Salam All muslims
The Shaikhayn, i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’, are the highest ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Concomitant to a recent increase in the number of holders of bid’at, i.e. heretics, doubts have been being voiced concerning their superiority. So dreadful is the decaying trend that the correct tenets of belief taught by the Salaf as-sâlihîn (the early Islamic scholars) are being forgotten gradually. Indeed, it is an open fact based both on narrations and on logic that the Shaikhayn are the highest. Narrations come to us through three different courses. Allâhu ta’âlâ promised to His beloved Prophet in the fifty-fifth âyat of Nûr sûra that He would give him believing and pious Khalîfas and reinforce the Islamic religion through those Khalîfas. This fact is confirmed by the dreams which the Messenger of Allah had as well as by the dreams that the Ashâb-i-kirâm had and which the Messenger of Allah explained. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated several times both directly and indirectly that the Shaikhayn would succeed him as his Khalîfas after him. His statements, which are documentary sources, have been conveyed to us through (an authentic chain of narrations and reports termed) tawâtur. Then, the Shaikhayn are the highest Muslims. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Tirmuzî and Hâkim: “After me, follow Abû Bakr and ’Umar!” This hadîth-i-sherîf was reported by Huzayfa and ibn Mas’ûd. Hâkim’s book quotes Enes bin Mâlik as having related: The tribe of Benî Mustalâq sent me to the Messenger of Allah to ask him to name the person to whom we were to pay our zakâts after him. When I came to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and asked him, he said, “Give them to Abû Bakr!” They sent me again. When I reported their question who would be the person to receive our zakâts after Abû Bakr, he said, “’Umar!” I came to him once again with the message asking for the name of the person to take our zakâts. The Prophet’s answer was: “(You will be giving them to) ’Uthmân!” As the Messenger of Allah had to repair to bed during his last fatal illness, he appointed Hadrat Abû Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ as the imâm (to conduct the public prayers called salât, [or namâz,] in jamâ’at). He explicitly rejected the question if someone else could be the imâm. This was the event from which the notables of the Sahâba such as Hadrat ’Umar and Hadrat Alî inferred that Abû Bakr was to be (the first) Khalîfa. None of the Sahâba was opposed to their inference. According to a narration in Bukhârî, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq was conducting the morning prayer in jamâ’at with the command of Rasûlullah, when the blessed Messenger slightly raised the curtain hanging in the doorway and, seeing his Sahâba performing the namâz, he gave a happy smile. Thinking that the Messenger of Allah intended to come in and conduct the namâz, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq moved aside, which made the Sahâba rejoice with the same expectation. Motioning with his blessed hand, the most beautiful human being commanded, “Complete your namâz!” Then he let the curtain go down. He passed away that day. According to a narration unanimously reported by the scholars of Hadîth, one day a woman asked Rasûlullah a question. “Come back later and ask (the same question),” was the blessed Prophet’s reply. The woman asked again, “O Messenger of Allah! What do I do if I can’t find you here?” Rasûlullah stated, “If you can’t find me when you come here, ask Abû Bakr!”
When Hadrat Alî lay down with the fatal wound he was asked whom he was going to appoint Khalîfa after him. “If Allâhu ta’âlâ foreordained goodness for you, you will elect the best of you as your president,” replied the blessed imâm. This statement of Hadrat Alî’s shows that Hadrat Abû Bakr was the highest.
Nizâl bin Sabra ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ relates: One day I saw Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ cheerful and asked him who were the people that he had chosen for friends. “All the Sahâba of the Messenger of Allah are my friends,” he replied. And when I asked him what he would say about Abû Bakr, he said, “He is such a person whom Allâhu ta’âlâ has honoured with the name ‘Siddîq’ through (His Archangel) Jebrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm’ and through His Prophet Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’.” Sa’îd bin Musayyab ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ relates: “Abû Bakr as-Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ was Rasûlullah’s vizier. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ always consulted with him before doing something. In Islam he was the second (highest) person after the Messenger of Allah. In the cave he was the second person after the Messenger of Allah. During the Holy War of Badr, he was the second person after the Messenger of Allah under the wooden sunshade. He was the second person to be put in a grave, i.e. next after the Messenger of Allah. Rasûlullah would never put anyone before him.” In a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Abdurrahmân bin Ghanam, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ said to Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar: “I shall never disagree with anything on which you two agree.”
