Abu Bakr's repentance for angering Fatima

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6 years 7 months ago #669 by Pro-Alid
Salamu alaykum,

Do any Zaydi sources explicitly state that Abu Bakr repented for preventing Fatima from inheriting the land of Fadak? If so, whose authority are these reports narrated on and where can they be located? Also, was Abu Bakr's repentance for this done before or after Fatima passed away?

Barakallahu feek

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6 years 7 months ago #671 by Imam Rassi Society
wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatullahi!

Thank you for your question! I know of no narration in Zaydi sources in which Abu Bakr was said to have repented for angering Faatima az-Zahraa, upon her be peace. In fact, one of our imams, Imam al-Qaasim bin Ibrahim ar-Rassi, upon him be peace, said "We (i.e. the Ahl al-Bayt) are angry with the one who angered Faatima." If there was any repentance, such statement would be unnecessary.

It should also be considered that if Abu Bakr truly repented for angering Faatima, upon her be peace, he would have sought restitution with her by giving it back during her lifetime. However, he didn't.

And Allah knows best!

IRS

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6 years 7 months ago #672 by Pro-Alid
Thank you for your answer.

What other instances do Zaydis take issue with in relation to Abu Bakr's actions? Are the following two issues the only actions which amount to fisq and cause Zaydis to have reservation (tawaqquf) about Abu Bakr:

1. Abu Bakr seizing Imam Ali's place as the Prophet's successor
2. Abu Bakr not passing on the land of Fadak to Fatima

If there are any other issues, could you please kindly list them for me, and confirm whether there is any record of Abu Bakr having ever repented for such actions.

Barakallahu feek

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6 years 7 months ago #675 by Imam Rassi Society
Thank you for your questions! As for other issues that Zaydis take up with Abu Bakr, they include:

- the attempted assassination of Imam Ali, upon him be peace. In one of our books of history Al-Masaabeeh, there are two reports in which Abu Bakr was said to have instructed Khalid bin Waleed to kill Ali after the Subh prayer. The latter wasn't able to do it. Although this was the only reference I could find of this incident, the two reports are narrated from Zaydi sources to Imams Muhammad b. Ali al-Baaqir and Ja'far b. Muhammad as-Saadiq, upon them be peace.

- the fabrication of the report ((We the Prophets do not leave inheritance)). Our imams and scholars are very clear about the inauthenticity of the report that Abu Bakr alleged was from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny. In texts such as Haqaa`iq al-Ma'rifa, Majaalis at-Tabari, Al-Kaashif al-Ameen, and others, it is made very clear that such report counters the Qur'an and is therefore suspect of fabrication.

It is noteworthy that one of our imams, Mansur Billah Abdullah bin Hamza, upon him be peace, takes a different view regarding this supposed report. He does not deny the authenticity of it but rather rejects Abu Bakr's interpretation of it. He says that the report means that the Prophets do not leave behind sadaqa. However, other things that they leave can be inherited. He says that since Fadak was not sadaqa, Abu Bakr was wrong in taking it but he is not accused of fabrication but rather misinterpretation. [Ref. Al-Majmu' al-Mansuuriya]

With all due respect to the imam, we take umbrage with his position for a number of reasons. First of which is that if it was believed that Abu Bakr brought forward that report to challenge the idea of Fadak being sadaqa, Faatima wouldn't have refuted him with Quranic verses to the contrary. That is, Faatima, upon her be peace, countered this report with Qur'anic verses believing Abu Bakr's narration to be inauthentic, not misinterpreted. Second, this report is not narrated by any of the Ahl al-Bayt. Third, earlier authorities from the Prophet's Progeny do not acknowledge the authenticity of this report nor do they attribute a misinterpretation to Abu Bakr. Fourth, Imam Mansur Billah, upon him be peace, does not cite any authority from his ancestors in respects to his view; he simply presents it as his opinion.

There was no recorded instance of Abu Bakr repenting of either of these two actions.

