He was sometimes saying that the Prophet (a.

He was sometimes saying that the Prophet (a.s) was lying unconscious, again he said that he has been raised to the Firmament and he said that like Mūsa ibn Harūn he had gone into hiding! Now, which version of his to accept and which to reject? There was total confusion among those who were standing around watching his fencing skills! What was the need of frightening the people with his martial skills with the sword? If the spirit had gone to the Firmament, as he said, then that was death!

If according to `Umar the Prophet (a.s) had gone the way Mūsa went, then Mūsa had gone bodily and had returned with the Torah. The Prophet’s body was very much there and there was no purpose his going the way Mūsa (a.s) went. When Mūsa (a.s) went for forty days he left behind his brother and Vicegerent, Harūn (a.s). `Umar in his outrage was silent about this very important aspect of the comparison that he was making!

Besides, he should have also clarified about who those hypocrites were who, according to him, spread rumors about the death of the Prophet (a.s). He knew that, naturally, the sad news emanated from the household of the Prophet (a.s) where the consorts of the Prophet (a.s), Fatimah al-Zahra’ (a.s), `Ali (a.s), Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Husayn (a.s), `Abdullah ibn `Abbas, al-Fadl ibn [1] Al-Bidāyah wan-Nihāyah, Vol 5, Page 242 `Abbas, `Abdullah ibn Ja`far and others from Banū-Hashim were there.

Were these the hypocrites whose limbs, according to `Umar, the Prophet (a.s) would return to cut away! Certainly, there was confusion in the people about the demise of their beloved Prophet (a.s). This confusion would have persisted, but Abū-Bakr arrived from the place of Sakh in the environs of al-Madinah hearing about the demise of the Prophet (a.s) and heard `Umar ferociously denying to accept that the Prophet (a.s) was dead.