Narrated ‘Uqba bin ‘Amir...

Narrated ‘Uqba bin ‘Amir: The Prophet went out and offered the funeral prayer for the martyrs of the (battle of) Uhud and then ascended the pulpit and said, “I am your predecessor and I am a witness against you. By Allah, I am now looking at my Tank-lake (Al-Kauthar) and I have been given the keys to the treasures of the earth (or the keys of the earth). By Allah! I am not afraid that you become a polytheist after me, but I am afraid that you will start competing (for the luxuries of this world).

(3) The tradition clearly indicates that after his (PBUH&HF) death, some of the companions will abandon the religion, and compete against one another for the wealth of this temporary existence. And they indeed competed until the swords were drawn and the wars were waged, thereby fulfilling the prophecy. Some of the famous companions were eager to collect gold and silver.

Great Sunni Historians like Mas’udi and Tabari and others stated that the wealth of Zubair on its own came out to 50,000 Dinars and 1000 horses with 1000 slaves and many holdings in Basrah, Kufah, Egypt, and many other places. This massive wealth was accumulated while many Muslims starved to death. (4) The agricultural products from Iraq alone brought Talha 1000 Dinars EVERY DAY! And perhaps more than that. (5) Abdul Rahman Ibn Awf had 100 horses, 1000 camels, and 10,000 sheep.

After his death, a quarter of his wealth which was divided among his wives came out to 84,000 Dinars. (6) Uthman Ibn Affan left on the day of his death 150,000 Dinars, apart from an enormous wealth of land, cattle and villages. (7) Zayd Ibn Thabit left an amount of gold and silver that HAD TO BE BROKEN BY HAMMERS! Apart from money and agricultural holdings which came to 100,000 Dinars.(8) These were just a few examples to show that some of the companions were more interested in the present life.

Comparing the poverty of people at that time, one gets suspicious of how they got so much money from nothing while the rest of the people were in poverty. This gives a good idea of why they waged war against Ali (AS) to overthrow him from power. They found him a big obstacle for their misconduct of treasury and territories.

The question now is this: If these so-called pious companions were so busy collecting money and competing with one another for worldly gain, while many Muslims died from poverty, where then was that so-called piety and sense of sacrifice that the Sunnis attribute to them (the companions)?