I will act in the way the Messenger of God...

I will act in the way the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and Abu Bakr both acted.” (13) The foregoing indicates the arbitrary attitude that some of the assumed with respect to the commands of the Prophet. In certain cases, where those commands did not correspond to their personal inclinations, they tried either to avoid implementing them or to change them completely.

The fact that they ignored the unmistakably authoritative utterances of the Prophet on the day of Ghadir Khumm or that they behaved similarly with respect to other matters after his death, should not be regarded as either surprising or unprecedented, for they had already given an indication of their attitudes during his lifetime.

In addition, it should not be forgotten that in every society most people tend to remain indifferent to political and social matters, choosing to follow their leaders and those who seize the initiative. This is a clear and undeniable fact. However, there were respectable and independent-minded people who did not change their position after the death of the Prophet.

They did not approve of the selection that took place at the Saqifah, and they separated themselves from the majority in protest against the introduction of the consultative concept into the Islamic government. Although they were more or less compelled to remain silent, they remained loyal to ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, as a leader. Among the outstanding personalities belonging to this group were: Salman al-Farisi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Khuzaymah b.

Thabit, Miqdad b. al-Aswad, al-Kindi, ‘Ammar b. Yasir, Ubayy b. Ka’b, Khalid b. Sa’id, Bilal, Qays b. Sa’d, Aban, Buraydah al-Ashami, Abu ‘l-Haytham b. al-Tayyihan, as well as many others whose names are recorded in Islamic history. Some scholars have listed two hundred and fifty of the Prophet, complete with names and descriptions, as belonging to this class. (14) al-Ya’qubi mentions in his history: Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Salman al-Farisi, Miqdad b. al-Aswad, Khalid b.

Sa’id, Zubayr, ‘Abbas, Bara’ b. Azib, Ubayy b. Ka’b, and Fadh b. al-‘Abbas as being among those who remained loyal to the cause of ‘Ali, peace be upon him. (15) Qays b. Sa’d even went so far as to argue with his father over the question of the caliphate and he swore never to speak to him again because of this view.