Imam al-Jawad admits to Abu Bakr's virtues

[Hani]

al-Salamu `Aleykum,


We often stumble upon things in Arabic websites and forums which we don't translate due to their numbers and size, yet I thought of translating something just for old time's sake.


There's a very weak narration in praise of Abu Bakr which is found in some books, such as al-Majrouhin by ibn Hibban, where Jibreel tells Muhammad (saw) to ask Abu Bakr:

فاقرأه من الله السلام وقل له يقول لك ربك أراض أنت عني

"The giver of peace greets him with peace and tells you (O Muhammad) to ask (Abu Bakr): Your Lord asks, are you pleased with me?"


Now some Shia decides to ask about this narration on "Aalulbayt Global Information Center" better known as "al-shia.org", this is a renowned Shia website established by Sistani's office as they themselves claim:

برعاية مكتب سماحة آية الله العظمى السيد علي الحسيني السيستاني ( دام ظلّه ) ، تمّ تأسيس مركز آل البيت ( عليهم السلام ) العالمي للمعلومات في مدينة قم ، وذلك في ذكرى عيد الغدير الأغر 18 ذي الحجة 1418 هـ ـ 1998 م

Here is the text of the Fatwa:

السؤال:
ما ردكم على : يا أبا بكر ، إن السلام يقرئك السلام ، ويقول : إني راضٍ عنك ، فهل أنت راضٍ عني ؟


الجواب:
نجيبك بهذه المحاورة التي وقعت بين يحيى بن أكثم في حضور المأمون  العباس وبين الإمام محمد الجواد( عليه السلام ) :


إن ابن أكثم ناظر الامام أبا جعفر محمد بن علي الجواد ( عليه السلام ) مرة بحضور المأمون و جماعة كبيرة .


فقال يحيى بن أكثم : ما تقول يا بن رسول الله في الخبر الذي روي أن  جبرائيل نزل على رسول الله ( صلى الله عليه وآله ) وقال : يا محمد إن الله يقرؤك السلام ، ويقول لك : سل أبا بكر هل هو راض عني ؟ فإني راض عنه .


فقال ( عليه السلام ) : ( لستُ بِمنكرٍ فضل أبي بكر ، ولكن يجب على صاحب هذه الخبر أن يأخذ مثال الخبر الذي قاله رسول الله ( صلى الله عليه وآله ) في حجة الوداع : قد كثرت عليَّ الكذابة وستكثر ، فمن كذَّب علي متعمداً فليتبوأ مقعده من النار .


فإذا أتاكم الحديث فاعرضوه على كتاب الله وسنتي ، فما واقع كتاب الله وسنتي فخذوا به ، وما خالف كتاب الله وسنتي  فلا تأخذاو به .


وليس يوافق هذا الخبر كتاب الله ، قال الله تعالى : ( وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ ) ق : 16 .


فالله عزَّ وجل خفي عليه رضا أبي بكر من سخطه حتى سأل عن مكنون سره ؟! هذا مستحيل في العقول ) .

[Question: What is your response to: "O Abu Bakr,  the giver of peace greets you with peace and says: I am pleased with you, are you pleased with me?"

Answer: We respond to you by this discussion between Yahya bin al-Aktham(Sunni scholar) and Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (as) in the presence of (Caliph) al-Ma'moun al-`Abbasi.

Yahya said: What say you O son of Rasul-Allah about the narration where Jibreel descends on Rasul-Allah (saw) and says: "O Muhammad, Allah greets you with peace and says: Ask Abu Bakr if he is pleased with me? As I am pleased with him."

He (as) replied: I do not deny the virtue of Abu Bakr, but the narrator of this Hadith has to remember what Rasul-Allah (saw) said in his farewell sermon: "Many people lie about me and they will increase. Whoever attributes a lie to me intentionally, let him take his seat in hell."

When you encounter a Hadith attributed to me, present it to Allah's book and my Sunnah, whatever agrees with them take it, and whatever conflicts with Allah's book and my Sunnah then reject it.

And this narration does not agree with Allah's book, as Allah says: {And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein}

Is Allah ignorant of Abu Bakr's opinion of Him so that He may ask him about it!? That is impossible intellectually.]


Link: http://www.al-shia.org/html/ara/q&a/?mod=aqaed&ac=view&id=448




First of all, the big disaster here is that al-Jawad says "I do not deny the virtue of Abu Bakr" which for extremist Rafidah who curse him day and night is like a kick to the face.


Secondly and what is more interesting, is the sheer weakness of the argument of al-Jawad, his rule of accepting and rejecting is what opposes the Qur'an and the Sunnah, yet in this narration he openly rejects the "Sunnah". Then he says the Hadith does not agree with Allah's book, as how can Allah ask him a question when Allah already knows what is in his heart? That is impossible!


Well it's only impossible if you don't know Allah's book, since Allah in his book says:


{Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'}


And Allah says:


{And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?" - He said, "It is my staff; I lean upon it, and I bring down leaves for my sheep and I have therein other uses."}


Rather this narration although weak, agrees perfectly with Allah's book as He says:


{Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him}


Alas the Shia insist on fabricating these reports and attributing them to Ahlul-Bayt in order to insult the Companions of Rasul-Allah (saw).