And Allah knows best!

IRS

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6 years 7 months ago #681 by Pro-Alid
Thank you for another insightful reply.

Is the authenticity of the report in Al-Masaabeeh which states that Abu Bakr ordered Khalid ibn Walid to assassinate Imam Ali after Salat al-Fajr disputed by any Zaydi scholars or is it unanimously accepted as historically accurate? Also, would you be able to tell me what the gradings are of the reports on this?

I'd also like to know what the background story to the above report is. What prevented Khalid ibn Walid from carrying out the assassination? Is this the same story that some Twelvers narrate which states that Abu Bakr sent Umar and Khalid ibn Walid, as well as some others to Fatima's house in order to force Imam Ali to give his pledge allegiance?

If Abu Bakr did indeed fabricate the report which says Prophets do not leave behind inheritance, then how do we explain the following narration of the Prophet, in al-Kafi which is narrated by Jafar al-Sadiq that corroborates Abu Bakr's narration:

Ja’far Al-Sadiq narrates that the Messenger of Allah, said: “Verily, the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets, and the Prophets do not leave dinars and dirhams (i.e. money/wealth) as inheritance but they leave behind knowledge so whoever takes from it then he has acquired a huge fortune.” (Al-Kafi 1/42)

Sahih according to Al-Majlisi (Mirat al-Uqul 1/11)

In my view, it seems unreasonable to suggest that the report was fabricated by Abu Bakr if reports to the same effect also appear in Twelver sources under the authority of Jafar al-Sadiq - so perhaps the Zaydi Imam, Mansur Billah Abdullah bin Hamza has a valid point here when he says that Abu Bakr should not be accused of fabrication in this instance?

Could you please let me know which verses of the Quran contradict the statement of Abu Bakr, which verses were used by Fatima, and where the reports which state that Fatima directly challenged Abu Bakr with verses of the Quran are located?

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6 years 6 months ago - 6 years 6 months ago #682 by Imam Rassi Society
Thank you for your questions!

As for the report in Al-Masaabeeh about Abu Bakr commanding Khalid bin Waleed to assassinate Imam Ali (as), it also appears in Kaashif al-Ameen, Anwaar al-Yaqeen and the author cites several sources in which the report appears. They include Kitaab al-Mu'tamid and Al-Muheet bil-Imaama. After narrating the report from various sources, the author of Anwaar al-Yaqeen, Imam Masur Billah al-Hasan bin Badrudeen (as) said:

Perhaps many people would consider this report far-fetched, but I related in this book of ours the statements of the Ahl al-Bayt and their narrations. Similarly I answered the objections of the opponents at the end of the book by the will of Allah by that which cannot be considered far-fetched.


Apparently, the famed Mu'tazili al-Jaahiz also narrated it but I don't know in which of his works. I never came across the writings of any imam or scholar who questioned the authenticity of this report or the incident. Its absence in the books of the Sunnis is no proof of its inauthenticity as it exposes the actions of one of their leaders. And they were keen to avoid anything that may put the caliphs in a bad light.

As for the reasons why Khalid did not assassinate Imam Ali (as), the report itself explains it. When Khalid was unable to kill Imam Ali (as), the latter said:

He is more restrained to do what he was commanded. By Allah! If you did what you were commanded, you and your companions would simply be slaughtered!

[Ref. Al-Muheet] The author of Al-Muheet narrated it from Ali bin Hussein Zayn al-Abideen (as), Imam Zayd bin Ali (as) as well as Ibn Abbas (ra). It's likely that the imam (as) meat that if Khalid succeeded in killing Ali (as), the Bani Haashim would have retaliated. This is indicated in another report.

As for the claim of Fadak, the Zaydis hold to the view that Fadak was given to Faatima az-Zahraa (as) during the Prophet's lifetime. Therefore, it wasn't an issue of inheritance. This is where the confusion about the issue occurs. Sh. Ali bin Bilal said in his Al-Masaabeeh:

That which they were seeking as inheritance was a share of Khaybar. As for Fadak, it belonged to Faatima (as) during the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his Progeny, as we presented.