Allâhu ta’âlâ reinforced the Islamic religion with Hadrat ’Umar. It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Tirmuzî and Abû Dâwûd and Hâkim: “Allâhu ta’âlâ has placed the haqq (truth, right) into ’Umar’s tongue and heart.” It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Bukhârî and Muslim: “The Satan will run away from ’Umar’s shadow?” Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Bukhârî and Muslim: “During Mi’râjI saw the palace that will be given to ’Umar.” Allâhu ta’âlâ sent down âyat-i-kerîmas confirming Hadrat ’Umar’s words concerning the Maqâm-i-Ibrâhîm and women’s covering themselves and the captives taken during the Holy War of Badr. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Hâkim: “On the Rising Day, Allâhu ta’âlâ will greet ’Umar first.” In a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Abû Sa’îd-i-Hudrî, the Prophet pointed to ’Umar and stated: “Of my Ummat, this person will occupy the highest grade in Paradise?” When Hadrat ’Umar asked Rasûlullah for permission to make ’Umra, the blessed Prophet gave him permission and said, “O my brother, do not forget about us as you say your prayers!” Rasûlullah states in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Abdullah ibn Abbâs: “On the day when ’Umar embraced Islam Jebrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm’ came to me and angels gave one another the glad tidings that ’Umar had become a Muslim.” It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and reported by Aqaba bin Âmir: “If another prophet were to come after me ’Umar bin Khattâb would be a prophet.” In another hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî on the authority of Imâm Zaynal ’Âbidîn, who quotes it from his grandfather Hadrat Alî on the authority of his father Hadrat Husayn: Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and I were sitting together, when Abû Bakr and ’Umar came over. The Best of Mankind said, “These two are the highest inhabitants of Paradise after prophets.” Enes bin Mâlik is quoted, in ibn Mâja, as having related: One day he was asked, “Whom do you love most, O Messenger of Allah?” “Âisha,” he replied. “And who is the man you love most?” “Âisha’s father.” It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and reported by Huzayfa and Abdullah ibn Mes’ûd: “After me pay homage to Abû Bakr and ’Umar!” Tirmuzî quotes Enes bin Mâlik as having related: As the Sahâba were seated together, Rasûlullah would just come and sit among them, stopping them from standing up. No one, with the exception of Abû Bakr and ’Umar, could look at him in the face. The two closest companions of the Prophet would look at him, and he at them, three of them smiling at one another. In a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Hâkim’s book and reported by Huzayfa Yemânî, Rasûlullah states: “I want to send my Sahâba to all countries so that my sunnats and the (tenets called) farz be taught far and near. Likewise, Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ (Jesus) sent out his Hawârîs.” When he was asked if he would send Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar as well, he replied, “These two I will not part from. They are like my ears and eyes.” In a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and in Hâkim: One day Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ entered the mosque, with Abû Bakr on his right and ’Umar on his left. He was holding their hands. “On the Rising Day, we shall rise from our graves together, like this.” Abî Arwâ relates in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Hâkim: We were sitting with Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, when Abû Bakr and ’Umar came over. “May gratitude and praise be to Allâhu ta’âlâ because He gave us strength with these two.” It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Tirmuzî and in ibn Mâja and reported by Abû Sa’îd Hudrî: “Those who will occupy high positions in Paradise will be seen like stars when looked from below. Abû Bakr and ’Umar will be (two) of them.”
According to a narration reported unanimously by scholars of Hadîth, Abû Mûsa-l-ash ’arî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ relates: Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and I were sitting in a garden, when someone knocked on the door. The Messenger of Allah ordered, “Open the door and give the newcomer the glad tidings that he will go to Paradise (after death)!” I opened the door. Abû Bakr came in. I told him Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ glad tidings. There was another knock on the door. “Open the door and give the newcomer the glad tidings that he will go to Paradise,” ordered the blessed Prophet again. I opened the door and ’Umar came in. I gave him the glad tidings. Another knock came from the door. The Best of Mankind ordered, “Open the door! Give the newcomer the glad tidings that he will go to Paradise, and tell him that disasters will befall him!” ’Uthmân came in when I opened the door. I told him about the glad tidings and about the qadar (fate, destiny) which Allâhu ta’âlâ foreordained for him. “May hamd (praise and gratitude) be to Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is the only asylum to seek against accidents and disasters,” was his reaction.
It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf written in Hâkim and in the (book of hadîths entitled) Musnad by Imâm Ahmad, and which is reported by Hadrat Alî: “When Abû Bakr comes to power and presides over you, you will find him zâhid in the world and râghib in the Hereafter. When ’Umar presides over you, you will find him powerful, trustworthy, and undaunted in the way of Allah. When Alî gains the presidency over you, you will find him hâdi and muhdî. He will guide you to the right path.”
Sa’îd bin Zayd ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ quoted the following hadîth-i-sherîf, which is written in Tirmuzî and in ibn Mâja: “Ten people are in Paradise, (that is, that they will go to Paradise is certain by now). (They are
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Abû Bakr and ’Umar and ’Uthmân and Talha and Zubayr and Abdurrahmân bin ’Awf and Alî bin Abî Tâlib and Sa’d bin Abî Waqqâs and Abû ’Ubayda bin Jerrâh.” Naming nine of the blessed Sahâbîs, Sa’îd bin Zayd kept back the tenth name. When they asked who he was, he said, “Abu-l-A’war,” implying himself.
