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The Opinion of Imam Ali (AS) on Caliphate
A contributor mentioned that, in one of the sermons of Nahjul Balagha it is
written that Imam Ali mentioned consultation as one of the reason why he
has the legitimate right for Caliphate. Here, Ali is contradicting the Shia
thesis that Muhammad wanted to appoint Ali as the Imam.
What you are referring to is not a sermon of Imam Ali to Muslims, and you
have also taken it out of context. it was a part of his letter to Muawiyah
when he refused to give his oath to Imam Ali (AS). Moreover, in contrary to
your claim, in that letter Imam Ali (AS) did NOT say that he BELIEVES in
the function of election for Caliphate. (Please see the full text of the
letter below). He rather wanted to use the argument of his opponents
against themselves.
When all the people of Medina unanimously swore allegiance to Imam Ali
(AS), Muawiyah refused to comply apprehending danger for his own power, and
in order to provide an excuse for his disloyalty, he claimed that since he
did not participate in the election, the election of Imam Ali (AS) was
unlawful, and thus there should be another general election. This was while
Abu Bakr was elected by a very few number of people and there was no
national vote so that one could consider the caliphate of Abu Bakr as a
result of people's election. But the rulers who came after the Prophet
imposed upon people that this is what election means, and this became a
principle imposed on people and assumed to be their verdict that whoever
the nobles of Medina elect would be deemed to represent the entire world of
Islam, and no person has right to question it, whether he was present at
the time of election or not, and that no one has right to reconsider the
matter.
People, from whom Muawiyah was later receiving support, were those who had
clamored the loudest about that argument. But when the rulership of the
Muslim State in the form of caliphate came to Imam Ali, they rebelled
against it, many of them were rebelling even after having sworn the oath of
allegiance to him.
Here, in this letter to Muawiyah, Imam Ali (AS) is quoting the argument
which was once employed against him when he refused to give his oath to Abu
Bakr. Imam Ali (AS) mentioned that if an election by people is the
criterion to decide on the Caliphate, a general election took place in
Medina to elect him as Caliph by Emigrants and Helpers and nobody can deny
this fact. Therefore even according to the principles formulated by the
opponents of Imam Ali (AS), his election was lawful, regular and bonafide.
Thus Muslim who already accepted such principles to legitimize the election
of the Abu Bakr, have no the right to speak or act against him (Ali). And
Muawiyah had no right to propose re-election nor to refuse allegiance when,
in practice, he recognized this principle for Abu Bakr.
In his letter, the Imam wrote to Muawiyah:
"Verily those who swore allegiance to Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman have
sworn allegiance to me on the same basis on which they swore
allegiance to them. On this basis, he who was present has no choice
(to reconsider), and he who was absent has no right to reject. And
consultation was confined to Emigrant and Helpers. If they agree on an
individual and name him leader, it was supposed that it is Allah's
satisfaction. If any one goes against such decision due to innovation,
they (used to) return him from what he kept away, and if he refuses
(to abide the decision) they (used to) fight him for following a
course other than of the believers, and Allah will put him back from
where he had run away."
"O' Muawiyah, if you use your brain without your tendencies and
desires, you will find me the most innocent of all in respects to
Uthman's blood, and you surely know that I was in seclusion from him,
unless you conceal what is quite open to you and attribute all these
false rumors to me."
In the above letter Imam Ali is using counter argument to demolish the
argument of Muawiyah. This method is known as arguing with the adversary on
the basis of his wrong premises so as to demolish his argument. On the
point of religion, Imam Ali (AS) never regarded consultation with chiefs or
the common vote to be the criterion of the validity of Caliphate, otherwise
he would not have allowed himself to delay to give allegiance to Abu Bakr
for the first six month of his Caliphate which is an undeniable fact held
by all Muslims. This is proof of the fact that he did not regard these self-
concocted methods as the criterion for the validity of caliphate. However,
to place before Muawiyah meant opening the door to questions and answers.
He, therefore, attempted to convince him with his own premises and beliefs
so that there could be no scope for interpretation or for confusing the
matter. Imam Ali cited the above argument merely as a stopple against
Muawiyah (and in another occasion to Talha and Zubair) simply to prove how
fictitious and flimsy were the points raised by his enemies to deprive him
of his just rights and how they would go back upon their accepted
principles to harm him.
One may recall that such counter argument was used by Prophet Abraham in
the Quran where he once claimed to be the worshipper of the Sun and the
moon to show people that how a wrong premise would result in self-
contradictory result.
On this occasion, Imam Ali (AS) did not argue on the strength of any saying
of the prophet which would serve as his final say about the caliphate,
because the grounds for refusal in his case was in respect of the style of
the principle of the election. Therefore, in keeping with the requirements
of the situation, a reply based on the opponent's principles could alone
quiten him. Even if he had argued on the strength of the Prophet's command,
it would have subjected to various interpretations and the matter would
have prolonged instead of being settled. In fact Muawiyah's real aim was to
prolong the matter that at some point his own authority might get support.
Imam Ali had already witnessed that soon after the death of Prophet
(PBUH&HF) all his sayings regarding to appointment of his successor had
been set aside. Therefore, how after the laps of a long time, could one be
expected to accept it when habit had been established to follow one's free
will against the Prophet's commandments?
