ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Life of Imam Husain ('a) Abu Bakr’s Discourse After the Muhajireen arrived in the meeting of Ansar, Umar wanted to begin the discourse but Abu Bakr restrained him because he was aware of his acerbic tongue and this would not have in any way solved the impasse in such a delicate situation. It was necessary to observe diplomacy and soft words in order to benefit from the situation.

Thus Abu Bakr with a smiling face and sweet words began to address the gathering in a kind way: “We Muhajireen are the first people to become Muslims and with regard to our origin and lineage we are the most respected of them, from the viewpoint of houses we are in the limits of moderation and from the aspect of faces more beautiful than them and with regard to the Messenger of Allah (s) we are most proximate of them and you are our brothers in Islam and our partners in religion.

You have helped and supported. May Allah give you a good reward. Thus we are the rulers and you are ministers. Arab people shall not follow anyone except this branch of Quraish. Thus do not be disheartened by what the Almighty has given superiority of your Muhajireen brothers over you. I have selected one of these two (that is Umar bin Khattab and Abu Ubaidah Jarrah) for you…” [1] Research and Investigation It is necessary to stop here for a few moments and ponder upon the above statements.

1 - Abu Bakr has not accorded any significance to the passing away of the Messenger of Allah (s). And this was a great tragedy for the Muslims and the most terrible incident, which had aggrieved the hearts of all Muslims. Therefore to suit the situation he should have first paid condolence at the passing away of the one who had brought salvation for them and he should have remembered his favors upon them.

He should have reminded them of the good works he had done in their [1] Tabari, Tarikh 3/62 religious and secular spheres. After that he should have invited them to participate in the final rites of the Holy Prophet (s) so that he may be consigned to his eternal abode.

After that he should have organized a general meeting in which all classes of Muslims could have attended and invited them to select a caliph according to their choice and that too with the condition that the Holy Prophet (s) had not appointed any successor after him. 2 – The logic of this discourse is pursuit of power and seeking a political post. Apart from this he did not give any importance to anything.