Irbât bin Sâriya narrates the following event, which is written in ibn Mâja and in Tirmuzî: We, the Sahâba, had assembled (on an occasion). Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “Fear Allâhu ta’âlâ. Obey your Amîr, who will be presiding over you, even if he is an Abyssinian slave! After me, there will happen differences among Muslims. During those disturbances hold fast to my Sunnat and to the sunnats of the Khulafâ-ar-Râshidîn. My Khalîfas will show you the right path. Follow the path that they will show you! Avoid the later inventions! All bid’ats are aberration and heresy.” Hadrat Safîna, who served the Messenger of Allah for years, relates: I heard Rasûlullah say, “After me, my Khalîfas will make my path live on for thirty years. Thereafter meliks (emperors, sultans) will preside over my Ummat.” The caliphate of Abû Bakr lasted for two years; that of ’Umar lasted for ten years; ’Uthmân’s tenure of office lasted for twelve years; and Alî held office for six years ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’.
There is many another similar hadîth-i-sherîf citing the superiorities of Abû Bakr and ’Umar ’radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ’ and stating that they are people of Paradise. Also, hundreds of other hadîth-i-sherîfs, which state the superiorities of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, of the Muhâjirîn, and of those blessed people who were present at a number of vitally important events such as Badr, Uhud, Bî’at-ur-ridwân and other Holy Wars, are, at the same time, laudatory of the two Khalîfas.
That Abû Bakr is the highest member of this Ummat (Muslims) and that ’Umar is the second highest are two firsthand facts on which the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Tâbi’în-i-izâm were unanimous. When Hadrat Abû Bakr was elected Khalîfa, none of the Ashâb-i-kirâm said a single word to renounce his authority. Nor were any protests voiced on the part of the Ashâb-i-kirâm when Hadrat Abû Bakr advised that Hadrat ’Umar should succeed him in caliphate after him. As Abdurrahmân bin ’Awf nominated Hadrat ’Uthmân as Khalîfa (after Hadrat ’Umar’s martyrdom), he stipulated that he should adhere to the course followed by the Shaikhayn. None of the audience raised an objection. Nor did Alî demur at all, although he was opposed to ’Uthmân’s being held superior to him ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ’.
As long as Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ held office as Khalîfa, he acknowledged on various occasions that the Shaikayn were superior to him. He would scold anyone who expressed doubts about that fact. The greater ones of the Sahâba would hear him do so, and yet they would not even imply dissuasion. Enes bin Mâlik is quoted, in Bukhârî, as having said, “Abû Bakr is the closest person to the Messenger of Allah. On many occasions he proved to be the second person after the Messenger of Allah. He must take the lead as our Amîr. Stand up and pay homage to him!” According to another narration reported on the authority of Enes bin Mâlik in Bukhârî: When someone asked Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ about the portents of Doomsday, the Sultân of Universe questioned, “What have you prepared for Doomsday?” “I have done nothing. However, I love Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Messenger ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ very much,” replied the man. Upon this, the Habîbullah (Darling of Allah) declared, “On Doomsday, (and so on the Rising Day,) you will be with your beloved ones!” I was very happy when I heard that declaration of the blessed Messenger. “I, also, love the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, Abû Bakr and ’Umar. I hope that this love of mine will make me be with them, though I have failed to imitate them,” I said.
Hadrat Alî pronounced the following benediction: “May Allâhu ta’âlâ bless Abû Bakr with His Compassion! He compiled the Qur’ân al-kerîm. He served the Messenger of Allah as he migrated (to Medîna). So may Allâhu ta’âlâ illuminate ’Umar’s grave with nûr as he has illuminated our mosques!” Sâlim bin Abî Ja’d relates: There were forty thousand people provided with residence in Najrân. Hadrat ’Umar evicted them from their homes. Upon this they came to Hadrat Alî and begged for intercession. He dismissed them, saying, “Everything ’Umar does is rightful.” If Hadrat Alî had been critical of Hadrat ’Umar (and his doings), the problem caused by the people from Najrân would have been a propitious occasion to level criticisms at him. He didn’t do so. On the contrary, he praised him. In an interpretation of a dream narrated by Abû Ya’lâ, Hadrat Hasan praised Hadrat ’Umar. Hâkim quotes, in his book, Abdullah bin Ja’far Tayyâr as having said, “When Abû Bakr undertook governorship over us, we found him the best and the most compassionate of people.” As Zayd-i-Shahîd was leaving for war, he said, “My ancestors loved the Shaikhayn very much.” Hâkim’s book contains a number of statements made by Abdullah ibn Abbâs and laudatory of Hadrat ’Umar. Hasan bin Zayd is quoted in Imâm-i-Ahmad’s (book of hadîths called) Sunan as having stated: I heard my father Zayd say that he had heard his father Hasan say that he had heard his father Alî relate the following event: Rasûlullah and I were sitting, when Abû Bakr and ’Umar came over ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ’. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “Yâ Alî! These two are the highest of the people of Paradise. With the exception of prophets, (who are naturally higher than all non-prophets,) there is no one higher than these (two) people!”
Zein