So he did not prevent her from Fadak because it was considered inheritance; it was actually her property given to her during the Prophet's lifetime. This is evidenced by the reason of revelation of {And grant the relative his right} (Q. Isra:26). When this verse was revealed, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, gave Faatima Fadak. [Ref. Sharh al-Assaas, Kaashif al-Ameen, and other books]. This reason of revelation also appears in the books of the Sunnis. Jalaal ad-Deen as-Suyuti in his Durr al-Manthuur, Mutaqqi al-Hindi in his Kanz al-Ummaal (with a saheeh chain) and Al-Waahidi in his Asbaab an-Nuzool. Al-Ya'qoobi related in his Taarikh that the descendants of al-Hasan and al-Hussein, upon them be peace, came to al-Ma'moon to request Fadak because it was given to their grandmother Faatima.

This position was maintained by all the imams of Ahl al-Bayt. Imam Ali (as) said in Nahj al-Balaagha (sermon #45) "Fadak was in our possession." Abul-Abbas al-Hasani narrated in his Al-Masaabeeh that Imams Zayd bin Hasan, Ja'far bin Muhammad and Abdullah bin Hasan bin Hasan all said that Fadak was given to Faatima az-Zahraa (as) during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny. Imam al-Qaasim ar-Rassi (as) said in his response to his son Muhammad that Fadak was given to Faatima (as). He also said in another place that Faatima was given Fadak as a gift by her father, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, during his lifetime and that Umm Ayman and Ali were witnesses to that.

However, the discussion regarding inheritance was related to the share of Khaybar not Fadak. Consequently, the discussion of whether the Prophets inherit or not was centered around the share of Khaybar. The verses that she quoted to prove her claim was {And Suleiman inherited Dawuud} (Q. Naml:16) and Zakariya's request {"...so he can inherit me and inherit from the progeny of Yaquub"} (Q. Maryam:6). This is coupled with the fact that there is no verse in the Qur'an that justifies the claim that Prophets don't inherit. In fact, Imam Mansur Billah al-Qaasim bin Muhammad (as) said:

There is consensus amongst the Progeny of Muhammad that the Prophets are inherited.


As for the report in al-Kaafi attributed to Imam Ja'far bin Muhammad as-Saadiq (as) that the Prophets do not leave inheritance, we do not acknowledge the authenticity of this report nor do we attribute such report to Imam as-Saadiq (as). We refer back to the quote of imam Mansuur Billah (as) regarding the consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt on the issue.

Our imams and scholars deny the authenticity of the report from Abu Bakr as we mentioned earlier. First, it contradicts the Qur'an as we mentioned before. Second, it contradicts the consensus of Ahl al-Bayt. Third, there is no Qur'anic verse that Abu Bakr quoted to justify his 'hadith'. Fourth, if there was a recognition of the authenticity of this report, why did Faatima die while angry at Abu bakr and Umar? She of all people would know better if such hadith truly existed and was uttered by her father, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny. Fifth, if the Prophets don't leave inheritance, shouldn't the Prophet have informed his surviving heirs? Not only did the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, not inform az-Zahraa of this 'hadith' but she also showed that she denied its attribution by quoting Qur'anic verses that contradict it. Sixth, the just Umayyad caliph, Umar bin Abdul-Azeez returned Fadak to the descendants of Faatima. If Fadak was understood to be an inheritance and "The Prophets do not inherit" why did he return it to her descendants? Sayyid Majideen al-Mu'ayyadi sums of the issue nicely when he said:

The infallibles [i.e. Ali, al-Hasan and al-Hussein] as well as those who take their position as a proof reject the judgement of Abu Bakr and do not ascribe truth to his statement.


And Allah knows best!

IRS
Last edit: 6 years 6 months ago by Imam Rassi Society.

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