Moreover, there are many sermons in Nhajul Balagha where Imam Ali
unequivocally states his right was usurped from day one of the death of the
Mercy to Mankind, Muhammad (PBUH&HF). below is one example of it:
Sermon 7/3 of Nahjul Balagha
Survey of the period after the demise of the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF)
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[This is the famous sermon of Shiqshiqiyyah. It is so named because
while Imam Ali was delivering it an Iraqi got up and presented a
letter to him. He got busy in reading it. When he had finished the
letter Abdullah Ibn Abbas requested him to continue his sermon. The
Imam replied, " Ibn Abbas ! This speech of mine was extempore and was
being delivered at the impulse of that moment like the Shiqshiqiyyah
(the roar of a camel), it can't be continued." So far as the subject
is concerned the sermon is self-explanatory.]
Beware! By Allah the son of Abu Quhafah (Abu Bakr)(2) dressed himself with it (the caliphate) and he certainly knew that my position in relation to it was the same as the position of the axis in relation to the hand-mill. The flood water flows down from me and the bird cannot fly upto me. I put a curtain against the caliphate and kept myself detached from it.
Then I began to think whether I should assault or endure calmly the blinding darkness of tribulations wherein the grown up are made feeble and the young grow old and the true believer acts under strain till he meets Allah (on his death). I found that endurance thereon was wiser. So I adopted patience although there was pricking in the eye and suffocation (of mortification) in the throat. I watched the plundering of my inheritance till the first one went his way but handed over the Caliphate to Ibn al-Khattab after himself.
(Then he quoted al-A`sha's verse).
My days are now passed on the camel's back (in difficulty) while there were days (of ease) when I enjoyed the company of Jabir's brother Hayyan.(3)
It is strange that during his lifetime he wished to be released from the caliphate but he confirmed it for the other one after his death. No doubt these two shared its udders strictly among themselves. This one put the Caliphate in a tough enclosure where the utterance was haughty and the touch was rough. Mistakes were in plenty and so also the excuses therefore. One in contact with it was like the rider of an unruly camel. If he pulled up its rein the very nostril would be slit, but if he let it loose he would be thrown. Consequently, by Allah people got involved in recklessness, wickedness, unsteadiness and deviation.
Nevertheless, I remained patient despite length of period and stiffness of trial, till when he went his way (of death) he put the matter (of Caliphate) in a group(4) and regarded me to be one of them. But good Heavens! what had I to do with this "consultation"? Where was any doubt about me with regard to the first of them that I was now considered akin to these ones? But I remained low when they were low and flew high when they flew high. One of them turned against me because of his hatred and the other got inclined the other way due to his in-law relationship and this thing and that thing, till the third man of these people stood up with heaving breasts between his dung and fodder. With him his children of his grand-father, (Umayyah) also stood up swallowing up Allah's wealth(5) like a camel devouring the foliage of spring, till his rope broke down, his actions finished him and his gluttony brought him down prostrate.
At that moment, nothing took me by surprise, but the crowd of people rushing to me. It advanced towards me from every side like the mane of the hyena so much so that Hasan and Husayn were getting crushed and both the ends of my shoulder garment were torn. They collected around me like the herd of sheep and goats. When I took up the reins of government one party broke away and another turned disobedient while the rest began acting wrongfully as if they had not heard the word of Allah saying:
That abode in the hereafter, We assign it for those who intend not to exult themselves in the earth, nor (to make) mischief (therein); and the end is (best) for the pious ones. (Qur'an, 28:83)
Yes, by Allah, they had heard it and understood it but the world appeared glittering in their eyes and its embellishments seduced them. Behold, by Him who split the grain (to grow) and created living beings, if people had not come to me and supporters had not exhausted the argument and if there had been no pledge of Allah with the learned to the effect that they should not acquiesce in the gluttony of the oppressor and the hunger of the oppressed I would have cast the rope of Caliphate on its own shoulders, and would have given the last one the same treatment as to the first one. Then you would have seen that in my view this world of yours is no better than the sneezing of a goat.
Don't tell me this is the product of Sayyed Radhi. In fact, this particular
sermon of Imam Ali was being circulated among the Sunni scholars 200 years
before the BIRTH of Sayyed Radhi and they acknowledged that the above
sermon is the genuine sayings of Imam Ali (AS), and I have 27 documents to
prove this. In fact, Nahjul Balagha is not merely a Shi'ite source, and
many Sunni scholars have also written commentary to it.
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Prophet (PBUH&HF) said:
Whoever I am his prophet, Ali is his ruler.
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- On the Khilafa of Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS):
Abdullah Ibn Masud narrated:
The messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) ordered me to follow him, on the
night of the Jinn. I went with him until we reached the hight of
Macca... (the prophet) said: "I was promised that the Jinn and human
will believe in me. As to the human they believed in me, as to the
Jinn you have seen"; he continued: "I feel that my end is drawing
near." I said: O Messenger of Allah, won't you make Abu Bakr as your
Caliph? He turned away from me, so I realized that he disagreed; I
said: O Messenger of Allah, won't you make Umar as your Caliph? He
turned away from me, so I realized that he disagreed; I said: O
Messenger of Allah, won't you make Ali as your Caliph? He said:
"(That's) him. By the One whom there is no God beside Him, if you
chose him and obeyd him He (Allah) entered you into Paradise all
together."
Sunni references:
- Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v8, p314
- Also mentioned by al-Tabarani
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