[Ebn Hussein]

Now can everybody guess who else said something similar ("I do not deny the virtue of Abu Bakr") ....? It was nobody else but Ali Ibn Abi Talib (after he resolved the issue about Saqifah with Abu Bakr. Yeah, the same issue that was resolved by these two great men, yet the Rafidah exploit it to this very day):


‘Ali ibn Abi Talib recited the Tashahhud, then he said: O Abu Bakr, we acknowledge your virtue and what Allah has given you. We do not envy you for any favour that Allah has bestowed upon you, but you did it without consulting us and we thought that we had the right (to be consulted) because of our kinship with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He kept speaking to Abu Bakr until Abu Bakr’s eyes filled with tears. When Abu Bakr spoke, he said: By the One in Whose hand is my soul, kinship with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is dearer to me than kinship with my own people. (Bukhari and Muslim)


more sources:


…Ali came to Abu Bakr and said: “I don’t refuse to admit that your virtues entitle you to the Caliphate. My sole complaint is that we are the close relatives of the Prophet, (so) why did you then take Baya’ah at Saqifah Banu Sa’idah without consulting us? Had you called us there, we would have taken Baya’ah at your hand ahead of everyone.”

Abu Bakr said in reply: “To treat the relatives of the Prophet well is dearer and more desirable to me than to do so for my own relatives. I went to Saqifah Banu Sa’idah not for the taking of Baya’ah but for putting an end to the dispute…I did not seek their support (for Caliphate). Rather, they took their oath of allegiance to me on their own…Had I delayed the matter, it would have posed a greater danger to the unity, integrity, and solidarity of Islam. How could I send for you when there was no time?”

Ali listened with rapt attention to what Abu Bakr Siddiq said and withdrew his complaint gracefully. The next day, he (Ali) pronounced his allegiance to Abu Bakr before a large congregation in the Prophet’s Mosque. (Tareekh al-Islam, Vol.1, pp.275-276)



Shi'i source:

قول أبو الحسن على بن أبى طالب ” و إنا نرى أبا بكر أحق الناس بها , إنه لصاحب الغار و ثاني أثنين , و إنا لنعرف له سنه , و لقد أمره رسول الله بالصلاة و هو حي ” شرح النهج لابن أبى الحديد 1/332

Ali ibn Abi Talib said to Zubair: “(Although) we got angry momentarily at the time of consultation (i.e. Saqifah), we can now see that Abu Bakr is the most deserving of the Caliphate: He was the companion of the Messenger of Allah in the cave. We know of his life and we know that the Messenger of Allah had ordered him to lead the prayers.” And then he (Ali) gave his Baya’ah (to Abu Bakr).

(Sharh Nahjul-Balagha; Ibn Abi Al-Hadeed; Vol.1, p.132)

[MuslimK]

Alas the Shia insist on fabricating these reports and attributing them to Ahlul-Bayt in order to insult the Companions of Rasul-Allah (saw).

and also show their nasb by making al-Jawad look like ignorant.

[Hani]

Haha look people, read this and read the footnotes:
http://www.seratonline.com/22455/debate-on-so-called-virtues-of-abu-bakr-and-umar/

They comment in the footnote about al-Jawad's praise for Abu Bakr and say:

[2]  Imam’s (a.s.) statement – ‘I do not deny Abu Bakr’s excellence’ is a pointer towards Imam’s (a.s.) taqayya. There is a tradition from Zakariyyah b. Adam – I was in the presence of Imam Reza (a.s.) who brought Imam Jawaad (a.s.) who was just 4 years old.  Then Imam Jawaad (a.s.) struck the floor with his hand, raised his head towards the sky and went into a state of deep reflection.  Imam Reza (a.s.) asked: May my life be sacrificed for you.  What are you thinking in this manner?  Imam Jawaad (a.s.) – Regarding the afflictions related to my mother Hazrat Faatemah (s.a.).  By Allah, I will bring those two (the first and second caliph) out of their graves and throw them into the Fire.  Then I will destroy their ashes or consign them to the oceans.  Then Imam Reza (a.s.) drew him towards himself and kissed him between the eyes and declared – My son, you are worthy of Imamat.

(Dalaail al-Imamah pg 600, Navaadir al- Mojizaat pg 183, Behaar al-Anwaar vol 50 pg 59, Medinah al-Ma’aajiz vol 7 pg 324, Anwaar al-Bahiyyah pg 258, Khaatimah al-Mustadrak vol 1 pg 224, Bait al-Ahzaan pg 124)

In the backdrop of such traditions regarding the caliphs and their evident oppression of the Ahle Bait (a.s.) we conclude that statements like – I am not a denier of the excellence of Abu Bakr/Umar is due to taqayya especially when they were made in the court of the king or in the midst of government spies.



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And here I thought it was the 12th Imam who was gonna dig up Abu Bakr and `Umar then punish them, turns out al-Jawad also will dig them up (again) then punish them.

[MuslimK]

'I do not deny Abu Bakr’s excellence’ is a pointer towards Imam’s (a.s.) taqayya

"Taqayya" haha their favorite answer

If he was doing taqqiyah then how come he is talking like a brave man, rejecting the virtues of Abubakr and Umar and calling them fabrications etc.

[Hani]

Selective "Taqayya".