daughter, Fatimah, and administered in Abu Bakr time as a public property, despite her serious objections.

Fatimah Zahra (A) said, “Ibn Abi Qahafa (Abu Bakr), you inherit from your father, but I do not inherit from my father? You may have thought that my father and I are separate from two nations, or did you think you knew the Qur’an better than my father and my husband (Ali (A))?

Do you know why the only child and one of the Ahl Al-Bayt was passed away soon after Prophet Muhammad (S) was buried secretly and so far, no one knows where she is buried? Is it because she was angry with Abu Bakr and Umar?

All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.

Source Adabestan Marefat
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